Keeping our focus in doing God’s will (Neh 6:1-14)

When I was teaching Introduction to the Old Testament at Bible college/seminary, I used to set weekly exercises for my students with Bible readings and comprehension questions to build up their Bible knowledge. Some students complained that their load was too heavy and the exercises took too long. When I asked one how long he needed to complete them, he gave me a figure that was about double the time I allocated for it, but then sheepishly admitted that he is often on social media while working, so he gets distracted. It is a common issue today so that one rarely sees young people having a conversation without simultaneously scrolling through their social media feeds and checking messages.  

Distractions – Nehemiah called to a meeting

The ancient world was different from ours, but Nehemiah faced challenges no less distracting in doing God’s will than we do today. So close to the completion of the wall building (only the doors needed to be hung – Neh 6:1), the enemies redouble their efforts to throw a spanner in the works. Sanballat, probably already governor of Samaria, and Geshem, the Arab (likely from Kedar south–south-east of the Dead Sea) propose a meeting to Nehemiah (Neh 6:2).[1] The location suggested is uncertain, some place it in Samaria, others in Judah, but in any case, it will draw Nehemiah away from the last stages of the building and he is having none of it (Neh 6:3). It is uncertain what the enemies hoped to achieve, whether they planned to harm Nehemiah physically (as he fears – v.2) or stir up trouble among the workers in his absence, he will not be distracted from finishing the job.

False accusations and the prospect of frightening consequences

When their tactic brings no results despite repeated badgering (Neh 6:4), the enemies try to instil fear in Nehemiah by repeating the same type of accusations that succeeded turning the Persians against the wall building once before (Neh 6:6-7; Ezra 4:12-13, 23). The letter contains a barely veiled threat that they will inform the authorities and by sending their message to Nehemiah as an open letter for everyone to read, they deliberately feed the very rumours they report. This is indeed a serious accusation and if believed, Nehemiah could be discredited, lose his position, even his life, if he is seen as a dangerous rebel who aspires to kingship. Although he is not of the Davidic (i.e. the royal) line as far as we know, he could be a usurper. However, Nehemiah refuses to be intimidated or discouraged and draws strength by praying to the Lord (Neh 6:8-9).

Temptation to sin

Finally, there is an attempt to draw Nehemiah into sin through a prophet who encourages him to take refuge in the temple and so save his life from an imminent threat (Neh 6:10). The fact that the message supposedly comes from God makes it a challenging one to refute. Nehemiah could not know who his real friends and enemies are. What if this is a well-wisher to whom the Lord revealed secret plans? Yet, Nehemiah sees through the cunning advice. First, how can a man of his stature cower in a corner (Neh 6:11)? More importantly, the temple is sacred and only the priests are allowed to enter it. The reference to closing the doors suggests that it is the actual sanctuary, not the temple courtyard that is meant here (the latter was open to worshippers). If Nehemiah were to enter the sacred precincts that would be sin (Neh 6:13) and God might strike him dead (hence his comment in v.11, which in the Hebrew reads ‘how can someone like me go into the temple and live?’).

Keeping our focus

Like Nehemiah, we may struggle to keep our focus on doing God’s will, whether in full-time Christian ministry, the service of the church or in our daily lives. Distractions come in myriad ways, through busyness and projects that suck away time from what matters to God. When we try new ventures, we may find Satan whispering discouragements in our ears, attributing to us bad motives, pointing out potential adverse consequences. We may also be tempted to cut corners and sin thereby discrediting ourselves. Whatever our challenges, forewarned is fore-armed and, like Nehemiah, our best defence is to entrust ourselves to God and seek Him to strengthen us in His will.

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[1] We have evidence that Sanballat was governor of Samaria from a letter dated 407 BC (see my post The best answer to ridicule), but his call for negotiations here (in 445 BC) and the way he talks to Nehemiah as an equal suggest that he was already in that position at this time.

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