Nehemiah 6:1-14

6:1-4 | God’s people are often tempted to leave the great work He has called them to do for some lesser thing. Four times Nehemiah’s enemies asked to meet with him, attempting to distract him from the work. Four times Nehemiah said no. The enemy does not stop with one confrontation; he keeps returning to try to lure God’s people away. Nehemiah withstood these tests because of his discernment (he knew they intended to do him harm) and his dedication.

6:5-9 | Having failed to stop the construction, Nehemiah’s opponents decided to stop the man God had sent by threatening that rumors would be reported to Artaxerxes. This is a frequent tactic of the enemy: oppose the work; threaten the workers; attack the leader. If Nehemiah could be intimidated by threats or provoked into defending himself, the work might cease.

6:6-7 | In their attempts to defame Nehemiah, his enemies labeled him a subversive who was seeking to become Jerusalem’s new king. Satan’s concern is not whether anyone believes the rumors but whether he can use them to divert his targets from their divinely appointed task.

6:10-14 | We do not know if Nehemiah knew Shemaiah was a hired informer, but Nehemiah refused the invitation to take sanctuary in the temple, since he was neither a Levite nor a priest. Had Nehemiah chased after his enemies, the wall would never have been finished. Instead, he relinquished them to God’s judgment (my God, remember), in accordance with OT law (Deut. 32:35). The prophetess Noadiah was part of the internal conspiracy to discredit Nehemiah and destroy the work of God.