_ON GUARD._
NEHEMIAH ii. 10, 19; iv.
All his arrangements for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem show that
Nehemiah was awake to the dangers with which he was surrounded. The
secrecy of his night ride was evidently intended to prevent a
premature revelation of his plans. The thorough organisation, the
mapping out of the whole line of the wall, and the dividing of the
building operations among forty-two bands of workpeople, secured equal
and rapid progress on all sides. Evidently the idea was to "rush" the
work, and to have it fairly well advanced, so as to afford a real
protection for the citizens, before any successful attempts to
frustrate it could be carried out. Even with all these precautions,
Nehemiah was harassed and hindered for a time by the malignant devices
of his enemies. It was only to be expected that he would meet with
opposition. But a few years before all the Syrian colonists had united
in extracting an order from Artaxerxes for the arrest of the earlier
work of building the walls, because the Jews had made themselves
intensely obnoxious to their neighbours by sending back the wives they
had married from among the Gentile peoples. The jealousy of Samaria,
which had taken the lead in Palestine so long as Jerusalem was in
evidence, envenomed this animosity still more. Was it likely then that
her watchful foes would hear with equanimity of the revival of the
hated city--a city which must have seemed to them the very embodiment
of the anti-social spirit?
Now, however, since a favourite servant of the Great King had been
appointed governor of Jerusalem, the Satrap of the Syrian provinces
could scarce be expected to interfere. Therefore the initiative fell
into the hands of smaller men, who found it necessary to abandon the
method of direct hostility, and to proceed by means of intrigues and
ambuscades. There were three who made themselves notorious in this
undignified course of procedure. Two of them are mentioned in
connection with the journey of Nehemiah up to Jerusalem.[181] The
first, the head of the whole opposition, is Sanballat, who is called
the Horonite, seemingly because he is a native of one of the
Beth-horons, and who appears to be the governor of the city of
Samaria, although this is not stated. Throughout the history he comes
before us repeatedly as the foe of the rival governor of Jerusalem.
Next to him comes Tobiah, a chief of the little trans-Jordanic tribe
of the Ammonites, some of whom had got into Samaria in the strange
mixing up of peoples after the Babylonian conquest. He is called the
servant, possibly because he once held some post at court, and if so
he may have been personally jealous of Nehemiah's promotion.
[181] Neh. ii. 10.
Sanballat and his supporter Tobiah were subsequently joined by an
Arabian Emir named Geshem. His presence in the group of conspirators
would be surprising if we had not been unexpectedly supplied with the
means of accounting for it in the recently deciphered inscription
which tells how Sargon imported an Arabian colony into Samaria. The
Arab would scent prey in the project of a warlike expedition.
The opposition proceeded warily. At first we are only told that when
Sanballat and his friend Tobiah heard of the coming of Nehemiah, "it
grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare
of the children of Israel."[182] In writing these caustic words
Nehemiah implies that the jealous men had no occasion to fear that he
meant any harm to them, and that they knew this. It seems very hard to
him, then, that they should begrudge any alleviation of the misery of
the poor citizens of Jerusalem. What was that to them? Jealousy might
foresee the possibility of future loss from the recovery of the rival
city, and in this they might find the excuse for their action, an
excuse for not anticipating which so fervent a patriot as Nehemiah may
be forgiven; nevertheless the most greedy sense of self-interest on
the part of these men is lost sight of in the virulence of their
hatred to the Jews. This is always the case with that cruel
infatuation--the Anti-Semitic rage. Here it is that hatred passes
beyond mere anger. Hatred is actually pained at the welfare of its
object. It suffers from a Satanic misery. The venom which it fails to
plant in its victim rankles in its own breast.
[182] Neh. ii. 10.
At first we only hear of this odious distress of the jealous
neighbours. But the prosecutions of Nehemiah's immediately lead to a
manifestation of open hostility--verbal in the beginning. No sooner
had the Jews made it evident that they were responsive to their
leader's appeal and intended to rise and build, than they were
assailed with mockery. The Samaritan and Ammonite leaders were now
joined by the Arabian, and together they sent a message of scorn and
contempt, asking the handful of poor Jews whether they were fortifying
the city in order to rebel against the king. The charge of a similar
intention had been the cause of stopping the work on the previous
occasion.[183] Now that Artaxerxes' favourite cup-bearer was at the
head of affairs, any suspicion of treason was absurd; but since hatred
is singularly blind--far more blind than love--it is barely possible
that the malignant mockers hoped to raise a suspicion. On the other
hand, there is no evidence to show that they followed the example of
the previous opposition and reported to headquarters. For the present
they seem to have contented themselves with bitter raillery. This is a
weapon before which weak men too often give way. But Nehemiah was not
so foolish as to succumb beneath a shower of poor, ill-natured jokes.
[183] Ezra iv. 13.
His answer is firm and dignified.[184] It contains three assertions.
The first is the most important. Nehemiah is not ashamed to confess
the faith which is the source of all his confidence. In the eyes of
men the Jews may appear but a feeble folk, quite unequal to the task
of holding their ground in the midst of a swarm of angry foes. If
Nehemiah had only taken account of the political and military aspects
of affairs, he might have shrunk from proceeding. But it is just the
mark of his true greatness that he always has his eye fixed on a
Higher Power. He knows that God is in the project, and therefore he is
sure that it must prosper. When a man can reach this conviction,
mockery and insult do not move him. He has climbed to a serene
altitude, from which he can look down with equanimity on the boiling
clouds that are now far beneath his feet. Having this sublime ground
of confidence, Nehemiah is able to proceed to his second point--his
assertion of the determination of the Jews to arise and build. This is
quite positive and absolute. The brave man states it, too, in the
clearest possible language. Now the work is about to begin there is to
be no subterfuge or disguise. Nehemiah's unflinching determination is
based on the religious confession that precedes it. The Jews are God's
servants; they are engaged in His work; they know He will prosper
them; therefore they most certainly will not stay their hand for all
the gibes and taunts of their neighbours. Lastly, Nehemiah
contemptuously repudiates the claim of these impertinent intruders to
interfere in the work of the Jews; he tells them that they have no
excuse for their meddling, for they own no property in Jerusalem, they
have no right of citizenship or of control from without, and there are
no tombs of _their_ ancestors in the sacred city.
[184] Neh. ii. 20.
In this message of Nehemiah's we seem to hear an echo of the old words
with which the temple-builders rejected the offer of assistance from
the Samaritans, and which were the beginning of the whole course of
jealous antagonism on the part of the irritated neighbours. But the
circumstances are entirely altered. It is not a friendly offer of
co-operation, but its very opposite, a hostile and insulting message
designed to hinder the Jews, that is here so proudly resented. In the
reply of Nehemiah we hear the Church refusing to bend to the will of
the world, because the world has no right to trespass on her
territory. God's work is not to be tampered with by insolent
meddlers. Jewish exclusiveness is painfully narrow, at least in our
estimation of it, when it refuses to welcome strangers or to recognise
the good that lies outside the sacred enclosure; but this same
characteristic becomes a noble quality, with high ethical and
religious aims, when it firmly refuses to surrender its duty to God at
the bidding of the outside world. The Christian can scarcely imitate
Nehemiah's tone and temper in this matter; and yet if he is loyal to
his God he will feel that he must be equally decided and
uncompromising in declining to give up any part of what he believes to
be his service of Christ to please men who unhappily as yet have "no
part, or right, or memorial" in the New Jerusalem; although, unlike
the Jew of old, he will be only too glad that all men should come in
and share his privileges.
After receiving an annoying answer it was only natural that the
antagonistic neighbours of the Jews should be still more embittered in
their animosity. At the first news of his coming to befriend the
children of Israel, as Nehemiah says, Sanballat and Tobiah were
grieved; but when the building operations were actually in process the
Samaritan leader passed from vexation to rage--"he was wroth and took
great indignation."[185] This man now assumed the lead in opposition
to the Jews. His mockery became more bitter and insulting. In this he
was joined by his friend the Ammonite, who declared that if only one
of the foxes that prowl on the neighbouring hills were to jump upon
the wall the creature would break it down.[186] Perhaps he had
received a hint from some of his spies that the new work that had been
so hastily pressed forward was not any too solid. The "Palestine
Exploration Fund" has brought to light the foundations of what is
believed to be a part of Nehemiah's wall at Ophel, and the base of it
is seen to be of rubble, not founded on the rock, but built on the
clay above, so that it has been possible to drive a mine under it from
one side to the other--a rough piece of work, very different from the
beautifully finished temple walls.[187]
[185] Neh. iv. 1.
[186] Neh. iv. 3.
[187] Conder, "Bible Geography," p. 131
Nehemiah met the renewed shower of insults in a startling manner. He
cursed his enemies.[188] Deploring before God the contempt that was
heaped on the Jews, he prayed that the reproach of the enemies might
be turned on their own head, devoted them to the horrors of a new
captivity, and even went so far as to beg that no atonement might be
found for their iniquity, that their sin might not be blotted out. In
a word, instead of himself forgiving his enemies, he besought that
they might not be forgiven by God. We shudder as we read his terrible
words. This is not the Christ spirit. It is even contrary to the less
merciful spirit of the Old Testament. Yet, to be just to Nehemiah, we
must consider the whole case. It is most unfair to tear his curse out
of the history and gibbet it as a specimen of Jewish piety. Even
strong men who will not give way before ridicule may feel its
stabs--for strength is not inconsistent with sensitiveness. Evidently
Nehemiah was irritated; but then he was much provoked. For the moment
he lost his self-possession. We must remember that the strain of his
great undertaking was most exhausting, and we must be patient with the
utterances of one so sorely tried. If lethargic people criticise
adversely the hasty utterances of a more intense nature, they forget
that, though they may never lose their self-control, neither do they
ever rouse themselves to the daring energy of the man whose failings
they blame. Then it was not any personal insults hurled against
himself that Nehemiah resented so fiercely. It was his work that the
Samaritans were trying to hinder. This he believed to be really God's
work, so that the insults offered to the Jews were also directed
against God, who must have been angry also. We cannot justify the
curse by the standard of the Christian law; but it is not reasonable
to apply that standard to it. We must set it by the side of the
Maledictory Psalms. From the standpoint of its author it can be fully
accounted for. To say that even in this way it can be defended,
however, is to go too far. We have no occasion to persuade ourselves
that any of the Old Testament saints were immaculate, even in the
light of Judaism. Nehemiah was a great and good man, yet he was not an
Old Testament Christ.
[188] Neh. iv. 4.
But now more serious opposition was to be encountered. Such enemies as
those angry men of Samaria were not likely to be content with venting
their spleen in idle mockery. When they saw that the keenest shafts of
their wit failed to stop the work of the citizens of Jerusalem,
Sanballat and his friends found it necessary to proceed to more active
measures, and accordingly they entered into a conspiracy for the
double purpose of carrying on actual warfare and of intriguing with
disaffected citizens of Jerusalem--"to cause confusion therein."[189]
Nehemiah was too observant and penetrating a statesman not to become
aware of what was going on; the knowledge that the plots existed
revealed the extent of his danger, and compelled him to make active
preparations for thwarting them. We may notice several important
points in the process of the defence.
[189] Neh. iv. 8, 11.
1. _Prayer._--This was the first, and in Nehemiah's mind the most
essential defensive measure. We find him resorting to it in every
important juncture of his life. It is his sheet-anchor. But now he
uses the plural number. Hitherto we have met only with his private
prayers. In the present case he says, "_We_ made _our_ prayer unto
_our_ God."[190] Had the infection of his prayerful spirit reached his
fellow-citizens, so that they now shared it? Was it that the imminence
of fearful danger drove to prayer men who under ordinary circumstances
forgot their need of God? Or were both influences at work? However it
was brought about, this association in prayer of some of the Jews with
their governor must have been the greatest comfort to him, as it was
the best ground for the hope that God would not now let them fall into
the hands of the enemy. Hitherto there had been a melancholy
solitariness about the earnest devotion of Nehemiah. The success of
his mission began to show itself when the citizens began to
participate in the same spirit of devotion.
[190] Neh. iv. 9.
2. _Watchfulness._--Nehemiah was not the fanatic to blunder into the
delusion that prayer was a substitute for duty, instead of being its
inspiration. All that followed the prayer was really based upon it.
The calmness, hope, and courage won in the high act of communion with
God made it possible to take the necessary steps in the outer world.
Since the greatest danger was not expected as an open assault, it was
most necessary that an unbroken watch should be maintained, day and
night. Nehemiah had spies out in the surrounding country, who reported
to him every planned attack. So thorough was this system of espionage,
that though no less than ten plots were concocted by the enemy, they
were all discovered to Nehemiah, and all frustrated by him.
3. _Encouragement._--The Jews were losing heart. The men of Judah came
to Nehemiah with the complaint that the labourers who were at work on
the great heaps of rubbish were suffering from exhaustion. The
reduction in the numbers of workmen, owing to the appointment of the
guard, would have still further increased the strain of those who were
left to toil among the mounds. But it would have been fatal to draw
back at this juncture. That would have been to invite the enemy to
rush in and complete the discomfiture of the Jews. On Nehemiah came
the obligation of cheering the dispirited citizens. Even the leading
men, who should have rallied the people, like officers at the head of
their troops, shared the general depression. Nehemiah was again
alone--or at best supported by the silent sympathy of his companions
in prayer. There was very nearly a panic; and for one man to stand out
under such circumstances as these in solitary courage, not only
resisting the strong contagion of fear, but stemming the tide and
counteracting its movement, this would be indeed the sublimity of
heroism. It was a severe test for Nehemiah; and he came out of it
triumphant. His faith was the inspiration of his own courage, and it
became the ground for the encouragement of others. He addressed the
people and their nobles in a spirited appeal. First, he exhorted them
to banish fear. The very tone of his voice must have been reassuring;
the presence of one brave man in a crowd of cowards often shames them
out of their weakness. But Nehemiah proceeded to give reasons for his
encouragement. Let the men remember their God Jehovah, how great and
terrible He is! The cause is His, and His might and terror will defend
it. Let them think of their people and their families, and fight for
brethren and children, for wives and homes! Cowardice is unbelief and
selfishness combined. Trust in God and a sense of duty to others will
master the weakness.
4. _Arms._--Nehemiah gave the first place to the spiritual and moral
defences of Jerusalem. Yet his material defences were none the less
thorough on account of his prayers to God or his eloquent exhortation
of the people and their leaders. They were most complete.
His arrangements for the military protection of Jerusalem converted
the whole city into an armed camp. Half the citizens in turn were to
leave their work, and stand at arms with swords and spears and bows.
Even in the midst of the building operations the clatter of weapons
was heard among the stones, because the masons at work on the walls
and the labourers while they poised on their heads baskets full of
rubbish from the excavations had swords attached to their sashes.
Residents of the suburbs were required to stay in the city instead of
returning home for the night, and no man could put off a single
article of clothing when he lay down to sleep. Nor was this martial
array deemed sufficient without some special provision against a
surprise. Nehemiah therefore went about with a trumpeter, ready to
summon all hands to any point of danger on the first alarm.
Still, though the Jews were hampered with these preparations for
battle, tired with toil and watching, and troubled by dreadful
apprehensions, the work went on. This is a great proof of the
excellency of Nehemiah's generalship. He did not sacrifice the
building to the fighting. The former was itself designed to produce a
permanent defence, while the arms were only for temporary use. When
the walls were up the citizens could give the laugh back to their
foes. But in itself the very act of working was reassuring. Idleness
is a prey to fears which industry has no time to entertain. Every man
who tries to do his duty as a servant of God is unconsciously building
a wall about himself that will be his shelter in the hour of peril.