A letter to Sanballat (or someone like him!)
To Sanballat and all your miserable crew,
I can’t sit by and watch you treat people like this any more. I can’t keep quiet. I have to say something.
You just can’t give it up, can you? Dragging people down all the time. Teasing them. Really nasty teasing at that. It’s not funny, you know. These people are working so hard and you just seem determined to find fault and undermine them all of the time.
Just because this project is not your thing. You obviously like people to know their place – as long as it is under your control. You don’t want them to rebuild and restore the city. Not that it affects you really. You’re just threatened when someone does something good for other people. Helps other people regain some self respect and identity. You feel unsettled by that. You and your mates are just bullies. You thrive on other people’s fear and misery.
They’ve done a good job, you know. Despite all your best efforts, Nehemiah has led the people well. He shared the vision and encouraged everyone to join him and kept them going through all the discouragement. I bet that makes it worse for you. You were just waiting for him to fail, weren’t you? This nobody with no training in leading people in such a massive project. Who does he think he is?
He’s done good. He was sent by the king, remember. More importantly, he was sent by God. He’s acted with integrity. He hasn’t exploited anyone. He’s treated everyone with respect. He hasn’t abused his authority. Which is more than I can say for you.
Nehemiah knows your game. He knows what you’re up to. That you’re out to find ways to harm him. Take out the leader and the project is dead in the water, that’s your plan, eh? He’s not scared of you. Or flattered by your invitation to join you. He’s not going to stop the work just to meet with you.
He knows what you’re saying about him. That he’s planning to become the leader of the people – king even!. He knows your spreading rumours that you’re going to make sure get back to the king. He knows you’re just trying to put fear into the hearts of him and his workers so that they can’t work as effectively.
But haven’t you realised yet? He’s not interested in your lies. You don’t scare him.
You’re resorting to infiltrating the builders now. Getting people to speak out and intimidate Nehemiah. To scare him. To get him to run away and hide. To fear for his life. To make him behave like a coward and doubt his trust in God and get a bad name for himself.
Oh I know, it’s not just you. All the surrounding people are worried. They don’t like theses people pulling together and gaining in strength and identity. It scares them. It felt safer when the people were scattered. Now they may be a force to be reckoned with. It scares them that this work could only have been completed with God’s help and and a people with God on their side are something to be feared.
But despite all that you have tried to do, the work is nearly complete. The walls have been rebuilt. Now it is time to rebuild the houses. Now it is time for the exiles to return. Everyone with the right papers will be allowed to return.
So give up, Sanballat. You’ve lost. It’s over. You failed.
You thought your bullying tactics would stop God’s work but you were wrong.
Nothing is impossible with God.
You chose the wrong side, mate, when you opposed this plan. When you chose to undermine and intimidate. There’s only one person who’s come out of this looking pathetic and dishonourable and it’s not Nehemiah.
Maybe now you’ll get on with your own life and let other people get on with theirs.
Based on Nehemiah chapters 6 and 7
