Nehemiah 4 & 5

Last time we looked at Nehemiah as he began work on the wall. We saw how he inspected the walls, triaged the work, and we saw how the people responded. We also saw that Sanballat and Tobiah, along with Geshem the Arab, had opposed the work and had tried to get it stopped. Nehemiah, however, didn’t pay attention to them, but continued to work on the rebuilding.

Tonight, we will look at chapters 4 and 5, and we will see how Nehemiah responds to the opposition, but we’ll also see that the wall isn’t the only thing that Nehemiah needs to fix in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 4:1–3 ESV

1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!”

Again, we have Sanballat and his cronies complaining about the work. They are trying to intimidate Nehemiah, the people, and whoever they can to get the work to stop.

And isn’t this like what we see in our day? I don’t like the good thing you are doing, so I am going to make fun of you. I am going to show you how intimidating I am.

Look at how Sanballat preens and peacocks.

He jeers. He complains. He gets the Samarian army together to parade around and he yaps with his bros.

They already used lies and tried to slander Nehemiah.

Now they make fun of the people rebuilding the wall. They make fun of their lack of skill. They make fun of how long it will take them.

Tobiah, a first-rate crony if there ever was one, chimes in, “the wall is so bad, if a fox walks up on it, it’ll break!”

They remind me of Gaston and Lafou from Beauty and the Beast, when they try to whip up the townspeople to convince them that Maurice is crazy.

This is just banter between allies to bolster their own confidence.

But they don’t attack.

Honestly, it looks like fear.

It looks like bullies that are uncomfortable that their easy targets have started standing up to them. They don’t like it, but they don’t know how to stop it.

One commentary notes this, regarding how later, the enemies will talk big about how easy it will be to kill the Jews (vs 11):

Ezra & Nehemiah: Walking in God’s Words Opposition to the Work—But the Work Continues!

They used ridicule: ‘feeble Jews’; ‘Will they (rather than trained stonemasons) restore their wall?’; ‘Will they finish in a day?’; ‘Can they bring the stones back to life?’; ‘even a fox climbing on it would break down their wall of stones!’ (4:2–3). And they also used threats: ‘Before they know it … we … will kill them’ (4:11). This is of course contradictory, for if the Jews are so feeble and the wall is so fragile, there is no need to kill them! But those who oppose the work of God and the good works of his people will use any method they can. We are used to that, even today. And their strategy works, for people in Judah were discouraged (4:10), and many feared for their lives (4:12).

Look how Nehemiah inserts his own prayer among the running commentary:

Nehemiah 4:4–5 ESV

4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.

Nehemiah isn’t playing.

“God, give them what they seek to do to us. Judge them.”

This isn’t so much a call for God to be vengeful and wrathful, but for God to be the righteous Judge.

Ezra & Nehemiah: Walking in God’s Words Opposition to the Work—But the Work Continues!

It was not a prayer for eternal condemnation, but a prayer that God the Judge would not let their opponents succeed, would not ignore the wickedness of their actions. It was the right prayer to pray in times of human weakness, when God’s plans are opposed, and when only God can rescue. And God answered Nehemiah’s prayer, and did frustrate the plans of his enemies (4:15), and enabled his people to succeed in building the wall.

And look at the response:

Nehemiah 4:6 ESV

6 So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

The people had a mind to work. That means that they really were set for building this wall.

But, even though they had gotten the wall completely started all the way around the city, they were only up to half height at this point. There is still danger. The people are not yet protected.

And Sanballat and Co. are not finished.

Nehemiah 4:7–14 ESV

7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. 8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. 10 In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” 11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” 12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” 13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

So we see that these peoples, the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, under the command of Sanballat and Tobiah are angry and wanting to fight.

Notice the trouble that Jerusalem is in that this point:

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 4

Geshem was an Arab, and Tobiah an Ammonite (2:19; see also note on 2:10). It looks as though they belonged to certain groups in Judah who were strongly opposed to the project. Ashdod was formerly a Philistine city on the west (Mediterranean) coast, but it became the name of the entire province, first under Assyria, then under Persia. The people groups named here suggest that the Jewish community is surrounded on three sides—east, west, and south. This plot runs counter to the clear authorization that Nehemiah received from the Persian king, so it is hard to judge how successful it could hope to be. Yet surely it was intimidating, since Susa was about 1,100 miles (1,770 km) away, a journey of approximately 55 days (averaging 20 miles or 32 km per day).

Add to the threats on the north from the Horonites (Sanballat’s people). The threat is very real, and the people are surrounded.

No wonder we see the Jews who live closest to these peoples crying out (ten times!) for help, for reinforcements.

But look at the faith of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 4:9 ESV

9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

Ezra & Nehemiah: Walking in God’s Words Opposition to the Work—But the Work Continues!

See the great combination of trust in God and wise actions, for example in 4:9: ‘But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat’. We often think that if we pray, we need not act, and that acting when you have prayed is faithless. Or we act, and forget to pray. We either take too little responsibility, or too much responsibility. We need to keep the right balance between trusting God and taking responsibility. And the right balance means doing both whole-heartedly!

Nehemiah looks at the portions of the wall most likely to be attacked, and sets up a system:

Ezra & Nehemiah: Walking in God’s Words Opposition to the Work—But the Work Continues!

He set up people at the lowest points of the wall to guard the workers, with swords, spears and bows (4:13). He also told the people not to be afraid, to ‘remember the Lord, who is great and awesome’ (4:14), and wisely reminded them that they were fighting for their families, wives and homes (4:14). As Nehemiah prayed that God would remember him, so he encouraged the people to ‘remember the Lord’.

Nehemiah was a great leader. He reminded the Jews what they were fighting for, but more importantly, who they were fighting for. “Remember the Lord!”

Nehemiah 4:15–23 ESV

15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. 16 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, 17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. 18 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. 19 And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” 21 So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. 22 I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” 23 So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.

Nehemiah knew that God would be the one who won the battle for them, but he understood that God uses people in those fights many times. He prepared the workforce to be battle ready.

We see that half of the workers were building and half were defending.

Workers who were carrying loads carried them in a way that allowed them to have their weapon in their hand. The workers had their swords to hand, able to be drawn in an instant. Nehemiah had a trumpeter right beside him, in case he needed to rally any of the people to a spot, because the wall is a large structure, and the people were widely spaced.

Nehemiah also set the example. Neither he nor his servants or his guard took time off. They stayed ready, just as he expected the people to be ready.

But as we are about to see, Sanballat and his cronies are not the only problem.

Nehemiah 5:1–5 ESV

1 Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. 2 For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” 3 There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” 4 And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5 Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”

External pressures and struggles are difficult, but we expect those. But when the demons are in the walls, as they say…when the problems are internal, that seems more like a sucker-punch.

All of these families had banded together, sacrificed time and money to help rebuild.

And then famine hits. And it’s tax time. And then…and then…and then… the hits just keep on a-comin’...

This is tough to deal with. There are a lot of issues here, so let’s take a minute to break it down.

First, we need to understand the cultural context here. God had created, in His covenant with Israel, a community that was based on love for God (Deut 6:5) and love for neighbor (Lev 19:18). This was supposed to be a wholehearted love for God and an unselfish love of neighbor.

But:

Ezra & Nehemiah: Walking in God’s Words Walls and the Poor

One of the reasons that God judged his people and sent the Babylonians to tear down the walls, destroy the temple and take the people into exile was because of the way they had treated the poor among them. So Isaiah preached to the people in Jerusalem before the exile:

Your rulers are rebels,

partners with thieves;

they all love bribes

and chase after gifts.

They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;

the widow’s case does not come before them. (Isaiah 1:23)

Similarly, Ezekiel had condemned the detestable practice of charging excessive interest and making unjust gain (Ezekiel 22:2, 12).

Later in Isaiah we read that the rebuilding of the walls depends on the moral reformation of the people, including caring for the poor:

If you do away with the yoke of oppression,

with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness,

and your night will become like the noonday …

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins

and will raise up the age-old foundations;

you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,

Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. (Isaiah 58:9–10, 12)

The moral degradation of the leaders and people was one reason for the destruction of the walls; their moral transformation was expected when the walls were being rebuilt.

The correlation between the physical decay of the walls and the moral decay within is staggering.

Nehemiah is dealing with at least three distinct groups at the start of chapter 5:

Large families who were going hungry

Families who owned land but had to mortgage everything to buy food

People who have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on their lands/vinyards.

This last group in particular had no recourse other than to sell their children into slavery.

Now, as you can imagine, this isn’t an ideal situation. In fact, we see how Nehemiah responds to this in verse 6:

Nehemiah 5:6 ESV

6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.

Nehemiah was justifiably outraged at what he was hearing. But he didn’t immediately fly into a rage-filled action. Look at how he responds:

Nehemiah 5:7–8 ESV

7 I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them 8 and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.

He takes time to think. He ponders his own actions, as a leader who has been in a position to make loans.

Now, Nehemiah had the king’s authority to make major problems for these guys, but that isn’t how he approaches the situation. Nehemiah is a leader who trusts God and desires to make decisions that would please God. So, after he thinks through it all, he goes face-to-face to talk to these guys. He formally brings charges against them. Because these guys were breaking covenant with God.

Deuteronomy 23:19–20 ESV

19 “You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. 20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

God had told the people not to charge interest to one another, but here they were doing it, and taking Jews as slaves and selling them.

Ezra & Nehemiah: Walking in God’s Words Nehemiah Deals with the Problem

Notice it was the nobles and officials who were sinning! What a disaster for a community when its leaders are corrupt and self-serving. What hope is there for ordinary people when that happens? The nobles and officials were taking advantage of those who were in poverty, and extorting money from them. They were disobeying the law, and so not walking in the words of God:

If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you … do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. (Leviticus 25:35–36)

Then there was the ridiculous situation in which, while Nehemiah was redeeming Jews from their Gentile owners, the nobles and officials were taking ownership of Jews who couldn’t pay their debts, and selling them back to the Gentiles. How outrageous! The nobles and officials could say nothing in reply (5:8).

Look how Nehemiah charges them:

Nehemiah 5:9–13 ESV

9 So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? 10 Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. 11 Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised. 13 I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

See, Nehemiah and his house were also lending money and grain. But we get the sense that he and his house were not extracting interest, nor were they pressing people into slavery.

And the loans were not the issue. The nobles were fine to make loans with the people. And the people would have been expected to pay those loans back. But to exact interest or enslave their brethren was against God’s law.

The issue was that the people still did not fear God. Nehemiah is addressing the spiritual deficit that lead to the physical decline of the city.

We talked a few weeks ago on Sunday morning about how repentance required change. That is what Nehemiah is expecting here. A change of heart. Not just “sorry.”

Nehemiah gets right to it. “Return the interest. Return their property. Don’t keep their collateral. Give them back their stuff.”

And the people agree and did as they had promised.

Nehemiah closes the chapter with some anecdotal evidence about his own character.

Nehemiah 5:14–19 ESV

14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. 15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. 16 I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. 18 Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. 19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.

We get a bit of detail for how the governor of the city was expected to do life. Yet Nehemiah seems to have been covering his own costs, even though he had a right (based on precedence) to take a wage from the people. But Nehemiah knew the heavy burden rebuilding the wall was. He knew that he couldn’t charge the people this money, all while expecting them to work the wall.

He closes with a familiar refrain for the book. A prayer to God.

“Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.”

I hope that is our prayer as well.

Let’s pray.