Nehemiah 6:13
Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
Tobiah and Sanballat hired Shemaiah, a false prophet acting as their messenger, to work against Nehemiah. The hired counsel was designed to make him afraid and on that ground to enter the temple to take refuge and hide there for safety. By taking that course he would do wrong and sin, giving his enemies matter for an evil report with which to discredit, reproach and disgrace him and undermine his work. Nehemiah discerned that the message was not from God but was deceitful counsel and part of the plot, and he refused to comply or be drawn into the trap.
Fear worked through such deceitful counsel can draw a person into compromised conduct that opponents then use for reproach. God's workers face opposition not only from open enemies but also from pretended friends, whose actions can furnish enemies with grounds for reproach. Derision and contempt may be followed by more violent measures. The hatred, falsehood and treachery of Sanballat and Tobiah stand set against Nehemiah's nobility, devotion and self-sacrifice. The choice is thus presented between sin and holiness, with the consequences of disobedience contrasted with the blessings of obedience.