Read Nehemiah 4
Opposition to the Rebuilding
When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”
4 Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.
6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. 9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
11 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”
12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
13 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. 14 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.”
15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.
16 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 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.
19 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. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”
21 So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. 22 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.” 23 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.
Go Deeper
As if rebuilding the wall weren’t hard enough, Nehemiah encountered a new problem: the Samaritans and Ammonites. The Israelites had overthrown the Samaritans and Ammonites when they escaped from Egypt. Not only were the Jews back in town, they were rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem to defend the city and the temple. Sanballet and Tobiah, leaders of these groups, did what scared and threatened people do to make themselves feel strong—they ridiculed the Jews. They also realized the Jews were busy building, and this would be a great time to attack, so they gathered the troops for battle.
While this would have been an appropriate time to panic, Nehemiah did something else: he prayed and prepared. He recruited guards, equipped every worker with a knife, and developed a plan of defense. Even when the Jews fussed and fretted, Nehemiah called for them to focus: “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” (v. 14).
When met with adversity, how do we respond? Do we panic and persist in anxiety, like the Jews in today’s story? Luke 12:25 reminds us that anxiety is an empty offer: “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Do we ridicule and retaliate, like the Samaritans and Ammonites? In Luke 6:27-28, Jesus commands us, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Do we sit back in apathy and hope for the best? 1 John 3:18 urges us: “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth.”
So what are we to do? We are to follow Nehemiah’s example to pray and prepare. We are to shift our focus from the fear and failure to God and the good. Philippians 4:6-7 promises, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Questions
- What is your default response to adversity? Does this response result in glorifying God?
- What is one challenge or area of difficulty you are dealing with today?
- How can you pray and prepare in this situation
Keep Digging
Read more about the Samaritans and their relationship with the Jews in this article from gotquestions.org.
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9 responses to “Nehemiah 4”
Satan uses half or partial truths when he pokes at us. I am sure these guys were already worried about the process of building the wall and here comes “others” who just make fun of and mock them. BUT GOD through prayer and believing action, Nehemiah and his group worked together to build a wall of defense.
Satan used ridicule, intimidation, discouragement and fear to try to tear down Nehemiah’s defense. Satan’s hope was to destroy Jerusalem, God’s City, God’s People, and God’s Son. BUT GOD in verse 4, Nehemiah has had it with the mockers. He prays that God will turn the table on their adversaries. “Hear O God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!” When Nehemiah got angry with all satan’s attacks he went straight to God. He didnt try to sway, or poke back at them. Nehemiah took it to God.
Whenever we start believing we are weak or question our ability to do what God has asks us to do, remember Neh. 4:4 and pray. “Hear O God, when I think discouraging thoughts, to turn that negative-ness into a reminder that through You all things are possible. Do not let me believe those negative thoughts, but send them back and let me put on my armor.
I read that when we decide to take matters into our own hands by fighting the battle, it is like taking a brick out of our portion of the wall and throwing it at the enemy. We do that enough times and our spiritual wall will tumble. We like Jesus, are not to retaliate, which is so so incredible hard until you realize it is mocking God. He tells us to let Him fight our battles by crying out to Him. He will bless us by taking care of the situation.
God my battle belongs to You. I need to continue to cry out to You all the fights that are going on in my life. BUT GOD being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loves me even when I try to fight my own battle, You God make the way. God thank You for when I start listening to the lies of the enemy You let me hear the Your voice through Your Holy Spirit. God thank You for helping me to remember my armor. God You are so amazing in how You have been at work in my life as I look back on 2025. God I give You blessings, honor and thanksgiving with a vocabulary that has not enough words. God thank You for today, these minutes that I can glorify and honor You with words, actions and deeds in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“When we decide to take matters into our own hands by fighting the battle, it is like taking a brick out of our portion of the wall and throwing it at the enemy.”
I had never heard this before… but I will never forget it now. Brilliant! Thank you so much for sharing.
As we endeavor to, “save-a-seat” we do not have to arm ourselves with weapons as the construction takes place. However, all of us need protect the body of Christ, His people, from physical and Spiritual attack and harm at all times.
PHYSICALLY:
“…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.” Nehemiah 4:17-18
SPIRITUALLY:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6:10-13
I’m reminded that the enemy of our souls will use anyone or anything to defeat us. Ephesians 6 gives us the antidote, putting on the full armor of God which is the:
•belt of truth
•breastplate of righteousness
•feet fitted with the gospel of peace
•shield of faith
•helmet of salvation
•sword of the spirit
•prayer
( Your Story Has a Villain is a must read for exposing the enemy’s schemes while equipping the believer to stand firm in the faith.)
William and Ella, I love that this connection to Ephesians 6 is so clear! I was reflecting on that a great deal as I read this chapter.
Did you notice?
When Ephesians 6 describes the armor of God, the sword — the Word of God — is the only offensive item listed. Everything else is protective.
IOW, God’s design for spiritual conflict is not to turn His people into attackers. It is to make them unassailable. The sword is not given for rage — it is given for clarity and truth.
So what does that suggest about Nehemiah 4?
The builders are not swinging weapons wildly.
They are holding the means by which truth and calling are protected.
They are saying, “We will continue to build what God has given us to build. And we will not surrender it to intimidation, distortion, fear, or slander.”
4 “Turn their insults back on their own heads.”
It feels terrible to be insulted and mocked. My natural reaction is to respond in kind. But instead of counter-mocking, the Jews turned to prayer. They asked God to respond . . . “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord”. Let me respond likewise to the insults of the world.
Amen!
This chapter hits home in a very personal, timely, “word in due season” way.
Just before turning to this chapter, I had already been thinking a great deal about what it looks like to “lead and build” when opposition is constant and confusing, personal and public.
Nehemiah 4 reads like a “Field Manual for Leadership in Contested Spaces.”
And the Table of Contents might look like this:
1. Ridicule by Local Leaders
Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite were powerful regional officials under the Persian Empire who fiercely opposed Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, seeing them as a threat to their authority. Fearing a resurgence of Jewish power, they worked to disrupt and demoralize the builders through mockery, intimidation and plots to attack.
This was not casual criticism. This was institutional resistance.
2. Nehemiah’s Prayer
“Oh listen to us, dear God. We’re so despised: Boomerang their ridicule on their heads; have their enemies cart them off as war trophies to a land of no return; don’t forgive their iniquity, don’t wipe away their sin — they’ve insulted the builders!” Nehemiah 4:4–5 (MSG)
Nehemiah turns his anguish upward instead of outward.
3. Whole-Hearted Effort
Verse 6 says the people worked with “all their heart.” The Hebrew word here is lev shalem — whole-hearted, undivided, fully given, internally unified.
The people were tired. They were afraid. But they were not divided inside themselves.
4. Exhaustion and Overwhelm
The job is massive — and human strength is limited. Verse 10 voices what many of us feel under such circumstances:
“Are we making any progress at all? How can we possibly keep going until we are finished?”
5. Protection Before Progress
Verses 14–15: Nehemiah implements physical and spiritual protection — and THEN the work resumes. God first. Protection second. Work third.
6. Build and Defend
Verse 17 has long been one of my favorite leadership verses: “Work with one hand and fight with the other.”
Nehemiah is not forming warriors — he is forming builders who must also become guardians of what they are rebuilding.
7. Unity Across Distance
Verses 19–20: the workers are spread out. But at the sound of the alarm, they are to rally and come together.
Unity strengthens the mission.
8. Constant Readiness
Verse 23: The people persevere in a sacred task despite constant threats — balancing hard work with readiness and trust in God.
Nehemiah 4 does not pretend rebuilding is easy. It does not hide exhaustion or minimize opposition.
It shows us what it means to keep building what matters — with determined, consistent, “hands-on” faith.
In Nehemiah 4, we see the power of unwavering faith. When faced with opposition, Nehemiah and his people did not falter. Instead, they turned to God in prayer, demonstrating the importance of standing firm in faith. As Nehemiah prayed, “Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads” (Nehemiah 4:4). This teaches us to rely on God’s strength and wisdom when challenges arise.