Lives of Scripture

Sanballat the Horonite, an official with authority in Samaria, was "greatly enraged" when he heard that Nehemiah had come to seek Jerusalem's welfare and rebuild its walls, mocking the effort from the start alongside Tobiah and Geshem: "what is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?" (Nehemiah 2:10, 19). As the wall rose, his mockery escalated -- he ridiculed the Jews before his associates, claiming their feeble stones would collapse if even a fox walked on them (4:1-3). When ridicule failed to stop the work, Sanballat and his allies conspired to attack Jerusalem by surprise, forcing Nehemiah to post armed guards and have half the workers build with a weapon in one hand (4:7-18). Failing again, Sanballat tried to lure Nehemiah away from the work under the pretense of a peaceful meeting at Ono, a trap Nehemiah refused four separate times, recognizing the danger and replying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down" (6:1-4). Sanballat then sent an open letter falsely accusing Nehemiah of plotting rebellion and planning to be crowned king, hoping to intimidate him into stopping through fear or discredit him publicly; Nehemiah again refused to be frightened off (6:5-9). Despite every scheme, the wall was completed in just fifty-two days, and Nehemiah records that even Israel's enemies recognized the work had been accomplished by God (6:15-16).