You Don't Need to Justify Yourself - Meditations on Nehemiah 6

“In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. In it was written, ‘It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, “There is a king in Judah.” And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.’ Then I sent to him, saying, ‘No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.’” (Nehemiah 6:5-8)

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If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again - and, of course, change your tactics. The first four requests that Sanballat send to Nehemiah were verbal requests sent by a messenger: “Go ask Nehemiah to come.” Nehemiah had refused each of these requests, so Sanballat decided to attempt something different. Instead of extending a verbal invitation, he would send an official document. It was an invitation laced with formalities and pleasantries, somewhere between a casual letter and a subpoena.

Dear Nehemiah,

You have been charged with rebellion and treason. People (and especially Geshem) are saying that you are planning to declare yourself king! We would love to meet with you so that we can clear this up. We’re here to help.

Sincerely,
Sanballat

Sanballat's efforts would be laughable if they weren't so sinister. Did he really think that Nehemiah would fall for his trick? “I know we haven’t been on the best of terms, Nehemiah, but I really think we can be friends.” A wolf putting on his sheep skins right in front of the shepherd would have had a better chance of deception. And then what is this comment about Geshem? “If Geshem says it, it must be true!” Really? I’m sure that he was an important person and all that, but this sounds like the third grade again.

Did he really believe that Nehemiah wouldn't catch the insult? Letters were supposed to be sealed so that the contents would not be public information. This was true especially of formal documents or appeals, such as this letter purported to be. Sanballat didn’t bother; he sent an open letter. Its contents were public information.

Nehemiah’s response was typical. He wasn’t convinced of Sanballat’s change of heart, he didn’t take offense at the insult, and he didn’t try to defend himself. He could have published an official document himself, refuting the charges brought against him. He could have met with Sanballat to try and clear things up. He didn’t do either. He simply dismissed the letter as he had the verbal invitations: “You’re making this stuff up. Now go away.” He let the accusations stand and went on with his work.

Nehemiah wouldn’t have been able to respond like this if he had not been grounded in truth. He knew that he was doing God’s work; he knew that his motivations were pure and right; he knew that God would give him the strength to complete the work; and he knew that God would protect him from his enemies. In short, he knew himself and he knew his God. Because he was secure in his God, he didn’t have to worry about what Sanballat, or anyone else, said.

You probably won’t experience the kind of opposition that Nehemiah did, but you are no stranger to accusation. You may be accused by your friends, family, or coworkers. You may be accused by your own conscience. Satan is “the accuser of our brothers…who accuses them day and night before our God” (Rev. 12:10). He loves to point out what you’ve done wrong, how you’ve failed, the sins that you love.

The only way that you will be able to respond correctly to these accusations is to know who God is for you in Christ and to know who you are in Christ. You must be grounded in the truth that God is for you and that you are accepted by God because of Christ. No accusation, whether true or false, will ever separate you from Him. Jesus Christ has taken all of your accusations upon Himself and then faced the consequences of those charges. You are free in Him – you don’t have to answer the accusations – and free of guilt in Him.

The devil’s singing over me an age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently
He’s forgotten the refrain.
Jesus saves!

From the song Embracing Accusation, by Shane Barnard

How do you respond to insult and accusation? Do you feel it’s necessary to defend yourself? If so, why? How does knowing your identity in Christ free you from the need to justify yourself?