The Berean Pursuit
Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews before his associates and the army of Samaria, saying, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?"
Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, "If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!"
Hear us, O God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn back upon their own heads, and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity. Do not cover up their iniquity or let their sin be blotted out from Your sight, for they have provoked the builders.
So we rebuilt the wall until all of it was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
When Sanballat and Tobiah, together with the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they were furious, and all of them conspired to come and fight against Jerusalem and create a hindrance.
So we prayed to our God and posted a guard against them day and night.
Meanwhile, the people of Judah said:
"The strength of the laborer fails,
and there is so much rubble
that we will never be able
to rebuild the wall."
And our enemies said, "Before they know or see a thing, we will come into their midst, kill them, and put an end to the work."
At that time the Jews who lived nearby came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us."
So I stationed men behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows.
After I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, "Do not 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 scheme and that God had frustrated it, each of us returned to his own work on the wall. And from that day on, half of my servants did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor.
The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried materials worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. And each of the builders worked with his sword strapped at his side. But the trumpeter stayed beside me.
Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: "The work is great and extensive, and we are spread out far from one another along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the horn, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!"
So we continued the work, while half of the men held spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, "Let every man and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day."
So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the guards with me changed out of our clothes; each carried his weapon, even to go for water.
About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews.
Some were saying, "We and our sons and daughters are numerous. We must get grain in order to eat and stay alive."
Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine."
Still others were saying, "We have borrowed money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others."
When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry, and after serious thought I rebuked the nobles and officials, saying, "You are exacting usury from your own brothers!"
So I called a large assembly against them and said, "We have done our best to buy back our Jewish brothers who were sold to foreigners, but now you are selling your own brothers, that they may be sold back to us!"
But they remained silent, for they could find nothing to say.
So I continued, "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our foreign enemies? I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending the people money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury. Please restore to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, along with the percentage of the money, grain, new wine, and oil that you have been assessing them."
"We will restore it," they replied, "and will require nothing more from them. We will do as you say."
So I summoned the priests and required of the nobles and officials an oath that they would do what they had promised. I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, "May God likewise shake out of His house and possession every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!"
The whole assembly said, "Amen," and they praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.
Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah, from his twentieth year until his thirty-second year (twelve years total), neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.
The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of my fear of God. Instead, I devoted myself to the construction of the wall, and all my servants were gathered there for the work; we did not acquire any land.
There were 150 Jews and officials at my table, besides the guests from the surrounding nations. Each day one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine was provided. But I did not demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.
Remember me favorably, O my God, for all that I have done for this people.
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left-though to that time I had not yet installed the doors in the gates- Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono."
But they were planning to harm me.
So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to go down to you?"
Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave the same reply.
The fifth time, Sanballat sent me this same message by his young servant, who had in his hand an unsealed letter that read:
"It is reported among the nations-and Geshem agrees-that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and this is why you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king, and you have even appointed prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim on your behalf: 'There is a king in Judah.' Soon these rumors will reach the ears of the king. So come, let us confer together."
Then I sent him this reply: "There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind."
For they were all trying to frighten us, saying, "Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will never be finished."
But now, my God, strengthen my hands.
Later, I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house. He said:
"Let us meet at the house of God
inside the temple.
Let us shut the temple doors
because they are coming to kill you-
by night they are coming to kill you!"
But I replied, "Should a man like me run away? Should one like me go into the temple to save his own life? I will not go!"
I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would sin by doing as he suggested, so they could give me a bad name in order to discredit me.
O my God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat for what they have done, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who tried to intimidate me.
So the wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth of Elul. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and disheartened, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.
Also in those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came back to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.
Moreover, these nobles kept reporting to me Tobiah's good deeds, and they relayed my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.
A Psalm.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for He has done wonders;
His right hand and holy arm
have gained Him the victory.
The LORD has proclaimed His salvation
and revealed His righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered His love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth
have seen the salvation of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth-let your cry ring out, and sing praises!
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
in melodious song with the harp.
With trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn
shout for joy before the LORD, the King.
Let the sea resound, and all that fills it,
the world, and all who dwell in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy
before the LORD,
for He comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
Then I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a thunderous voice, "Come!"
So I looked and saw a white horse, and its rider held a bow. And he was given a crown, and he rode out to overcome and conquer.
And when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!"
Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.
And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!"
Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales. And I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine."
And when the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"
Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.
And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld. And they cried out in a loud voice, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?"
Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.
And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?"