Nehemiah 4
Neighbors plan ambush on construction site
When Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he became enraged and started making fun of the Jews. In front of his brothers and Samarian army, he said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they reclaim the stones out of the trash along with all the burnt ones?” Tobiah (the Ammonite) was next to him and chimed in, “Yeah, if so much as a fox goes up on their so-called wall, it will come tumbling down!” Oh God, hear us because we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and let them be looted in a country where they’re captives. Don’t cover their guilt, and don’t lose sight of their offenses, because they made you angry in the presence of the builders.
So we kept building the wall, and the entire wall was completed at half its height because the people were determined about their work.
But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairs were progressing and that the holes were being closed, they became outraged. They all schemed together, looking for a way to fight Jerusalem and cause chaos in it. So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect us from them day and night.
Israelites continue construction with weapons in hand
In Judah it was said, “Our workers are becoming fatigued. There is too much rubble. We won’t be able to finish rebuilding this wall by ourselves.” And our enemies said, “They won’t know what hit them until we ambush them, kill them, and stop the construction.” At that time the Jews who lived near them came from every direction and warned us ten time, “You should return to us.” So I equipped people with swords, spears, and bows, and stationed them by their clans in the lowest parts of the wall that were still open. I stood up and told the nobles, the officials, and everyone else, “Don’t be scared of them. Remember that the Master is big and awesome, and he will fight for your brothers, sons, daughters, wives, and homes.”
When our enemies heard that we anticipated their attack and that God had frustrated their plan, we all resumed working on the wall. From that day forward, half of my servants worked on construction, while the other half were armed with spears, shields, bows, and armor. The leaders stood behind all of Judah’s people who were building the wall. The workers were loaded in such a way that they could each work with one hand and carry a weapon in the other. Each builder had a sword strapped to his side while he built. The trumpeter stayed right by my side. I told the nobles, officials, and everyone else, “Our work site is large and really spread out. Wherever you hear the trumpet, rally to us on that position. Our God will fight for us.”
So we kept working, and half of them held spears from daybreak to nightfall. I also told them, “Everyone should stay in Jerusalem at night so that we can take turns guarding at night and working in the day.” My brothers, my servants, my guards, and I never even took off our clothes, because we were all so serious about keeping our weapons right by our sides.