The wall of Jerusalem is going up, and the people working on it are being laughed at. A man stands in front of an army and asks what these feeble Jews think they are doing, and his friend jokes that a fox could knock the wall down.
Then the jokes stop and the threats start. The builders don’t put down their tools – they pick up swords and keep building.
The Story of Building With a Weapon in Hand
When Sanballat heard that the Jews were building the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. In front of his brethren and the army of Samaria he said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and added, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
Nehemiah’s response was a prayer: Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head. Then the work went on. So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the breaches began to be stopped, they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night.
The pressure came from every side. Judah said the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall. The enemies planned a surprise: They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. And the Jews who lived near them came and warned ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.
Nehemiah set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows, in the lower places behind the wall and on the higher places. Then he spoke to the nobles, the rulers and the rest of the people: Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. When the enemies heard that their plan was known, and God had brought their counsel to nought, everyone returned to the wall, every one unto his work.
From that time half of Nehemiah’s servants wrought in the work, and the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows and the habergeons. Those who built on the wall and those who carried loads worked this way: every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. Every builder had his sword girded by his side, and the man who sounded the trumpet stayed by Nehemiah. The work is great and large, Nehemiah said, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.
So they labored from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. Nehemiah told everyone to lodge within Jerusalem with his servant, so that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day. Neither Nehemiah, nor his brethren, nor his servants, nor the men of the guard took off their clothes, except to wash them.
Key Verses
“What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves?” Nehemiah 4:2
“So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work” Nehemiah 4:6
“We made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night” Nehemiah 4:9
“Every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon” Nehemiah 4:17
“In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us” Nehemiah 4:20
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
What the Story of Building With a Weapon in Hand Teaches Us
The opposition began with words before it turned to threats: feeble Jews, rubbish, a fox on the wall. The chapter’s reply to the mockery is a short prayer and a simple report – the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
When the danger became real, Nehemiah did two things at once: we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night. The text never treats prayer and guarding as opposites. The same people who prayed also stood with swords, spears and bows behind the wall.
Our God shall fight for us was spoken by a man with a trumpeter at his side and builders with swords at theirs. Trust in God did not mean they stopped working or stopped watching. It meant they could keep building with one hand, knowing that the outcome rested with the Lord, which is great and terrible.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who mocked the Jews for building the wall in Nehemiah 4?
Sanballat mocked them in front of the army of Samaria, asking, What do these feeble Jews? (Nehemiah 4:1-2). Tobiah the Ammonite joined in (Nehemiah 4:3).
What did Tobiah say about a fox?
He said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall – a joke that the wall would be too weak to hold even a fox (Nehemiah 4:3).
What does ‘the people had a mind to work’ mean?
Nehemiah 4:6 says the whole wall was joined together to half its height because the people had a mind to work – they were set on doing it and kept at it despite the mockery.
Why did the builders carry weapons in Nehemiah?
Their enemies conspired to come and fight against Jerusalem and to attack without warning (Nehemiah 4:8, 4:11). So every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon (Nehemiah 4:17).
What was the trumpet for in Nehemiah 4?
The builders were spread far apart on the wall, so Nehemiah kept the trumpeter beside him. Wherever they heard the trumpet, they were to gather there, because our God shall fight for us (Nehemiah 4:18-20).