When the Mud Starts Slinging

As campaign analysis begins on the 2016 presidential election I find myself asking, “Is it already that time again?” Even at this early juncture candidates are making announcements and arguing that they are the right person to take this country in the right direction. Inevitably as this case is made, these same candidates spell out in equal parts why his or her opponent is the wrong person for the job. Though this is an important aspect of any political competition, inevitably some will take to frivolous distractions and false character assassination in order to hurt the opponent’s poll numbers. Brace yourself, it will be here shortly (and in some cases already is).

Though confrontations of this very personal nature are exaggerated in the political arena, they are not exclusive to candidates for public office. Those who associate with the God of the Bible are targeted for attacks of this kind in an effort to undermine their influence and forestall their progress. Few understood this more than Nehemiah. In Nehemiah 6:1-9, the Jews and their leader face two confrontations that threaten to spoil the work of God. However, their response to these issues brilliantly informs how God’s people today should react to similar tactics.

CONFRONTATION #1: A Perilous Distraction- 6:1-4

Throughout 4:1-6:19, Nehemiah and his group have faced all kinds of adversity while working to rebuild the wall and reestablish the city of Jerusalem as a formidable influence for God on the world’s stage. First, the work was ridiculed (4:1-6), then opposition was overcome (4:7-23), and last week we saw internal strife mended (5:1-13). Things have been anything but smooth sailing for God’s people.

There was a time in which I believed, naively, that if I was prayerfully performing the will of God in my life then the Lord would grease the floor beneath me and I would just slide along, enjoying the ride as He pushed aside opposition and levelled every speed bump. I could not have been more wrong. Anything worth accomplishing for God’s glory will inevitably be met with struggle. God loves us too much to always give us smooth sailing, for, what would we learn about dependence? How much would we appreciate the victory? What would we learn of God’s power in the midst of difficulty?

God loved the Jewish people too much to just give them the wall they desperately needed. The invaluable lessons they learned throughout their experience (and that we’ve benefited from in retrospect) would have been impossible without the external and internal strife they were made to deal with. However, one final threat faces Nehemiah—a threat focused on him and his leadership. This threat presents itself in the form of two different but related confrontations. The first is a perilous distraction (6:1-4).

Nehemiah recounts that this new threat came when the work was near completion. In spite of the conspiracies, criticisms, and cancers that faced them, the people of Jerusalem were successful in their endeavor and this is reported to the Persian neighborhood as follows, “…Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates…” (6:1). The embarrassing perimeter that had brought reproach to the people of Judah and inhibited them from flourishing was now whole again! Though the work was tedious, it had finally paid off. All that was left to do was apply the finishing touches (doors, etc.).

Though the Jews were no doubt proud of this glorious new structure, the neighbors around them were less than impressed. The criticisms they had launched at the project and the conspiracies they had developed against the construction to keep it from moving forward were futile. What could they do now? What does any sore loser do when his opponent is successful? He tries to spoil the victory by any means necessary. This is revealed to be the case when Nehemiah says, “then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, ‘Come, let us meet together at Cephirim in the plain of Ono.’ But they were planning to harm me…” (6:2). Things were becoming more and more personal. Now that the up-to-no good homeowners association of rural Persia had lost this battle, all they could do was attack Nehemiah! In order to do this, the wicked neighboring nations planned a meeting in a small town (in a region aptly named Ono) and invited Nehemiah to join them. Perhaps Nehemiah was supposed to believe that these nations were going to concede defeat, draw up a truce, or finally welcome the Jews into this region of Persia. However, Nehemiah sees right through these efforts and rightly interprets this meeting to be a perilous distraction.

This is why Nehemiah “sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?’…” (6:3). In an effort to refuse this insidious offer, Nehemiah does not cite personal preservation nor does he come up with a lame excuse. Instead, Nehemiah refuses to attend the meeting because of his devotion to the work that God had called upon him to accomplish. For Nehemiah, it was easy to say “no” because not only was he busy with the work God gave him, but he valued the work he was accomplishing properly, “I am doing a great work.” This was not just a job nor was it something that he could easily divorce himself from for a few days. This was the very work of God! Therefore, Nehemiah sees no reason to give in to their perilous distraction and meet up with these losers. Nehemiah’s laser-focus on God’s calling successfully foiled the plans of his enemies. Because he was so concerned about accomplishing what God had intended for him to accomplish, he was not in the least bit interested in entertaining those who had opposed the work from the beginning. This kept him from taking an unnecessary trip and even saved his life!

This refusal does nothing to the efforts his enemies made to follow through with their plan. As Nehemiah recalls, “they sent messages to me four times in this manner” (6:4a). However, each time Nehemiah “answered them in the same way” (6:4). No amount of peer pressure was going to overwhelm his commitment to focus on the task at hand.

 I cannot help but think about how distractions are often used to bring political candidates off point and land them into all kinds of trouble. Whether it is an opposing candidate that decides to highlight a frivolous issue that is no way connected to a person’s ability to lead or an ambitious reporter who asks a slanted gotcha question that has no good answer, distractions, if not dealt with appropriately, can have a deleterious effect on any campaign.

Though we may not be building a wall or running for office, we are all involved in a campaign, calling, and mission—making disciples, i.e. helping people know Christ, grow in Christ, and show Christ to the world. As the people of God who have benefited from this mission ourselves, we are to be laser-focused on this “great work” so that the distractions of this world in no way tempt us away from our calling. Like Nehemiah, when we face perilous distractions that threaten the progress of the gospel, we must because of our unusual commitment to the Lord respond to the invitations of this world with, “I am doing a great work [nay the greatest work], and I cannot come down…” We have the greatest excuse of all not to bother ourselves with the world’s trivialities—the mission of God.

CONFRONTATION #2: A Personal Attack- 6:5-9

Seeing that their efforts to distract Nehemiah were futile, Sanballat takes one more shot at spoiling the progress the Jews made that involves a personal attack on their leader. This attack comes in the form of an unusual letter, “…then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand” (6:5). Letters during this period were ordinarily written on a papyrus or leather sheet, rolled up, tied with a string, and sealed with an impression. Letters were delivered in this way to guarantee their authenticity. However, with this “open letter” Sanballat obviously intended that the contents should be made known to the public at large.

This might be compared to a desperate candidate leaking a fabricated story to the press in an effort to promulgate a false narrative and assassinate the character of his or her opponent.

In this letter that was leaked to public, “it was written, ‘it is reported among the nation, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel;…” (6:6a). First, the letter suggests that Nehemiah and the Jews are planning to totally rebel against the Persian empire. To do so would have put this small rural community at war with the world’s superpower, solidifying their total annihilation. Though it is an outrageous accusation, once voiced, this is a difficult thing of which to get out in front.

Unfortunately, our culture awards the outrageous with high TV ratings. That which eventually proves completely false, if it is outrageous enough, sometimes develops legs of its own and can prove exceedingly injurious to people and places. The recent UVA rape scandal that was first suggested by Rolling Stone and the Duke Lacrosse accusations a couple of years ago are two examples of outrageous falsities that damaged institutions for a short time!

However, the letter that Sanballat wrote did not stop there. In fact, as the letter is read, the accusations become more narrowly focused on Nehemiah himself, “therefore you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports. You have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, ‘A king is in Judah!’…” (6:6b-7a). If it wasn’t enough to call into question the whole population, now Nehemiah’s leadership is attacked. In this second comment leaked by this letter, Sanballat suggests that the word on the street is Nehemiah has aspirations of being king. Again, this could not have been further from the truth. Nehemiah understood that God alone was ultimately the king of his people. As far as his practical king in Persia, Nehemiah had worked for him and enjoyed a good relationship with him! In no way was Nehemiah trying to usurp anyone’s throne.

This did not matter to Nehemiah’s enemies. If they could get Nehemiah’s people to believe that he was politically ambitious and maybe even narcissistic, perhaps they would turn on him! This is not unlike how political opponents try to characterize each other in negative ways so that the public votes the way they want them to-- “he/she is out of touch with the common man” or “he/she is a general in the war on women,” etc. Call it crazy and petty if you want. However, if it was not effective, people would not stoop to such levels. Similarly, if Sanballat did not think this at least had a chance of causing Nehemiah grief, he would not have written it.

A rough paraphrase of the final statement the letter makes could read, “meet with us or we will tell on you,” “’…and now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let us take counsel together’…” (6:7b). Though embarrassingly sophomoric, this final attempt at undermining Nehemiah’s leadership may have been designed to instill fear in the Jewish people. Perhaps Sanballat wanted to put pressure on the Jews to hand Nehemiah over before the wicked home-owners association forwarded these lies to Artaxerxes.

Regardless of what kinds of difficulties these personal attacks were designed to create, ultimately, these efforts proves fruitless. In response to these accusations, Nehemiah “sent a message to him saying, ‘Such things as you are saying have not been done, but you are inventing them in your own mind’…”(6:8). In other words Nehemiah calls his enemies creative liars and labels their accusations fanciful fabrications.

In addition to questioning the statements made and the one who made them, Nehemiah identifies the motivations behind these statements saying, “For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done’…” (6:9). Literally, the text says, “their hands will fail with the work and it will not be done…”. This Hebrew idiom “to cause the hands to drop” means to demoralize. What Nehemiah’s enemies said was nothing more than a final desperate attempt to discourage and undermine the great work the Jews had accomplished in the name and power of God.

However, instead of growing discouraged by the personal attacks lodged in their direction, Nehemiah responds, as he always has, in prayer saying, “But now, O God, strengthen my hands…” (6:9). Nehemiah’s prayer is for God to keep His people grounded, encouraged, and strong in the midst of this latest confrontation. The idiom employed, “strengthen my hands” is an appropriate use of language for it directs the reader’s attention to the desired result of the encouragement God would bring—continued work and labor in light of God’s calling.

In an effort to deal with the personal attacks lodged in his direction, Nehemiah responds by speaking truth and seeking the Lord, knowing full well that God stands and fights for His people and that this latest issue is only another temporary hurdle. These ideas are echoed throughout the Scriptures.

Psalm 37:17- “For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord sustains the righteous.”

Galatians 6:9- ^“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”

1 Timothy 1:12-“ I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.”

James 1:2-4- ^“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

1 Peter 5:10-After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

So What?

This series of sermons spanning from Nehemiah 4-6 has taught us how to deal with adversity of all kinds (from outside influences, from within oneself, and those of a personal nature). In this latest set of confrontations the Jews faced, Nehemiah teaches that perilous distractions that threaten the work of God are easily avoided when the people of God are laser-focused on what God has called upon them to do. We have also seen that personal attacks are most easily settled by speaking truth and calling upon the Lord for perseverance.

How focused are we on the mission of God? A lack of focus leads the spiritually attention deficient to all kinds of calamity and uselessness. What is taking your time away from pursuing what God has instructed in His Word. Focus on the ultimate goal at hand, the making of disciples, and the world will find it very difficult to turn your gaze.  

How consistent are we in speaking truth and calling upon the Lord? Unfortunately, many believers don’t speak truth in the face of lies. Instead, many remain silent, providing no answer to the outrageous accusations made by this world. This negligence is unrighteous and disobedient for the Bible says, “ but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” (1 Peter 3:15).

How is this to be accomplished? Prayerfully. Like Nehemiah in the face of any and all attacks, we must pray for God to strengthen our hands, sharpen our speech, and ready our feet so that we never cease to let the world distract or demoralize the advancement of the gospel.