Tuesday, November 18th, 2025
I’m continuing on in Nehemiah today right after the section we covered in the last blog. Nehemiah had provided his simple truth-filled response to Sanballat and then asked God to strengthen his hands. The next verse says he went to the house of Shemaiah who, it says in different translations, was shut up or confined to his house. Our section of verse starts with what he says to Nehemiah (6:10-13):
10 …“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; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.”
11 And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” 12 Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
I think it’s very interesting that Nehemiah stated the fact that Shemaiah was confined to his house. The words that came out of Shemaiah’s mouth asking Nehemiah to meet him in the temple already seem sketchy. Nehemiah was certainly onto his cunning tactics. And I love Nehemiah’s first words, “Should such a man as I flee?” His boldness and courage have brought him this far, why should he run in fear now? And he also wasn’t going to let pride steer him wrong either. He knew he was not permitted to go into the temple and he wasn’t going to slip up because of pride or fear. What wisdom Nehemiah had! I love that his first two responses immediately quench the fiery darts of the enemy.
I think it’s important to address the fact too that just a few verses back Sanballat had accused Nehemiah of appointing prophets to falsely proclaim Nehemiah as king. But Sanballat and Tobiah were the ones who actually hired a false prophet! Sometimes the most valuable pieces of wisdom we may attain come in our ability to truly listen to all that is spoken to us and around us (Proverbs 1:5). Our ability to be in the moment and observe all that is transpiring may be the wisdom keys that Holy Spirit wants to give us in that moment. If we are too distracted or expecting wisdom to show up in some other, more “grand” way, we may just miss it.
Final Thoughts…
Hopefully these last few blogs have inspired you to dig deeper in Nehemiah with me. I still have a couple of blogs on my spirit from this book. The applicability for many of our current situations is undeniable. The boldness of Nehemiah is something many of us have been asking for. The wisdom of Nehemiah is something we should all desire. While all of us would like to complete our assignments without resistance, it’s just not Biblical. And actually, I have come to discover that resistance means I am right where God wants me. If I wasn’t, God in His goodness, would show me. And the question we all know, but tend to forget, is any resistance greater than Him?