Nehemiah 2:10
When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
Nehemiah 2:10 belongs to the account of concern for Jerusalem, whose ruined condition stands in sharp contrast with surroundings in the Persian court. That welfare mattered because the returned exiles were in affliction and reproach, the work of restoration was hindered, the temple services were disturbed, and the people remained alarmed because much of the city wall was still in ruins. The verse is part of the account of asking the king for help to advance God's work and receiving a generous response.
The chapter teaches that God's people may prudently ask those in authority for assistance for the benefit of the people and the work of God. The verse shows arrival at Jerusalem in safety, with honorable reception and prompt help secured by the Persian king's letters so that no enemy dared molest on the way. The verse belongs to the work among Jerusalem's ruined walls, showing the surveying of the destruction, with the account continuing into the rebuilding described in Nehemiah 3 and 4.
Coming with a military escort proving an important mission excited the jealousy of the heathen tribes living near the city, who had often indulged enmity against the Jews with injury and insult. Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite were deeply grieved and distressed that a man had come to seek and promote the welfare of the Israelites, and that grief was jealous enmity. Together with Geshem the Arabian and led foremost by those chiefs, these neighboring leaders watched the movements with critical and jealous eyes from the first and endeavored by every means to thwart the plans and hinder the work.