February 26, 2026

Business by the Book

Nehemiah 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

Solomon once wrote: …there is no new thing under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)  The tactics Sanballat and Tobiah used in an attempt to stop Nehemiah from accomplishing his goal are the same tactics those opposed to you reaching your goals use today. As we travel through this story we will see several of these strategies. We see three of these strategies in today’s verse.

One scheme of the opposition is to make fun, mock, scorn, or laugh. It has happened to anyone who has ever tried to do anything. Someone has an idea, a plan, a dream, or a desire that they are energetic about. Once they begin to perform the steps needed to accomplish that idea, plan, dream or desire, those who oppose try to diminish it by mocking it. Since I can remember, I have wanted to sing specials in church. When I was about 16 I was given an opportunity. I was placed in a mixed quartet. We sang one Sunday night, I remember it as though it were yesterday. One of my “cool” friends was in the congregation that night. As we sang I looked at him, he had a smirk on his face, a mocking smile, and he was shaking his head back and forth in a “no” manner. He was making fun of my singing, as if to say, “You shouldn’t be up there, you can’t sing.”   His reaction reinforced my insecurities about singing specials. Because of this little episode I did not sing specials in church for a long, long time. Even now the memory of that snide laugh from my “cool” friend limits my singing in church.

Another scheme these two characters used to stop Nehemiah was hatred. They “despised” the man and his helpers. Laughter could not stop them so they resorted to hatred and probably intimidation. Many people build walls of hatred around themselves to instill fear in those with whom they disagree. I heard of one man who was so gruff, so angry, so contrary that it was said of him, “If you threw his dead body in the river, it would float upstream.”   Folks who despise others seldom get ahead in life. They are always occupying the room of loneliness, bitterness and envy.

The third scheme these malcontents employed was questioning. The questions they asked were not sincere requests for further information. They were questions that included a veiled attempt to discredit and raise suspicion about Nehemiah’s efforts. My personal opinion is that these two were looking for ways to rebel against the king and they saw their own rebellious tendencies in Nehemiah. I believe it is an old Jewish proverb that says, “If a thief opens a store he will think every customer is trying to steal from him.” 

Mocking, hatred, and questioning are three tactics the opposition used in Nehemiah’s day. These are also very much in use today. Solomon was right, The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done… Ecclesiastes 1:9

Dr. William Howe