Nehemiah 6:10-14

Nehemiah 6:10-14

[10] Afterward I came  unto the house  of Shemaiah  the son  of Delaiah  the son  of Mehetabeel,  who was shut up;  and he said,  Let us meet together  in the house  of God,  within  the temple,  and let us shut  the doors  of the temple:  for they will come  to slay  thee; yea, in the night  will they come  to slay  [11] And I said,  Should such  a man  as I flee?  and who is there, that, being as I am, would go  into the temple  to save his life?  I will not go in.  [12] And, lo, I perceived  that God  had not sent  him; but that he pronounced  this prophecy  against me: for Tobiah  and Sanballat  had hired  [13] Therefore was he hired,  that I should be afraid,  and do so,  and sin,  and that they might have matter for an evil  report,  that they might reproach  me. [14] My God,  think  thou upon Tobiah  and Sanballat  according to these their works,  and on the prophetess  Noadiah,  and the rest  of the prophets,  that would have put me in fear. 

What does Nehemiah 6:10-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Shemaiah claimed to have received a prophecy from God ( Nehemiah 6:12). He tried to scare Nehemiah into thinking that assassins were after him so he would seek sanctuary inside the temple. The Mosaic Law prohibited anyone but the Lord"s anointed servants from entering the holy and the most holy places in the temple ( Numbers 1:51; Numbers 3:10; Numbers 18:7). Nehemiah was not the kind of man his enemies could terrify with a death threat. Perhaps Shemaiah was suggesting that he and Nehemiah commandeer and take possession of the temple, [1] though this possibility seems unlikely to me. Nehemiah saw through this "prophecy." It could not have been from God since it counseled disobedience to the Mosaic Law. The motive of Nehemiah"s enemies was to show the Jews that their leader had no real concern about the Law, but was rebuilding the walls for personal reasons ( Nehemiah 6:13). This incident was only one of several in which false prophets tried to deceive Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 6:14).
Satan still employs these three strategies as he seeks to destroy the effectiveness of spiritual leaders. One writer called them intrigue, innuendo, and intimidation. [2]