Now it came
about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became
furious and very angry and mocked the Jews saying, “What are these feeble Jews
doing? Are they going to restore it
for themselves? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was
near him and he said, “Even what they are building—if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall
down!” (vv.1-3)
In
response to the taunts, Nehemiah followed the example of the psalms and prayed
to the Lord for justice (vv.4-5). When Sanballat and Tobiah threatened to
attack, Nehemiah and the builders prayed to God for help and posted a guard
(vv.6-9). Then, after the report came that their enemies planned to exploit any
weakness by killing the workers, Nehemiah armed the builders and stationed
people strategically around the wall. More importantly though as the spiritual
leader, he reminded the people of their ultimate resource: “Don’t be afraid of
them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome… Our God will fight for us!”
(vv.14, 20).
With
a plan for action and the promise of the Lord’s help, the construction
continued, even during the most difficult of circumstances. That same God is as close as a prayer to all who believe.
The
Truth
“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; … they
shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
