Contemplative Bible Reading

Nehemiah 6:16 (New International Version)

When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

Nehemiah wrote these words as a small group of Jews are rebuilding Jerusalem after the captivity in Babylon. The work is progressing well – too well for many of the non-Jews in the surrounding area. Those other people were doing all sorts of things to slow the work and discourage the Jews. Their efforts fail.

One reason for the failure of the non-Jews is found in verse 9 of the same chapter:

They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”

But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

Nehemiah and his kinsmen were depending on God. The non-Jews could see that and they were frightened.

Maybe such actions aren’t as out in the open or dramatic today. Nevertheless, I believe that these things still occur. People who don’t follow God, i.e., they don’t accept Him as their Lord, know He exists and know that ultimately He is in control. In times of crisis, self-confidence evades them and fear dominates. It has been this way since long before Nehemiah and will be this way long after I am gone.