Nehemiah Episode 6: Facing Opposition
The celebration of the first milestone of a part of the work being finished is immediately followed in the narrative by a description of the opposition to the work. Opposition can feel like an indication that we are doing something wrong, but it can often indicative that we are moving in the right direction.
Chapter 4 starts with an individual who we have been introduced to before. His name is Sanballat and he is angry. He has a crowd with him. He has mobilised his own associates and the Samaritan army. It is not difficult to gather support, but the assent of the majority does not mean they are right. In fact often opposition will seek to bolster their position by saying “people are saying” or “everybody thinks”. There are often agendas behind the position.
Sanballat is unhappy with the changing dynamics, his power and position are threatened. Such shifts will often lead to defensiveness, aggression and personal attack.
In this case he ridicules them, shows contempt and is dismissive of what they are doing.
He does this by asking a series of rhetorical questions.
1. "What are these feeble Jews doing?" He seeks to undermine their confidence in their identity.
2. "Will they restore their wall?" He questions their ability to meet the challenge
3. "Will they offer sacrifices?" He questions the power of their God.
4. "Will they finish in a day?" He challenges their commitment.
5. "Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?” He dismisses their capability and rubbishes their resources.
In summary: you are nobodies doing nothing and going nowhere.
Then Tobias joins in with some serious exaggeration. A fox could knock it down. This would need to be a serious super fox with Jedi mind powers. Archeological excavation demonstrates that the walls that Nehemiah built were 2.5 meters or 8 feet thick. 🙂 Tobias is also dismissing and ridiculing the work they are doing. It is insubstantial and inconsequential.
John F Kennedy famously said the great enemy of the truth is not the lie. Deliberated, contrived and dishonest but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.
Both are on display here, lies, half truths and exaggeration.
This is hard to hear. Especially because there are always elements of truth in accusations. They are a little feeble, the rubble is scorched, they are not expert builders, Nehemiah has never led an enterprise like this before. But if it was all true, why spend your energy putting it down. What are you angry about if people you don't like are doing something you don't want, that you are sure will not succeed.
Met a couple of students now who have came to faith reading Richard Dawkins. If there is nothing to the Christian faith, why get so uptight about it? Is the key question that has driven them in that direction.
One of the things to consider facing opposition is what is the truth of this accusation.
Problem is that we resonate with the elements of truth in the accusation rather than considering the truth in the wider context and situation.
The people are frail, it is frustrating, and they have good reason to be afraid.
But what Sanballat does not realise is that it is not their wall but God's, not their strength but His and not their mission and purpose but the Lords.
Nehemiah response is to lead the people in prayer calling on the Lord to defend them and to oppose their enemies because they are his enemies. This is not just interpersonal conflict or cultural differences - it is spiritual warfare.
And so they pray but they also keep working. They are not deflected from their calling or purpose.
They work with all their heart and they build the wall to half it's height.
Average height is 12 meters or 40 feet.
Doesn't happen in a day but in a few weeks there is a 6 meter or 20 feet wall that is 2.5 m or 6 ft thick and 4000m or 2.5 miles long with 34 watch towers and 8 gates.
There is a new hope.
But then in v7 the empire attempts to strike back. An alliance of Sanballat, Tobias, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod hear about the progress and they are angry. They plot, firstly, to come and fight against Jerusalem and secondly to stir up trouble. So the strategy of the opposition has changed from mockery to physical threat and violence.
Nehemiah has already prayed that their insults will rebound on them and God would hold them accountable for their guilt but they are persistent.
Now Nehemiah again prays and continues to get on with the work of rebuilding but he also adopts a new strategy they post a guard both day and night. The threat is real so the response is also tangible. Oliver Cromwell is believed to have been the first to say “Put your trust in God but keep your powder dry”. Prayer is practical but it also leads here to practicality.
So far so good but in v 10 a new challenge emerges. Not from without but from within. The work and the threat have begun to take a toll.
Nehemiah now faces a new set of issues which will derail the building more surely than the enemy.
The workers are weak – they are exhausted.
The work has become more complex – there is a lot of rubble that needs clearing
The people are scared, the threats of their enemies are starting to bite. Surprise attack, imminent death and defeat have been foretold.
The mood has changed. Everyone is talking negatively. The Jews living near the enemies report pessimistically and unrelentingly. They are doomed, ten times a day.
When you are tired and have real issues to deal with succumbing to fear and despair become a much bigger temptations. You lose perspective and the narrative that you believe in is changed. Faith is displaced by fear and the view of the majority reshapes our view of God.
I always want to be a little careful as to how I apply this in my own situation. I am not Nehemiah, I face different challenges and live in different circumstances. The people I have responsibilities to and for also live in a different cultural moment. Nevertheless, there are potentially some lessons to be gleaned.
Nehemiah’s response in v 13-14.
“Therefore, I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
He identifies where the biggest vulnerabilities are. This involves people being in the most dangerous places.
He deploys them as families, they will fight with and for each other for their families and for their homes.
He surveys the situation and takes an overview.
He intentionally addresses the nobles and the officials, he knows that the story the leaders believe and tell will be important in reinforcing the real narrative.
The key thing is to remember the Lord who is great and awesome and fight for all they hold most dear.
The conclusion of this response is interesting. When their enemies hear that their plot was known they lose the element of surprise. But what is curious is where Nehemiah gives the credit. “God had frustrated the planned attack”
God has answered prayer. Nehemiah does not conclude what a great and awesome leader he is. He acknowledges the great and awesome God.
When Leaders take credit for things that God has done they grow their reputation rather than enhance the glory of God and build reliance on themselves rather than faith in God.
The people return to their own work, but things are different now. v16-23
“From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!” So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.” Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.”
So the strategy here is characterised by
Ø Readiness. Everyone is equipped and ready. Those who carry materials have a weapon in one hand, those who build and need two hands for that purpose, wear a sword at their side. But if the trumpet blows they are to rush and rally.
Ø We also see a division of responsibility between builders and guards. From dawn to dusk. But also of staying through the night so they are builders by day and guards by night
Ø It is further defined by confidence – that God will fight for them
Ø And marked by the example of senior leadership – Nehemiah is in the trenches with them. He will be sweaty and smelly.
Through all this the work of rebuilding continues.
At the conclusion of chapter three which we mentioned in Episode 5 with the celebration of the first gate being dedicated you could think it could be plain sailing from that point on.
But instead we see waves of opposition and difficulty.
It is often In difficult times that faith is proved, and leadership tested.
This is a pattern we see throughout scripture.
We will experience opposition in particular places at particular times from particular people.
Paul writing to the Thessalonians reminds them
“We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.” (1 Thessalonians 2:2)
The writer to the Hebrews encourages his readers to look to Jesus in such times.
“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:3)
The Battle belongs to the Lord. And we know how the story ends.
As Leaders we need to remember who we are and help people keep going in the light of that true narrative. That means that we need to keep coming back to God and responding to his call ourselves.
So the key questions for me here are
What opposition are you experiencing right now?
How do you lead when there are challenges externally and internally to advancing the work?
How do you keep perspective on what is really going on?