Matthew Henry Commentary Nehemiah 4:1-6

"But it came to pass that, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they are building, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall. Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn back their reproach upon their own head, and give them up for a spoil in a land of captivity; and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; for they have provoked [thee] to anger before the builders. So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half [the height] thereof: for the people had a mind to work." — Nehemiah 4:1-6 (ASV)

Many a good work has been viewed with contempt by proud and haughty scorners. Those who disagree on almost everything will unite in persecution.

Nehemiah did not answer these fools according to their folly, but instead looked to God in prayer. God's people have often been a despised people, but He hears all the slights they endure, and it is their comfort that He does.

Nehemiah had reason to think that the hearts of those sinners were desperately hardened; otherwise, he would not have prayed that their sins might never be blotted out. Good work progresses well when people set their minds to it. The reproaches of enemies should motivate us in our duty, not drive us from it.