More opposition from outside
When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me a message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.”
But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.
5Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter 6 in which was written:
“It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us confer together.”
8 I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.”
9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”
But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”
The same cowardly opposition we noted earlier has surfaced again. Sanballat and his gang tried to lure Nehemiah to Ono so they could kidnap or kill him and thus stop the work. Ono was a town about 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem, where the borders of Judea, Samaria, and Philistia met. It was probably a neutral site for a meeting. In spite of the enemies’ persistence, Nehemiah refused to fall for their trick.
Sanballat made one last attempt. He pretended that he wanted to help Nehemiah stop the rumors that Nehemiah was preparing a revolt against Persia. Sanballat implied there might be some basis for believing such rumors. After all, why else would Nehemiah be building a wall? With “good neighbors” like Sanballat and Geshem, surely Nehemiah would have no need for a wall, except to revolt against Persia.
Nehemiah could well have been concerned that such rumors would alarm the king. Revolts were common in the Persian Empire, and most were led by trusted associates of the king. But Nehemiah knew there could be only one source for such rumors—Sanballat and his friends. If Sanballat had any concern for helping Nehemiah put an end to rumors, he certainly would not have sent a letter accusing Nehemiah of treason, unsealed and open for anyone to read!
The last sentence of this section is obscure in the Hebrew; it does not indicate who is saying the words. The NIV appropriately translates it as a short prayer of Nehemiah, since such prayers were typical of him. His response was to ignore the lies of the enemy, continue his work, and leave his defense to the Lord.
This can be a lesson for us. We too may experience slander and attacks as we take unpopular positions because of loyalty to God’s Word. At times we may need to refute such attacks, as Paul did in 2 Corinthians 10–12, so that people are not misled by them. But we should not allow petty attacks to divert us from our great project of spreading the gospel. If we spend so much time trying to refute attacks that we divert a great deal of time and energy from preaching the gospel, God’s enemies have accomplished their purpose. Rather, let us devote our resources and energy primarily to the task of building through the gospel. We need not be distressed by the slander of enemies. The only verdict on our work that counts is God’s. We can follow Nehemiah’s example and busy ourselves with the assignment God has given us and leave our defense to him.