Nehemiah 2:19
But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian were chiefs of heathen tribes living near Jerusalem who had often shown enmity against the Jews by injury and insult. Nehemiah came guarded by the power of the Persian king, with royal letters that secured honorable reception and prompt assistance from provincial rulers, so no enemy dared molest him on the journey. But his arrival in Jerusalem with a military escort showing he had come on an important mission excited the jealousy of these leaders. When they heard what the Jews hoped to accomplish in rebuilding Jerusalem's walls, they laughed the builders to scorn and despised them, accusing them of rebelling against the king.
Driven by jealousy and hatred, they watched Nehemiah's movements with critical eyes from the first and endeavored by every means to thwart his plans and hinder the work of restoration. These opponents had already helped stop the work once before and now sought to hinder it again. Their opposition illustrates the hindrances God's servants may face when carrying forward His work.
Such opposition cannot succeed while God's people remain faithful, united, and committed to carrying out God's will, since the enemy can gain entry only through disloyalty within. Attacks should lead God's people to rely on Him more firmly and work more resolutely. As part of the account of Nehemiah's work, the verse supports the example that God's people may ask rulers and other powerful people for help in advancing God's cause, while making such appeals prudently.