In Nehemiah 6, the reconstruction of the wall around Jerusalem is finally completed. Nehemiah and the workers have been constantly plagued by enemies who tried anything they could think of to cause the people to fail.
They planned to harm Nehemiah. Four times, they sent messages saying, Come let us meet together…” (Nehemiah 6:2), but Nehemiah knew better. They were not sincere but only wanted to cause him physical harm.
They boldly lied about Nehemiah. They sent a letter filled with false reports of Nehemiah’s planned rebellion and his intention to become king. Those things were not true, but his enemies did not care.
They hired others to tempt Nehemiah. A man named Shemaiah, who was a false prophet, urged Nehemiah to go into the temple and close the door. We read, “he was hired..that [Nehemiah] might become frightened and act accordingly and sin” (Nehemiah 6:13).
His enemies were willing to do anything imaginable to cause Nehemiah’s failure, and today our enemies may be no different. Our ultimate adversary is Satan, and we know that he will gladly harm us, lie about us, and tempt us in an effort to cause our spiritual failure. If we are to succeed against our spiritual enemies, we need to be as wise, focused, and fearless as Nehemiah.
Matt Langfield