And then along came the cynics.

Sanballat and Tobiah play the classic role of spoiler -- like the wicked stepsisters from Cinderella, like Waldorf and Statler from the Muppet Show, like the mean-yet-popular jocks from any teen-targeted high school film saga produced in the last 20 years.  "What are these miserable Jews doing?  Do they think they can get everything back to normal overnight?  Make building stones out of make-believe?"  Har-har-har-har-har, they cackle in their evil egotistical voices, egging each other on in their mockery.  "That's right!" chimes in the other one.  "What do they think they're building?  Why if a fox climbed that wall, it would fall to pieces under his weight."  Har-har-har-har-har...

It's worse than demoralizing.  It's devestating.  The very moment which had been meant to be so beautiful, so powerful, so inspiring, so significant -- is suddenly made to be pitiful, shameful, sad, tragically-ironic.  And the workers on the wall soon crumbled under the ridicule.  In spite of Nehemiah's leadership, his sharp indictment of the mockers, his call to prayer and vigilent steps to provide protection and oversight, the word soon spreads throughout Judah:  "The builders are pooped, the rubbish piles up; we're in over our heads, we can't build this wall."  And as the cynics sense the shift in morale, they seek to press their advantage.  They pile on threats of physical aggression -- death threats, even.  The downward spiral continues.

Nehemiah does his best to counter.  He reminds everyone that they are in a serious battle.  He calls out a Code Red.  He arms his workers -- a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other.  He works out a rotation round-the-clock for half of the crew to be on-guard against enemies who would seek to threaten the workers and their vulnerable work-in-progress -- and the other half of the crew is put back to task, trying to rebuild momentum and get back to that glorious moment of beauty, power, and inspiration that was so recently theirs.  But in spite of the most drastic measures taken to overcome the adversity, infighting erupts, the Israelites having been pushed to the limits of their enemy-induced stress.

The psychological pressures are intense.  The whole project continues to teeter in the balance.  There could hardly be a more graphic illustration of spiritual battle.

In the end, Nehemiah overcomes the cynics and the infighting by taking ownership, emphasizing personal integrity, and ignoring further attempts on the part of the cynics to derail further progress.  He calls out his compatriots, forcefully condemning the destructive patterns undermining the partnerships allowing for the completion of the rebuilding projects.  He sacrifices some of his own personal leadership "rights" -- literally walking around with his pockets turned inside-out -- to enforce the concept of team cohesion and reminding his teammates that "We all have work to do.  We're working on this wall... We don't have time to line our pockets."  C'mon, folks.  Let's get on with it.  Let's DO it!  And then, once the momentum starts rolling again -- once the soundtrack starts to swell again -- further threats, entreaties, sneaky self-serving "prophecies," and subtle psychological manipulations against the leader are simply ignored, brushed off, disregarded, drowned out by the triumphant music of victory and celebration.  It's better than Hollywood.  It's beautiful.  And finally, after 52 days, the wall is rebuilt.  The city is restored.  The future is bright.  And the cynics -- the mockers, the enemies, the meanies -- though not completely (nor forever) removed from the picture, are thoroughly demoralized, de-spined, and discouraged to clearly see the work of God and know that the battle is lost.

It's amazing to see how his process is played out over and over again in history, in my own life, in the lives of others.  How often have we struggled against an addiction with such accute strides and struggles along the way?  How often have we made such sweeping gains in relationships -- with our parents, with our siblings, with our spouses, with our colleagues -- only to have to fight through such difficulties again and again before finally overcoming?  How often has God revealed something to us -- through study of the Bible, through counseling, through whatever means -- and yet we've had to stride and struggle, sometimes through very deep valleys, before finally coming out on the other side?

I'm encouraged and challenged by the story of Nehemiah.  I'm intrigued to implement its lessons in life.