Haters Gonna Hate

Haters gonna hate. If you’ve been anywhere near pop culture for the past few years, you’ve heard the expression. This little three-word comeback reminds to ignore negative comments and simply move on. Long before it was an internet meme, you can see Nehemiah applying the underlying idea behind this phrase. In Nehemiah 4:1-5, the leader of the Jerusalem wall project hears the trash talk of his new enemies, a pair of thugs named Sanballat and Tobiah. They do everything they can to verbally intimidate Nehemiah and the Israelite construction crew. Does Nehemiah bark back? He’s already had one nose-to-nose showdown with these knuckleheads (Neh 2:19-20). When the smack makes a comeback, Nehemiah takes it right to God. You see, haters gonna hate, but prayers gonna pray.

A quick recap of what’s going on. After 70-plus years of captivity in Babylon, God’s people are headed home to the Promised Land. The LORD has moved a series of pagan kings to send the Jews back to Judah and provide government funding to the project. But the situation in Jerusalem is a disaster. The city is basically a pile of bricks. Nebuchadnezzar’s army flattened and torched Jerusalem before hauling the Hebrews off into exile. Over the past series of years, the returning Israelites rebuilt the temple and worship Yahweh once again. But the once massive city walls lie in ruins. The huge city gates are charcoal. The people are incredible vulnerable. They’re sitting ducks to attack. 

That’s where Nehemiah comes in. Just a few months ago, he was working 1,000 miles away as the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes at the palace in Susa when his brother tells him about the crisis in Jerusalem (Neh 1:1-3, 11). The breaking news about the broken walls breaks his heart. After several days of crying, fasting, and praying, Nehemiah asks the Persian king if he can take some time off and do something about it (Neh 1:4-11; 2:1-5). Artaxerxes not only approves his vacation request but gives his Jewish wine steward all of the royal paperwork to make this project happen (Neh 2:6-8). Nehemiah knows that he not only has the support of the greatest superpower on the planet but that of God Himself (Neh 2:8). Once in Jerusalem, he makes  midnight survey of the walls and pitches the project to the city leaders (Neh 2:11-18). That immediately freaks out a gang of local goons named Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem (Neh 2:19). They are leaders of the areas neighboring the city. Up till this point, the people of Jerusalem have been a pushover. An easy mark. Nehemiah knows that with God’s support, that’s about to change (Neh 2:20). The next thing you know, just about every single person grabs a hard hat and gets to work rebuilding the walls and gates (Neh 3:1-32). This is a total team effort.

The sound of hammers and chisels gets Sanballat’s attention. “Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews” (v1). This isn’t the first time that he hears and jeers (Neh 2:19) and it won’t be the last. The original language tells us that this dude is hot and bothered that the wall project is underway. He’s burning with anger. He’s incensed. You can see the steam coming out of his ears. He and his posse thought they had been able to bully the Hebrews into backing off as they have done before. Not this time. 

When Sanballat blows his stack, he immediately starts running his mouth. He starts talking all sorts of smack to everyone who will listen. “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” (v2). I love, love, love The Message’s take on Sanballat’s rant. “What are these miserable Jews doing? Do they think they can get everything back to normal overnight? Make building stones out of make-believe” (v2 The Message). Suddenly Nehemiah is a threat. Suddenly the walls are going up. Sanballat bullies them with trash talk. At this point, his weaselly sidekick Tobiah chimes in. “Yes, what are they building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” (v3). Don’t you just hate this guy? He laughs at the Jewish construction abilities. They’re such horrible stone masons that the walls will topple over when a dinky critter like a fox runs across it. They do everything they can to intimidate Nehemiah and the people. They figure all their smack will distract. Haters gonna hate.

Nehemiah has something to say. This ought to be good. Let’m have it, bro! Don’t take that garbage from those losers!! But wait a minute. He’s not talking to Sanballat and Tobiah. He’s talking to God. Haters gonna hate, but prayers gonna pray. “Hear, O God, for we are despised” (v4). Nehemiah invites the LORD to listen up to what’s being said. Let’s be clear, he knows God is listening. He knows God is paying attention. Remember, Yahweh has a firm grip on this entire project (Neh 2:8, 18). Just as God hears these goons’ trash talk, he hears the prayers of His people. Once again, we see that Nehemiah is a man of prayer. He pleads with God and confesses the sin of his own people when he hears of the awful situation in Jerusalem (Neh 1:4-11). He throws up a bullet prayer for guidance when King Artaxerxes asks him why he’s depressed (Neh 2:4). And now when Sanballat and Tobiah terrorize and torment the people, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that Nehemiah prays again. Haters gonna hate, but prayers gonna pray.

Nehemiah’s prayer might not be what you’re expecting. He doesn’t ask God to soften the hearts of his enemies. Instead, he pleads with the LORD to bring the pain. “Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked You to anger in the presence of the builders” (v4-5). Sure sounds like this is the prayer version of “I’m rubber, you’re glue; your words bounce off me and stick to you.” Nehemiah begs God to let Sanballat and his goons experience what the Israelites have been through. Let them be robbed! Let them be hauled off as prisoners! Let’s see how they like it! 

Doesn’t really seem to be the kind of prayer that you would expect a man of God to offer, huh? This is what smart dudes at seminaries like to call an imprecatory prayer. That simply describes when you ask God to not hold back His justice and wrath on somebody who’s done you wrong. God’s songbook is loaded with imprecatory psalms (Ps 5, 10, 17, 35, 58, 59, 69, 70, 83, 109, 129, 137, 140). So what’s the deal? Sure doesn’t seem very loving, does it? The big point is that we should take all our pain, all our anger, and all our frustration to the One who can handle it. Nehemiah doesn’t freak out and fire back at these bullies. Instead he takes his hot mess of emotion and drops it right at God’s feet. Instead of taking matters into his own hands, he asks the LORD to handle it. When you’re mad, tell God. When you’re frustrated, tell God. When someone trashes you or your reputation, tell God. Let Him handle it. He’s big enough to take it. And He’s perfectly qualified to know exactly what to do. 

Haters gonna hate, but prayers gonna pray.