Nehemiah wasn’t a general contractor. And he didn’t arrive in Jerusalem as a former royal bartender turned stone mason. He was appointed acting governor by King Artaxerxes. And he has been a model of leadership ever since; mainly because he led by example.
It can be hard to grasp the scope of this wall and gate rebuilding project just from the text. It doesn’t say how many feet or meters any of the sections were. Thankfully, we have archeology.
I found this map online that shows the locations described in chapter 3. The narrative begins at the Sheep Gate and runs counterclockwise.
Some of the details I loved in chapter 3 were the goldsmiths and perfumers working on the wall. These men were artisans; probably without much experience in building. But they showed up and hustled anyway. I loved that it said that some of the people were working on sections of the wall next to their own homes and one man (who apparently didn’t have any strapping sons to help), had a team of his daughters working with him.
There was approximately 1 mile (1.5km) of wall to be rebuilt, along with the gatehouses and gates. I can imagine that when it was only waist-high is when Sanballat and Tobiah dropped by to mock them.
I think most of us have had someone come and criticize something we’re are working on when we’ve only just started and it looks rather like a mess. It’s frustrating.
But it feels so odd, doesn’t it, for these rulers of neighboring areas to be so put out. Why should they care? Maybe it’s the “American” in me that is used to letting neighbors just do whatever odd things they’re gonna do as long as they’re not causing real problems. The opposition honestly feels irrational. Jerusalem is building walls to protect itself, not siege ramps to attack anyone.
It makes me suspect that there is some kind of dark supernatural forces behind the scenes. The devil isn’t stupid. He knows what God has said up to this point about Jerusalem being lifted up and made the place from which God’s Word will go out to all the nations. It will be inhabited by the LORD Himself forever. He also knows that a priest-king is coming to reign on the throne of David and that his reign is somehow connected with a judgment day that includes both humans and beings who inhabit the spiritual realm. This is all spoken by God Himself through the prophets.
But the rebel forces do not know HOW or WHEN the Almighty is going to do these things. So when a group of exiles return and rebuild the temple and they get serious about obeying the LORD and now they’re repairing the city, well, it might make one wonder if the end is at hand.
Stop the building of Jerusalem and you would delay or maybe even derail God’s plans. (Or so the fallen realm might think) Sanballat and Tobiah unwittingly function as mouthpieces for the spiritual enemy of the Jews. They sow doubt and try to undermine morale.
And we need to watch out for that in our own lives. The Devil can’t take you out of the hand of God, but he sure will try to make you ineffective through doubt and discouragement.
Nehemiah’s rousing speech and combination of work and warfare is just as helpful for us now as it was then.
“And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.””
Nehemiah 4:14 ESV
See the doubt and discouragement for what it is: a spiritual attack.
War is, by its nature, destruction.
It’s the opposite of what they were doing: construction.
I find it worth pondering that they carried instruments for both; tools to build and weapons to fight.
If we attempt to labor with our Nehemiah, the Lord Jesus, to build the Kingdom of God, it’s not enough to build build build and never learn to wield the Sword of the Spirit. Nor is it all fight fight fight and “take dominion” and such. You don’t fight a structure into existence. It must be built.
Once they started rebuilding, it provoked the enemy. Now they are particularly vulnerable.
Think about that. It’s been about a century since the foundation was laid for the temple. There were problems, yes. The project stalled for nearly 20 years but they got back on track and completed it. More exiles have returned. Ezra brought a bunch to teach the scripture. But for most of this past century, Jerusalem hasn’t been at DEFCON 2. And now they are. What changed?
I wonder if we might draw some application from that? Like, maybe the Enemy won’t bother you too much unless you get to level 3:
- Temple Built (God is in their midst)
- Teaching the Word, repentance
- Defensive walls and gates
When you get REALLY serious about living in the Life of Christ, it’s WAY more than just “being a Christian” and going to Church and having God in your midst. And the path even goes beyond learning the Word and repentance. When you begin to examine the walls of your own heart and notice where exactly the vulnerable places are- where the enemy could (and probably does) just walk in- and then you put your foot down and say, “No.” And you go to work in your soul – clearing away the rubble of your former brokenness until you get down to nothing but the foundation of Christ the solid Rock. And you work at closing up those gaps. It’s not a magic prayer formula. It’s work. Planning. Effort. Evaluation. Adjustments. Repetition. And the gates have to be rebuilt. Boundaries set. Rule about what is allowed in and what isn’t. And you’ll need community around you like the people in Jerusalem worked with their neighbors. This is how you are built up (“edified” is the fancy word- like raising up the edifice of a building).
The main thing in the NT that is said to “build up” or “edify” the saints is: Love (1 Cor. 8:1). Here are a couple more:
- Encouraging inspired speech edifies (Eph. 4:29, 1 Thes. 5:11, 1 Cor. 14:3)
- Speaking (praying) in tongues edifies oneself (1 Cor. 14:4).
If you’re feeling broken down, you need to open your heart to the love of God.
“and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Romans 5:5 KJV
Most newer translations use the words “poured” or “poured out” to describe what the Holy Spirit does with God’s love. The KJV wording makes me think of a vast watershed where rain is collected by tiny creeks and stream beds fill and flow into a river to fill it completely.
Even if you have to camp out on this verse for years and ask the LORD to teach you how to receive and give His love, do it. It’s the primary way your walls and gates will be edified.
When you start being built up, the Enemy says, “Uh oh. If those broken places get built back and the gates get put in, I can’t manipulate them anymore. I better make my move now. Threaten. Discourage. Overwhelm. Wear them out.” Don’t be surprised if you stir up trouble. You may have never experienced spiritual attack, but be prepared, when you start building, the Enemy will not sit quietly by. Do not be deterred. He cannot win. He can only threaten and lie and try to intimidate.
Perhaps it’s my English roots 🏴 on my maternal grandmother’s side, but I LOVE how the KJV words verse 10:
“And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.”
Nehemiah 4:10 KJV
Where Americans 🇺🇸 say “trash” or “garbage” Brits 🇬🇧 say “rubbish.”
(They also say lovely things like ahftanoon tea ☕️ 🫖 with scones and strawb’ry jam and clotted cream) 🥰
The wall-builders had become tired and the piles of “rubbish” were daunting. But face it and tackle it they did.
Depending on your life experiences, you may have a lot of internal rubbish that needs removing. As someone who deeply internalizes and processes EV—RY—THING, I have gained a good deal of experience in recognizing and removing rubbish from the internal city of my soul. It must be done if you wish to build. Rubbish typically looks like words and ideas and feelings that turn out to be untrue. If I’m thinking defeated thoughts or feelings, I question them.
Me (to my super downcast thought): Hello. What are you? Where did you come from?
[much mental poking, prodding, dissecting, remembering and reflecting ensues…] then,
Me: This is rubbish. Out you go.
I bring them to Jesus and dump them at His feet. (Cue the beep beep beep of a garbage truck)
And He removes it all as far as the east is from the west. He’s the great Garbage Man of the Universe. 🗑️(Or, the British would say, Bin Man or Dust Man). I’ve found that the removal of rubbish and building up broken places goes together. You can “set out” your soul-rubbish as often as you need and let Jesus carry it away.
It took grit for Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem to keep working in shifts around the clock. They slept in their clothes. That’s the kind of grit and determination it takes to deal with long-broken-down places in our individual lives and church communities. If a Sanballat or Tobiah shows up to mock and harass and discourage, it’s a sign that we’re becoming a threat to the rebel darkness.
Do not quit.
To The Reader 