The Leader Who Discerns Distractions | Nehemiah 6:1–19 | Message 7
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Further Opposition to the Rebuilding
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 this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages[a] 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.
5 Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide tome 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[b] 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 meet 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 strengthenmy hands.”
10 One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.”
11 But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” 12 I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.
14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets have been trying to intimidate me. 15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.
Opposition to the Completed Wall
16 When all our enemies heardabout this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.
17 Also, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and replies from Tobiah kept coming to them. 18 For many in Judah were under oath to him, since he was son-in-law to Shekaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. 19 Moreover, they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.
Nehemiah 6:1–19
Has anyone ever told a malicious lie about you? How did you react? Regrettably, even within the faith community, some believers are far too eager to both hear and spread poisonous rumors. Men and women who are making a kingdom impact for Jesus Christ are often the prime targets of criticism. Small-minded people will always resist God-sized vision. How I wish every Christian had the conviction and Christlike maturity of A. B. Simpson, founder of the Christian & Missionary Alliance:
“I would rather play with forked lightning or take in my hands living wires with their fiery current, than speak a reckless word against any servant of Christ, or idly repeat slanderous darts which thousands of Christians are hurling on others, to the hurt of their own souls and bodies.”
In this message from Nehemiah chapter 6, we will uncover six vital lessons that apply directly to our own lives:
Distracting Deceivers – 6:1
Dubious Meeting – 6:2
Determined Leader – 6:3
Defamation of Character – 6:4–9
Discernment to Debunk – 6:10–14
Dramatic Blessing of God – 6:15–19
You will notice immediately: the moment you get busy serving God and pursuing His dream for your life, the devil will unleash all kinds of destructive distractions. And as we’ve seen, those distractions often come from within the faith community. Social media both accommodates and accelerates attacks.
Nehemiah’s enemies, Sanballat and Geshem, summoned him to a useless, time-wasting meeting. Behind the invitation was a sinister plot—not only to halt the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls and gates, but very possibly an assassination attempt. Learn this crucial lesson: Distractions and distractors demand discernment! Ask the Holy Spirit to give you supernatural wisdom whenever anything begins slowing your love for Christ, weakening your devotion to daily Scripture reading, undermining your faithful church attendance, or diverting your service for the Lord.
History gives us sobering parallels to learn from. John Huss, the fearless Bohemian Reformer, was invited to attend the Council of Constance in 1414 to answer charges against him. Promised safe passage by the emperor, Huss accepted. Within a month, he was seized, thrown into a dank dungeon, condemned by the Council, and burned alive at the stake. I have personally stood in his church in Prague, where a mural depicts his martyrdom.
William Tyndale, the Father of the English Bible, lived in exile in Belgium. He dared to be the first to translate and publish Scripture from the original Hebrew and Greek into English. Since translating the Bible without Church approval was illegal in England, he was constantly hunted. One day, a supposed “friend” invited him to lunch. It was a trap. Tyndale was betrayed, arrested, and months later, in 1535, strangled and burned at the stake. His last prayer was unforgettable: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” Within two years of his death, King Henry VIII authorized the Great Bible (1539) in English—much of it built directly on Tyndale’s translation. Scholars estimate that the King James Version (1611) retained 70–80% of Tyndale’s wording in the New Testament and a significant portion of the Old Testament.
Examine your own life before you criticize those who serve Christ. Consider evangelist D. L. Moody. A woman once condemned his methods of evangelism, claiming they were ineffective in winning souls. Moody humbly replied, “I agree with you. I don’t like the way I do it either. Tell me, how do you do it?” The woman admitted, “I don’t do it.” Moody countered, “Then I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.”
