One of our modern poets said, “Haters gonna hate.” (For what it’s worth, according to some DeepSearch I did, this was long before Taylor Swift’s “hate, hate, hate.” The first use as a lyric is credited to a group called 3LW on their debut album in 2000 in a so-called song titled “Playas Gon’ Play.”) Now you know.

The point is, you might think that there’d be no reason to pick on a small group of people just trying to pick up their place. You might think you’d leave them alone, especially if you knew they had state permission and even some state funding to help their rebuild. But the way of man is to despise the weak and despise them even more if it looks like they are starting to get ahead. The way of man is not to rejoice with those who rejoice, but to ridicule those who rebuild. When a man feels threatened, the last thing he wants to see is another man’s blessing. Haters gonna hate.

In Nehemiah 3 we read the overview of the repair of the walls of Jerusalem. Ezra’s rebuild focused on the temple and when the Jews tried to work on the walls they were cut off by an official decree from Artaxerxes. About a decade later Nehemiah’s story opens with news from Jerusalem about the broken walls and he risks his position (if not his life) to request a policy reversal and a new commission to build. Wall-building is the main plot concern in Nehemiah. Chapter 3 listed the who and where and what of the wall work. Forty some groups worked and joined and installed the gate hardware. The chapter implies the kindness of God to bring about the coordinated effort.

Chapter 4 could be seen as out of place. On the timeline, it happens during chapter 3. There’s more to the story than coordination, there was coordinated opposition. We might think that if it got done, which it did, why go back and detail the taunting? It’s to show that God’s work done in God’s way provokes God’s enemies. It shows that the coordinated effort was helped by the pressure. And it shows that hatters gonna hate in vain when the Lord builds the house.

Nehemiah introduced us to Sanballat and Tobiah in chapter 2. After some progress, the displeasure of the locals comes out twice. Now the anxiety is getting louder.

There are two parts in verses 1-6, and though we covered 32 verses in the last message, this is worth slowing down for. We’ll see the insecurity and the imprecation.

Insecurity (verses 1-3)

There’s double irony to “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” First, that’s usually said because some words were a threat, if not actually some hurt; hurt isn’t only physical. Second, if words don’t have power to hurt, what gives words power as a defense?

But, hearing what others are saying takes faith. It’s not that we don’t take what haters say seriously, but we ought to hear what they say accurately.

Sanballat speaks from the anger that comes from insecurity.

Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” (Nehemiah 4:1–2 ESV)

Sanballat’s responses have been intensifying, from displeasure (2:10) to despising (2:19) to now greatly enraged. So he starts mouthing off at the Jews. Where exactly he stood when he gave his speech is uncertain, but since Nehemiah quotes him, and since Nehemiah refers to “the presence of the builders” (verse 5), Sanballat must have been near-ish the walls.

He does not stand by himself. It’s easier to mock when you’ve got your mob with you. Here he’s got his brothers and …the army of Samaria. He’s preaching to the Ridicule Choir, rallying the base. Even if some of their hearts were starting to doubt, who was going to speak against the narrative?

Sanballat asks five snarky questions all intended as propaganda to make himself and his men feel better. He’s mocking, and trying to boost his own morale.

• What are these feeble Jews doing? There’s probably an emphasis on the race card. They are a weak people, they are withered up.
• Will they restore it for themselves? Where is their help coming from?
• Will they sacrifice? Either, will they actually commit to do whatever it takes? Or, more likely, do they think that thoughts and prayers and dead sheep are going to build the wall?
• Will they finish up in a day? Talk about stupid optimism.
• Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbing, and burned ones at that? All they’ve got are pebbles, and some of the pieces were limestone which weakens when it gets too hot.

The group gathers momentum and Tobiah joins the fun.

Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” (Nehemiah 4:3 ESV)

A fox is nimble not clumsy, and not very heavy. A fox isn’t an elephant, right? Walls needed to be thick to survive siege-works/battering rams.

At least one archaeologist found a section 8 feet thick, so Tobiah is smack talking, not giving a measured observation. It’s taunting (see verse 4), the proverbial discouraging word. They say the left can’t meme, but these were pretty good.

Imprecation (verses 4-6)

Nehemiah’s response to the provocation is prayer. It’s more than lament, and more than a cry for help. It’s a call for judgment.

Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. (Nehemiah 4:4–5 ESV)

Let them have a taste of their own mockery. Let them see how it feels. We’re rubber, they’re glue, let what they say get them stuck in no good. Turn back their taunt, their sneering insults.

Their opposition is wicked, so judge as their wickedness deserves. This isn’t a prayer against their salvation, though it isn’t a prayer for their conversation either. It’s a prayer that God see the sin committed against God. The walls are God’s walls, the project is for the sake of God’s people, so the attack is really an attack on God. While talking in the presence of the builders it was provoking God to anger.

So much for the prayer, and verse 6 is the progress.

So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. (Nehemiah 4:6 ESV)

I mean, we knew it from chapter 3. But even with the bark of the dogs, the people kept building.

The people had a mind to work. I have a mind that loves this phrase. More than imprecatory prayers against God’s enemies, I pray for this blessing among us. It is a “heart” to work, motivated, committed.

How did the people get this mind? They must have been stirred by Nehemiah’s rhetoric, his confidence and communication. Even that resonated with their heart’s-tune for their city and their history. Additional motivation must have come by seeing the opposition, because some conflict/threat gets the heart rate up. (Think when the lion chased Shasta and Aravis and everyone went a little faster than they thought they could.) All these ingredients were used by God as instruments, and since the Lord stirred up kings hearts directly, He is ultimately behind this working and willing as well.

Conclusion

Look for increased taunts (and attempts at emotional sabotage) when things start to go well. It’s a sign of health. Look behind/beneath the taunt at the insecurity, as well as how much of that is hostility against God. Righteous Derangement Syndrome is real (Proverbs 29:27).

It’s part of what this Scripture is for: that we would be encouraged to build.

---

Charge

Maybe you don’t seek out scoffers but they come and post on your wall anyway. Maybe you don’t have scoffers because you aren’t righteous enough to irritate them. In both cases, in ALL cases, PRAY. Pray that God give you a mind to work, and then work. Let Him (bring and) deal with the haters.

Benediction:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV)