Friday, June 5 — A Leader Who Intercedes
Every worthwhile work eventually meets a mocker. The question isn't whether opposition comes. It's what you do with it.
Nehemiah 4:1-6 — KJV 1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. 4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity: 5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. 6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 4:1-6 — WEB 1 But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and was very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2 He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are burned?" 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, "What they are building, if a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their stone wall." 4 "Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their reproach on their own head. Give them up for a plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Don't cover their iniquity. Don't let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have insulted the builders." 6 So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to half its height; for the people had a mind to work.
Explanation
Yesterday Nehemiah got the king's permission and the timber. Today reality sets in. The moment the work actually starts, Sanballat shows up — and notice that his weapon isn't a sword. It's ridicule. He gathers an audience and turns the rebuilders into a punchline: These feeble Jews! Will they finish in a day? Can they bring burnt stones back to life? His sidekick Tobiah lands the cheap shot — even a fox could knock that wall down. It's the oldest discouragement tactic in the world: make the work look pathetic so the workers lose heart.
Here's what's striking about Nehemiah's response. He's a man of action — he could have organized a guard, fired back an insult, called for the army he had letters to summon. Instead, his very first move is verse 4: "Hear, O our God; for we are despised." He takes the mockery straight to God in prayer. Now, this is a hard, raw prayer — he asks God to turn the reproach back on his enemies' heads. It's the kind of honest, uncomfortable prayer the Psalms are full of. We may flinch at it, and we live on this side of "love your enemies." But don't miss the leadership instinct underneath it: when attacked, Nehemiah intercedes before he retaliates. He hands his hurt to God instead of carrying it into the next conversation.
And then comes the quiet triumph of verse 6: "So built we the wall... for the people had a mind to work." Prayer didn't replace effort — it fueled it. He prayed and kept building. The wall reached half its height not because the mockery stopped, but because the builders refused to stop. A leader who intercedes is a leader who refuses to let the loudest critic set the agenda.
This is the bridge to Deborah on Sunday. Israel's national emergency wasn't just military; it was a crisis of nerve. The people had been beaten down so long they'd lost the "mind to work," the will to resist. A leader who intercedes is exactly who you need in that moment — someone who takes the people's fear to God and then says, now, let's build.
For a Friday, here's the takeaway. Somebody is mocking something good you're trying to do — a habit, a calling, a marriage, a recovery, a dream. Don't argue it out in your head all day. Pray it out. Hand the critic to God. And then pick your tools back up. Pray and keep building.
Thought for the Day When the work is mocked, pray and keep building.
Reflection Question What good work in your life is being mocked right now — and are you spending more energy defending it or actually doing it?
Prayer Lord, the critics are loud and the work is hard, and some days we're tempted to quit just to make the mocking stop. Teach us Nehemiah's order: bring the hurt to You first, then put our hands back to the wall. Give us a mind to work and a heart that won't be ruled by ridicule. Amen.
This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: Deborah, a Leader in a National Emergency.