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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Nehemiah 6:10 - 6:14
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Shemaiah, The False Prophet
v. 10. Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabeel, a man who claimed the gift of prophecy for himself, who was shut up, probably in performance of a vow; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the Temple, in the Sanctuary proper, and let us shut the doors of the Temple, the inference being that Shemaiah had been granted a Revelation according to which men had planned an attempt on the life of Nehemiah in the near future; for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. The purpose of this scheme was either to bring discredit upon Nehemiah in making him appear guilty, or to make him seem a coward, who preferred his personal safety to that of the city which it was his duty to protect.
v. 11. And I said, Should such a man as I flee? the governor entrusted with the defense of the city? And who is there that, being as I am, would go into the Temple to save his life? This may mean either that he refused to hide in a cowardly fashion, or that he did not want to risk death by violating the sanctity of the Temple, Num_18:7. I will not go in.
v. 12. And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me, without any divine authority; for Toblah and Sanballat had hired him, he was acting under the influence of a secret bribe.
v. 13. Therefore was he hired that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, both by neglecting his duty as governor and by entering into the Sanctuary of the Temple, which was open only to the priests, and that they might have matter for an evil report, to discredit him in the one or the other way, as shown above, that they might reproach me. Nehemiah therefore adds a prayer concerning this spiteful attempt at intimidating and discrediting him.
v. 14. My God, think Thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, to execute His vengeance upon them, and on the prophetess Noadiah, another of the false prophets who had been bribed to hinder the work of building the walls, and the rest of the prophets that would have put me in fear, all of them hired with Sanballat's money. Thus there are teachers in the very midst of Christianity who with open lies and deceitful words try to hinder the work of the Lord, endeavoring to lead the true servants of God into disobedience.