Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. (Nehemiah 4:1-6 ESV).
As I have written thus far it might appear that we have no part to play in the success and victory of our journey. You might be tempted to come to the conclusion that if you just believe enough all will work out. Well, that’s not the balance of faith and works presented in the Scripture. Often our journey is at best difficult. It is those times when it is also most difficult to have faith; however, it is exactly at those times when possessing faith is enhanced by persevering. Sometimes that looks like merely taking a step. In the case of our reading today, it meant laying another stone on the others to form the wall.
After a long period of exile and destruction from conquering armies, God’s people were allowed to rebuild the temple of the Lord and the city of Jerusalem (cf. 2 Chronicles 36). Nehemiah led the people in rebuilding the wall, but they faced a lot of opposition from their neighbors in Samaria. Sanballat and other local leaders opposed Nehemiah and the people of Judah (now also called the Jews), ridiculing and scoffing at them. They threatened to fight and stir up trouble to prevent the Jews from rebuilding.
In the midst of all this, Nehemiah and the people prayed to God for help and “posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” The people were vigilant and worked hard together, and they finished the wall in just 52 days (cf. Nehemiah 6:15). We can learn from this example. We can pray, “O God, please protect us from threats and dangers, and give us strength for our work each day. Help us to serve you in all that we do.” Oh… and before we go to bed at night, it’s also important to lock our doors. Balance and perseverance in wisdom are the keys.