When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews. – Nehemiah 4:1

Today's Scripture Reading (November 13, 2023): Nehemiah 4

"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." The words belong to the social reformer Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery, Douglass fell in love with a free woman, Anna Murray, which increased his desire to be free himself. Douglass, with the economic help of Murray, escaped to freedom on September 3, 1838. He took a train north dressed as a sailor, a costume that Murray helped him procure. Within twenty-four hours, Douglass had found himself at the safe house of abolitionist David Ruggles in New York City. He wrote later of his feelings on the day that he arrived in New York.

It was a time of joyous excitement which words can but tamely describe. In a letter written to a friend soon after reaching New York, I said: "I felt as one might feel upon escape from a den of hungry lions." Anguish and grief, like darkness and rain, may be depicted; but gladness and joy, like the rainbow, defy the skill of pen or pencil (Frederick Douglass).

Douglass had tried to escape in 1837 but got caught and returned to his slave owner. At that time, he probably experienced the ridicule of people who were firm believers in the institution of slavery. But for Douglass, that didn't matter. You could ridicule him all you wanted for his belief, but Douglass knew that your ridicule was minor when compared to his hatred not only of his status as an enslaved person but of the existence of anyone who dared to enslave people. Douglass wrote later

I consulted a good coloured man named Charles Lawson, and in tones of holy affection he told me to pray, and to "cast all my care upon God." This I sought to do; and though for weeks I was a poor, broken-hearted mourner, traveling through doubts and fears, I finally found my burden lightened, and my heart relieved. I loved all mankind, slaveholders not excepted, though I abhorred slavery more than ever. I saw the world in a new light, and my great concern was to have everybody converted. My desire to learn increased, and especially did I want a thorough acquaintance with the contents of the Bible (Frederick Douglass).

When those living around Jerusalem learned that the exiles had started rebuilding the city walls, they were upset. They didn't want Jerusalem to become a power in the area. And so, they resorted to ridicule, hoping the people would feel embarrassed and stop the work. But God had told them to rebuild the walls, and their unwillingness to disobey God weighed heavier on the hearts of the exiles than any ridicule that Sanballat and his compatriots could heap on the exiles working on the walls.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 5