Nehemiah 6:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we have two plots against Nehemiah, and we see how cleverly his enemies laid them, and how well God’s care and Nehemiah’s wisdom ruined them.

First, they tried to trap him. They knew the wall was almost finished, because all the gaps had been closed up, even though the gates still had no doors on them (Nehemiah 6:1). So they thought this was their last chance. Since they could not attack him openly, they tried to draw him out by friendly words and a false show of concern.

Notice how full of trickery their invitation was. They did not ask him to come to a city, where their intent might look suspicious, but to a village in Benjamin’s territory. They spoke as if they only wanted to talk about shared concerns and build peace between their groups. In truth, they meant to harm him. Nehemiah likely had some warning of their plan, or he knew them well enough to judge that they were aiming at his life. So when they spoke kindly, he did not trust them.

See also Nehemiah’s wise reply. God gave him the right answer through his own messengers: “I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3). He did not bring up their evil plan. He simply gave a true reason for refusing. Politeness must give way to duty. If friends try to pull us into useless or foolish company, we should answer as Nehemiah did, “I have work to do, and I must not neglect it.”

They asked him four times, and each time he gave the same answer (Nehemiah 6:4). That must have frustrated them, because they were really trying to stop the work itself. It would have been hard for them to break the project if they saw the builder so fixed on it. We, too, should not give in to repeated pressure to do what is sinful or unwise. When the same temptation comes again and again, we must keep resisting it with the same steady reason and resolve.

Second, they tried to scare him away from his work. If they could frighten him, the work would stop on its own. So Sanballat sent a false report, saying people everywhere were talking as if Nehemiah were rebelling against Persia and trying to make himself king (Nehemiah 6:5-7). Even the best people, while doing good, have sometimes been accused of evil. Often, what only malicious people think gets spread as if many people believe it.

Sanballat pretended to warn Nehemiah as a friend. He said he should come and explain himself, or at least stop the work before the matter was misunderstood. But his words were smooth and gentle, while his heart was full of war. He wanted to take Nehemiah off the work, just as Judas used a kiss to betray Christ. Yet evil plots cannot stay hidden forever. Nehemiah saw what they were doing. He knew they wanted to weaken the workers’ hands and stop the building (Nehemiah 6:9). So he denied the charge, and he would not be moved.

This teaches us something important. We should never leave a duty we know is right just because we fear people may misunderstand it. If our conscience is clear, we should trust God with our name. And in truth, God’s people are often slandered more than they are actually disgraced.

In the middle of this trouble, Nehemiah lifted his heart to God in a short prayer: “Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.” That is a great support for faithful people. In every difficulty, they can go to God and ask for strength when enemies are trying to fill them with fear. When we begin some special duty or face some hard trial, this is a good prayer for us: “Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”

Some take these words as a prayer. Others take them as a holy resolve, since “O God” is supplied by translators. Then the sense would be, “Now therefore I will strengthen my hands.” Either way, the lesson is the same. Christian courage grows stronger under pressure. Every temptation that tries to draw us away from duty should push us more firmly toward it.