Shemaiah claimed to have received a prophecy from God (v. 12). He tried to scare Nehemiah into thinking that assassins were after him so he would seek sanctuary inside the temple. The Mosaic Law prohibited anyone but priests from entering the holy and the most holy places in the temple (Num. 1:51; 3:10; 18:7). Nehemiah was not the kind of man his enemies could terrify with a death threat. Perhaps Shemaiah was suggesting that he and Nehemiah commandeer and take possession of the temple, though this possibility seems unlikely to me.56Nehemiah saw through this "prophecy."It could not have been from God since it counselled disobedience to the Mosaic Law. The motive of Nehemiah's enemies was to show the Jews that their leader had no real concern about the Law, but was rebuilding the walls for personal reasons (v. 13). This incident was only one of several in which false prophets tried to deceive Nehemiah (v. 14).
Satan still employs these three strategies as he seeks to destroy the effectiveness of spiritual leaders. One writer called them intrigue, innuendo, and intimidation.57
