Nehemiah 2 · a question people ask
Why did Nehemiah keep his plan to himself at first?
The chapter doesn't give a reason. It tells what he did: "I didn’t tell anyone what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem" (2:12), and "The rulers didn’t know where I went, or what I did" (2:16). It also tells what was going on around him: before he reached Jerusalem, "When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly" (2:10). And it tells what he did next: after inspecting the walls, he told them about God's hand on him and the king's words (2:17-18). The chapter sets these down without saying why he waited, and this study doesn't guess.
The verses
“When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, because a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.”
“I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There wasn’t any animal with me except the animal that I rode on.”
“The rulers didn’t know where I went, or what I did. I had not as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work. Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, let’s build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we won’t be disgraced.” I told them about the hand of my God which was good on me, and also about the king’s words that he had spoken to me. They said, “Let’s rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.”