Nehemiah 6:10

_AFTERWARD I CAME UNTO THE HOUSE OF SHEMAIAH THE SON OF DELAIAH THE SON OF MEHETABEEL, WHO WAS SHUT UP; AND HE SAID, LET US MEET TOGETHER IN THE HOUSE OF GOD, WITHIN THE TEMPLE, AND LET US SHUT THE DOORS OF THE TEMPLE: FOR THEY WILL COME TO SLAY THEE; YEA, IN THE NIGHT WILL THEY COME TO SLAY THEE._ Afterward I came into the house of Shemaiah ... This man was the son of a priest, who was an intimate and confidential friend of Nehemiah. The young man claimed to been endowed with the gift of prophecy. Having been secretly bribed by Sanballat, he, in his pretended capacity of prophet, told Nehemiah that his enemies were that night to make an attempt upon his life; and advised him, at the same time, to consult his safety by concealing himself in the sanctuary-a crypt which, from its sanctity, was strong and secure. But the noble-minded governor determined at all hazards to remain at his post...

10-14 The greatest mischief our enemies can do us, is, to frighten us from our duty, and to lead us to do what is sinful. Let us never decline a good work, never do a bad one. We ought to try all advice, and to reject what is contrary to the word of God. Every man should study to be consistent. Should I, a professed Christian, called to be a saint, a child of God, a member of Christ, a temple of the Holy Ghost, should I be covetous, sensual, proud, or envious? Should I yield to impatience, discontent, or anger? Should I be slothful, unbelieving, or unmerciful? What effects will such conduct have upon others? All that God has done for us, or by us, or given to us, should lead us to watchfulness, self-denial, and diligence. Next to the sinfulness of sin, we should dread the scandal....

Verse Nehemiah 6:10. _WHO_ WAS _SHUT UP_] Lived in a sequestered, solitary state; pretending to sanctity, and to close intercourse with God. _LET US MEET TOGETHER IN THE HOUSE OF GOD_] The meaning is, "Shut yourself up in the temple; appear to have taken sanctuary there, for in it alone can you find safety." This he said to discourage and disgrace him, and to ruin the people; for, had Nehemiah taken his advice, the people would have been without a _leader_, their enemies would have come upon them at once, and they would have been an easy prey. Besides, had Nehemiah done this, he would have been shut up in the temple, his government would have been declared at an end, and Sanballat would have assumed the reins....

WHO WAS SHUT UP - On account, probably, of some legal uncleaness. Compare Jeremiah 36:5....

EXPOSITION SECRET PROCEEDINGS OF SANBALLAT AND HIS FRIENDS TO HINDER THE BUILDING OF THE WALL, AND THEIR FAILURE. THE WALL COMPLETED (Nehemiah 6:1.). When the open opposition failed, when it was found that Nehemiah's arrangements for guarding the wall (Nehemiah 4:13) were such that success was not likely to attend the employment of force by the confederates, with such resources as they had at their disposal, and the idea of an assault was therefore give

CHAPTER 6 _ 1. The attempt to entice Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6:1)_ 2. The attempt to intimidate him (Nehemiah 6:5) 3. The attempt through a false prophet (Nehemiah 6:10) 4. The wall finished (Nehemiah 6:15) 5. The conspiracy between Jewish nobles and Tobiah (Nehemiah 6:17) Nehemiah 6:1. Defeated in all previous efforts to hinder the work and to do harm to the builders of the wall, the enemies made new attempts to make

A FURTHER ATTEMPT TO ENTRAP NEHEMIAH. This section is very compressed; important links in the narrative are wanting, so that it is impossible to grasp the details of what happened. The general sense, however, is that Sanballat induced one Shemaiah to try and convince Nehemiah that his life was in danger owing to a plan to kill him at night, for which reason Shemaiah was to urge Nehemiah to seek asylum in the inner sanctuary. But no layman (let alone a man who was ceremonially unclean like Shemaiah) was permitted by the Law to enter here; only priests might do so. If, therefore, Nehemiah could be induced to enter with Shemaiah he would be guilty of a grave breach of the Law and thereby become discredited in the eyes of the people. But Nehemiah sees through the plan and avoids the danger. Nehemiah 6:10. was shut up: _i.e._ he was ceremonially unclean (_cf._...

SHEMAIAH.. professed friend, but. false prophet. See Nehemiah 6:12. SHUT UP. confined, as in prison. Hebrew. _'azar._ See Jeremiah 33:1; Jeremiah 36:5. THE HOUSE OF GOD. This must have been. temporary structure. Nehemiah would not be without some place wherein to worship. The Altar not yet erected. The Temple not yet built. See notes on Nehemiah 7:4, and p. 618; also App-58. GOD. Hebrew. _Elohim._ (with Art.). the [true] God. SHUT. close, so as to conceal....

Dangers from within: False Prophets (Nehemiah 6:10-14) 10. _Afterward I came_ R.V. AND I WENT. There is no note of time expressed. _Shemaiah the son of Delaiah_ Not otherwise known; apparently a priest and a prophet. The name Delaiah occurs in 1 Chronicles 24:18 as that of the three-and-twentieth priestly house. _Mehetabeel_ R.V. MEHETABEL. _who was shut up_ Concerning the meaning of this obscure phrase there is much variety of opinion. (LXX. καὶ αὐτὸς συνεχόμενος. Vulg. _secreto_.) (_a_) According to one view, he was -shut up" in the sense that he was prevented by ceremonial pollution from mixing in the society of his countrymen or from approaching the Temple. Cf....

IN THE HOUSE OF GOD, WITHIN THE TEMPLE— Hereby is meant the _sanctuary._ Shemaiah had a good pretence to advise Nehemiah to retreat thither, because it was both a strong and a sacred place; being defended by a guard of Levites, and by its holiness privileged from all rude approaches: but his real design herein might be, not only to disgrace Nehemiah, and dishearten the people, when they saw their governor's cowardice, but to prepare the way likewise for the enemy's assaulting and taking the city, when there was no leader to oppose them; to give countenance to the calumny which had been spread abroad, of his affecting to be king, because he fled at the report of it; and perhaps, by the assistance of some other priests who were his confederates, either to destroy him, or to secure his person till the city was betrayed into the enemy's hand. See Bishop Patrick....