REBUILDING
THE WALLS
Nehemiah was one of the many Israelites
taken and held captive in Babylon. Somehow and at some point, Nehemiah was
appointed to serve in the palace of the king.
When Babylon invaded Israel, they took many captive back to Babylon to
serve in their realm while a few Jews were left in Jerusalem after the siege.
One day, his brother, Hanani, and
a few other men who were left in the region of Judah came to Sushan the palace.
Nehemiah describes his brother, Hanani, as a faithful man who feared God more
than most did. (Neh 7:2) Many in his day
did not fear God as they should. They
sinned openly and rebelliously against God’s laws believing God either didn’t
see or care. It was their sins which
brought them into captivity to their enemy.
Nehemiah was concerned about
those who were left in Jerusalem and asked Hanani and the other men how they were
doing. Sadly, they did not have a good report to bring. Nehemiah began to weep and mourn as he heard
that the walls were broken down and the gates had been burned leaving the people
and place vulnerable to wild animals and thieves. Their protection was gone.
Rather than give up and give in to
the thought that there is no hope, Nehemiah began to fast and to pray for
several days for Jerusalem. He began to remind God that He is a covenant
keeping God who shows mercy to those who love Him and keep His commandments.
(Neh 1:4-5)
Nehemiah began to ask God to hear
and to see their affliction as he confessed the sins of all the people. Nehemiah
was an intercessor. He stood in the gap repenting for those who were not
repenting and pleading for God’s mercies.
Job did the same for his children
– repenting for his children in case they were sinning. While each individual
must stand before God and give account for their own sins, our prayers of
intercession for our family, our children, those within our church may make a
difference and bring about a turn around in their lives. Don’t stop praying for others!
Nehemiah acknowledged that they
had sinned by not keeping God’s commandments, nor His judgments or statutes as
he repented for every person.
Commandments are God’s
executive order such as the 10 Commandments, keeping of the Sabbath, etc.
Judgments are
instructions from God concerning how to handle situations that arise.
Statutes are the
requirements God has set describing how to live in obedience to Him.
The people had not been doing
what God said to do. They had been doing
what God instructed not to do. They were
not living according to how God said to live. They believed in God, but
they were not following God.
Nehemiah acknowledged these sins,
repented of these sins, and reminded God of His promise that if they would
repent and turn back to living right before Him that He would bring them back
to the place where He had set His name (Jerusalem). He knew it was their sins that had brought
them in captivity, and only God’s mercy as they turned away from their sins would
bring them out of it.
Nehemiah managed to obtain favor and
permission from King Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, to return to Jerusalem to
rebuild the walls. As he inspected the
walls, he was met with opposition.
Anytime you seek to repair
the breeches and build the work of the Lord, the devil will stir up those who
will oppose and try to stop it.
Anytime you begin to intercede
and pray to see strongholds in people’s lives broken, the devil will fight
you. If he doesn’t succeed there, he
will attack your family.
Sanballat and Tobiah were dwelling
amongst the Jews, but they were not of God’s people. Instead of being happy and relieved the walls
were going to be rebuilt, they were GRIEVED that a man had come to see how the
children of Israel were doing.
Nehemiah became aware of it, so
he secretly arose during the night taking only a few trusted men with him and
began to inspect where the damage had been done and what needed to be done to repair
it. The damage was great but Nehemiah began to encourage the people to work….
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!
(Neh 2:17)
Nehemiah spoke faith: Yes, it
seems bleak but GOD IS WITH US! It
can be rebuilt IF we all work together! SO, THEY STRENGTHENED THEIR HANDS
FOR THIS GOOD WORK. (Neh
2:18) At times, you will need to
encourage yourself in the Lord. Other
times, you will need to encourage each other.
They began to speak faith which encouraged not only their own self but
also each other. Anything you do for the work of the Lord/the furtherance of His
Kingdom is a good work and worth any and every effort put forth.
The devil will try to stop you through
discouragement…..
Sanballat and Tobiah found
someone else to join with them in standing against Nehemiah. Together, they and Geshem tried to discourage
the work being done. They laughed and
mocked and despised the work being done. The Bible does not say exactly what
they said but I imagine they said similar things to what people say nowadays to
discourage the work of the Lord: “It’s impossible!” “It can’t be done!” “That’s a waste of the church’s money!” “What
do you think you are doing?” “You won’t succeed!”
A parallel thought to go with
this: when you start living holy and consecrating yourself to God, people will
make fun of and despise you for it. They
are ok if you claim to be a believer, but they do not believe you need to be a
follower. They believe you can call
yourself a Christian yet still live however you want to live. That’s contrary
to what the Bible teaches. The Bible is
full of instructions of how to live holy and godly in this sinful world. We are to come out from among them and be
separate.
Going back to the work that
Nehemiah and all those in Jerusalem were doing: They falsely accused them of
rebelling against the king (the laws of the land). But everyone kept working, speaking faith: “God
of heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build…”
(Neh 2:20)
In chapter 3, we find that each
one took a certain section of the wall and worked to ensure that the breech was
repaired and the wall rebuilt in that particular section.
The Bible mainly mentions the men
who worked on each section of wall, but Nehemiah mentions there were daughters born
to a man named Shallum who arose to help their father repair the walls. (Neh 3:12)
The rest of the women of the city were most likely busy taking care of
the children and providing meals for the men as they worked, but there were a
few (the daughters of Shallum) who rose up and said, “we can do more! We will help rebuild the wall, too!”
We saw that happen here at Living
Water last year – the men AND the women jumped in to help repair the House of
the Lord after the Church flooded. God
sees every effort and every one who strengthened their hands to work, and He keeps
record.
When God’s people begin to work
together in unity, there will be those the devil stirs up to mock and spread
discord ….
When Sanballat heard that the
walls were beginning to go up, he became wroth (extremely angry; wrathful; violent)
and full of indignation. He began to angrily
mock them, trying to stir up the army of Samaria against them…
What do
these feeble Jews do?
(tried to discredit their character and ability)
Will they fortify themselves?
(They think they can protect themselves against all of us?)
Will they sacrifice?
(Do they really believe God is pleased with them?)
Will they make an end in a day?
(They think they can finish this work quickly?)
Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish
which are burned?
(It’s a mess! There is no way they can build
what has been destroyed!)
This stirred up Sanballat’s
friend, Tobiah, as he began to join in the mockery, trying to weaken their
hands from working and stop the work of the Lord....
Even that
which they build, if a fox go up,
he shall even break down their stone wall.
Basically, he was trying to make
them feel like their efforts were worthless and pitiful and not good enough.
Why even try? The devil is a sly ol’ fox
but he shall not prevail. Keep working
for the Lord! Keep living for God! Don’t give in or back down! Whatever you do for Jesus Christ is not in vain.
Rather than fight back with
words, Nehemiah took it to God in prayer…
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.
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.
(Neh 4:4-5)
Many do not realize what spirit
they are of when they try to discourage and stop the efforts of those working
for the Lord. They do not realize what spirit they are of when they are sowing
discord and gossiping and slandering against the pastor or others within the
Church. The Bible calls it an
abomination because it hinders and stops unity between God’s people. (Proverbs
6:16-19) It also may cause someone to be lost. God hears, it angers Him, and He will deal
with them if they do not repent, change their ways, and make things right.
Nehemiah prayed, put it in God’s
hands, then they continued to rebuild the walls BECAUSE THE PEOPLE HAD A MIND
TO WORK.
We need to have a mind to work
and do whatever is needed in the House of the Lord. Working for the Lord is not just preaching or
teaching or music. Working for the Lord also
includes cleaning, mowing, helping with repairs around the building, picking up
trash laying around in the yard, church cleaning days, giving of tithes and
offerings, helping with fundraisers, any way you can find to help keep the
House of the Lord looking nice so it does deteriorate and lie in waste.
And even beyond all that:
SOULWINING (Outreach), PRAYING for others and FASTING for the Church. ß That is
something each and every person in the Church can do and should be doing
regularly for the Kingdom of God.
Just because we pray, doesn’t
mean the opposition will give up and back down right away. Sometimes the battle intensifies and gets
worse before it gets better….
Sanballat and Tobiah could see
they were not succeeding. The walls were
still going up. The breeches were repaired.
God’s people were unified and working together to rebuild what lay in ruins.
Things were not going their way and this made them very angry. So, they began
to stir up others to be in league with them to stop the rebuilding of the
wall.
They gathered the Arabians, the
Ammonites, and the Ashdodites against them.
The Arabians were south of Jerusalem.
The Ammonites (Lot’s descendants) were east, and the Ashdodites (Philistines)
were west. It looked like they were
surrounded by numerous armies conspiring to fight against them.
The Jews did not let that stop
them. They prayed as they watched and
continued building. (Neh 4:9)
The work you do for God/the life
you live for God will make others angry. They will plot against you and stir up others
against you in efforts to try to hinder what you are doing for God. When that happens, fight through prayer. Watch and pray and continue doing what you’re
doing for the Lord!
The devil will try to wear you down
and wear you out….
Their physical bodies were already
weary from the physical labors of carrying and setting stones one upon another.
Now, they had the added mental and emotional stress of watching day and night,
night and day to make sure their enemies did not sneak in to slay them.
The people of 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.” They were
basically saying they were dealing with so much extra garbage going on that
they were growing weary and couldn’t continue to do what they needed to do.
Have you ever had situations
arise in your life that made it difficult to focus and do what needed to get
done? Nights were sleepless and fitful? You’re wore out physically, emotionally, and
mentally? That’s what the Jews were
feeling.
Then to add to their struggle,
fellow Jews from nearby came and repeatedly spoke discouraging words to them, basically
saying, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” (Neh 4:12)
Don’t grow weary! Shake yourself, arise, and fight through
prayer! The enemy may attack, but he shall not prevail!
Nehemiah began to encourage and
speak faith to them once again, reminding them of the power of the God we serve…
Be ye not
afraid of them:
REMEMBER THE LORD, which is great and terrible,
and FIGHT FOR YOUR BRETHREN, YOUR SONS, AND YOUR DAUGHTERS, YOUR WIVES, AND
YOUR HOUSES.
(Neh 4:14)
No matter how bleak it looks; no
matter how bound by sin your children may seem to be; REMEMBER WHAT THE LORD
CAN DO, AND FIGHT FOR YOUR FAMILY THROUGH PRAYER! FIGHT FOR YOUR CHURCH FAMILY
THROUGH PRAYER!
2 Cor 5:7 – For we walk by faith,
not by sight.
Romans 4:17 – God...calleth those
things which be not as though they were.
Mk 11:24 – Therefore I say unto
you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye receive them,
and ye SHALL have them.
This Christian walk is a walk of FAITH. If we go by what we SEE, we will grow weary
and discouraged. We need to speak things that are not as though they are. God operates through FAITH. We must BELIEVE and SPEAK IN FAITH, then we
shall SEE!
When the enemies round about
heard what Nehemiah said, they became discouraged as God defeated their plans.
(Neh 4:15)
Nehemiah kept encouraging the
people as they worked for the Lord – some labored physically, others kept watch
ready to fight. He reminded them that
the battle is the Lord’s and GOD SHALL FIGHT FOR US!
And Nehemiah encouraged unity –
stand together! Have each other’s
back! Fight for each other, not against!
(Neh 4:21-23) In chapter 5, he scolded
them for mistreating each other and looking at their fellow brethren as a means
of monetary gain, causing some to get further in debt. He said, “it is not good
that ye do! Walk in the fear of our God!”
If you walk in the fear of God, you won’t do wrong to others.
If the devil cannot stop the
progress by discouraging the people, he’ll attack the leader (the pastor) through
false rumors….
Nehemiah 6 - The walls were
repaired. There were no more breaches. But the doors of the gates had not been replaced
yet. The enemy will search and look for any
way he can to gain entrance and take control or our lives or the Church.
They saw the gates were not shut. What area of your life have you left open and
vulnerable for the devil to try to gain entrance and build a stronghold in your
heart and mind? Be careful what you
allow your eyes to see, your ears to hear, your mind to think upon, and your
heart’s emotions to feel.
The enemy came against Nehemiah
four times – they knew if they could distract the leader, they could distract
and stop the work being done. Nehemiah kept his focus on what needed to be done
for God and would not stop.
So, they began to bring false
accusations against him – writing letters of accusation and even bringing in a
false witness who claimed what was said was true. They threatened to take this accusation to
higher authorities to get him in trouble.
Nehemiah denied it. He knew they
were making it up trying to make him afraid so their hands would be weakened
from the work that needed to be done.
Pastors face this more often than
many realize. The devil stirs up people
to try to weaken their hands and cause discouragement through gossip, slander,
sowing discord, and stirring up others to stand against them. That’s what
Nehemiah was dealing with. Some pastors have given up because the battle was
too great. (That is one of the things Nehemiah repented for all the people for = being preacher killers! Neh 9:26) But, like Nehemiah, there are
some who recognize the hand of the enemy trying to weaken and stop the work God
commissioned them to do so they keep working and praying for God to fight the
battle for them. We need to pray for our
pastor and all pastors.
The enemy tried to stop him
through fear….
Since it did not work to
discourage Nehemiah, the enemy stirred up someone to try to cause him to be
afraid for his life. (Neh 6:10) Nehemiah
was able to discern that this man was not sent by God. He knew he would be sinning if he grew afraid
and stopped doing what God called him to do.
He also knew who was behind it as he prayed for God to deal with all who
were trying to make him afraid. (Neh 6:14)
They continued working and the
work was finally finished. All around could see that it was God’s doing. (Neh
6:16)
The city was large and great yet
there were only a few people in it, but look what those few people were able to
do when they had willing minds and hands that worked together in unity.
Many years ago, I wrote a little
chorus for a play we did at Apostolic Bible College….
We’ve got
one mind, working together for a common purpose.
One goal: to rebuild the House of the Lord.
We’ve got one dream – to see restored what lay in ruins.
We are one people, uniting together for the Lord.
There is power in unity! Tobiah, Sanballat, and their accomplices
united to spread discouragement, slander, and discord. While Nehemiah spread faith and encouraged
unity for the good work of our God. Be
careful what you are uniting for and who you are uniting with.
Sin in our lives can hinder the
furtherance of what God wants to do in us and through us….
God is a holy God and requires
holiness from His people.
Nehemiah 7 – 9 - Nehemiah knew
this so they began to search what the Word of God said. Ezra, the priest, stood on a pulpit above the
people and began to read from the Book of the Law of Moses to the people. The Levites expounded the Word in a way that
the people could understand. (Neh 8:1-8)
For seven days, the ears of the
people were attentive as Ezra, the priest, read for 1/4th part of
the day to the people. Then the people spent the next 1/4th part of
the day confessing and repenting of their sins and worshipping God. (Neh 8:3, 9:3) During this time, they were
also fasting as they humbled their selves before the Lord. (Neh
9:1)
According to research, it is believed
1/4th part of the day was estimated to be 3 hours. So, three hours were spent listening to the
preacher read from the Law, then three more hours were spent confessing,
repenting, and worshipping. That’s a
total of 6 hours per day for 7 days.
Can you imagine a six hour long Church
service that went on like that for seven days?
Many may think: “that is a long time to spend listening to the Preacher
and praying!” However, our life is not our own.
We were not created to ‘live life
to the fullest.’ We were created to worship God! We are to give Him the
attention and time He deserves, yet we all must admit we fall extremely short
when we examine how we spend our time.
NEHEMIAH CONTINUED SPEAKING FAITH….
Neh 13:1-2 – Nehemiah reminded
them about Balaam who was hired to curse them “Howbeit our God turned the curse
into a blessing!”
God spoke these words to me in
the Spring of last year: “Out of the eater came forth meat!” (Judges 14:14) What
may appear to be seeking to devour and destroy us will be what strengthens and
feeds us!
The water leak on Dec 24, 2022 which
caused damage throughout most of the Church turned out to be a blessing. We were able to repair, remodel, and renovate
the entire Church – work that was needing to be done but the Church did not
have the funds for. There were even funds left over which helped with the purchase
of the house and land in front of us that blocked the view of the Church.
God turned the curse into a
blessing!
There are so many lessons we can
learn from the book of Nehemiah, but in summary:
·
Keep speaking faith
·
Be an intercessor
·
Keep working for the Lord no matter the opposition
or hardship
·
Strengthen each others hands by encouraging one another
in the Lord
·
Stand together in faith and unity
·
Pray for our Pastor – be an Aaron and Hur holding
his hands up in prayer
·
Spend more time in God’s presence
·
Get sin out of our lives
and most
of all….
·
BELIEVE and SPEAK FAITH for what God is doing and
continuing to do in our Church, in our families, and in our community!
·
God operates through faith and unity!
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