Nehemiah, ancient superhero

In reading the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem I was impressed by the way he always stood firm and unwavering in the face of opposition. Through ridicule, false charges, the threat of attack, he just kept working on the walls. My favorite part was in chapter 6, when death threats were made against him and Shemaiah asked him to hide in the temple. His answer in verse 11:

But I said, "Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in."

Turns out Shemaiah was working for the bad guys and trying to lure him into a trap. Well played, Nehemiah. I think this verse also has a great modern context as we hear stories of terrorists hiding in mosques because the military won't blow them up. Perhaps if this were posted on the door of all those mosques our war on terror would have turned out differently.