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I see a lot of antisemitism today. What are these people thinking?
Antisemites are not rational.
Their hatred distorts their thinking.
They don't realize they have an obsessive hatred.
It is not a hatred that only leads to apathy.
It's a hatred that often leads to obsession.
Spiritual at its core, when the antisemitic virus takes root, the antisemite can hardly think or talk negatively about anything other than Israel and the Jewish people.
Conspiracies abound.
All libels are assumed to be true.
Insidious questions are used to stir up the mobs & create suspicion.
Anti-Israel is "just a political viewpoint", they claim.
"I'm just asking questions," they say with a smirk.
How do we know?
Look at their fruit.
It's rotten.
Spiritually bankrupt.
Dark.
But it's not new....
This hatred, often called "the world's oldest hatred," starts in the heart and severely impacts the brain.
The result?
Irrational thinking & a corrupt heart.
Irrational thinking leads to irrational behavior.
How should we deal with antisemites?
Nehemiah is often used to teach leadership principles.
Great, that's good. Nehemiah was a great leader.
However, the context of Nehemiah's leadership matters:
Who Nehemiah was standing for.
What Nehemiah was standing for.
Who Nehemiah was up against.
This important context is often brushed off, watered down, glossed over or ignored, as if what Nehemiah did and who he stood with doesn't matter in the 21st century.
But Nehemiah’s context does matter.
Nehemiah followed God.
Nehemiah sought the best for Zion.
Nehemiah stood with the Jewish people.
Nehemiah’s story is in the Bible by God’s design.
Nehemiah demonstrates good leadership qualities.
But he also exemplifies the spiritual battle against antisemitism.
How so?
Nehemiah provides a framework for dealing with the irrational, poor souls caught in the trap of obsessive hatred. He just wanted to rebuild the walls to a destroyed city:
"When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites, they were greatly displeased." (2:10)
Why would antisemites care about that? It's just the walls of a desolate city!
Remember: Irrational hatred! Let's explore how to deal with it:
6 Principles For Treating “The Virus”:
1. Discernment Against Deception
Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem invited Nehemiah to a meeting in the plain of Ono. They wanted to harm (likely murder) him and intimidate him for rebuilding a wall:
"But they were planning to harm me." (6:2)
"For they were all trying to intimidate us,.." (6:9)
This is irrational behavior. Thankfully, Nehemiah discerned antisemitic motives and refused to be distracted from his God-given mission.
Principle: Be aware of antisemites. Use discernment when they speak. Violence is promoted and glorified in their circles. "At all costs", they shout. They mean it. Martyrdom is glorified.
2. Refute False Accusations
Antisemites accused Nehemiah of plotting rebellion and wanting to be king. Israel's enemies made up lies out of thin air. The same is happening today. Nehemiah denied the false charges directly and clearly:
“There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.” (6:8)
Then, because dealing with lies can be exhausting, Nehemiah prayed for strength:
"But now, my God, strengthen me." (6:9)
Principle: Confront lies with truth—firmly, without panic—while relying on God for courage & results.
3. Refuse to Give In To Fear
An antisemite (Shemaiah) tried to lure Nehemiah into hiding in the temple, suggesting fear of assassination. Nehemiah recognized it as a trap to discredit him and refused to act out of fear. Just as Balaam was hired to curse Israel many centuries before Nehemiah, so the antisemites of his day hired people to accomplish wickedness:
"He was hired, so that I would be intimidated, do as he suggested, sin, and get a bad reputation, in order that they could discredit me." (6:13)
Principle: Be aware of outlandish tactics. But do not let intimidation drive your actions; fear is a weapon of the enemy.
4. Be Disciplined in Prayer
Whenever Nehemiah faced opposition, he turned first to prayer (Nehemiah 4:4–5; 6:9, 14). Nehemiah asked God to deal with enemies and strengthen the workers:
"So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night." (4:9)
Principle: Opposition is real. Anchor every response in prayer—dependence on God, first and foremost, guards against rash or purely human reactions. God is at work "behind the scenes."
5. Implement Strategic Protection
When antisemites threatened violence, Nehemiah organized armed guards while the people continued building. He took threats seriously:
"The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. Each of the builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was building, and the trumpeter was beside me." (4:17-18)
Principle: Combine faith with wise preparation—trust God, but also take practical steps for security. The mind-virus often leads to violence, as evidenced by : the pogroms, Crusades, Shoah, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, “Pro-Palestine” mobs etc)
6. Persist in the Mission
Despite ridicule, threats, and plots, the people persisted in the mission. When the mission was complete, Nehemiah credited the proper source, the God of Zion:
"The wall was completed in 52 days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God." (6:15-16)
Principle: Perseverance in obedience shames opposition and glorifies God.
God may not be calling you to physically return to Zion and begin rebuilding a wall, like He did Nehemiah. But the same principles, and heart of God, exist today:
"The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." (Ps. 87:2)
At your death, will you be able to inscribe Nehemiah's prayer on your tombstone?
"Remember me favorably, my God, for all that I have done for this people." (5:19)
