Personal Attacks

Introduction

Satan wants you to fail. He will use any means possible to see that you fail. He will lie to you; he will attack you; he will distract you; he will slander you; he will use others to get to you. Satan wants you to fail. That’s the point of the lesson today. As we study Nehemiah today, you will notice that Satan is never mentioned. What you will notice is that individuals want Nehemiah to fail and to that end they slander him, lie to him, try to distract him, and even threaten to harm him. But Nehemiah remains committed to his work and to prayer. He does not allow the distractions to slow his progress.

Destruction

In verses 2-4, Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem and others send Nehemiah a message inviting him to come to the plain of Ono for a conference. What seems to be happening is that the progress on the walls is finished except for the gates being hung. This is a last ditch effort for these enemies to stop the work. It will not be long before the gates are put in place and once that is done, the city will be protected. Sanballat and the rest will not be able to get into the city. Their rule over this area is quickly coming to an end. The message is intended to sound as a truce: “Come, let us meet together. Let’s sit down and talk about our relationship. In the past we have pressured you, but it is obvious that you are going to build these walls. Let’s discuss a new direction for our relationship.”

Nehemiah knows this is a scheme to harm him. How he knows we are not told. Perhaps one of the ways he knows is the designated place for the meeting. Come to one of the cities on the plain of Ono—about as far west of Jerusalem as one can go and still be in Israel. It is by far closer to the capitals of his enemies than it is to Jerusalem. In Ono he would be defenseless. Get Nehemiah alone and then they would put an end to the work.

Satan works in a lot of ways. Isolation is one of them. Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to do the right thing when you are in a group? And when that group loves God it really becomes easier to do the right thing. Have you noticed that it is harder to take God’s name in vain when you are with Christians? Have you noticed that it is easier to treat people right when you are with Christians? Have you noticed that your anger subsides a little easier when you are with Christians? Satan knows that when we are alone it becomes easier to give in to temptation. Satan wants you to fail.

Notice that Nehemiah refuses to stop his work and instead chooses to stay with those who share his conviction rather than leaving them behind to compromise his principles. Four times they ask for Nehemiah to come to the plain of Ono and four times Nehemiah says “Oh, no. I’m too busy to stop work. It isn’t possible for me to get away.” What better response to give to Satan: “Oh, no. I can’t stop what I am doing. Doing God’s work is too important to stop.” James tells us in 4:7 to resist the devil and he will flee from you. This is where we start in fighting against temptation. We stay in the work; we say no; and we stay with those who share the same conviction.

Accusation

In verses 5-9 the next tactic to stop the work is slander. This is the fifth time they have sent a message to Nehemiah. This time it is an unsealed letter. This means that anyone could read it. Sealed means only the recipient can read it. Unsealed means available to everyone. The accusation is made that Nehemiah is planning a revolt against the Persian empire. This accusation is based upon the word of Geshem, one of Nehemiah’s enemies. If Nehemiah doesn’t come for this conference then the king of Persia will be told what is going on.

Nehemiah doesn’t try to defend himself. He states the implausibility of such a statement and continues with the work. Nehemiah knew the foolishness of answering a false statement. So did Jesus. In Matthew 27:12 while accused of so many false things, the Bible states that Jesus said nothing. In fact, Pilate is impressed with Jesus’ silence. We cannot control what people will believe about us. What we can do is live in such a way that our lives verify what we believe. This is what Peter says in 1 Peter 3:16: live such a good life that when accused of wrongdoing, the accusation cannot stand. Satan wants you to fail and he will slander your name if that will stop you.

Temptation

The final tactic in verses 10-14 is probably the hardest of all. Shemaiah is a fellow Jew, maybe a priest. Not everyone approved of Nehemiah’s toughness. Shemaiah may have been one of those. He proposes that Nehemiah go to the temple for safety especially at night. Nehemiah is most vulnerable at night when he is asleep. Going to the temple and closing the doors would mean added protection. It would also mean that he sinned. Nehemiah wasn’t a priest. He isn’t allowed inside the temple. No amount of explanation to the people will relieve him of his responsibility not to tarnish the house of God.

Satan wants you to fail. If he can’t stop you with threats and accusations then he uses temptation to ruin your reputation with those who you influence. The most dangerous part of temptation is not being aware of it—not recognizing what giving in to this temptation will mean. The text says that Nehemiah knew that God had not sent Shemaiah to him. How did he know that and how did he know that Shemaiah had been hired? We are not told. But we do know that Nehemiah was being watchful and alert.

Peter tells us in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” When we give in to temptation we hurt our ability to stand for God. This is not a call for perfection. It is a call for us to be alert. Nehemiah was given what seemed to be a valid reason to go into the temple. It was important for him to be alive. It was important that the work on the walls be finished. It was important that he remain the leader. But to go into the temple would have destroyed his leadership physically and spiritually.

Satan wants you to fail. We must be alert. Satan doesn’t care about you. What he wants is to take you away from God. Nehemiah reminds himself, “Should such a man as I flee?” He reminds himself that he is a child of God. At such times of attack, you must remind yourself that you are a child of God; that you are secure in that relationship. The Father loved you so much, He sent His only Son to die for you. The Son loves you enough to bear all your sins upon the Cross. The Holy Spirit dwells within every believer and gives to you a sense of assurance. Should such a man as I flee? Have you forgotten whose child you are? Has your faith been compromised by sin?

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