The best answer to ridicule (Neh 4:1-5)
Neh 4:1-5
Years ago, I worked as a volunteer at a Christian youth hostel in Israel. One of the team, when he first arrived, became affectionately known as ‘the man with the iron’ because he asked for an iron for his shirt – a most unusual request from a young man in a youth hostel! He looked tall, handsome, and always immaculately dressed. Later he told us that his father constantly berated his appearance when he was young and we could tell that he was still trying to prove himself. Ridicule is a powerful weapon that can destroy our confidence, sense of dignity and self-worth, and hurtful words can continue to leave their sting years later.
Ridicule – the weapon of the insecure
Despite its power on us, it is helpful to remember that ridicule is most often the weapon of the insecure. Behind the jeering words lurks uncertainty that the one scorned is more powerful, attractive, capable (or whatever) than expected. Sanballat’s fury (Neh 4:1) suggests that he feared the builders’ achievement. Surely, if the Jews had no chance of success, then he could have safely ignored them! We know little about him, but a later document refers to him as governor of Samaria and he may have already been that in Nehemiah’s time.[1] If so, he had a vested interest in neighbouring Judah and the military with him (the Hebrew for ‘the wealthy’ also means ‘army’) is an ominous reminder of how the earlier wall repairs were stopped by force (Ezra 4:23).
Justice or mercy?
While we may be shocked at Nehemiah’s angry, even vengeful words, we should note that he is saying them to God (Neh 4:4-5). He does not act out his anger in words to the mockers or blackening their name to the king. Rather, he brings his concerns to God. Israel, of course, knew God’s command to love neighbour and to leave retribution to the Lord, even to do good to enemies (Lev 19:17-18; Deut 32:35; Prov 25:21-22) and God’s audacious grace is well expressed in His forgiveness of the cruel Ninevites (Jonah 3:10).
Yet, when we face unrepentant evil what is to be our response? I remember discussions in our Bible study group when Ceausescu, the Romanian dictator, was executed. Was it right or should he have received mercy? Should Hitler or Stalin be forgiven for their brutal murder of millions of people? Most of us have not experienced these injustices personally, so we more easily call for mercy. Yet, who has not felt the kind of sentiments that Nehemiah’s prayer expresses when they or others were unjustly attacked, especially when doing God’s work? The positive in Nehemiah’s outrage is a healthy desire for justice and for naming evil as evil; something we may need to re-learn in an age that prizes tolerance above right and wrong.
The difference prayer makes
The key to resolving the issue is prayer. First, it calls us back to the centre, to the One who judges rightly. Bringing our anger over injustice to Him is the best way to let go of it and leave retribution (or grace) to His wisdom. Nehemiah in his later exchanges demonstrates a surprisingly even tone (e.g. Neh 6:5-8), which is surely the result of his resting in God. Sometimes Christians short-circuit this process by moving too quickly to talk of forgiveness when their hearts are still boiling over with fury.
Second, it is in God’s presence that we get a true picture of who we are. The enemies’ ridicule may have felt painfully true to Nehemiah (Neh 4:2-3). Could they really see the project through and offer sacrifices to God in thanksgiving when the walls were finally dedicated? With all that rubble and burnt stone was their wall going to be strong enough to withstand even the weakest attack? If Nehemiah felt insecurity and fear in his heart that echoed the enemies’ scorn, then coming into God’s presence in prayer would re-align him with God’s perspective on the work. Indeed, his confidence in the Lord is evident as he encourages the builders later (Neh 4:14). Acknowledging injustice and letting go of it in prayer and learning God’s perspective on us are the best answers to ridicule.
[1] The Jewish colony in Elephantine (an island reminiscent in shape to an elephant’s tusk in the Nile in Upper Egypt) sent a request to the Jewish authorities in Judah in 407 BC to ask for support in re-building their local temple that was destroyed a few years earlier. At the conclusion of the letter it says, ‘We have also set the whole matter forth in a letter in our name to Delaiah and Shelemiah, the sons of Sanballat the governor of Samaria.’ (Aram P 30:29); James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3rd ed. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969), 492.
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