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“The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place. ⁷ Next to them, repairs were made by men from Gibeon and Mizpah – Melatiah of Gibeon and Jadon of Meronoth – places under the authority of the governor of Trans-Euphrates. ⁸ Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired the next section; and Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers, made repairs next to that. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. ⁹ Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section. ¹⁰ Adjoining this, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house, and Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs next to him. ¹¹ Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section with the help of his daughters.” NIV

‘A great many people have got a false idea about the church. 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.’ D.L.Moody.

As we read through this next section of chapter 3, we get a growing sense of the variety of people, and trades, who contributed to the rebuilding of the wall. In a time of national emergency, men and women had to do things they wouldn’t normally do; things which, perhaps, they didn’t particularly feel fitted for. I doubt whether being a goldsmith or a perfume-maker naturally qualified you for work on a building site.

In one of my Bibles, I wrote a note next to verse 12: ‘What a privilege to serve together in the church with your family.’ This reference to Shallum and his daughters reminds me of Philip, in the New Testament, who ‘’had four unmarried daughters who prophesied’’ (Acts 21:9).

Again, in this section, we run into a phrase that in some form or other we are going to encounter again in this chapter: ‘’…made repairs opposite his house’’ (10; see also verses 23, 28, 29, 30). Warren Wiersbe calculates that at least six different workers, plus an unknown number of priests, repaired portions of the wall that were nearest to their own houses. He writes: ‘If all of us would follow this example, our neighbourhoods and cities would be in much better shape.’ OT Commentary, p.760. A Chinese proverb says, ‘Better to be kind at home than to burn incense in a far place.’

In the ‘Sent Scattered’ series we’ve been going through on Sunday mornings these past few weeks, we’ve been recognising that God has placed each of us in a particular area, and we are to be the church there. Church is about so much more than Sunday services. Oswald Chambers wrote: ‘God puts His saints where they will glorify Him, and we are no judges at all of where that is.’

‘Try and make your own neighbourhood a little more like God would have it. It may be that you have gone too far afield in search of work; you are applying to the Foreign Missionary Society, or are waiting for a sphere of service; yet all the time there is that wretched neighbourhood, like a piece of ruined wall before you. Arise and repair it!’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Great Verses Through The Bible’, p.168.

PRAYER: Lord, you have assigned me a part of ‘the wall’ for the task of rebuilding. Help me to fully play my part, and be content with my assignment, not wishing for someone else’s position or location.

“Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel.

² The men of Jericho built the adjoining section, and Zakkur son of Imri built next to them.³ The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place. ⁴ Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section. Next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs, and next to him Zadok son of Baana also made repairs. ⁵ The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.”NIV

Starting with the ‘’Sheep Gate’’ (1) the list of ‘work stations’ takes us round the walls anti-clockwise. The ‘’Fish Gate’’ was used by merchants bringing in their fish from the Med. There may have been a fish market close by. It was a key entrance to the city.

We now run into the word ‘’next.’’ We will become familiar with its use as we work through chapter 3. Also, we will repeatedly bump into the phrase ‘’next to Him’’ (or ‘’next to them’’, or ‘’the next section’’). It is a reminder that the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls was a huge collaborative effort. People pulled together to get the job done, showing a willingness to work. (Thankfully, ‘’the nobles’’ (5), with their lazy attitudes, were not in the majority.)

During this pandemic, when the church can’t meet in large numbers, make sure you get ‘’next’’ to someone. This starts at home. If you are married, or live as part of a family unit, you can do many things to help and encourage one another spiritually. You can provide all kinds of practical support.

But thinking beyond your own home, who can you get ‘’next’’ to? It might be by calling or texting or emailing, Skyping or zooming, writing or sending a card. At the moment, you might be able to meet someone, at a safe distance – especially in a garden. Obviously, please maintain safe guidelines. But make sure the church is a place ‘where no-one stands alone.’

Then, beyond the church family, who in your wider circle might need you to come alongside them, and how might it be best to do this?

We need each other. We all need to be ‘’next’’ to others, and to have others who are ‘’next’’ to us. In God’s Kingdom, great works are done in team. What we could not do alone becomes possible when the skills, talents and gifts of many are brought to the building site.

‘Thirty-eight individual workers are named in this chapter, and fourty-two different groups are identified. There were also many workers whom Nehemiah did not name whose labours were important, and each worker – named and anonymous – was assigned a place and a task.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: OT Commentary, p.759.

PRAYER: Lord, please show me who I need to reach out to today, and just how I should encourage and help them.

“Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel.” NIV

The ‘Sheep Gate’ was probably the part of the city where the animals for sacrifice were brought in. It would obviously be a natural sphere of interest for the priests. They needed to ensure that the worship of God, in the prescribed way, would stay at the centre of the city’s life. Its overall health and well-being was dependent on it. We are truly grateful to live in days in which we know that the many, and repeated, animal sacrifices of the Old Testament era have been perfectly fulfilled in Jesus, and all our worship of God is centred in Him.

We see in the early part of Acts 6 that, as a general principle, the local church should be so ordered that spiritual leaders can give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. But there do come special times – moments of crisis and emergency – where everyone needs to role up their sleeves and pitch in. Church leaders should not be reluctant about getting their hands ‘dirty’. We must never imagine that any kind of practical work is beneath us. Reading through chapter 3, it is striking to see the number and variety of people who got involved in rebuilding the walls. ‘There’s a work for Jesus none but you can do.’ You have a part to play, and there will be a gap if you don’t fill it.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you are the builder of the church. But I thank you that you have taken me on as a labourer in your workforce. Under your leadership, may I know and play my part.

^“17 Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.’ ¹⁸ I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So they began this good work. ¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. ‘What is this you are doing?’ they asked. ‘Are you rebelling against the king?’ ²⁰ I answered them by saying, ‘The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.’” NIV

‘Whether in the area of science, exploration, invention, business, government, or Christian ministry, just about everyone who has ever accomplished anything has faced ridicule. Our Lord was ridiculed during His life and mocked while He was hanging on the cross. He was ‘’despised and rejected of men’’ (Isa.53:3). On the Day of Pentecost, some of the Jews in the crowd said that the Christians were drunk (Acts 2:13). The Greek philosophers called Paul a ‘’babbler’’ (17:18 NIV), and Festus told Paul he was out of his mind (26:24).’ Warren Wiersbe: OT Commentary, p.758.

Note in our passage:

• The enemies had their ‘’fiery darts’’ and they hurled them (19). This is a precursor to further attacks we are going to see happening later in the book. But notice that as soon as God’s people started to do God’s work there was an enemy backlash. Ridicule has been called ‘the weapon of those who have no other.’ Warren Wiersbe observes: ‘Just as soon as God’s people step out by faith to do His will, the enemy shows up and tries to discourage them.’ OT Commentary, p. 758.
• Nehemiah knew his ground and stood on it (20b). He knew where he and the Jews stood historically, and, most important of all, Biblically.
• Nehemiah had his shield and he used it (20). I believe Nehemiah furnishes us with a fine example of doing, in the Old Testament, what Paul in the New Testament says we all ought to do:

‘’…take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one’’ (Ephesians 6:16). It’s no use having a shield you don’t use!

PRAYER: Lord, I am very much aware of those ‘’’flaming arrows’’ raining down on me on a regular basis. Help me, please, to use the strong shield with which you have so generously equipped me.

^“16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.¹⁷ Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.’ ¹⁸ I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So they began this good work.” NIV

Someone has defined leadership as ‘the art of getting people to do what they ought to do because they want to do it.’

There’s a time to think, pray and plan. But there’s also a time to speak. Nehemiah gathered the facts, assessed the situation, then spoke to the people. Look how he went about his task:

Defining reality (17a): It was Max Du Pree who famously said that the first task of leadership is to ‘define reality.’ That’s what Nehemiah did. He didn’t for one moment try to ‘gild the lily.’ He spelled out how bad the situation was. When in a crisis it’s not for leaders to act like we’re not. We have to face reality. ‘Leaders must not live in a dream world. They must face facts honestly and accept the bad news as well as the good news.’ Warren Wiersbe: Old Testament Commentary, p.757

Rallying the troops (17b): He issued a call to necessary action. The situation was intolerable, but he said, ‘We can do something about this.’

Encouraging their hearts (18a): Nehemiah’s remarkable personal testimony of how God had guided and provided must have put new life into them. God was with them, and above all they could look to him in this massive undertaking.

Look at what all of this led to:

Starting to build (18b): Here is the power of godly leadership to motivate and make things happen – things that first of all are birthed in the heart of a leader as he, or she, walks with God.

‘It takes both the hands of leadership and the hands of partnership to accomplish the work of the Lord. Leaders can’t do the job by themselves, and workers can’t accomplish much without leadership.’ Warren Wiersbe: OT Commentary, p.757.

PRAYER: We pray for all leaders, in the church and in every area of society. May they lead with God-given wisdom, courage, faith and strength. Please help them this day in the great responsibilities they carry.

^“11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days ¹² I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. ¹³ By night I went out through the Valley Gate towards the Jackal^[a] Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. ¹⁴ Then I moved on towards the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; ¹⁵ so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and re-entered through the Valley Gate. ¹⁶ The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.” NIV

‘Facts are your friends.’ Remember? But that doesn’t mean you always like your friends.

Before speaking about the challenges facing the Jewish community, Nehemiah took time to assemble and understand the facts. This was not the work of five minutes. He put himself out to do the reconnaissance job. Times of crisis demand more of leaders than more ‘normal’ days. Ordinary days can be demanding enough. But in a crisis you may have to, as it were, work the night shift.

Faith faces facts, and it is not extinguished by them. Nehemiah did not view the disastrous situation staring him in the face, and head back to Susa on the next available horse! He saw it for what it was, but he also trusted in God.

In Romans 4:18-21 we find these wonderful words:

^‘’Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.’’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.’’

 PRAYER: ‘Lord God, help me to face reality, not hide from it; but see it in the light of you. Help me to lift up the shield of faith, and so extinguish all those fiery darts of unbelief.

^“11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days ¹² I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.” NIV

It’s not surprising that there was a three day gap between Nehemiah’s arrival in Jerusalem and this ‘reconnaissance’ mission. It may be that he needed some time to rest after a long journey. It’s estimated that it would have taken at least two months to travel from Susa to Jerusalem.

These verses make explicit what, I think, has been implicit for some time. God had put something into Nehemiah’s ‘’heart’’ – probably during that long period of prayer. It wasn’t simply that he had a bright idea.He had a burden from God.

But here’s an important principle to observe. You may carry something from God in the ‘womb’ of your spirit for some time before it shows. It may not be wise to blurt out the news to all and sundry early on. There are some things best kept to yourself in the initial stages, and then there will be a judgment call as to the timing of who you should tell and when.

‘Leaders are often awake when others are asleep, and working when others are resting. Nehemiah didn’t want the enemy to know what he was doing, so he investigated the ruins by night.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: Old Testament Commentary, p.757.

PRAYER: I pray for a heart open to receive your dreams and visions, and for wisdom to know how to handle what you show me.

^“7 I also said to him, ‘If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? ⁸ And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?’ And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. ⁹ So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.

¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.” NIV

The book of Nehemiah not only teaches important principles for spiritual builders, it also reveals vital insights about spiritual warfare. Someone put it in this way: ‘When the church says, ‘’Let us arise and build’’, the enemy says, ‘’Let us arise and oppose’’ ‘. Building and battling go together. It’s interesting that the great Victorian preacher, C.H. Spurgeon, called his publication company ‘The Sword and trowel.’

The apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6:!2: ‘’For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’’

 Time and again we will find ‘Sanballat’ and ‘Tobiah’ and their forces playing against us. They will go in hard, committing many a foul, trying to kick us off the pitch. But we need to always remember that our real fight is not with them. Others are pulling their strings.

We need not fear the battle, but neither should we belittle it. Thankfully, we have armour to wear (Ephesians 6:10-20). Don’t neglect to put it all on.

PRAYER: ‘I shall not fear the battle if thou art by my side, nor wander from the pathway, if thou wilt be my guide.

^“4 The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, ‘If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favour in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.’ ⁶ Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, ‘How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?’ It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time. ⁷ I also said to him, ‘If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? ⁸ And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?’ And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. ⁹ So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.” NIV

I believe it is a character in the wonderful Winnie the Pooh stories who declares, ‘Thinking’s not my strong point.’

As we have seen, prayer does not preclude planning. Prayer and thought go together. When the king asks Nehemiah, ‘’What is it you want?’’ (4), it becomes obvious that Nehemiah has thought about it – a lot. Warren Wiersbe says that basically his request was two-fold: ‘Send me’ (4-6), and ‘Give me’ (7, 8a). Nehemiah had done his research well. He even knew the name of the ‘’keeper of the king’s forest’’ (8a).

Furthermore, Nehemiah was clear that he got what he asked because of God’s intervention (8b. Note that he had shot up one of his many ‘arrow’ (or ‘telegraph’) prayers in verse 4b). But he had also been praying and fasting intensively for some time.

As I read this, I believe Nehemiah got more than He asked or thought (9). I don’t see any evidence that he’d asked for the ‘’cavalry’’. Again and again we find ourselves amazed at the Lord’s abundant generosity.

‘The king’s response is evidence of the sovereignty of God in the affairs of nations…While it may be helpful to have believing officials like Joseph, Daniel, and Nehemiah, we must remember that God is not required to use only believers.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘Old Testament Commentary’, p.756.

Prayer: ‘’Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.’’ (Ephesians 3:20, 21).