Nehemiah 2:11-13

The Voice

When the Assyrians conquered Israel’s Northern Kingdom in 722 b.c., the Samaritans were exiled to other Assyrian provinces, and other Assyrian prisoners were settled in Samaria. Based on the etymology of their names, Sanballat’s family is probably one of those relocated families who adopted the worship of the Eternal once they moved to Samaria.

Now, almost 300 years later, Sanballat is the first of his family appointed governor of Samaria under the Persians. Following 15 years of political unrest, he has managed to form a loose federation of Persian provinces in the area that includes Jerusalem. Tobiah is a Persian official who has taken care of Jerusalem until a new governor arrived. Now that Nehemiah has arrived, Sanballat’s power over Jerusalem is uncertain. Nehemiah has not agreed to be part of his federation, so Jerusalem could become a threat to it.

¹¹Nevertheless, my journey continued until I reached Jerusalem. After three days in the city, ¹²under the cover of darkness, I was accompanied by a small group of men. The True God had placed a secret plan on my heart, and there I had left it hidden until the time was right. No one knew what it was I imagined for Jerusalem. With my men walking beside me, I mounted and rode around the city. ¹³At night I went out of Jerusalem through the valley gate, heading toward the dragon well and down to the potsherd gate where the city dumps its trash. As we went, we examined the walls of Jerusalem: they were as bad as we had heard. No stones remained standing, and fire had consumed the gates.

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