To the Work! I. Base Text: Nehemiah 4:1-23 II. Context A. Nehemiah and Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 1:1-2:8) 1. ca. 445 BCE: Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, is informed of the condition of Jerusalem, particularly Jerusalem’s walls, broken down and burned with fire (Nehemiah 1:1-3) 2. In the world before cannon, walls were a most effective defensive measure a. If an enemy approached, the people would be called into the walled city b. The enemy would have to besiege and hope for a vulnerability or starvation c. Jerusalem was especially well-suited as a walled city: surrounded by mountains on three sides, and Hezekiah secured for the city a reliable water source even during siege by carving out the Siloam Tunnel (cf. 2 Chronicles 32:2-4) d. We have heard of many times in which sieges proved successful, but for every successful siege others were hindered by a lack of resources to sustain the siege and even the prospect of having to go through with the siege 3. A city without walls was proverbial as an insecure place, unable to be defended (cf. Proverbs 25:28) 4. Thus, if Jerusalem has no substantive walls or gates, it is indefensible against any incursion from forces great or small; it is weak; it is humiliated! 5. Some suggest that the walls had never been repaired since the Babylonian destruction (ca. 586 BCE); it is difficult to imagine how the exiles could have re-populated Jerusalem and re-built the Temple in such a condition (Ezra 1:1-6:22) 6. I believe it is most likely that the walls had been somewhat repaired but even those repairs had been torn down in the recent past, perhaps as a result of some sort of insurgency, or perhaps by the conspiring forces of the nations around the Jews 7. Nehemiah prayed for the forgiveness of the sins of Israel and for redemption of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4-10) 8. Nehemiah stood as cupbearer before Artaxerxes king of Persia (Nehemiah 1:10, 2:1) a. Artaxerxes I, fifth king of Persia, reigned ca. 465-424 BCE, the third son of Xerxes (=Biblical Ahasuerus in Esther) b. These events thus take place around 445 BCE, 94 years after the end of exile, and 70 years after the Temple was rebuilt c. The cupbearer was responsible for the appropriate mixing of the king’s wine (and thus also to make sure no poison was added), and sat near the king, and thus would be seen both as extremely trustworthy and as someone very close to the king 9. Artaxerxes perceives Nehemiah’s sadness; Nehemiah speaks of the condition of the home of his ancestors; Artaxerxes asks what he would have him do; Nehemiah prays for wisdom, asks to be granted to be able to go and build up Jerusalem; it is granted (Nehemiah 2:1-8) B. The Wall (Nehemiah 2:9-3:32) 1. Nehemiah enters Jerusalem and does not immediately declare his business; he went around Jerusalem by night to inspect the condition of the walls (Nehemiah 2:9-16) 2. He then declares his purpose to the people, to rebuild the walls; they take courage; those among the nations, Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heap scorn upon them (Nehemiah 2:17-20) 3. The people divide up and repair the walls and gates in sections; it is notable to see how all the people, priests and laymen, men of various trades, and inhabitants of other cities in Judah, participate in the work (Nehemiah 3:1-32) C. In this way the people of Judah began the work of rebuilding the walls and gates of Jerusalem III. Interpretation A. Opposition and Prayer (Nehemiah 4:1-5) 1. As the wall is built, and Sanballat realizes it may actually take place, he gets angry, and speaks among his army in Samaria, demeaning Jerusalem and its condition, and speaking as if even the rebuilt wall will be feeble (Nehemiah 4:1-3) 2. Nehemiah prays for God to see their threats and how Israel is seen and to make their enemies as a reproach themselves and unforgiven (Nehemiah 4:4-5) B. In the meantime, the wall has been built to half strength, for the people had a mind to work (Nehemiah 4:6) C. Threat of Force (Nehemiah 4:7-9) 1. As a result of the success of the work, a wide range of local nations were made angry, and conspired to fight against the Judeans to stop the work: Arabians to the southeast, Ammonites to the northeast, Ashdodites from the southwest, plus Sanballat and his forces in Samaria to the north (Nehemiah 4:7-8) 2. As a result Nehemiah and the people prayed and set a guard to watch (Nehemiah 4:9) D. The Work in Crisis (Nehemiah 4:10-12) 1. At this point the work enters a point of crisis 2. The people had a mind to work but it was difficult and tiresome; many Judeans despaired of being able to clear out all the rubbish and rebuild the wall (Nehemiah 4:10) 3. The threat of their enemies was made known; they thought to come without notice and cause the work to cease (Nehemiah 4:11) 4. The cities of Judah perceived the threat of the surrounding nations and begged for those who were repairing the wall to come home and prepare to defend (Nehemiah 4:12) 5. The work was at a critical point: far enough in so as to reach the point of exhaustion while not close to completion, endangered by external threat E. Nehemiah’s Response (Nehemiah 4:13-23) 1. Nehemiah quickly responded to these dangers 2. He placed families in open places behind the walls with weaponry (Nehemiah 4:13) 3. He verbally encouraged all the people in the name of God to not be afraid but fight if need be (Nehemiah 4:14) 4. Their enemies recognized that the Judeans were aware of their plans and thus turned aside from them; the work on the wall resumed (Nehemiah 4:15) 5. Nevertheless Nehemiah maintained the defense of the work: half the men would work on the wall while the other half stood prepared to fight in armor and with weapons; even those working on the walls kept their swords on their sides (Nehemiah 4:16-18, 21) 6. Since the area to defend was vast Nehemiah encouraged all the nobles: if they heard the sound of trumpet, come to where the trumpet sounded so that all could fight wherever the enemy attacked (Nehemiah 4:19-20) 7. All were to live in Jerusalem so all would be ready for defense, day or night (Nehemiah 4:22) 8. Neither Nehemiah nor his people changed clothes; they took their sword even when they went to get water, in perpetual preparedness to fight (Nehemiah 4:23) F. Aftermath 1. Accusations were soon brought to Nehemiah from the poor of having been impoverished by the nobles; the nobles agreed to restore their property and to lend without interest (Nehemiah 5:1-13) 2. Nehemiah himself did not take from the people what he could have as governor, but fed many of Israel and the nations at his table (Nehemiah 5:14-19) 3. The enemies of Judah did not stop but attempted to do mischief to Nehemiah, but he avoided all their snares (Nehemiah 6:1-14) 4. After 52 days of work the wall was finished; the enemies of the people of God feared for they perceived the hand of God in benefitting Judah and Jerusalem (Nehemiah 6:15-19) 5. The people were minded to work and were able to accomplish a great task in the midst of adversity because of their trust in God and willingness to work together! 6. Nehemiah’s walls have been archaeologically verified and stood for many years, later expanded and reinforced in the Maccabean/Hasmonean period (167-63 BCE) G. Thanks to Nehemiah’s faith and concern and the people’s willingness to work, Jerusalem could remain a going concern, and exist and thrive for 500 more years! IV. Application A. Opposition and Hostility 1. The underlying difficulty throughout Nehemiah 4:1-23 is the presence of the opposition of the nations around Judah 2. Many nations stood to lose much if the people of Judah repaired Jerusalem’s walls! a. They all benefitted from a weak and prone Jerusalem, since trade and goods would flow to their cities b. A strengthened Jerusalem would encourage the strength of Judah against their neighbors, and they wanted no part of that c. Yes, the Persians are technically in control, but would they prove willing to defend the Judeans against these allied nations, and even if willing, make it in time? d. Furthermore, in Nehemiah 13:4-5 we learn that Tobiah had a chamber for himself on account of an alliance with Eliashib the priest; Eliashib’s son had married the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite in Nehemiah 13:8; thus, the leaders of these nations had done well at being involved in Judahite affairs, and are losing power and standing because of Nehemiah and his work 3. Thus the nations first mock; then they threaten violence; then they conspire to get other nations involved and to make the ruler look bad a. Their goal is disempowerment, discouragement, and a leaving off of the work b. Such involves not a little terrorism, projecting more of a danger than might exist in reality 4. For a moment they succeeded (Nehemiah 4:12), but they ultimately failed 5. Such becomes a Biblical pattern of sorts when it comes to opposition and hostility a. The Pharisees, chief priests, and elders would all lose standing if Jesus’ claims were true, and they strove to discredit Him, and ultimately had Him killed (cf. Matthew 12:24, John 11:47-51) b. The Apostles were opposed by those who would lose standing or economic gain on account of the proclamation and acceptance of the Gospel; they agitated others against them, injuring many (Acts 5:27-28, 16:16-22, 19:21-41) 6. The Evil One and those who have been deceived by him work in similar ways to this day 7. Those that may lose standing or economic gain rise up and resist the Gospel message, mocking it, threatening those who uphold it, and perhaps even seeking to cause harm and loss to those who proclaim it (1 Peter 4:3-13) 8. As Christians we are easily tempted to withdraw at the slightest hint of opposition, to let fear kick in and overwhelm us; we must not allow the enemy to thus win the day 9. The forces of mockery, terror, and threats are of the Evil One, and often used with great effectiveness; we do well not to fall for them, and to remain strong in Christ (Ephesians 6:10-18)! B. A Mind to Work 1. Nehemiah explained how the Israelites were able to complete half the wall: they had a mind to work (Nehemiah 4:6) 2. Nehemiah may have been the one to encourage the work, and they may have all believed that God was behind it and with them, but for the wall to get built, they had to be thus minded to build it 3. They could not expect God to miraculously build it; they could not imagine that resources would come from other places to build it for them; if the wall was to be built, they would have to build it 4. Thus it was then; thus it is to this day: the people of God do well to have a mind to work! 5. One of the eternal mysteries is why God would send His Son to live, die, be raised again, and serve as Lord, only to entrust the communication of this message to fallible and weak people (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:18-20, Romans 1:16) 6. Consider, after all, Acts 10:1-48: an angel appears to Cornelius; Peter in the Spirit sees a vision from the Lord Jesus; all of this spiritual involvement is designed to provide the opportunity for Peter to stand before Cornelius and preach the Gospel of Christ! a. Would it not have been easier and more convenient for the angel to just preach the Gospel to Cornelius from the start? b. And yet God works through His people to accomplish His purposes (cf. Ephesians 3:10-11) 7. Thus, it is not for nothing that many parables of the Kingdom involve work and workers (cf. Matthew 13:1-43, 20:1-16, 25:14-30) 8. Christians must go out to the work and work for the Kingdom, proclaiming the Gospel and encouraging one another (Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Timothy 4:1-2, Hebrews 10:25) 9. Christians cannot expect God to miraculously accomplish the work; they cannot imagine that resources from other places would come to build it for them; if the work of God in Christ is to be done on earth, they will have to do it! C. The Point of Exhaustion 1. The people of Israel worked on the wall, but they reached a dangerous point: the point of exhaustion 2. They were more than halfway through, but they were not nearly done; they were tired from what they had done, saw all the rubble remaining, commented on the difficulty of the work, and it led to despair of ever finishing (Nehemiah 4:10) 3. This is a very real challenge, one with which we can identify: after the initial impetus has been expended, and before the end can be seen, prove difficult times in any endeavor 4. From Nehemiah 4:15 it would seem that the people took some sort of hiatus from the work, be it because of discouragement from the work or concern about enemies; the rest would have been good for the people 5. In our walk with Christ we will have moments of exhaustion a. We will work in endeavors and start well, but may get exhausted before the end is in sight b. A moment of rest may be necessary; God gave Israel the Sabbath for a reason c. Time in prayer and devotion would be good; thus Jesus did (cf. Matthew 14:13, 22) d. We may do well to spend time with brethren, to find other ways to draw strength for the challenge (Ephesians 4:11-16, Hebrews 10:24-25) 6. Yet, as with the people of Judah, so with us: we must get back to the work and finish well (cf. Matthew 10:22)! D. Joint Participation 1. Yet the primary story that pervades Nehemiah 3:1-6:15, including the narrative we have explored in Nehemiah 4:1-23, is the joint participation of the people in the work 2. The walls and gates of Jerusalem were repaired in 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15)! a. Nehemiah, by himself, could not have finished the work b. Even if Nehemiah had select chosen people it would have taken much longer! c. It required the work of all sorts of people from the area of Jerusalem and other cities of Judah to give it all they had to finish in that kind of time 3. In working on the wall together the people saw how they needed each other; if any group was slack in how they worked on their section of the wall, the whole effort would be for naught 4. When the threat of force from enemies became apparent, some were assigned to defense while others built; in so doing there was assurance that everyone had each other’s back, and it provided a suitably encouraging environment to work 5. Certainly God was behind the work, sustained it, and facilitated it; certainly Nehemiah was its catalyst and strong encourager; but it would not have been done as efficiently and quickly if the people had not worked together 6. And so it ought to be to this day among the people of God: we do best when we work together (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-28, Ephesians 4:11-16) 7. We are not islands; we are not going to be successful in God’s work if we think we can always go it alone 8. It is true that we have our individual work, like Israelites had their individual sections of the wall 9. But we must all do our work, and to do our work together, if we are going to prove successful 10. The people of God share in koinonia, community or joint participation in Christ (cf. Acts 2:42, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17), manifest in the assembly 11. That image of the church as body is compelling: parts work independently yet depend on each other; they have concern for each other, making up where others lack, are made sufficient by others in turn 12. Americans may be all about the individual and individualism, but in Christ the goal is to share in relational unity with God and each other as the body of Christ (John 17:20-23, Ephesians 2:11-18) 13. May we work together to accomplish God’s purposes in Christ! V. Conclusion A. We have seen how Nehemiah was able to encourage the people of Judah to repair the walls of Jerusalem, and how God worked through them to accomplish it B. They encountered resistance and hostility from the nations around them; they entrusted themselves to God, made preparations, and overcame the danger C. They had a mind to work; they may have despaired for a time but took up the work again with renewed vigor D. Nehemiah would not have been able to finish the wall on his own; the people banded together and worked together to finish the project, and succeeded E. Christians do well to be strengthened by the example of Nehemiah and the wall, work diligently for the Lord Jesus, overcome difficulties and despair, work together, and obtain the resurrection of God in Christ! F. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: But it came to pass that, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews (Nehemiah 4:1). In the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia Nehemiah heard of the broken condition of the walls of Jerusalem and was moved to work to repair them. He encouraged the people of Judah to repair the wall. While they worked their opponents perceived a threat. They mocked the Jews; they reviled their work. They conspired to fight against the Jews. They would ultimately try to cause Nehemiah difficulty with the governor and king. They wanted to terrorize Israel and stop the work. They succeeded for a moment but ultimately failed. The Enemy of God’s purposes works the same way to this day. Christians do well to stand firm against opposition and prove faithful to the Lord Jesus! 2: So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half the height thereof: for the people had a mind to work (Nehemiah 4:6). The walls of Jerusalem were repaired because the people had a mind to work. They were encouraged by Nehemiah and trusted God was with them, but they still knew that they had to do the actual work. God was not going to miraculously build it for them; others would not come and do it for them; they had to do the work. So it is to this day: God has work for His people to do in proclaiming the Gospel and encouraging one another. God will not do that work miraculously for them; they cannot expect others to come and do it for them. May we all diligently strive to do the work of God in our lives to His glory and honor! 3: 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). The people of Judah had worked hard; over half the wall was finished. But the work was hard, and the end was not yet in sight. The people began to despair. It is very easy to get deep into a work and despair of finishing; we may need to take a rest, or find strength from other places, in order to persevere. The people gained strength, persevered, and finished; we do well to do the same in Christ! 4: So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days (Nehemiah 6:15). The walls and gates of Jerusalem were repaired in 52 days. Nehemiah could not have done it himself; he could not have done it with only a select few people. The work was done so quickly and effectively by God’s strength and providence, indeed, but also because the people worked together. The people worked to build and to defend if ready; they took strength from each other; they recognized they were all in it together. Together they could stand and succeed; divided they would fail and fall. To this day the people of God do best when they work together as the body of Christ to accomplish His purposes. May we work together and encourage each other so as to obtain the resurrection!