The final form of opposition was outright intimidation. Like the others it too was subtle. Shemaiah, a man who was regarded as a prophet, sent for Nehemiah. Nehemiah tells us that Shemaiah was shut up in his house, though we do not know why. Whatever the immediate cause, the underlying reason was a carefully designed ruse to discredit Nehemiah. When Nehemiah accepted the invitation and went to see him, Shemaiah said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you….”
There are two things to notice about this suggestion. First, although it is not very apparent in our English translations, it was presented to Nehemiah as a revelation from God.
The second thing to see is the nature of this “surprise” attack. It was a temptation for Nehemiah to do two wrong things: 1) to put his own safety ahead of the work; and 2) to break God’s law in order to save his life. The second of those points deserves explanation. When Shemaiah suggested that he and Nehemiah flee to the “temple” to save themselves, the term he used means “the Holy Place” and not just the temple enclosure. This was a pagan belief that a person could be spared punishment for a crime by fleeing to one of the heathen temples and living there, even if guilty of something quite serious. The Jews had a similar device in the six cities of refuge (cf. Deut. 19:1-13; Josh. 20:1-9), though these were for people guilty only of unintentional homicide, not murder. There was no provision for help linked to the Jewish temple. Shemaiah was speaking as a pagan at this point.
Moreover, he was suggesting something that was contrary to the Old Testament’s teaching. Nehemiah was a layman, and laymen were not allowed into the inner portions of the temple (Num. 18:7). King Uzziah, who violated that prohibition, had been fortunate to escape with no more than leprosy (2 Chron. 26:16-21).
The first time we read Nehemiah’s response we are tempted to think of it as the reply of a forceful and perhaps even arrogant man: “Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” But when we read the rest of what Nehemiah says we understand that his reply involved much more than his own self-esteem. He says two things: 1) that having agreed to do what Shemaiah suggested would have been “sin” on his part (v. 13); and 2) that “God had not sent” Shemaiah (v. 12). How did he know this? Obviously, because he knew the Old Testament forbade a layman entering the Holy Place. He knew that God had not sent Shemaiah, because God had given the Old Testament and the God who forbids us from doing one thing in one place does not contradict Himself by telling us to do it in another. He is at all times utterly consistent. If we would learn that, it would save us much trouble. Normally, instead of obeying God, we disobey Him and assume that God will therefore change His mind and alter His requirement. But He does not.
