Nehemiah 2:13

The Bible says in Nehemiah 2:13-18, “And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.[14] Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.[15] Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.[16] And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.[17] Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.[18] Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.” Nehemiah went out and surveyed the broken down walls of Jerusalem before he told anyone what he wanted to do. Count the cost. Be prepared. Have a plan. Know what you are getting into so that you can finish what you start. Nehemiah knew that he would have obstacles and enemies. You will also. Nehemiah also knew that he would need help. You can do a few things by yourself, but to build a large long-lasting work for the Lord you will need other Christians to join you. They have gifts and abilities that you do not have. The hand cannot say to the foot, “I have no need of thee.” How did Nehemiah get the others to help him? Nehemiah simply told them what the Lord had put on his heart and what the Lord had done up to that point by touching the heart of the king to open the door and provide a legal path to getting it done. Verse eighteen says, “Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.” Find out the way that God is going, and go with Him. Find those who are doing God’s work and help them.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 2:19-20, “But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?[20] Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.” Nehemiah had opposition. Nehemiah was scorned, he was despised, and he was accused of rebellion against the king. The question is: how would Nehemiah react to the opposition? The answer to that is found in verse twenty. Nehemiah made it clear that he would continue to have faith in the Lord. He said, “The God of heaven, he will prosper us.” Nehemiah also made it clear that he would not stop the work and he would not give up in the face of opposition. Because he had faith in God, he said, “we his servants will arise and build.” Nehemiah added works to his faith. “Faith without works is dead.”

The Bible says in Nehemiah 3:1-5, “Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.[2] And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.[3] But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.[4] And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana.[5] And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.” This chapter is a long list of those who helped build the wall. Nehemiah did not build the wall himself. He led the effort, but it took the work and the help of many others to get it done. That is the way Christianity is supposed to work. A person gets saved, and then becomes the part of a local congregation of believers. Each believer in that congregation has one or more spiritual gifts to be used to edify one another and to serve the Lord. God compares that congregation to a body. Each Christian is a part of the body. The Bible says in First Corinthians 12:12-21, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.[13] For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.[14] For the body is not one member, but many.[15] If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?[16] And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?[17] If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?[18] But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.[19] And if they were all one member, where were the body?[20] But now are they many members, yet but one body.[21] And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.” What is God’s plan and God’s desire for your community: to save every lost soul, and to see every saved soul grow in the Lord and become fruitful for Him. This will not happen unless Christians band together in local congregations. The walls are broken down. There is too much work to do. Each must do his or her part. Notice in Nehemiah 3:5 it says, “but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.” You do not want your name to go down in God’s records that you did not do your part.

In the rest of Nehemiah chapter three the list of what each believer did in the work is given. For example, the Bible says in Nehemiah 3:6-12, “Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.[7] And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river.[8] Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.[9] And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem.[10] And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.[11] Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahath-moab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces.[12] And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.” Notice in the last part of verse twelve it speaks of Shallum and the work that he did “and his daughters.” We often see in the Bible where women are elevated to equality with men. From God’s perspective women are not possessions. They are free moral agents. Here we see women doing the same work the men were doing. In the Bible we see women as leaders such as with Deborah the Judge and Esther the Queen. In the Bible we see women of faith who live by faith and who speak forth the Word of God. In the Bible we see women who are used greatly by God such as Hannah, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Priscilla, and many others. Women are equal to men under God. It says in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The Bible says in Nehemiah 4:1-6, “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.[2] And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?[3] Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.[4] Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:[5] And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.[6] So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” Sanballat and Tobiah were great enemies. Notice the kind of people they were and the tactics they used: they hated, they mocked, they were angry, they accused, and they belittled. Just the types of things that the devil himself likes to do. Notice in verse two that one of the things that these enemies complained about were the Jewish sacrifices that were offered in the religious ceremonies. Those sacrifices were all about the most important message from God. There would be a Messiah who would be the lamb of God who would give His blood for the sins of the world. The holy God can be merciful and is merciful because the substitute will bear the punishments for sin. Anyone who mocks or rejects the sacrifice of Christ is just like the enemies who opposed Nehemiah and who rejected Nehemiah’s work.

Notice how Nehemiah reacted to these enemies in verses four and five. Nehemiah prayed. He started his prayer in verse four with the words, “Hear, O our God; for we are despised…” Nehemiah asked God to take matters into His great hands. Every Christian should do this when faced with an enemy who is on the attack. Nehemiah also asked for justice. God is judge of the whole earth, and He will bring justice. That is one of the reasons for what happens to people. God is at work, bringing justice where He sees fit to bring it.

And then after Nehemiah prayed, he went back to doing the work. It says in verse six, “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” The Bible is a very practical book. Yes, you pray and ask the Lord to help, but then you do what you can. Get to work. Pray and ask God to save souls, but also get busy spreading the Gospel.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 4:7-9, “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,[8] And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.[9] Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.” Once again we see that as soon as the enemies conspired against Nehemiah, that it says in verse nine that they prayed to the Lord. And once again we see that after they prayed, they did what they could to protect themselves: they “set a watch against them day and night.”

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