The Great Wall of Nehemiah

Jul 15, 2026

Upload by Liam

A Jewish helper named Nehemiah serves King Artaxerxes by tasting the king’s food to prevent poisoning. When he reports Jerusalem’s ruined state—burned gates and destroyed city—he asks to rebuild and receives letters for safe travel and timber from the king’s forest keeper. In Jerusalem, leaders restart rebuilding with confidence that God supports them. Opposition from Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem escalates through mockery and plots, prompting Nehemiah to pray and organize constant daytime and nighttime protection.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

Nehemiah’s Role in Persia

The Request to Rebuild Jerusalem

Jerusalem Begins Rebuilding

Opposition and Mockery

Prayer and Ongoing Protection

35 The Great Wall of Nehemiah Written by Edward Hughes [www.bibleforchildren.org](www.bibleforchildren.org) 35/60 English Story Book Persia, a powerful nation, ruled the world. And King Artaxerxes ruled Persia . That made him the world's mightiest ruler . One of the king's important helpers was a Jewish man named Nehemiah. His job was to taste the king's food to protect the king from possible poisoning. One day, Nehemiah came before the king with a very sad face. The king wanted to know what was wrong.“O king, may you live forever,” Nehemiah said.“I'm sad because the city where my fathers are buried is in ruins and the gates have been burned.” Nehemiah was talking about Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by war many years before . King Artaxerxes asked,“What is it you would like?” “Let me go to Jerusalem so I can rebuild it,” Nehemiah pleaded. King Artaxerxes kindly agreed. He also gave Nehemiah official letters to protect him as he traveled. The king helped even more . He gave Nehemiah a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the king's forests . Asaph was ordered to provide as much timber as Nehemiah asked for to build the city walls . When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered the city officials and said,“We're in trouble here . The city is in ruins and the gates are burned. Let's start rebuilding.” He told them that King Artaxerxes approved and, most important of all, God was on their side . Nehemiah's faith and enthusiasm must have inspired the people . They agreed, saying,“Let's rebuild.” Nehemiah told each family which piece of the wall they should fix . But, not everybody agreed to rebuild the wall. A man named Sanballat, and his two friends Tobiah and Geshem, were not Jewish and they didn't want the wall rebuilt or the gates fixed. As the work went on, Sanballat became very angry. He and his friends mocked the Jews . Tobiah said,“When they're finished building that puny wall, one little fox will make it crumble .”Nehemiah didn't answer . Instead, he prayed that God would deal with them . When their mocking insults didn't have any effect, they plotted together to fight against Jerusalem and cause as much trouble as they could. Again, Nehemiah prayed for God's help. He also placed a guard day and night so they wouldn't betaken by surprise .

FAQs

How do Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem oppose the rebuilding?

They mock the Jews and later plot to fight against Jerusalem and cause as much trouble as possible, even after their insults fail to stop the work.

Jul 15, 2026

Upload by Liam