Nehemiah Chapter 6 records the final attempts of Nehemiah’s enemies to stop the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. With the project nearing completion, Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and their allies change their strategy. Instead of attacking the workers directly, they attempt to lure Nehemiah away, intimidate him with false accusations, frighten him through deception, and damage his reputation. Nehemiah refuses to become distracted from the work God has given him. Despite persistent opposition, the wall is completed in only fifty-two days. Even Israel’s enemies recognize that such an extraordinary accomplishment could only have been achieved with God’s help.
Nehemiah Chapter 6 Summary
Nehemiah 6 begins with Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arabian, and the other enemies of Jerusalem hearing that Nehemiah has rebuilt the wall and that no gaps remain, although the doors have not yet been installed in the gates.
Realizing that the project is nearly complete, Sanballat and Geshem send a message asking Nehemiah to meet them in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.
Their invitation appears peaceful, but Nehemiah understands their true intention.
They intend to harm him.
Nehemiah refuses to leave Jerusalem and sends a powerful response:
“I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.”
He asks why the work should stop while he leaves it to meet with them.
Four times Nehemiah’s enemies send the same invitation, and four times he gives them essentially the same answer.
Sanballat then changes tactics.
The fifth time, he sends a servant carrying an open letter containing accusations against Nehemiah.
The letter claims that rumors are spreading among the nations that the Jews are planning to rebel against Persia and that Nehemiah intends to become their king.
Sanballat also claims that Nehemiah has appointed prophets to proclaim him king in Jerusalem.
The threat is clear: these accusations could be reported to the Persian king.
Sanballat hopes that fear of being accused of rebellion will force Nehemiah into negotiations.
Nehemiah refuses to be intimidated.
He responds that these accusations are false and have been invented by Sanballat.
Nehemiah recognizes the purpose behind the lies: his enemies want the workers to become afraid so that their hands will weaken and the construction will stop.
Instead of surrendering to fear, Nehemiah prays:
“Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”
Another attempt at deception follows.
Nehemiah visits Shemaiah, who tells him that enemies are coming to kill him and suggests that they hide inside the Temple.
Nehemiah refuses.
He recognizes that God has not sent Shemaiah. Instead, Tobiah and Sanballat have hired him to frighten Nehemiah into committing a sinful act.
If Nehemiah had followed the false advice, his enemies could have used his actions to damage his reputation.
Nehemiah again turns the matter over to God, asking Him to remember Tobiah, Sanballat, the prophetess Noadiah, and the others who attempted to frighten him.
Despite every attempt to distract, threaten, deceive, and intimidate the builders, the wall is completed.
The entire wall is finished in only fifty-two days.
When the surrounding nations hear about it and see what has happened, they become afraid and lose confidence.
Even Nehemiah’s enemies realize that this extraordinary accomplishment has been achieved through the help of the God of Israel.
The chapter concludes by revealing that opposition continues even after the wall is completed.
Many nobles of Judah have maintained close relationships with Tobiah. Letters travel between Tobiah and influential people within Judah, and some even speak positively about Tobiah to Nehemiah while reporting Nehemiah’s words back to him.
Tobiah continues sending letters designed to frighten Nehemiah.
Yet the central mission has succeeded.
Jerusalem’s wall stands completed because Nehemiah refused to abandon the work God had placed before him.
- Distraction can be as dangerous as direct opposition. Nehemiah’s enemies could not stop the construction by force, so they attempted to lure him away from his mission.
- Important work requires focus. Nehemiah refused to abandon his responsibility, declaring, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.”
- False accusations should not automatically control our decisions. Sanballat attempted to manipulate Nehemiah through rumors of rebellion, but Nehemiah recognized the accusations as lies.
- Prayer and action belong together. Nehemiah continued working while asking God to strengthen his hands.
- Not every religious-sounding message comes from God. Shemaiah presented his advice as though it were prophetic, but Nehemiah discerned that the message was designed to frighten him into sin.
- Fear can be used as a weapon. Nehemiah’s enemies repeatedly attempted to weaken him and the workers through intimidation, but he refused to allow fear to determine his actions.
- God receives the glory when seemingly impossible work is accomplished. When Jerusalem’s wall was completed in fifty-two days, even Israel’s enemies recognized that the work had been accomplished with God’s help.
Important Verses
- Nehemiah 6:3
- “And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.”
- Nehemiah 6:4
- “Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.”
- Nehemiah 6:8
- “There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.”
- Nehemiah 6:9
- “For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”
- Nehemiah 6:11
- “And I said, Should such a man as I flee?”
- Nehemiah 6:15
- “So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.”
- Nehemiah 6:16
- “They perceived that this work was wrought of our God.”
