Nehemiah When We All Work Together Look At The Book! Nehemiah When We All Work Together

Rebuilding Projects Last week we examined the book of Ezra and the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity. That project took over 22 years because of delays by the enemies of God’s people in the Persian court. Today we’ll study Nehemiah. Nehemiah and Ezra were contemporaries, though the events recorded in Nehemiah were at a later time than most of the events in Ezra.

Scope Of Nehemiah The book of Nehemiah is an account of amazing unity and determination of God’s remnant in the face of heavy opposition. It records the determined leadership of Nehemiah, and the willing cooperation of the people of God in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. It shows what can happen when love of God overcomes fear and intimidation.

The Value Of A Bold Leader It cannot be denied that a great deal of the success of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem was because of the bold and aggressive leadership of Nehemiah. His leadership demonstrated several strong principles which we will examine.

A Fasting And Praying Leader Nehemiah 1:3-4 – “They said to me, ‘The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.’ When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”

A Bold And Courageous Leader Nehemiah 2:2-3 – So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?” Why was Nehemiah afraid? What gave him strength to overcome his fear?

An Honest And Trustworthy Leader Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king. Required for him to be sure no one would poison the king, by tasting his wine and serving the king personally. Nehemiah 1:11 -- O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.” Now I was the cupbearer to the king.

A Careful, Planning Leader Nehemiah 2:11-17 Did not immediately start “doing stuff” Went secretly at night to survey the damage and plan his work. verse 12: “…I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem….” Survey/Plan/Reveal

A Fair And Equitable Leader Nehemiah 5:1-13 People had gotten into usury Enslaving their own people through debt Nehemiah demanded it stop Especially shared from his own table to help alleviate the suffering of others.

When We All Work Together When Nehemiah arrived the walls of Jerusalem were in a terrible mess. Nehemiah 2:17-18 -- Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.”

Who Did The Work? High priests and priests 3:1 – “Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; the consecrated and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.”

Who Did The Work? Visitors and residents: 3:2-4 – Men of Jericho, Zaccur the son of Imri; sons of Hassenah, Meremoth, Meshullam, Zadok all built. Craftsmen and merchants: 3:8, 31 --Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall…. After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths

Government Officials Helped 3:9, 12, 14 Such as Raphaiah the son of Hur, official of half the district of Jerusalem. Such as Shallum the son of Hallohesh, official of half the district of Jerusalem. Such as Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Bethhaccherem. Those officials NOT working are called out: 3:5 “Moreover…the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their masters.”

Levites Helped Do The Work 3:17-18 -- After him the Levites carried out repairs under Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the official of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. After him their brothers carried out repairs under Bavvai the son of Henadad, official of the other half of the district of Keilah.

Homeowners Helped Do The Work 3:28 -- Above the Horse Gate the priests carried out repairs, each in front of his house. 3:30 – “…Meshullam the son of Berechiah carried out repairs in front of his own quarters. In brief, most everyone in and around Jerusalem put their hand to the work of rebuilding the walls.

In Praise Of Synergy And Determination Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 -- “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”

Even In The Face Of Resistance Threats and ridicule 4:1,3 – “Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews….Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, ‘Even what they are building – if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down.” Ridiculed alone is a challenge. Ridiculed as a group is easier to withstand. They stood against that, and threats of violence as well.

Wall Completed QUICKLY! 4:6, 21-23 -- So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work…. So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared. At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man with his servant spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.” So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water.

Whole Wall Completed 6:15-16 – “So the wall was completed on the twenty- fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.”

How Large Was This Wall? Debate amongst scholars as to what, exactly, Nehemiah built. Fair assessment is this: Rebuilt the wall as expanded by Hezekiah. About 135 acres for size of the city, 2.5 miles the length of the wall. 16 feet wide 40 feet high