When I entered the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined at home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night.” (Nehemiah 6:10)
There appeared to be no end to the diabolical plots conjured up to neutralize Nehemiah. This iteration was designed to isolate the leader in the confines of the temple for nefarious purposes. Using a “friend” of the governor who was “shut in,” the overture was made for him to seek refuge in the temple in light of a looming plot to kill him. His enemies were halfway there finally getting Nehemiah alone for this proposal to be made in the absence of wise counsel. This tactic is always in the bag of tricks and most times ir’s quite effective. The intent is to get someone into a corner out of earshot and make him an offer he can’t refuse. But refuse he did.
But I said, “Should a man like me flee? And could one such as I go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.” (Nehemiah 6:11)
Resistance to sin always starts witb a realistic risk assessment. Is what is proposed worth casting aside everything I’ve worked for? More importantly, does it square with scripture? The idea here was not only to isolate someone physically, but emotionally and intellectually, to shed all reasonable thoughts and defense mechanisms. To succumb, in Nehemiah’s case, to fear.
Recently we’ve heard of too many men falling from prominent positions in ministry because they allowed themselves to become isolated and vulnerable. David did so on that rooftop when he should have been on the battlefield.
12 Then I perceived that surely God had not sent him, but he uttered his prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He was hired for this reason, that I might become frightened and act accordingly and sin, so that they might have an evil report in order that they could reproach me. (Nehemiah 6:12–13)
The goal in this case was to obtain an “evil report” against Nehemiah. All they needed was for him to leave his post, and yet again, Tobiah and Sanballat were frustrated. Oh, that we all had the resilience and resolve of Nehemiah!
Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these works of theirs, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the rest of the prophets who were trying to frighten me. (Nehemiah 6:14)
It’s interesting that a prophetess is mentioned in this plot. If Nehemiah was not a eunuch as some believe he was, he might have been susceptible to a persuasive female. This is an age-old tactic that failed to work in his case, but time and time again it sadly does. These days, you don’t have to be in the same room together alone, but you can simply have her number.
Leave a Reply