Commentary - Nehemiah 2:17-20

Bird's-eye view

In this short but pivotal passage, the private burden of Nehemiah becomes a public vision for the people of God. Having secretly surveyed the ruins and confirmed the grim reality, Nehemiah now steps into his role as a leader. He does not sugarcoat the situation but presents it plainly as a "calamity" and a "reproach." His leadership model is exemplary: he identifies with the people ("we"), states the problem clearly, proposes a tangible solution ("let us rebuild"), and provides a glorious motivation (to remove the reproach). He then undergirds this call to action with a twofold testimony: the sovereign goodness of God's hand and the providential favor of a pagan king. This inspires the people to commit themselves to the work. But as soon as a godly initiative is undertaken, opposition immediately manifests. The unholy trinity of Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem appear, employing their classic weapons of mockery and political insinuation. Nehemiah's response is a masterclass in presuppositional confidence, appealing not to the king's permission slip but to the authority of the God of heaven, and drawing a sharp, necessary line between the people of God and their enemies.

This section, then, is a microcosm of all faithful Christian endeavor. It shows the movement from seeing a problem to casting a vision, from vision to corporate commitment, and the immediate appearance of spiritual opposition, which must be met not with defensiveness but with a bold declaration of faith in God's ultimate victory.

Outline

Context In Nehemiah

This passage marks a crucial turning point in the book of Nehemiah. The first chapter detailed Nehemiah's prayerful response to the news of Jerusalem's state. The first part of chapter two (vv. 1-10) described his bold request to King Artaxerxes and his journey to Jerusalem, armed with royal authority and provisions. Verses 11-16 show Nehemiah taking the time for a secret, nocturnal inspection of the walls. He gets the lay of the land for himself, assessing the full scope of the task without any fanfare. Only after he has prayed, planned, and personally surveyed the damage does he finally address the Jewish officials and the people. What follows in our text is the public unveiling of the mission. This speech is the catalyst that transforms a broken-down community into a workforce and sets the stage for the central action of the book: the rebuilding of the wall in the face of intense opposition (chapters 3-6).

Key Issues

Let Us Arise and Build

Vision without action is just a daydream. But action without vision is chaos. True leadership, the kind we see in Nehemiah, brings the two together. He has done his homework. He has prayed, he has secured the resources, and he has seen the wreckage with his own eyes. Now he must persuade others to see what he sees, not just the broken stones, but the possibility of a restored city. He must transfer the burden that God laid on his heart to the hearts of the people. This is not done through manipulation or hype, but through a straightforward declaration of the truth, a testimony to God's faithfulness, and a clear call to get to work. And when the enemies of God see the people of God picking up their tools, they begin to heckle from the sidelines. This is not a sign that something is wrong; it is a sign that something is finally going right.

Verse by Verse Commentary

17 Then I said to them, “You see the calamity we are in, that Jerusalem lies waste and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.”

Nehemiah begins with the hard truth. He does not say, "Things could be worse." He says, "You see the calamity we are in." The word for calamity is ra'ah, which often means evil or distress. He is saying, "Look at the mess we are in." This is where all true reformation begins, with an honest assessment of the situation. The city is a ruin, and its gates, the place of justice and commerce, are gone. But the central problem is not the rubble; it is the reproach. This is a public disgrace. A city with no walls was a sign of weakness, poverty, and, most importantly, divine disfavor. The honor of God's name was tied to the state of His people and His city. Nehemiah's motivation is fundamentally theological. Rebuilding the wall is not just an urban renewal project; it is an act of restoring the public testimony of God. He fully identifies with the people, saying "we are in" this calamity and "let us rebuild." This is not a top-down command; it is a shared call to a common task.

18 And I told them how the hand of my God had been good to me and also about the king’s words which he had said to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

After stating the problem, Nehemiah provides the encouragement. And notice the order. He first testifies to the good hand of his God upon him. This is the ultimate foundation for the work. God is in this. God has been moving and orchestrating events to bring them to this very moment. Only after establishing God's sovereign favor does he mention the secondary cause: "the king's words." God works through means, and in this case, the means was a pagan emperor's permission and resources. Faith is not a blind leap; it is a reasonable trust in a God who has already demonstrated His faithfulness. This one-two punch of divine sovereignty and providential provision is potent. The people's response is immediate and decisive: "Let us arise and build." Their words echo Nehemiah's call. The vision has been transferred. And they do not just give verbal assent; they "strengthened their hands for the good work." This is a Hebrew idiom for making a firm resolve, for rolling up their sleeves and committing themselves wholeheartedly to the task. Talk is cheap; they prepared for labor.

19 But Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard it. And they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

As soon as the sound of hammers is about to be heard, the sound of mockery begins. The "but" is inevitable. Whenever God's people resolve to do a good work, the devil musters his lieutenants. Here they are: Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. They represent a coalition of local political powers who had a vested interest in keeping Jerusalem weak. Their first weapons are psychological: mockery and contempt. They want to make the Jews feel small, foolish, and ridiculous. Then comes the more serious charge, a slanderous political accusation: "Are you rebelling against the king?" This was a particularly dangerous charge in the Persian empire. They are twisting a godly act of restoration into a seditious act of rebellion. This is standard procedure for the enemies of God. They cannot attack the work on its own merits, so they impugn the motives of the workers and threaten them with political consequences.

20 So I responded to them with a word and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His slaves will arise and build, but you have no portion, right, or remembrance in Jerusalem.”

Nehemiah's answer is magnificent. He does not get defensive. He does not pull out his paperwork from Artaxerxes to prove he has permission. To argue on their terms would be to concede that they have a right to ask the question. Instead, he appeals to a higher court. He starts with God. "The God of heaven will give us success." This is a bold declaration of faith. Our success is not contingent on your approval or the king's mood; it is guaranteed by God Almighty. Based on that premise, he states their identity and mission: "therefore we His slaves will arise and build." We are not rebels against a human king; we are servants of the heavenly King, and we are simply doing what He has commanded. And then he delivers the knockout blow. He draws the antithesis with surgical precision. "But you have no portion, right, or remembrance in Jerusalem." A portion refers to a share or inheritance. A right refers to a legal claim or standing. A remembrance refers to a memorial or a stake in the future. Nehemiah is saying, "This is God's city and God's work. You are outsiders to the covenant. You have no inheritance here, no legal standing here, and no future here. Your opinion is irrelevant." This is the kind of bold, clear-eyed, God-centered confidence that silences mockers and builds walls.

Application

The church in the modern West is in a state of calamity and reproach. The walls of our Christian culture are in ruins, and the gates where justice should be administered are burned with fire. The name of our God is, as a consequence, blasphemed among the nations. The task before us is not fundamentally different from Nehemiah's. We must first see the ruin for what it is and feel the weight of the reproach. We cannot be content with the rubble.

Then, leaders must arise who will call the people to the work. This leadership must be rooted in a deep confidence in the good hand of our God. We must be able to point to God's past faithfulness, both in Scripture and in our own lives, as the basis for future success. And we must be ready for the Sanballats and Tobiahs. They will come. They will mock our efforts to build Christian schools, to reform our politics, to strengthen our families. They will call our faithfulness "rebellion," our morality "hate," and our worship "foolishness."

In that moment, we must learn from Nehemiah. We are not to be defensive or apologetic. We must not try to justify ourselves in the court of public opinion. Our response must be a calm and joyful declaration of faith: "The God of heaven, He will give us success." We are His servants, and our job is to arise and build. And to the watching, mocking world, we must have the courage to say, in love but with firmness, that they have no portion, right, or memorial in the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. The future belongs to Jesus Christ and to His people. So let us strengthen our hands for the good work.