Nehemiah: Resolute Under Enemies’ Fire
In life, conflicts inevitably arise. No road in life’s journey is obstacle-free. In fact, a Christian’s life may be fraught with booby traps that the Enemy, the Devil, may plant in the path: “your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The key to success, therefore, lies in knowing how to handle such conflicts and obstacles. Being in a position of leadership makes this skill even more crucial, and Nehemiah demonstrates his strong leadership by managing to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem in fifty-two days despite his opponents’ threats and attacks.
First, Nehemiah foresees conflict and handles it wisely by biding his time and preparing for his plan. When Nehemiah first arrives in Jerusalem with the goal of rebuilding the wall, Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite become “deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel (Nehemiah 2:10). They know that Nehemiah came to help the Israelites, but they do not know what exactly he has come to do. In order to keep them from putting up barriers before he has a chance to gather all the information he needs, Nehemiah keeps his plans to himself for the first three days of his arrival in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:11). Without divulging his plan to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, he sets out at night to inspect the situation (Nehemiah 2:12-15). Only after he has gathered the information he needs, does he speak to the priests, the nobles and the officials to rally them to join him in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Had Nehemiah been careless and divulged his plan from the start, then Sanballat and Tobiah may have had an opportunity to influence or discourage the Jews from joining forces with Nehemiah. Because Nehemiah acts prudently, however, he is able to keep the enemies from stopping the work even before it has a chance to start.
As the work gathers steam, so do the enemies’ attacks to thwart the work, and Nehemiah demonstrates his leadership skills in conflict resolution by turning to God first and by continuing to move forward with the work despite the threats, proving his enemies wrong by action rather than by words. When Sanballat and Tobiah try to discourage the Jews by mocking them and minimizing their capability to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, Nehemiah pleads with God rather than arguing with these two opponents. Nehemiah implores, “Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them plunder to a land of captivity! Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders” (Nehemiah 4:4, 5). Nehemiah knows that arguing with Sanballat and Tobiah would not accomplish anything. Instead, he turns to the King of the Universe to handle the situation for him. So many times, people—even Christians—try to resolve conflicts on their own. The first step in conflict resolution, however, should be to turn to God in prayer. Having God on one’s side ensures ultimate success, and therefore Nehemiah repeatedly reminds and reassures his people, “Our God will fight for us” (Nehemiah 4:14, 20).
In addition to turning to God first, Nehemiah chooses to show his enemies how wrong they are rather than to talk them into submission. Nehemiah notes, “So we built the wall and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work” (Nehemiah 4:6). No matter the discouragement thrown at them, Nehemiah and his team continue their work—they keep moving forward. When Sanballat and Tobiah make plans to attack Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4:7, 8), they still continue their work, holding construction tool in one hand and weapon in another (Nehemiah 4:13-23). Nehemiah fully prepares for the worst case scenario (i.e. physical attack) but does not let the threat keep him from doing what needs to be done. Likewise, when one faces a conflict or opposition, it is important to prepare to deal with it, without permitting it to halt all the other things going on in one’s life. Attaining the balance between investing energy to deal with the conflict and moving on with the rest of one’s life is key to successfully managing conflicts.
Finally, when Sanballat and Tobiah realize they cannot stop the work by attacking the group, they launch a personal attack on Nehemiah, but the fearless leader wisely avoids dangerous traps, refusing to let fear drive his actions. Nehemiah is able to clearly see the dangers that lie ahead and refuses to put himself in dangerous situations that he may regret later (Nehemiah 6:1-4). He also refuses to let fear drive his actions: when Shemaiah tries to get Nehemiah to flee inside the temple by saying that people are coming to kill him, he responds, “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!” (Nehemiah 6:11). In doing God’s work, fear of man has no place; only fear of God is needed. Come what may—be it slander, threat to life or constant bullying—a strong leader does not waver.
Because he does not waver, Nehemiah overcomes all the obstacles and succeeds in accomplishing his goal of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem in the face of incessant opposition. By foreseeing opposition and prudently biding his time, he manages to get the work started. By turning to God first for strength and refusing to let threats keep him from doing the work, he shows by actions rather than by words that he is right and the enemies are wrong. By refusing to let fear freeze him, he is able to lead the building project to its completion. And the result speaks volumes: Nehemiah manages to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem in fifty-two days when his fellow countrymen could not do it in the previous eighty years.
We all have a broken wall that needs to be repaired. Perhaps it remains buried deep in our hearts and our lives—either forgotten in oblivion or abandoned due to obstacles. When we finally attempt to work on it, Sanballats and Tobiahs appear, mocking, threatening and intimidating us in various ways. Will we just given up then? Or will be like Nehemiah? That is up to us.
Wonha (Iris) Kim, MD, MPH recently completed her medical training at Johns Hopkins and currently works as faculty at Loma Linda University School of Medicine (pediatrics and preventive medicine) and LLU School of Public Health. She serves as an active member of the Eldasom Ministry at Loma Linda Korean SDA Church.