Nehemiah 6 explained: Threats, Lies and a Finished Wall

An invitation to Ono (vv. 1-4)

With the wall almost done, the opponents ask Nehemiah to meet them in a village on the plain of Ono, a long journey from Jerusalem, where he believed they meant to harm him. He refuses four times with the same calm answer: the work matters too much to leave.

An open letter (vv. 5-9)

The fifth message comes unsealed, likely so anyone could read its charge that Nehemiah planned to rebel and make himself king, a deadly accusation under the Persian king who ruled Judah. Nehemiah says the story is made up and prays for strength to keep going.

A hired prophet (vv. 10-14)

Shemaiah urges Nehemiah to hide inside the temple building, where only priests were allowed, so fleeing there would have looked cowardly and broken God's law. Nehemiah sees the man was bribed by his enemies and asks God to remember them, along with a prophet named Noadiah and others who tried to scare him.

The wall is finished (vv. 15-16)

The wall is completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, a month in late summer, after only fifty-two days. The surrounding peoples lose their confidence, seeing the work as something God had helped bring about.

Enemies with friends inside (vv. 17-19)

Tobiah had married into leading families of Judah, so many nobles were bound to him by marriage and sworn loyalty. They praised him to Nehemiah, passed Nehemiah's words back to him, and Tobiah kept sending threatening letters.

Key verse: Nehemiah 6:9

Something to think about

When someone urges you to stop something you believe is worth doing, how do you tell a warning worth heeding from pressure meant to wear you down?