Nehemiah 4 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Nehemiah  4:1-6

1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, ‘What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble – burned as they are?’

3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, ‘What they are building – even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!’

4 Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of[i] the builders.

6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

A. Find Out:  

1. What was Sanballat’s response to the news of the rebuilding? v.1
2. Before whom did he mock the builders? v.2
3. How did Tobiah join in? v.3
4. What was Nehemiah’s response? v.4
5. What further did he ask? v.5
6. So what did they do? v.6

B. Think:

1. What form does the opposition take at this stage?
2. What example of dealing with it are we given?
3. How might we apply this into daily life?

C. Comment:

  We now find a third reference to opposition from this same group. We first heard about them when Nehemiah first arrived (1:16) when the opposition was simply disturbed. Then when the rebuilding plans were made known their opposition turned into derision (2:19). Now that the building work gets well under way the derision gets stronger (4:2,3).

  Behind this opposition is anger (v.1) and anger is sometimes a defensive response to fear. It almost seems that in chapter 2 Sanballat and friends had come to Jerusalem but now we hear what has obviously been reported to Nehemiah who writes, and which happens in Samaria. Sanballat is obviously a leading official at Samaria and has some sort of armed force (an army v.2) under his command. Behind the bluster there may be the threat of physical force. Tobiah stands by his side egging him on (v.3) adding his weak addition to the mockery. Satan’s initial opposition to the people of God is always to sow doubt (see Gen 3:1,3,4) and to discourage.

  Nehemiah wisely turns to the Lord in prayer (v.4) and asks the Lord to deal with this enemy opposition (v.4,5). Having done that they continue with the rebuilding of Jerusalem and such is their effort that they are able to take the walls to half their height.

D. Application:

1. Be aware of the enemy’s attempts to sow doubt and discourage you.
2. When it happens, turn to the Lord and give it over to Him.

Passage: Nehemiah 4:7-18

7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. 9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, ‘The strength of the labourers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.’

11 Also our enemies said, ‘Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.’

12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, ‘Wherever you turn, they will attack us.’

13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.’

15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our work.

16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armour. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

A. Find Out:

1. How did the opposition feel and what did they plot to do? v.7,8
2. What was Nehemiah’s twofold response? v.9
3. What practical problem was occurring with twofold effect? v.10,11
4. What did others tell them so what did Nehemiah do? v.12,13
5. What did Nehemiah then do and say? v.14
6. How did they continue the work? v.15-18

B. Think:

1. How had the rebuilding now created a problem?
2. What was the threat now from the enemy?
3. How did they change their working practices to handle it?

C. Comment:

  For a fourth time we hear of the opposition from Samaria . Now it is being stepped up a notch from derision, mockery and discouragement (i.e. words) to threats of physical attack (v.8). Verse 9 summarises what follows. When word gets through to Nehemiah, from the Jews in the vicinity of Samaria (v.12) Nehemiah did two things: prayed AND set guards.

  The threat came, as it so often does, at a most inconvenient stage in the rebuilding. The wall having reached half its height was thus now more difficult to work on, the builders having to keep climbing up and down were getting more tired (v.10a). More than that there was still a lot of rubble, either from that which was yet to be built into the walls or that which was burned and damaged and needed clearing away This meant that there were piles of rubble a) made working more difficult (v.10b) and which would be easy to hide behind if invaders came (v.11)

  Thus when the threat of attack came Nehemiah prays and presumably gets wisdom to know what to do so he a) stations guards (v.9b,13,16a) and official watchers (v.16b) and b) arms all those working on the walls (v.17,18). Moreover he has a trumpeter near him to declare an alarm if need be (v.18b). Handling the threat required BOTH prayer AND action.

D. Application:

1. In difficulties? Pray for wisdom.
2. In difficulties? Use God’s wisdom to bring practical answers.

Passage: Nehemiah 4:19-23

19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!’

21 So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. 22 At that time I also said to the people, ‘Let every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so that they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.’ 23 Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.

A. Find Out:

1. How long did they work each day? v.21b
2. What protection did they have? v.21a
3. What did Nehemiah suggest and why? v.22
4. What sign was there of their ongoing commitment to the work? v.23a
5. What sign was there of the perilous threats to them? v.23b

B. Think:

1. What do you think it must have been like to have been a guard here?
2. What do you think it must have been like to have been a worker?
3. What does all this say about these people?

C. Comment:

  It is so easy to read words and fail to take in their significance. This passage is almost a repeat-summary of what has gone before, but when the Bible repeats itself it is so that we take it in.

  The work continues (v.21a) despite the threats of attack, but because of those threats, it continues under different conditions. Half the men held spears (v.21b) in preparation to ward off possible attackers and we’ll soon see who else carried weapons.

  A measure of the urgency they felt about re-establishing Jerusalem is indicated by the fact that they worked (v.21c) from first light to darkness (beyond sunrise to sunset!).

  As we have noted previously, many of the men had come from towns away from Jerusalem or from the surrounding countryside. And so now Nehemiah suggests they all stay in the city every night (v.22) both to act as guards at night and be there ready to work first thing in the morning.

  The intensity that they all felt is further indicated by the fact that neither Nehemiah nor other leaders with him, nor guards (v.23) changed their clothes and even took them off at night. Even more, they remain armed the whole time, whatever they were doing. That was the reality of what was happening. They had heard the report of the possibility of being attacked and they took it most seriously.

D. Application:

1. Paul’s weapons and armour (Eph 6) are for wearing all the time.
2. Are we fully aware that there is a spiritual battle?