The wall is almost finished. There is no breach left in it – only the doors still need to be hung on the gates. Nehemiah’s enemies have tried mockery and threats. Now they try something quieter: an invitation to talk.
Before the wall is finished he gets four friendly messages, an open letter full of rumors, and a warning from a prophet that men are coming to kill him in the night. His answer to almost all of it fits in one sentence.
The Story of Nehemiah Refuses to Come Down
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arabian and the rest of the enemies heard that the wall was built and there was no breach left therein (though the doors were not yet set up upon the gates), Sanballat and Geshem sent a message: Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. Nehemiah writes plainly what was behind it: But they thought to do me mischief.
He sent messengers back: I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? They sent the same invitation four times, and he answered them after the same manner every time.
The fifth time, Sanballat sent his servant with an open letter in his hand. It said, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king. It claimed he had appointed prophets to preach of him in Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah, and warned that this would be reported to the king. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together. Nehemiah answered, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.
He saw what all of this was for: they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. His response was a one-line prayer: Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
Then Nehemiah came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, who was shut up. Shemaiah said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. Nehemiah refused: Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. He perceived that God had not sent him; Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him, so that Nehemiah would be afraid, and do so, and sin, and give them matter for an evil report. Nehemiah left them to God: My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.
So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. When all the enemies and the heathen around them saw it, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
Even then the pressure did not fully stop. The nobles of Judah traded many letters with Tobiah, because many in Judah were sworn unto him through marriage ties. They spoke of his good deeds to Nehemiah and carried Nehemiah’s words back to him, and Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
Key Verses
“I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?” Nehemiah 6:3
“Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands” Nehemiah 6:9
“Should such a man as I flee?” Nehemiah 6:11
“So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days” Nehemiah 6:15
“They were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God” Nehemiah 6:16
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
What the Story of Nehemiah Refuses to Come Down Teaches Us
The invitation to Ono sounded reasonable – just a meeting in a village. Nehemiah did not need to prove what they intended before refusing. His reason was the work itself: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it? Saying no to a distraction was part of finishing the job.
Every move in this chapter was aimed at fear. The letter was meant to make them afraid, Shemaiah was hired that I should be afraid, and Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear. Nehemiah answered fear with prayer – O God, strengthen my hands – and with a refusal to save himself by doing something that would be sin.
The ending gives the credit where Nehemiah always put it. The wall went up in fifty and two days, and even the enemies perceived that this work was wrought of our God. The builders’ faithfulness was real, but the text says the people watching saw God’s hand in it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What did Nehemiah mean by ‘I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down’?
It was his reply when Sanballat and Geshem invited him to meet in the plain of Ono. They thought to do him mischief, and he refused to stop the work on the wall to go down to them (Nehemiah 6:2-3).
How many times did Sanballat ask Nehemiah to meet?
They sent the invitation four times and Nehemiah gave the same answer each time (Nehemiah 6:4). The fifth time Sanballat sent an open letter (Nehemiah 6:5).
What did Sanballat’s open letter say?
It claimed that Nehemiah and the Jews planned to rebel and that he was building the wall to make himself king, with prophets proclaiming, There is a king in Judah (Nehemiah 6:6-7). Nehemiah said Sanballat had made it up out of his own heart (Nehemiah 6:8).
Who was Shemaiah in Nehemiah 6?
Shemaiah the son of Delaiah urged Nehemiah to hide inside the temple because men were coming to kill him. Nehemiah perceived that God had not sent him and that Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him (Nehemiah 6:10-12).
How long did it take to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem?
The wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days (Nehemiah 6:15).