Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, "Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall."
"Hear, O our G.o.d; for we are despised: and turn back their reproach upon their own head; for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders."
So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half the height thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
B. CONSPIRACY OF THE ENEMIES
But it came to pa.s.s that, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be stopped, that they were very wroth; and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion therein. But we made our prayer unto our G.o.d, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. And it came to pa.s.s from that time forth, that half of my servants wrought in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They that builded the wall and they that bore burdens laded themselves, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other held his weapon; and the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. And I said unto the n.o.bles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, "The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another: in what place soever ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us; our G.o.d shall fight for us."
C. PLOTS OF THE ENEMIES
Now it came to pa.s.s, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and unto the rest of our enemies, that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein (though even unto that time I had not set up the doors in the gates); that Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono."
But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?"
And they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; wherein was written, "It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause thou buildest the wall: and thou wouldest be their king, according to these words. And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, "There is a king in Judah": and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together."
Then I sent unto him, saying, "There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart." For they all would have made us afraid, saying, "Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done." But now, O G.o.d, strengthen thou my hands.
=--92. Nehemiah"s Success= (Neh. 6:15, 16; 7:1-3; 12:27, 31, 38, 40, 43; Ps. 122:2,3)
A. THE COMPLETION OF THE WALL
So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. And it came to pa.s.s, when all our enemies heard thereof, that all the heathen that were about us feared, and were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our G.o.d.
Now it came to pa.s.s, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, that I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the governor of the castle, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared G.o.d above many. And I said unto them, "Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand on guard, let them shut the doors, and bar ye them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house."
B. THE DEDICATION OF THE WALL
And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps. Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies that gave thanks and went in procession; whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall eastward. And the other company of them that gave thanks went to meet them, and I after them, with the half of the people, upon the wall. And the two companies of them that gave thanks met in the house of G.o.d, and stood still, and the singers sang loud:
Our feet are standing Within thy gates, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that art builded As a city that is compact together.
And they offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced; for G.o.d had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
THE MEANING OF THE STORY
335. When a man has been prominent in a great undertaking it is very interesting to have his own account of it. General Grant was persuaded by friends to write a story of his own campaigns. It was called "Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant," the word "memoirs" meaning his own recollections of the events. Perhaps the first man who ever wrote such a personal story was the Governor of Judah, 2,300 years ago. The story we study here might be called "Personal Memoirs of Nehemiah."
336. Nehemiah was a great patriot. It is easy to be a patriot when it simply means shouting for a great, prosperous country. But this man had never seen his own land. His great-grandparents had been taken away as prisoners, and the family had been one hundred and fifty years in the foreign land. But they had never forgotten their own beloved country.
Nehemiah was rich, and in a high office in Persia, but he loved Jerusalem and longed to be able to serve her. Read (and learn) Ps.
137:5, 6, and you will see how the patriotic Jews in the East felt about their fatherland. Let us read this personal story of the patriot and see what he did.
337 (--90A). Look at the map of the Semitic world and find Persia in the East. Find Susa, which is the same as Shushan. It is a long way from Jerusalem. But one day some of the Jews came from Jerusalem to the palace of the Persian king to tell the story of the sad condition of their city. What did they tell Nehemiah? How did the story affect him?
What office did he hold? Look up the description of this office that we had some time ago (62).
338 (--90B). Oriental kings are very arbitrary and the courtiers have to be most careful not to offend them. Note how cleverly Nehemiah managed, so that he obtained all that he wanted from the king. What did he obtain?
339 (--90C). Look again at the map. What is the river that Nehemiah mentions? Recall the first journey that we followed from the East to Palestine (----3, 5). Note that the Governor traveled with a body guard.
What did he do first in Jerusalem?
340 (--90D). The people who had lived so long in the ruined city were discouraged. How did Nehemiah cheer them? How did they respond?
341 (--91A). There were jealous enemies all around Judah, so Nehemiah soon found himself in difficulties. First they despised his efforts. How did he meet this ridicule?
342 (--91B). When the enemies could not stop him by laughing at him, what did they try? How did Nehemiah plan his work so as not to be surprised?
343 (--91C). What plots did the enemies devise? How did Nehemiah meet the plots?
344 (--92A). In the old times, cities had to have walls all around them to prevent attacks. How long did it take this vigorous governor to repair the fortifications? How did he plan to guard the city?
345 (--92B). What help did Nehemiah feel that he had in all his work?
"Dedication" means an offering to G.o.d. They gave the city to G.o.d. Tell the story of this joyful patriotic service. Learn the song that they sang.
WRITTEN REVIEW
You will probably find that people to-day are opposed in their determination to do what is right in just the same three ways that Nehemiah suffered. Keep a good lookout during the week and see if you can find anyone, young or old, trying to do some right thing while somebody else laughs, or while somebody tries to stop it by force, or while somebody tells falsehoods about it. If you find any hero who goes straight on in right-doing in spite of these oppositions, give a short account of it in your notebook.
x.x.xII. ESTHER, THE PATRIOT QUEEN
THE STORY
=--93. Esther Made Queen= (Esther 1:1, 5, 7, 9, 11-13, 15, 16, 19, 21; 2:1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 15-18, 20)
A. QUEEN VASHTI DEPOSED
King Ahasuerus made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both great and small, seven days in the court of the garden of the king"s palace. And they gave them in vessels of gold royal wine in abundance, according to every man"s pleasure.
Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king"s commandment by the chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.
Then the king said to the wise men, "What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not done the bidding of the king?"
And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, "If it please the king, let there go forth a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, that Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she."
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan.
B. THE SELECTION OF ESTHER