'Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down
their stone wall.'

We can picture to ourselves the burst of laughter with which this speech
would be hailed by the bystanders, the officers and courtiers of
Sanballat.

What does Nehemiah answer? How does he reply to this cruel ridicule,
these sharp, cutting, insolent words, that provoking laughter?

If we study Nehemiah's character, we shall find that he was a man of
quick feelings and of a sensitive nature. He was not one of those men
who are so thick-skinned that hard speeches are not felt by them. He was
moreover a man of great power and spirit. He must have felt much
inclined to give Tobiah the bitter retort he so richly deserved, or to
call upon his men to drive Sanballat and his party from the walls.

But Nehemiah speaks not. He does not utter a single word to Sanballat or
to his friends. He remembers that this is God's work, not his; and he
therefore complains to God, not man:

'Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon
their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity.'

Then, quietly and steadily, as if nothing had happened, he takes up his
work again, and the people follow his example; they take no notice of
the jeering company below, but they build on in silence, all the quicker
and the more carefully for the scoffs of their enemies.

Sanballat and Tobiah soon tire of laughter and mockery, when they see it