SO, I WENT. Nehemiah 2:9-10 There is no question about Nehemiah's qualifications and his patriotic heart for the city of his fathers. After four months of prayer and fasting and many miles traveled to reach Jerusalem, he finally arrived and rested for three days. Seeing the city and its walls in ruins, with no gates to secure the citizens and keep them safe, made the task before him clear. His name means "Jehovah hath consoled," which gives us insight into this man who took God's counsel to heart and mind. He gathered information from other men, but he was self-contained, reserved, and resolute.
After the Jews were taken as captives to Babylon, the land of Judah was largely emptied. The Horonites and Ammonites then pushed westward into the land of Judah. When Nehemiah returned with army officers and cavalry, along with letters from the king, he faced opposition. This was the third group to return, and rebuilding the walls and the city around the temple would change the dynamics of the whole area.
Sanballat, the Horonite governor of Samaria, was only eight to ten miles from Jerusalem. Tobiah, the Ammonite governor of Transjordan, had some kind of relationship with Eliashib, the high priest of the temple. When they heard that Nehemiah had come to rebuild the wall and the city, political considerations greatly disturbed them. The opposition was more political than religious because that would make Jerusalem both a political and a religious center.
Hostility toward the Jews who returned from exile began when Zerubbabel refused help from the Samaritans. 50 years later, Nehemiah, a high official of the king of Persia, had come. He was a serious threat to the authority of Sanballat and Tobiah, who controlled the area and held secure positions they didn’t want to lose. The return of the third group from Babylon was going to bring about real change throughout the area.
When a person has a specific aim, he is not easily swayed by the indifference of his brethren or by opposition from those who oppose for other reasons. An inspired purpose overcomes all obstacles when our loyalty to the Lord is consistent and on track. A person who knows a need exists and is sure God has chosen him to fulfill it will see things with his own eyes and will not be manipulated by others' pessimism or unrealistic optimism. To reach that goal, he will not act in haste or rush unduly into the task before him without counting the cost. Once he has started the work, he will not stop until it is finished.
The arrival of Nehemiah and those with him, including the armed guards, was certainly of interest to the people. Sanballat, the governor of nearby Samaria, and Tobiah, the governor of Ammon, were "grieved... exceedingly" because they were the controlling leaders in the area. Many small, isolated villages are much more easily kept under the domination of unscrupulous men than a walled city with gates for security, under the leadership of a patriotic Jew who was a soldier and a statesman and had the king's ear.
Hostility is to be expected when the light of God's truth shines in the darkness of demoralized, lethargic people. Aggressive demands are often made in anger to intimidate a Christian. But one who knows why God has sent them to a place to work for Him is not moved by outbursts of anger. Ridicule is another method used by those who oppose the work of the Lord as they seek to stop it by embarrassing those who are engaged in it. Fear, guile, and false accusations accompany those who are determined to keep God out of their lives because they love darkness rather than light.