Nehemiah 4-6
Today we get:
- NeheME-ME-ME-ME-ME-iah
- People try to stop the wall building
- Nehemiah stops usury
- The wall is finished
Nehemiah 4
1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
There are a couple of antagonists in today's reading.
1. Sanballat; Sanballat the Horonite; Sanballat 1. He was a Samaritan leader and was an official in the Persian empire.
2. Tobiah the Ammonite. He was probably the governor of Ammon.
3. Geshem the Arabian. Not much is known of Geshem. He was probably a leader of a tribe of Arabians.
2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?
Sanballat was an ass. Apparently he never saw the letter from Artaxerxes that gave Nehemiah permission to rebuild the wall.
3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
Tobiah, ass number 2; mocked the people by saying how weak the wall was.
He was obviously wrong, because the walls lasted until at least 41 AD, which is over 480 years. But then that was a the "Third Wall" So Tobiah was pretty wrong when he though a fox would be able to knock them down.
Instead of having his buddy Artaxerxes defend his actions, or stop the persecution of the Jews doing what they were told to do; Nehemiah decided to let God defend the work on the wall.
4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
This is a good example of an imprecatory prayer (also known as a curse). Most of the time people pray for forgiveness (sometimes people pray for selfish things). But every now and then, you gotta pray for your enemies to get hemorrhoids! What could be a better imprecatory prayer than to ask the LORD to not forget someone else's sins?
Well, Nehemiah continued to build the wall. The adversaries continued to try to stop them. Nehemiah continued to pray.
He also made it so that half the people who were working on the wall were doing the work, and the other half was defending the workers. They should have outsourced the security to Halliburton. The people were so worried about building the wall, that even the half the workers who were working, STILL had their sword by their side.
22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day.
While they were building the city walls, they slept inside them, instead of in their regular homes, outside the wall.
23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.
They spent their time either working or sleeping, they didn't have time for anything else, except to maybe wash their clothes once a week or so.
Nehemiah 5
1 And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
What were the people crying about? Why are the people complaining about the Jews? Or is it like black people are allowed to call each other nigger, but whites have to say "the n word"?
3 Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.
The people had mortgaged everything they had because apparently there was a famine in the land. They claim they mortgaged their lands to pay their taxes. Heck, they even sold themselves into slavery to feed their families. So the people who had available assets at the time were able to take advantage of the people who hadn't planned ahead.
Think of it like the modern mortgage crisis of 2008. People who didn't plan ahead suddenly were losing everything they had. People who were able to capitalize were purchasing things at bargain prices because of other people's mistakes.
6 And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
What was Nehemiah mad about?
7 Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.
We know that usury is a sin, but apparently allowing people to survive during a drought is a bad thing.
8 And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer.
Nehemiah said: We finally got our people back from Persia, and you are going to sell your brothers back; or are you gonna buy them from each other!
11 Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.
Nehemiah asked the rich people to give back everything, including the previously charged interest. Which was 1%. Usury between jews was 1%!
Now ME-hemiah talks about how great a governor he is.
15 But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.
ME-hemiah didn't take the governor salary.
18 Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.
He took the ox and 6 sheep and fowls, but not the bread, because that would be too much a burden.
19 Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.
WOW, no wonder the Jews don't like him.
Nehemiah 6
1 Now it came to pass when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates
Note the emoticon.
Well, Sanballat and Gershem decided they wanted to "do mischief" to ME-hemiah.
They sent messengers to ask him to go down to the plain of Ono. It's probably a good idea to not go to a place called "OH NO". Well, ME-hemiah wasn't done completely with the walls yet, so he said he couldn't go until the walls were completely done.
Well, after several attempts, Sanballat sent his servant with a letter to ME-hemiah.
6 Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words.
ME-hemiah was content being the governor (who mercifully didn't eat the bread) and didn't want to be king.
10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.
Well, good ole Nehemiah didn't do it.
12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
Darn false prophets!
14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
Noadiah was a false prophetess.
15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.
They probably could have finished it in 26 days if they didn't have to have half the people guarding the other half. Except that the constant threat probably made them work faster and harder than if there was no duress.
16 And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
All those enemies, they felt bad because they knew the wall was the work of the LORD!
So what have we learned today?
1. Nehemiah thinks very highly of himself.
2. VERY highly of himself.
3. The was was finished in 52 days. This year, passover (Nissan 14) is April 19-20. The wall was finished on Elul 25 (roughly September 25). Oddly enough, Elul 25 of Hebrew year 1 is the day the some Jews claim was the FIRST DAY. Day 1, Genesis 1:1 was Elul 25. The same day they finished the wall, 3563 years later.
YIC
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