Nehemiah 2:9-20--Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls

Nehemiah 2:9-20
English Standard Version

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls
9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. 13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.

​17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”

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We pick up the story now with Nehemiah and those with him arriving in the province Beyond the River and delivering the letters that the king had written to him to the governors of that province.  The text also tells us that the king gave Nehemiah and those with him a military (diplomatic security) escort to make sure that Nehemiah arrived safely and to make sure that his orders were enforced if necessary.  Our two antagonists are also identified at this point--Sanballat and Tobiah.  They are upset that someone from Persia has come seeking the welfare of the people of Israel--also called the Jews later in this passage.

Nehemiah doesn't waste any time and heads to Jerusalem for three days.  While there, he makes a late-night inspection of the wall of the city, taking only a few men with him and the animal that he was riding on (he didn't take his armed escort with him as he was trying to keep it quiet what he was doing).  The text then gives us the route that he followed to inspect all the gates and the wall between them, and even tells us what areas he could not reach because the damage done was too severe and kept him from being able to continue and he had to detour and go around the area that blocked his path to finish his inspection.  When he got back, no one knew where he had gone or why he had left, for he had not told any of the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, or any of the people that would be doing the labor what the LORD had put in his heart to rebuild the walls (and the city).  They only knew that he was there to check on the people.

Finally, Nehemiah speaks to them to tell them what is in his heart and what the king has sent him there to do.  He starts off by saying that they all can see what trouble they are in if the city remains defenseless.  He calls on them to come together to build the wall of Jerusalem so that it will no longer be a point of mockery and derision that is used to impugn the name of the LORD and His people.  All the men who heard this were encouraged and eager to begin the good work that the LORD had called Nehemiah to.

However, Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite joined by Geshem the Arab jeered at the men doing the work, trying to discourage and dissuade them.  These men were rich and powerful in that region, and they imagined that they could take the inheritance that belonged to the LORD's people for themselves (the same thing is going on today).  They made it sound as if Nehemiah and the people were doing this in rebellion to King Artaxerxes, even though Nehemiah came with letters of authority to do this very thing, and the king ordered that timbers from the royal forest be given to accomplish this task.  These are just outright lies that Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem are spreading, but it helps us identify this opposition as coming from our advisory, the devil, the father of lies.  Nehemiah sees what is really going on in their hearts (the Spirit of the LORD told him what they were thinking and feeling and what to say in response) and he tells them that the LORD will fulfill His covenant to restore and bless His people Israel and they have no part in the eternal covenant inheritance that belongs to the LORD's people.  They have no claim to Jerusalem (or anywhere else in the Land of Canaan for that matter).