Nehemiah 4, A Fox Could Break It Down

The ruins of the wall around Jerusalem are extensive. It takes considerable work to rebuild the miles of wall.

Nehemiah 4: 1-3, A fox could break it down
When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble--burned as they are?"

Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building--if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!"

 

The local leader, Sanballat, is upset at the attempt to rebuild the wall and ridicules the Jews for their work. His ridicule includes five questions:

1. "What are those feeble Jews doing?"
2. "Will they restore their wall?"
3. "Will they offer sacrifices?"
4. "Will they finish in a day?"
5. "Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble?"

The point is that these "feeble" Jews have no hope of ever finishing this project. Tobiah adds to the derision: even a light footed fox could break down their walls.

Nehemiah 4: 4-5, Prayer

Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.
 

In response, Nehemiah turns to God and prays that the insults be punished.

Nehemiah 4: 6-9, Work, pray, guard

 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.

But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

 

The people work hard on the wall. In the face of the local anger, the Jews pray to God and post a guard.

Nehemiah 4: 10-12, Threats at every turn

Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall."

Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work."

Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us."

 

Everywhere Nehemiah turns, there are threats. The people are weary and afraid of attack.  And the locals do indeed make those threats.

Nehemiah 4: 13-18, Bricks in one hand, sword in another

Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.

After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work. From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

 

Nehemiah posts guards by family units and then, remembering that God is ultimately in charge, the people work on the wall, half as guards, half a builders. Some worked carrying material in one hand while holding a sword in the other. Josephus, in Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI, pp 167-8, says that Nehemiah "placed trumpeters at every five hundred feet".

Nehemiah 4: 19-23, Until the stars come out

Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!"

So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, "Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day." Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.

Yamauchi and the NIV footnotes agree that the translation of the last phrase, "each had his weapon, even when he went for water", is uncertain. The Hebrew is literally "each man his weapon the water", says Yamauchi.

The work is a marathon. Separated along the extensive wall, plans are made to draw everyone together in the case of an attack.  As they work -- from first light at dawn into deep twilight at night -- the workers carry spears. They sleep in their clothes.