Nehemiah: A Lesson for Today

Are you ready for a crazy few days at the United Nations? Friday is supposed to be the big day when Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, after addressing the General Assembly, will present his case for a unilateral declaration of statehood for the Palestinians before the Security Council. He will need nine affirmative votes out of the 15 member nations on the Security Council, as well as no veto by any of the five permanent members of that Council: China, Russia, Britain, France, and the United States.

This morning one of the lead stories in the "Artuz Shev Daily Israel Report" stated that the latest strategy being discussed in order to "save face" for all the participants is to have Abbas present his request and then the Council will table it for discussion later on and encouraging the PA to resume talks with the Israelis for a negotiated settlement. (This renewed negotiation is almost impossible as the PA had made so many conditions that Israeli leaders will never accede to).

Abbas is not absolutely certain he has the nine votes needed for passage and he is certainly not certain of what the United States response would be: a veto, an affirmative vote (probably not), or an abstention. If Abbas would fail to get the nine votes needed, it would mean political failure for him and chaos in the ranks of the PA. Abbas has pretty much staked his future on the passage of this unilateral request for a Palestinian State.

If the request is tabled it gets the United States out of, at least, a temporary problem. If they should veto the PA request, they risk further angering the Arab world which is not looking with much kindness on our nation right now anyway. Last week the Saudi King announced that if the United States vetoed the PA request, then they would lose their status as friends with Saudi Arabia. However, if the United States approved the PA request, then it would further damage already strained relationships with Israel. An abstention would probably anger both sides. Thus, the indefinite tabling methodology looks appealing.

This past week, in my preparation for a time with a group of men beginning a three-year training for leadership in their homes, in our community, and in our church, I was in Nehemiah 2. (Our focus for the first eleven weeks of study is this book). When Nehemiah gets to Jerusalem he immediately encounters strong opposition from those who were benefited by the failure of the Jews to rebuild that city. The opposition included Sanballat, the leader of the Samaritans - who lived north of the city; Tobiah, one of the chief officials of the Ammonites - who lived east across the Jordan River; and Geshem the Arab, one of the most powerful men of his day as he led the coalition of Arab tribes that dominated the southern regions as far as Egypt.

Let me share with you verse 20: "I answered them by saying, 'The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.'" Wow! What an incredible statement for Nehemiah to make in his day! And, upon further analysis, it would be a great statement for Jewish leaders to make today. Let's break the verse apart.

First, Nehemiah declares that Sanballot, Tobiah, and Geshem have no historic claims to Jerusalem or the surrounding area. "You have no share in Jerusalem." Nehemiah is saying, "If you look into the historical records, you have no history here. This is a Jewish city. This is Jewish land." Today, Palestinians have been attempting to prove that they have an ancient history with Jerusalem, but, as our guide in Israel says, "we have yet to uncover an ancient mosque anywhere around the city, or in Israel for that matter."

Second, Nehemiah states that these three men have no present rights for any claim: "or any claim." In other words, they do not belong there. They can present no evidence for the authority they have had in the past.

Finally, Nehemiah affirms that Sanballot, Tobiah and Geshem and their groups have no future in Jerusalem: "or historic right to it." In other words, Nehemiah is stating strongly that Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside will always be Jewish.

Nehemiah stood boldly before those who had taken advantage of the Jewish absence during the Babylonian exile and had staked a claim for themselves. Nehemiah says, "We are back; it is time for you to move out and never come back. This place is now ours once again." Did not something similar happen in 1948, again in 1967, and still again in 1973? Did not the nation of Israel declare to the world that "we are back home! It is time for you to leave." That does not mean that Israel would run rough-shod over others; in fact, just the opposite has occurred: Israel has helped those who lived in the land, Israeli-Arabs are very prosperous, among the most prosperous Arabs in the world. And those Israeli-Arabs enjoy a freedom not found in the rest of the Arab world.

I believe Israeli leaders need to stand firm as did Nehemiah. And, when he did, good things happened.