Nehemiah 5:16

The Bible says in Nehemiah 5:16-19, “Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.[17] Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us.[18] Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.[19] Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.” A great statement and a very important statement was made by Nehemiah in verse fourteen. He said, “I continued in the work.” There are a lot of Christians who could not honestly make this statement, neither from a practical standpoint or a spiritual standpoint. Once you are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He has work for you to do for Him and for His kingdom. Of course, there may very well be a time of preparation before the work begins. And in a way you are being prepared all of your life for what is next for you. Just make sure you keep doing the work that God has for you to do. Do not be a quitter. There will always be reasons to quit. People are mean, people are weak, and life is hard, and you still sin. Stay right with the Lord through daily confession, and keep on working in order to accomplish that which God has given you to do. Jesus said in John 9:4, “I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work.” Be careful about the concept of retirement or vacation or being at ease. Jesus worked until He died, and so did Paul and all the other apostles. Take an hour to relax here or there a few times a week, but other than that keep accomplishing something: keep working. Why was Nehemiah a success at building the wall: because he kept building it. He did not stop.

Nehemiah also understood that there is such a thing as consequences in life. Do good in order to reap good things. That is one of the benefits of following Jesus and developing a Christian character. The more that you mature in following Jesus and thus doing good works, the more that you will benefit from the results of doing those good works. Nehemiah said in verse nineteen, “Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.” Nehemiah wanted his ministry to be successful. Nehemiah knew that could only happen if the Lord blessed his efforts.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 6:1-4, “Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)[2] That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.[3] And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?[4] Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.” Nehemiah’s enemies tried to get him to go to a meeting outside of Jerusalem so they could harm him. But Nehemiah would not do it. He had too much work to do. That is a good lesson. Just keep doing the work that God has for you, and you also will avoid mischief.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 6:5-9, “Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;[6] Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words.[7] And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.[8] Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.[9] For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.” The next scheme by the enemies was to lie to try and get the Jews to stop their work. They said that they would go to the king and lie and tell the king that Nehemiah was trying to be king. Of course, if the king believed the lie, that could result in death for Nehemiah and the others. Do we have any politicians today who will lie in order to get power or to get their way? Unfortunately, it is a common occurrence. Human nature does not change with the passing of centuries. What did Nehemiah do in the face of this lie and this threat? He prayed. In verse nine he said, “O God, strengthen my hands.”

The Bible says in Nehemiah 6:10-14, “Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.[11] And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.[12] And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.[13] Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.[14] My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.” The enemies have another plan. This time they will try to get Nehemiah afraid in order to get him to run and hide in the temple. But Nehemiah is the leader. He cannot be running and hiding while the rest of the people are in danger every day. Nehemiah knows that this is a plan to make him look like a coward. Not only that, but Nehemiah says in verse thirteen that if he shows fear, then he is committing “sin.” Believers should be the bravest of all people because we have God to help us. God can do anything. God will perform His will, whatever that is. Jesus told His disciples, “fear not.” Nehemiah does not fear, and he does not do what the enemies want. And then Nehemiah turns to the Lord. He simply puts his enemies into the Lord’s hands instead of retaliating against them himself. Nehemiah prayed, “My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works…”

The Bible says in Nehemiah 6:15-19, “So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.[16] And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.[17] Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.[18] For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.[19] Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.” Nehemiah finished building the wall. It was a great accomplishment. He had many enemies and many obstacles, but he did it. It is a very good example to all of us for faith in the Lord, keeping at the task at hand, being practical, setting a good example of leadership, being brave, and finishing the job. Always finish the job that God has given you to do. A lot of people start well, but they do not finish. They quit and go somewhere else. There are many enemies and many obstacles. You win if you finish the job.

But even though Nehemiah finished the wall, the spiritual battles did not stop. Those battles will not stop until we get to heaven. And so it says at the end of verse nineteen, “And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.”

The Bible says in Nehemiah 7:1-2, “Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,[2] That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.” The wall had been built, and the doors and gates to the wall had been built; but there was still more work to. Things needed to be organized and administered. New leaders needed to be appointed. Notice that in verse two that two men were appointed to leadership roles and there were two requirements given for them to have the leadership roles. They had to be “faithful,” and they had to fear God “above many.” The word that is translated “faithful” means “established” or “stable.” You do not want a deacon that is weak or an unknown quantity. You do not want a new convert as a deacon. You want someone who has a track record of serving the Lord Jesus faithfully. You want the best Christians as church members and deacons and servants of the Lord in any capacity. I want a church full of strong, loving, faithful Christians. That is my prayer. I do not want a bunch of weak-kneed people who are double-minded, who do not have a disciplined Christian life, and who have never really grown in the Lord. God’s work deserves the best in positions of leadership and responsibility.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 7:3-12, “And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.[4] Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.[5] And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein,[6] These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city;[7] Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this;[8] The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred seventy and two.[9] The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two.[10] The children of Arah, six hundred fifty and two.[11] The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred and eighteen.[12] The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.” Verses three and four show us once again that even though the wall was built, there was more work to do. Life goes on. They had to make sure the gates were closed and guarded much of the time because the enemies were still a threat. You never arrive in the Christian life where the battles stop or the work stops. There is always more that needs to be done: more souls to reach, more Christians to be taught, more sermons to preach, more things to be better organized and properly administered. Nehemiah and the people with him still had to build their own homes. This implies that they were living in tents up to this point. Nehemiah also wanted to keep good records, and so he decided to create a genealogy of all the people who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. Lists like this help to demonstrate the total accuracy of the Bible. If it had not been accurate, the people of the day would have rejected it. The Bible is God’s Word and thus every word is true.

___________________________________________________