Nehemiah 4
4:2 a The Persians had stationed Samarian army officers in Jerusalem to keep peace.• poor, feeble Jews: Sanballat’s mockery had an element of truth: The Jews were not rich, powerful, or many in number. However, Sanballat failed to realize the strength of the God whom the Jews served.
• Do they think ... by just offering a few sacrifices? Sanballat might have been mocking a sudden increase in sacrifices at the Temple as the Israelites dedicated their work to the Lord.
• rubbish ... charred: When fire destroyed Jerusalem (586 BC), it heated the stones, causing some to crack and crumble. The people used these stones to restore the walls.
4:4 b Nehemiah prayed intensely for God to stop those who opposed God’s will. Nehemiah’s practice was to cry out to God in times of need (2:4 c; 5:19 d; 6:14 e; 13:14 f, 22 g, 29 h, 31 i).
4:5 j Do not ignore their guilt: See also thematic note for Prayers for Vengeance at end of chapter.
4:6 k half its height: Perhaps 10–12 feet (3.0–3.7 meters) tall, since some scholars speculate that the original wall was 20–24 feet (6.0–7.3 meters) high.
4:7 l Israel’s enemies from the north (Sanballat), the south (Arabs), the east (Ammonites), and the west (Ashdodites) were enraged by the speed and success of Jerusalem’s reconstruction, which threatened these opponents’ political power in the region.
4:9 m we prayed ... and guarded: This wise approach to the threat involved both relying on God and doing what was needed.
4:11 n The relentless psychological attack of Israel’s enemies was having a negative effect on morale.
4:12 o They will come from all directions and attack us! Jews from the surrounding areas might have been exhorting the people working in Jerusalem to return to their villages to avoid being killed in an attack.
4:13 p Nehemiah countered by positioning armed guards near the most vulnerable parts of the wall. He also made sure opponents outside the wall could see the forces ready to defend the city.
4:14 q The strongest motivation for hope was Israel’s great and glorious God, who had delivered his people from mighty nations before (cp. 2 Chr 32:7-8 r; see Exod 14:13-14 s; Deut 8:1-3 t; 20:3 u; Josh 10:25 v). Another motivation was to protect their own families and properties.
4:15 w Nehemiah gave the credit to God (see also 2:20 x; 6:16 y), who had frustrated them through the prayers of the people, the 24-hour patrol, the open display of force, and the confidence in God’s protection.
Summary for Neh 4:18-19: 4:18-19 z Through the trumpeter, Nehemiah could sound the alarm to direct workers to any portion of the wall that might be attacked.
4:20 aa our God will fight for us! Drawing on Israel’s ancient holy war tradition (Exod 14:14 ab; Deut 1:30 ac; 20:4 ad; Josh 10:14 ae; 23:10 af), Nehemiah encouraged the people that victory was certain if they trusted in the Lord.
4:23 ag Nehemiah and the other leaders were not elitists who relaxed while others toiled.
Thematic note: Prayers for Vengeance
The psalmists sometimes asked the Lord to execute vengeance against their adversaries. It was not unusual for a psalmist to pray for the violent destruction of their enemies as a manifestation of God’s justice. How can this kind of prayer be okay?
These prayers for the destruction of the wicked arose out of concern for justice and righteousness and out of confidence in God. Divine justice is defined in Psalm 1:6 ah: The Lord loves the righteous and destroys the wicked. The wicked are subversive, corrupt, and thoroughly committed to evil; they live in opposition to God and to everything that God does. The wicked shake the foundations of ethics, of society, and of God’s kingdom. The psalmists argued that evil is inconsistent with God’s nature and that the removal of evil is the only way for his kingdom to thrive. However, the poets of Israel did not simply invoke God’s judgment on anyone with whom they could not get along. Instead, the psalmists were guided by God’s standards of justice and righteousness, to which God holds all humans accountable.
The psalmists were intimately acquainted with grief. They had suffered and been oppressed and marginalized by bullies, leaders, and kings from inside and outside of Israel. Their prayers were full of faith and hope, asking how long the Lord would tolerate their suffering and confessing that the Lord alone could rescue them from evil. They expressed deep longing for his redemption. By the principle of retribution, they asked the Lord to inflict upon the wicked the suffering that they had endured (Ps 5:10 ai; 6:10 aj; 7:9 ak; 9:19-20 al; 28:4 am; 56:7 an; 104:35 ao; 137:7-9 ap; 139:19 aq). Through these prayers for justice and vindication, the godly may rest in peace as they await God’s rescue.
Do we truly see evil as evil, or do we perceive it merely as an inconvenience? Prayers for the end of evil are appropriate as long as we recognize God as arbiter, judge, and executor. The prayer for the coming of God’s Kingdom implies the removal of evil. But now the cruelty inflicted on the wicked has been transformed through the cruel crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This act of God informs how we pray for those who oppose us. Jesus will indeed judge and bring an ultimate end to evil (see Rev 19:11-21 ar), but while Christians await that final judgment, they are to love as Christ loved (John 13:34 as), pray for their enemies, and forgive them (Matt 5:38-48 at; Col 3:13 au).
Passages for Further Study
2 Chr 24:22 av; Neh 4:5 aw; Pss 3:7 ax; 9:19-20 ay; 10:15 az; 12:3 ba; 41:10 bb; 55:15 bc; 69:22-28 bd; 79:6 be; 109:6-20 bf; 110:5-6 bg; 137:1-9 bh; Isa 61:2 bi; Jer 11:20-23 bj; 18:19-23 bk; 51:35 bl; Lam 1:22 bm; 3:64-66 bn; Acts 1:20 bo; Rom 11:9-10 bp; Rev 6:10 bq
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