When to Pray a Curse? Nehemiah’s Bold Prayer (Neh 4:4-5)

Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their taunt back on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover their guilt and do not let their sin be blotted out from your sight; for they have hurled insults in the face of the builders.

In this day of radical tolerance (except against those who refuse to tolerate indiscriminate tolerance), most of us are likely to judge anyone who offers a curse-prayer. Yet they are part of the Biblical tradition of prayer. What can we learn from this one, and in our age, is a curse-prayer ever appropriate?

Background

The King allowed Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem and take charge of rebuilding the wall. Once there, he met with the leaders, went out and inspected the wall. He then asked the people to join him in the task, and the response was overwhelming. They started by rebuilding the “Sheep’s Gate” and worked counterclockwise around the city. Nehemiah details the work, the places on the wall rebuilt, and each group or tribe responsible for the rebuilding.

But the work is not without opposition. Nehemiah and his work anger a nearby leader, Sanballat (perhaps the governor of Syria) and Tobiah, a foreigner who lived in Jerusalem. They ridicule the wall, saying it was weak and pitiful, trying to demoralize the workers. This is happening in public, at the wall, with the workers and the tormentors face to face. Nehemiah’s response is the prayer above. He asks for God not only to turn their taunts back on them, but for their land to be overrun and taken into captivity. Further, he asks that God not forgive them or forget their sin, because of their insults against God’s work.

Meaning

To Nehemiah’s credit, rather than fighting back with words or actions against the bullies, he turns to God in prayer. This is because he saw the criticisms and ridicule aimed more at God than himself. It only made sense that God should be the one to address the issue.