A Courageous Soul / Distract, Discourage, Discredit / Nehemiah 6

I don’t know about you, but I wonder if you’ve ever had those moments where you’ve done something so exceedingly manly you just wanted to stand up and flex at yourself. You know, like you cooked the perfect steak, or you went camping and actually survived the wilderness, or you push-started a car. Have you ever had the opposite, though? Have you ever done something that felt so incredibly un-masculine that you’re a little embarrassed to confess it?

I did one of those the other day: I watched Oprah. I’m a little embarrassed to confess that, but Oprah was having Mike Tyson on the show. I thought, “This is going to be fun. Maybe he’s going to bite her ear. I don’t know. I’ve got to watch this.”

Then they did a follow-up, and I watched her again when Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were on the stage at the same time. For those of you old enough to remember Mike Tyson, he used to beat the life out of everyone. He was terrible for pay-per-view, though. You never paid for a Mike Tyson fight because it usually lasted about thirty seconds. You’d get the food ready at your house, sit down, and then it was over.

But I got so fired up watching Oprah interview Mike Tyson that I decided to go to YouTube and search for old fights. In the midst of it, I found a new hero: a guy named Kimbo Slice. Have you ever watched YouTube and seen Kimbo Slice? Wow. He is a big man, and he is very angry. He looks about the size of a VW Bug, but he can move like a deer. He does these backyard fights. It’s literally just a guy with a handy-cam in a backyard, and here comes Kimbo Slice to beat the life out of some poor sap who has no idea what he’s getting into.

I like the idea that you can just walk into a backyard and go, “Alright, you—bring it,” and just win. What made me think about that was last week’s message. As I finished that message, I felt a little bit like Kimbo Slice. We just kind of came in and we took some shots. We talked about the necessity of dealing with hypocrisy among us.

What fired me up—and it’s one of the many reasons I love this church—is that you guys want it straight. You don’t want the “Twinkie” little soft, touchy-feely things about somebody else’s life. You want to open the Word. You want to know what it says. You want the straight talk. You don’t want to dance around it, and you don’t want people-pleasing. I appreciate that about you.

I honestly felt last week that nobody was going to show up today. I thought, “There’s no way. They’re all crying and want to go somewhere else.” But you’re here. Because what I felt last week in a very profound way is that when we started talking about laying aside hypocrisy and “weak sauce” Christianity that doesn’t engage our faith, there was an excitement. We want to grow, wrestle with sin, and uproot issues. That excites me because when you take the Word of God, read it, let it mess with you, and let it change your life—that’s revival. That’s old-school revival. I’m talking about saying, “I’m going to quit doing whatever I’ve been doing, and I’m going to allow the Word of God and the Spirit of God to so convict me that I change who I am.”

You took one on the chin last week, and I’m proud of you. Tonight, I’m going to give you another one. We’re going to look at Nehemiah chapter six. It won’t be quite as bad as a Kimbo Slice fight, but it may be similar. We’re going to talk about the final shots fired by the opposition against Nehemiah.

The Anatomy of an Ambush

If you review history and ask what happens to the leaders of great movements of God, the result is usually not very good for the leader personally. You don’t start a revolution or a movement just to have somebody make you cookies because you’re awesome. You often end up dead.

The ultimate example, of course, is Jesus. He stepped into a religious system that was exceedingly hypocritical, externally based, and had no heart. He loved and hung out intimately with shady people like us. His revolution was a revolution of the heart—getting people to stop just cleaning the outside of the cup and deal with what’s going on inside. We all know the end of that story. It didn’t “turn out well” for Christ in a worldly sense. He starts talking about the cross, Peter freaks out, John cries, and everyone is confused. Then He dies, and then He rises, and then it all makes sense.

Any leader of a movement of significance paints a target on their chest. It’s only a matter of time before they end up in the sights of someone who wants to take them out. Nehemiah is no exception. Let’s look at the context in chapter six.

Nehemiah 6:15 (NASB)

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of [the month] Elul, in fifty-two days.

You’ll notice the wall is finished in verse 15. It was completed in fifty-two days. A two-and-a-half-mile wall finished in less than two months—that is an engineering miracle. What takes place in verses 1 through 14 happens on the very eve of Nehemiah’s finest moment. Everything he had worked for, everything he had labored for since the time God broke his heart back in Susa, was about to come to fruition. He had made it through the ridicule of chapter four and the internal divisions of chapter five. This was his finest hour.

But a verse comes to mind from 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 10:12 (NASB)

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

I was reading an article this week about pastors and their struggles. There was a unanimous response: Mondays are the worst day of the week for a pastor. He just poured his guts out in a message, did some “Kimbo Slice” on the platform, and then he’s not sure if people are going to come back. He’s critiquing himself: “Why did I say that? I misquoted that. I missed that point in my notes.” That’s just for one message. Imagine doing five in a week, then putting it on CD, then a podcast—it multiplies the insecurity factor to the nth degree. It can drive a pastor absolutely insane.

But for a leader, the greatest time of struggle is often not during the difficult times, but when they are on the mountaintop. Do you see that pattern in Scripture? Think about it. When did Moses fall? He struck the rock in anger in Numbers 20, right after the people had been delivered and they were finally heading toward the Promised Land. In a moment of great victory, he fell.

How about David? David fell at the time when kings should go out to war. He stayed home and ended up standing on his rooftop like an idiot, peeping at Bathsheba. He had his greatest failure at the time of his greatest prosperity. Even Elijah, after the incredible victory on Mount Carmel against the prophets of Baal, heard one threat from Jezebel and ran for the hills to hide in a cave.

We are most vulnerable in our time of greatest success. For Nehemiah, the wall is almost done. The gates are the only thing remaining. And it’s in this moment that three final shots are fired by his enemies. They are going to try to distract him, discredit him, and disqualify him.

Shot One: The Danger of Distraction

Nehemiah 6:1-3 (NASB)

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, then Sanballat and Geshem sent [a message] to me, saying, ‘Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.’ But they were planning to harm me. So I 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?’

Now the whole gang is assembled: Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and the rest. If you ever wondered how the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees could sit at a table together despite hating each other, it’s because they had a common disdain for Christ. Common enemies make fast friends. These guys are gathered with one goal: get this leader disqualified.

They invite Nehemiah to meet them in the plain of Ono. This is more than a day’s journey away. What do they want to accomplish? Sit around and sing Kumbaya? No. The location is right on the border of hostile territory. It’s a perfect spot for an ambush. Nehemiah knows it stinks of treachery. He knows they intend to do him harm.

His response in verse 3 is classic. He says, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” It’s easy to think the focus there is on Nehemiah’s importance, but the idea is that he is engaged in a great enterprise. The greatness is in the work, not the worker. He won’t feed his ego.

It’s tempting, isn’t it? When your enemies say, “Hey, you won. We lost. Why don’t you come down so we can talk?” It’s a chance to go gloat. But he won’t do it. He rejects the accolades. I cannot help but wonder if God will not give a leader notoriety until that leader is willing to lead in obscurity.

Everyone wants the spotlight, but God won’t give you the spotlight until you’re willing to serve Him in the darkness. Why would He give you notoriety if you aren’t comfortable in obscurity? If it’s about notoriety, it’s about you; it’s not about Him.

1 Peter 5:6 (NASB)

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

Our culture is all about putting your name out there, jockeying for position, and grasping for power. But Nehemiah is a tremendous example of a leader who isn’t in it for the spotlight; he’s in it for the glory and honor of God. His enemies are persistent—they call him four times—but his message never changes. He is not a people-pleaser. He just stays on the wall.

Shot Two: The Poison of Gossip

Since they couldn’t distract him, they try to discredit him. They go after his character. In verse 5, Sanballat sends an “open letter.” Usually, in this culture, a letter was sealed to give it authority and show respect to the recipient. By sending an open letter, Sanballat is publicly shaming Nehemiah. He’s also ensuring that the contents become gossip—the “word on the street.”

Nehemiah 6:6-7 (NASB)

In it was written, ’It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel; 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!’ And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let us take counsel together.’

“It is reported among the nations…” Does that sound familiar? We just call them the infamous “they.” You know, “They say…” But who are “they”? This gossip trail always starts with an unidentified group that gains credibility despite having no foundation. Then they snap a name to it: “And Geshem also says…” Well, Geshem has been a hater from the first brick!

Gossip is deadly. Nobody wants to hang out with a friend who they know will call someone else the minute they leave.

Proverbs 26:22 (NASB)

The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

Those words are like “dainty morsels” that go down into the innermost parts. A gossiping nature just keeps throwing wood on the fire.

Proverbs 16:28 (NASB)

A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends.

Very few things will divide a friendship quicker than gossip. This accusation against Nehemiah—that he’s planning a rebellion for his own self-interest—is a total smear campaign. When you have a holy discontent, people may misunderstand you as trying to promote yourself. That’s where Nehemiah is.

Sanballat adds a veiled threat: “The king will hear of this.” But look at Nehemiah’s response. He doesn’t feel the need to defend every accusation. He knows he has character. He knows he has nothing to hide. That is the freedom character grants you. When the slander is unsubstantiated, you just keep moving.

You won’t build your character in a day, but you build it daily. Character is shaped one decision at a time, usually in the little things.

James 3:1 (NASB)

Let not many [of you] become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.

Teachers and leaders incur a stricter judgment because the little things matter—the situations we put ourselves in, the choices we make. Every decision either affirms or erodes your character. Some people say, “It’s not fair that I have to live my life based on what other people think.” I say, “That’s leadership.” If you don’t like it, don’t be a leader. That’s the cost. You put a target on your chest.

Nehemiah’s prayer in verse 9 is perfect: “But now, O God, strengthen my hands.” He won’t turn back.

Shot Three: The Trap of Disqualification

The final shot is an attempt to disqualify him. We meet a guy named Shemaiah. He’s likely a companion or friend of Nehemiah because Nehemiah actually goes to his house to see him. This makes the treachery even more painful. It shows that in leadership, you will never have 100% approval. Even your inner circle might take shots.

Nehemiah 6:10-13 (NASB)

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.’ 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.’ Then I perceived that surely God had not sent him, but he uttered [his] prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 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.

Shemaiah tries to sound spiritual. He says, “They are coming to kill you! Let’s hide in the Temple!” It sounds like a word from God, but Nehemiah has discernment.

God will never call you to do something that violates His Word. I’ve had guys tell me, “I’m leaving my wife for my secretary because God wants me to be happy.” I tell them, “Buddy, you need to read that Book again, because that is not at all what the Bible says.”

Nehemiah was likely a eunuch because of his role in the Persian court. Leviticus and Deuteronomy forbade eunuchs from entering the Temple courts. Furthermore, Nehemiah wasn’t a priest. Only the priests could enter the Holy Place. To go in there would be to risk his life and violate God’s law.

Nehemiah says, “Should such a man as I run away?” He realizes the plot: if they can get him to sin out of fear, they can give him a bad name and taunt him. They want to compromise his character to destroy his leadership.

When you sin as a leader, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can never lead again—look at David. But there is always a cost. David lost his moral authority and credibility with his family. Nehemiah knows that if his character is compromised, everything changes. So he keeps his hands clean.

Character Over Competence

As we see the wall finished in verse 15, I want to leave you with a final thought. I talk to people all the time who want to do something “great for God.” That’s wonderful. But to do something for God without letting God do something in you first is to be a Pharisee—cleaning the outside of the cup while the inside is dead.

Nehemiah’s leadership wasn’t built on his competence with his hands; it was built on the undergirding of his character. There are a lot of competent people out there, but they are often just flashes in the pan. Competency only goes so far. Character will always eventually cancel out competence.

If you have a leader with high ability but no character, it’s only a matter of time before you see the dark side and credibility is lost. But if you have a leader with godly character, even if they don’t have the highest capacity, you can follow that leader and “charge hell with a water pistol” because you know they are the real deal.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NASB)

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but [only] one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then [do it] to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Paul understood that the undergirding of everything we do is who we are when no one is looking. You want to do something great for God? Go get ’em. Do it! But Father, what I know is that if we don’t build our personal lives on what You’ve done in us first, we will trip and we will stumble.

If we take the time to build on the foundation of character and integrity, then whatever we put our hands to will be for Your glory. May it never be that what we do with our hands is for our own fame. May we, like John of old, decrease so that He might increase. Do a mighty work in us first, so that the labor of our hands is simply an overflow of the character within.

Amen.