For the past two weeks we have been looking at “The Revitalization of the Lord’s House and People.” We examined in 2 Kings 12 and 2 Chronicles 24 how Joash rallied the people to give to the repair of the temple. Then Last week we look at how after the Jews return from Babylon, they got sidetracked into their own affairs and were slow to rebuild the temple. We examined in the book of Haggai, how the prophet called the people to examine their priorities. This took place around 520 BC. This week the story centers around Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. This takes place about 70-75 years later. In each of these stories, God is calling the people to much more than to rebuild the structures, whether it be the Temple or the wall around the city, He is calling the people to Himself. Calling the people to place their trust in Him and to obey Him and follow His call, and then be amazed at the great things God is able to do through them.
In my studies of these passages, one verse I keep coming back to is the one I mentioned two weeks ago and referenced it last week.. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul was telling the church at Corinth how the poor churches in Macedonia gave more than their ability. Paul commented that they:
2 Corinthians 8:5b (NKJV) . . . but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.
God is able to do great things if we only first give ourselves to the Lord. Then to His work. Today we examine that “The People Had A Mind To Work” (sermon title). We will be looking at excepts from chapters 2 through 6 of Nehemiah. the fact was that Nehemiah was a mighty man of God. He was first a man of prayer as a well as a man of action. Our study will focus on these two verses:
Nehemiah 4:6 (NKJV) So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 6:15–16 (NKJV) 15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
ILL: The 4,000-mile-long Great Wall of China was built to keep invaders from the north. The first wall was constructed by Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China, who lived between 259 - 210 BC.
But in AD 1644 the Manchus broke through the Great Wall and overran China. They did this not by tearing down the walls or climbing over it, but by bribing a general of the Ming dynasty to open the gates. During the reconstruction of ancient Jerusalem, Nehemiah understood the acute danger posed by those who opposed the rebuilding of the city’s ruined walls. So he commanded constant vigilance. Half of the workers were to stand watch while half rebuilt the walls. As Christians, we must be vigilant that nothing breaches our spiritual defenses. Even the most mature believer can never afford to let down his guard. [1]
Nehemiah is study in dynamic Godly Leadership and the prayers of Nehemiah is a study all by itself. God had placed on the heart of Nehemiah the intense desire, a call, to rebuild Jerusalem. So Nehemiah asked the King of Persia:
Nehemiah 2:5 (NKJV) And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
It was with much prayer that He made this request to the king and the king granted His request. But even being sent by the King with letters from the king to authorized material for the rebuilding. Nehemiah was met with much resistance. Our take-away from this is when ever we are busy about the Lord’s work, we can expect opposition from the enemy. Nehemiah explained the situation to the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
Nehemiah 2:17 (NKJV) Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.”
Nehemiah was concern about the glory to God. As long as the walls were down, they, God’s chosen people, were a reproach to nation nations and peoples in the surrounding countries. It was all about the glory to God. But the people did embraced the work to be done:
Nehemiah 2:18 (NKJV) And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.
Look in your Bibles at the first word in the next verse, verse 19. It’s that little, yet very big word “but.” But there were those who ridiculed the work to be done. Why? Because it upset the balance of power in the area. A strong Jerusalem threaten the status quo. There will be opposition to the plan to renovate and revitalize our facilities. Why, because we are a beacon of life and truth in this community. We represent what is right and true. We have the words of life in a community that is filled with death and destruction. We upset the balance of power with the evil one in this community.
But notice what has said: “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.” (verse 18). Chapter 3 of Nehemiah outlines who did what and where on the wall they worked. Let me point out a few of them. For starters, the leaders had their hands in the work.
Nehemiah 3:1 (NKJV) Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They built as far as the Tower of the Hundred, and consecrated it, then as far as the Tower of Hananel.
In that day and time, the priests were the leaders for the people. Nehemiah was the Governor, but he represented the Persian King. But notice that the leaders led by example.
Nehemiah 3:8 (NKJV) Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Also next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs; and they fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
Notice here, the goldsmith and the perfumers did delicate work, but they were unafraid to get their hands dirty. No, they were not stonemasons or brick layers, but did what had to be done. They did not say, “That’s not my job.” Rebuilding the wall, during this time of crises, was everyone’s job.
Nehemiah 3:12 (NKJV) And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh, leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs.
Even the women worked. In the case Shallum, he might not have had any sons, so his daughters contributed to the work. Most scholars believe this was not something just the men did. The women were involved too. It was just the head of households that were generally listed.
Unfortunately, in every group there are those who shy away from the work to be done. This group of Jews in Jerusalem, was not an exception. There was one case of disunity
Nehemiah 3:5 (NKJV) Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord.
Some people believe they are above the work to be done. However there were some who finished their assigned task took on an additional portion of the wall. God has given different work assignments to believers today. He has equipped us with various gifts and abilities appropriate to our calling, and He knows who is not really involved and who is doing double duty. [2]
1 Corinthians 3:13 (NKJV) each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
But for all tense and purposes, the work was being done and it was being noticed by the powers that be in the region.
Nehemiah 4:1 (NKJV) But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.
Warren Wiersbe comments: When things are going well, get ready for trouble, because the enemy doesn’t want to see the work of the Lord make progress. As long as the people in Jerusalem were content with their sad lot, the enemy left them alone; but, when the Jews began to serve the Lord and bring glory to God’s name, the enemy became active.[3]
Nehemiah was a man of faith and he was a man of prayer. It took the opposition he face and laid the situation all out before the Lord.
To Nehemiah, the opposition was not so much against him, but against God. So he went to the Lord in prayer.
Nehemiah 4:4–5 (NKJV) Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! 5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.
No, this may not sound like the prayer that Jesus told us to pray. Nehemiah wasn’t asking God to bless his enemy. But He was praying in the will of God. God had called him to rebuild the wall and they were doing the will God. The enemy was opposing God, not those who were doing the rebuilding.
Warren Wiersbe again commented: The things people say may hurt us, but they can never harm us, unless we let them get into our system and poison us. If we spend time pondering the enemy’s words, we will give Satan a foothold from which he can launch another attack closer to home. The best thing to do is to pray and commit the whole thing to the Lord; and then get back to your work! Anything that keeps you from doing what God has called you to do will only help the enemy. [4]
Now this bring us to our focal verse. Nehemiah prayed throughout this reconstruction of the wall. But if you get nothing else this morning, you need to understand this: Nehemiah prayed, then he got to work.
Nehemiah 4:6 (NKJV) So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
It was very evident the God’s hand was on them. However, the threat was real. Nehemiah prayed for God’s protection and he backed up His prayer with common sense, He posted a guard.
Nehemiah 4:9 (NKJV) Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.
Read down further and you’ll see that the work never stopped, they worked with one hand and with the other they carried a sword. We pray that God will protect our homes and common sense tells us to still lock the doors at night.
Nehemiah 6:15 (NKJV) So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.
Especially in that day in time, with the threats all around them, to complete the building of the wall in 52 days was quite a miracle. But if we stand back and look at the bigger picture we see that all of this, from the request to the King of Persia to the completion of the wall took less than six months. The travel from Susa in Persia to Jerusalem was at least 2 months of that time.
Nehemiah did not waste time. He clearly saw what needed to be done and he did it. God’s hand was on him, so He went to work and he call the people to work as well.
And this did not escape the notice of the enemy all around.
Nehemiah 6:16 (NKJV) And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
Do you see this? God worked through the people of God. The neighboring people took notice. Whereas they, the enemy tried to intimidate Nehemiah, it turns out they themselves were the one that were intimidated.
God’s work is done through His people, We call His people the church.
“A great many people have got a false idea about the church,” said evangelist D.L. Moody. “They have got an idea that the church is a place to rest in … to get into a nicely cushioned pew, and contribute to the charities, listen to the minister, and do their share to keep the church out of bankruptcy, is all they want. The idea of work for them—actual work in the church—never enters their minds.” [5]
We are not called to be comfortable in our seats. We are called to work. We have lost and dying people all around our church. What are we doing to reach them? We are fixing our facilities to be used in reaching our community. We are rebuilding, repairing the walls. The result is glory to God and the sharing of Jesus.
Jesus got his hands dirty serving those he came in contact with. He even went to the cross, so our sin would be forgiven. He rose from the dead to give us hope eternal. That is the message of hope and life we have been given. What are we doing with it?
The enemy won’t be happy, and will be in opposition. But we are looking to see what kind of miracle God is going to do through us. Remember the first verse we looked a this morning?
2 Corinthians 8:5b (NKJV) . . . but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. We cannot do anything unless we first give ourselves to Jesus.
When we surrender all to Him, we will be amazed at what He can and will do through us.
[1] https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/73840/nehemiah-by-sermoncentral?ref=TextIllustrationSerps
[2] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 484–485.
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Determined, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 47.
[4] ibid. 53.
[5] ibid. 39.
