
In Nehemiah chapters 6 and 7, opposition continues, with a desperate attempt to discredit Nehemiah and assassinate him. Sanballat and Geshem sent four letters to Nehemiah, asking him to come for a meeting at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono. Nehemiah declined their invitation, preferring not to get murdered—besides, he had some important work to do, namely get the walls finished and the doors put up. A fifth letter was sent in a final attempt to scare him, spreading the rumor that the Jews were planning on rebelling against Artaxerxes.
But Nehemiah persevered.
He then is given a false prophecy, saying that assassins are coming to kill Nehemiah, so he should go hide out in the temple, where he’d be safe. But Nehemiah recognized it as false, and refuses to act cowardly. If he’s going to die, he’s going to die like a man.
And Nehemiah persevered.
After 52 days, the wall was completed—an amazing feet, accomplished only by a miracle of God! And there was more conspiring against Nehemiah. Because the hand of God was obviously upon the people of Judah, what was to stop them from becoming a mighty nation once more? The nobles of Judah conspired with Tobiah the Ammonite, because many of them were bound to him by marriage, and Tobiah sent letters to Nehemiah to make him afraid.
Still, Nehemiah persevered.
These chapters remind us again of the need for perseverence in the face of great opposition.