Let Us Rise Up and Build (Part - 3)

LET US RISE UP AND BUILD (PART – 3)

So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build” (Nehemiah 2:20)

In this section, we will see what was the state of Jerusalem when Nehemiah started to build the ruined Jerusalem wall and also about the people who built the wall.

State of Jerusalem:

1.      The wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and its gates were burned with fire (Nehemiah 1:3)

2.     The survivors left from the captivity in the province were there in great distress and reproach (Nehemiah 1:3)

3.     There was famine and they had mortgaged their lands and vineyards and houses, to buy grain (Nehemiah 5:3)

4.    They had to pay tax to the Persian king for their land and vineyard. But they were without any money, so they had borrowed money to pay tax (Nehemiah 5:4)

5.     Their sons and daughters were forced into slavery in their own land, their parents having no power to redeem them (Nehemiah 5:5)

6.    The former governors laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Even their servants bore rule over the people (Nehemiah 5:15)

7.     The city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt (Nehemiah 7:4)

 

Why did Nehemiah rebuild the wall first?

Rebuilding the Jerusalem wall was first of the many reformations carried out by Nehemiah including teaching the Law of God to the people (Nehemiah 8:1-8), observance of festivals (Nehemiah 8: 14-18), sanctification (Nehemiah 9), Reestablishing their covenant with God (Nehemiah 9:38 to 10^th chapter), repopulating Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11) and separation from gentiles (Nehemiah 13:23-31). Isn’t it essential that people are sanctified before building of the wall? So, why did Nehemiah rebuild the wall first?

Protection – Protection of Jerusalem became easier after the wall was built. After Nehemiah rebuilt the wall, he gave the in-charge of Jerusalem to his brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for they were faithful men and feared God more than many. Nehemiah told them not to let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stood guard, they had to shut and bar the doors. They had to appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house (Nehemiah 7:1-3).

Sanctification – After Nehemiah ensured protection of Jerusalem, his next step was to sanctify the people, which wouldn’t have been possible without the wall. There were many from outside who were influencing the people to break the law. Sabbath was an integral part of Jewish life but without the wall there was no control on it. We can understand about it from Nehemiah 13: 15 & 16. In those days, there were people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. Nehemiah warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions. 

The men of Tyre also dwelt there, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Nehemiah had to stop this trading on Sabbath and restitute the observance of Sabbath. Nehemiah commanded the gates to be shut, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then Nehemiah posted some of his own servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. But the gentile merchants were not ready to lose their business on the Sabbath day. The non-observance of Sabbath, spiritual state of Jerusalem or desolation of Jerusalem definitely did not bother them. The merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice and spent the night there. Hence, Nehemiah had to warn them (Nehemiah 13:20,21). This way Nehemiah could significantly reduce the influence from the outsiders.

Separation from Gentiles:

As a part of purification of Jews, Nehemiah separated all the gentiles from them. If seen from a worldly point of view, Nehemiah’s actions look arrogant and exhibit a feeling of superiority over other nations. But the actions of Nehemiah have got deep spiritual significance when seen from God’s salvation plan. After God challenged satan that a woman’s seed is going to crush his seed. It was satan’s mission to find out who the woman’s seed would be and to destroy him or the family line he was about to be born.

At the same time God was preparing a holy nation for Himself for the revealing of the messiah. Abraham was called for that purpose and the Israelites were given Special Commandments and Law to preserve them as a separated, sanctified and holy nation, so that the Messiah could be revealed through them. But this is the exact thing satan was against and he tried to corrupt the Israelite nation in many ways so that God’s anger could burn against them and they would be destroyed. When that didn’t happen, he tried to defile Israel by mixing them with the nations around them, so that they would stop following God’s ways. This is what happened during the days of Nehemiah.

 Nehemiah saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab and half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people (Nehemiah 13:23,24). This is exactly what satan wanted, when the jews mixed with the gentiles, their children stopped learning the jewish language. Without knowing the language, they could not understand the Law of God and they could be easily defiled. That’s why Nehemiah had to take these drastic steps. More than anything, Nehemiah was preparing the way for the birth of the Messiah.

 Who built the wall?

Nehemiah organized the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall, but there were so many others who stood with him and built the wall. We saw the state of Jerusalem and the condition of the people living in it. Despite their suffering, they came forward to build the wall. When Nehemiah shared his burden for the city of Jerusalem and sought help in rebuilding the wall, they said in unison, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to that good work. But who are these people? Learning about the people whom Nehemiah trusted to rebuild the Jerusalem wall, gives an insight into what an extraordinary leader Nehemiah was! There were so many people involved in this building project, but I am going to highlight few of them!

  1.      Eliashib, the High Priest (Nehemiah 3:1) – The first to start account in rebuilding the wall was Eliashib, the High Priest. This should not be surprising, since being the High Priest, that was expected of him. But not so much, if you knew his relationship with Sanballat and Tobiah! After rebuilding of the wall, Nehemiah had gone on a short trip back to Persia and within that time, Eliashib had prepared a room for Tobiah in the courts of the house of God (Nehemiah 13:7,8). And that’s not all, one of the grandsons of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat. When Nehemiah found about that, he was driven away (Nehemiah 13:28,29). Whatever Eliashib’s ideas and opinions were about Nehemiah, Eliashib came forward to rebuild the Jerusalem wall and the Sheep Gate was built.

 2.     The men of Jericho (Nehemiah 3:2) – Who are these men of Jericho? Long ago, when the Israelites were about to enter the promised land, during the conquest of Jericho, Joshua pronounced a curse on the city and said, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.” (Joshua 6:26). But during the days of Ahab and Jezebel, may be to provoke the Lord, the city was rebuilt. It was built by Hiel of Bethel, and the curse was fulfilled on his sons (I Kings 16:33, 34). But who would dare to live in such a city? We don’t know! But we know that they too were captured by the Persian King and they had just returned from captivity (Nehemiah 7:36) and they volunteered to rebuild the wall and they were accepted to be a part of the building project.

 3.     The Tekoites (Nehemiah 3:5) – What was special about the Tekoites was that, they made repairs of the wall even when their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord. Nehemiah had beautifully recorded it. The nobles of Tekoa did not care to work for the Lord, but that did not stop the people of Tekoa from involving themselves in the Lord’s work.

 4.    The men of Gibeon (Nehemiah 3:7) – Who were these Gibeonites? During the days of Joshua, when the Israelites were conquering the Canaanite lands, the Gibeonites had deceived Joshua. Joshua placed a curse on them saying they have to remain as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of God and they will never be freed from being slaves (Joshua 9:22,23). Being slaves is worse, now that Israelites themselves were slaves, Gibeonites would have been slaves of the slaves. We don’t know their exact living condition. But it is recorded that they too were taken into captivity by the Persian king, and they had returned to Jerusalem along with Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 7:25). They rebuilt the wall till the area under the authority of the governor of Trans-Euphrates.

 There is an important lesson for the children of God, a lesson on forgiveness and unity! Gibeonite slaves working to rebuild the Jerusalem wall, where they were being held as slaves! These days we can see so called Christians and children of God filled with hatred and vengeance refusing to work together for the Kingdom of God holding onto grudges accumulated over centuries.The Kingdom of G od suffers! Any vengeance has to be handed over to God, the righteous judge. It is not for us to repay (Hebrews 10:29-30).

 5.     Shallum and his daughters (Nehemiah 3:12) – In the 3^rd chapter of the Book of Nehemiah, the list of all those who rebuilt the Jerusalem wall is given. But this is a rare instance, where a special mention is made about a man and his daughters who helped him to rebuild the wall. Shallum was the ruler of the half-district of Jerusalem. Even in those days when not many women concerned themselves with affairs outside their house, there had been women like Shallum’s daughters who considered it important to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem along with their father. Nehemiah considered it appropriate to make a special mention of them.

 6.    Baruch (Nehemiah 3:20) – He carefully repaired the section taken by him. Didn’t others repair the wall carefully? Definitely they would have done it carefully. But Nehemiah found something very special about his repair work, that he wanted to make a mention of it.

 7.     People from diverse backgrounds – Jews from various backgrounds came forward to repair the wall

 

·        Eliashib (the High Priest, Nehemiah 3:1)

·        Uzziel (Goldsmith, Nehemiah 3:8)

·        Hananiah (Perfumer, Nehemiah 3:8)

·        Shallum (Ruler of Half-district of Jerusalem, Nehem 3:12)

·        Rehum & Others (Levites, Nehemiah 3:17)

·        Men from the plains (Priests, Nehemiah 3: 22)

·        Shemaiah (son of the Keeper of the East Gate, Neh 3:29)

·        Merchants (Nehemiah 3:32)

·        Daughters / sons (Nehemiah 3: 12)

·        People from Jericho (Nehemiah 3: 2)

·        Gibeonites (Nehemiah 3: 7)

·        Tekoites (Nehemiah 3: 27)

The names of so many other leaders and people are given. But these names are listed to show the diversity of their backgrounds. What stands out from this list is that, despite their backgrounds, none of their work was exaggerated or belittled, all their work was equally acknowledged and appreciated.

8.    People with varied abilities – The other thing that becomes clear is that, not all the people built equally. There were some who built the gates, consecrated it and hung the doors (Nehemiah 3:1); there were some other who built as much as thousand cubits of the wall (Nehemiah 3:13). There were many others who made repairs of the portion of the wall which were there, just in front of their house (Nehemiah 3: 23, 28, 30). All of them have been gratefully acknowledged.

 

So, who were the people who built the wall? No single label would fit them. They were all different people from diverse backgrounds, individuals with different abilities who were brought together by a leader with a single goal – to repair the ruined wall. How was he able to bring them all together? How was it possible? The answer could be found throughout the Book of Nehemiah - because the good hand of His God was upon him and the God of Heaven helped him to succeed (Nehemiah 2:18, 20).

  (The Book of Nehemiah doesn’t end here. Nehemiah is a holistic book on Biblical Leadership. There are so many other facets of Nehemiah’s life that could be deeply studied 1. The measures he took for the maintenance of the city and the wall 2. How he led the people for sanctification 3. How he led the people in prayer, in celebration, in sanctification. Anyone interested can do a study on this. But I am ending this series here as of now. God bless you!)

 

 

 

 

 

Let Us Rise Up and Build (Part - 2)

LET US RISE UP AND BUILD (PART – 2)

(Please read the previous post for part - 1 of this message)

So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build” (Nehemiah 2:20)

When Nehemiah was just a cupbearer in Persia, his life was easier. But when he wanted to fulfill God’s plan for his life, that’s when his struggles started. In this part we are going to see about the oppositions Nehemiah faced and how he overcame them.

 1^st Opposition - They laughed at us and despised us

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and  Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?” (Nehemiah 2:19) This is the first tactic the enemy uses mocking, ridiculing, insulting. Many times, when we are faced with such a situation, our immediate instinct is to retaliate with similar words and in a similar tone or to threaten. But Nehemiah’s response was different.

Nehemiah’s Response:

I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:20).  Nehemiah’s response was not based on how they spoke to him. It was based on how he identified himself. Nehemiah had many identities - a cupbearer, a friend of the king, a jewish man, a man in captivity, a servant of God and many more. Nehemiah considered himself as a servant of God more than anything else. That was the identity he wanted to show to others. For a Christian, our identity is “child of God”. We cannot win our battles through any other identity. Nehemiah’s response to all his opposition was based on this identity - “We his servants will arise and build”. Nehemiah did not retaliate; he did not threaten and he did not try to explain himself. He was not scared either. He was bold and confident and he simply said “you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem”.

 2^nd Opposition – Noncooperation from the Nobles

The rebuilding work started and one by one people started to get involved in the work. “The Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord” (Nehemiah 3:5). The people of Tekoa made repairs but their nobles did not want to take responsibility and want to get involved.

Nehemiah’s Response:

Nehemiah did not respond. There is no record of him questioning or doing anything to the nobles. He just made a record in his book that the nobles did not cooperate and we read about it even till today. Moreover, Nehemiah did not consider it as his work, that’s why he was not affected by their noncooperation. It is the work of the Lord and if they didn’t cooperate it is up to God to take care of it. (We can see the real reason why they didn’t want to be a part of this work at the end).

3^rd Opposition – Sanballat becomes furious, indignant and mocks

Initially, Sanballat would not have thought that the work would go this far. Now he started to feel insecure. He got furious and indignant and began to mock the people who were rebuilding the wall. “And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?”  Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall” (Nehemiah 4:1-3). Their insults got bolder and worse.

Nehemiah’s Response:

Again, Nehemiah responded as a servant of God. His answer was a simple prayer. He did not direct his response towards his enemies. Instead, he got his strength from above, with a prayer, “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! 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” (Nehemiah 4:4). Had Nehemiah responded to their insults, they would have returned with more insults and his time and energy would have been wasted. Instead he used his time and energy in fulfilling his mission rather than on responding to meaningless insults.

 

4^th Opposition – The enemies conspire to attack and create confusion

When Sanballat and Tobiah understood that Nehemiah is not going to respond to their insults, they thought of doing something that would force Nehemiah to respond. So, they conspired together to attack and create confusion among the builders. Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion (Nehemiah 4:7,8).

Nehemiah’s Response:

Again, Nehemiah responded as a true leader and a servant of God. He prayed to God and set a watch to look for their enemies’ moves without making any noise. He did not threaten them or try to intimidate them or did not display any sign of aggression. “We made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night” (Nehemiah 4:9).

 

5^th Opposition – Failing Strength of the Laborers

The people who came to build the wall were the remnant jews. They may not have been in the best of their health. When Nehemiah requested their help, they came to build. They did a lot of hard work, but so much rubbish had accumulated that, after carrying lot of burden, their strength is failing now.

Nehemiah’s Response:

Nehemiah’s response is not recorded. Probably he would have supported them and encouraged them, because people continued to work.

 

6^th Opposition – Death threats from his enemies:

Nehemiah’s enemies were frustrated that work was continuing even after they had tried to stop it in many ways. So now they planned to secretly kill Nehemiah. But that news was brought to Nehemiah by people living around there. And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.” (Nehemiah 4:11,12).

Nehemiah’s Response:

It is at this point that Nehemiah started to involve the people to defend themselves. I would encourage anyone to read Nehemiah 4:13 – 23 to see how he responded. I want to highlight certain points

 

7^th Opposition – Outcry against the fellow jews

Suddenly there was an outcry among the people against the fellow jews (Nehemiah 5^th chapter). If Nehemiah hadn’t acted immediately, it could have led to unrest among the people and the building work would have been affected. So why was there an outcry? Even during those terrible conditions, after the city was destroyed by the Persians, some of the jews had enslaved their own brothers and sisters.

Nehemiah’s Response:

Nehemiah called together a meeting to deal with them.

 

 

8^th Opposition - Opposition through Deception

After they failed to control and contain Nehemiah through maximum threats, they tried to use the next best tool. The tool of deception! Opposition through deception is more dangerous than direct opposition. The darkness of deception could be easily identified through the light of honesty and faithfulness. If you are repeatedly being deceived, then you have to sincerely search your heart and check, whether there is any lack of honesty within you. If you are an honest person, you will be able to identify the signs of deception in any person very easily. Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to Nehemiah saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me harm (Nehemiah 6:2). They had set a trap for Nehemiah to do him harm and they sent for him in the pretext of having a discussion.

Nehemiah’s Response:

Nehemiah sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3). Nehemiah knew very well if they sincerely wanted to have a discussion, they could have easily come there. Even though Nehemiah identified their deception, he was silent about it. Nehemiah responded as a servant of God. Nehemiah sent word to them saying, because of his work he couldn’t come. Nehemiah could have exposed their deception through openly stating it. Deceptive people rarely stop their deception when they are exposed, instead they would release more deception and create even more confusion. Nehemiah was focused and single-minded on fulfilling his purpose as a servant of God and that saved a lot of trouble for him.

They had sent this message four times to Nehemiah, and he answered them in the same manner all the four times (Nehemiah 6:4).

 

 9^th Opposition – Frightening letters

After repeatedly sending messages to Nehemiah and failing to catch him in their trap, they took their deception to the next level. Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together (Nehemiah 6:5-7).

Deception could be a separate topic by itself. But I will try to simplify it and limit it to this context. It was a very intimidating letter with many false claims and lies against Nehemiah.

Nehemiah’s Response:

Nehemiah gave a very simple response to such a massive and vile threat. Nehemiah sent a word to them saying “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.” It is amusing to see how Nehemiah maintains his cool and temper. His enemies are forced to invent new ways of intimidating Nehemiah, but without any success.

 

The antidote for deception is honesty and truth. We need truth and patience to overcome deception. What is deception? Deception is when the intentions of the heart and the words of the mouth don't match (Psalms 28:3; 55;21). What is “truth”? The word of God is truth (Psalms 119:160; John 17:17). When we speak and live out the truth i.e. the word of God, we can defeat the effects of deception. Ignorance and deception go hand in hand. Deception is sustained by ignorance. Deceptive people look for ignorant people to advance their cause. Deception can never be defeated through another deception. It can only be defeated through the truth. Truth is a seed and it will produce fruits of righteousness. But we need patience to see its results. The waiting time may be distressing but it is worth it.

 

10^th Opposition – False Prophet Shemaiah

After they failed to stop Nehemiah, they went one step further. They wanted to find that one person whom Nehemiah would trust enough to listen. They found a prophet named Shemaiah. He was a prophet Nehemiah cared about. Nehemiah cared enough to visit him, when he was confined to his home. But lust of money had already invaded Shemaiah’s heart and he had already collaborated with Nehemiah’s enemies. He had prepared his plan and was waiting for unsuspecting Nehemiah to visit him to “create a cause for an evil report” so they could reproach him among the people. Shemaiah told Nehemiah, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.” (Nehemiah 6:10). Anyone who uses the name of God and the Temple of God for deception are the vilest ones.

Nehemiah’s Response:

As mentioned before, deception could be easily identified when seen through the lens of honesty. Nehemiah replied to Shemaiah saying, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!”. Nehemiah saved himself from reproach because of his courage and his sincerity.

 

11^th Opposition –False Prophetess Noadiah & other prophets

The next opposition Nehemiah faced was from a prophetess named Noadiah. Nehemiah has not given any detail about her acts. The only thing we could make out from his statement is that she tried to intimidate him “the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid” (Nehemiah 6:14). In the olden days female prophetesses were not very common. In the Bible we can read about Deborah, Huldah and other prophetesses, but only in lesser number.

 

For a man or woman to be accepted as a prophet, their prophecies should have been fulfilled every time they were uttered. We can learn it from the life of Samuel. We can read in I Samuel 3: 19 & 20, “So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord.” If Noadiah was established and accepted as a Prophetess it means that her words had not fallen to the ground. So even now, when she speaks there are chances that people may believe her more than Nehemiah. There are chances that people may obey her and desert the building work.

Nehemiah’s Response:

Nehemiah was sure of his identity as a servant of God. He knew that he had been sent on a mission by God. He did not leave it to the people to judge between him and Noadiah but left it to God. Never take to people what you should take to God. Nehemiah’s response to such a big threat was a simple prayer. As Christians, so many of our problems are simply because we are not sure of our identity in Christ or we depend on our temporary earthly identities more than our eternal identity in Christ Jesus.

 

12^th Opposition – The deception of the nobles of Judah

The final opposition to the building work recorded in the book of Nehemiah is an equally intimidating one. It was the deception of the nobles of Judah (Nehemiah 6:17-19). We had already seen in the second opposition that the nobles of Tekoa did not co-operate. The real reason why they did not co-operate is because they wanted a good name for themselves from Sanballat and Tobiah. They neither cared about building Jerusalem nor the distress of the people. They even tried to convince Nehemiah that everything Sanballat and Tobiah were doing, were meant for their good. A typical sign of selfish and unfit leaders.

Nehemiah’s Response:

No response was given. He ignored them

 

Why did Sanballat and Tobiah oppose Nehemiah?

Sanballat and Tobiah were not going to be affected in anyway by Nehemiah building the Jerusalem wall. In fact, they and their family would have been more protected than before. Then why did they oppose Nehemiah building the wall? They were neither interested in the welfare of the people nor in rebuilding the city (Nehemiah 2:10). They wanted the city to be desolate and the people to be poor, so that they can reign over them. It is for selfish reasons that they opposed Nehemiah.

 

Nehemiah’s Victory:

Amidst all these oppositions, the Jerusalem wall was completed within 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15). Nehemiah faced these intense oppositions within these days. Nehemiah was opposed from every side. It is difficult to comprehend how he was able to face all these oppositions as a single individual. May be his heart was made of iron or steel! Nothing of that sort. He was made up of the same materials we are made of! But he was a nail fixed in a sure place. He was sure of his identity, sure of his mission and sure of his help from God. Moreover, we also learn from Nehemiah that we can win through silence, win through patience, win without aggression, win without deception and more than anything “we can win alone” with help from God.

                                                                       - To be continued

 

 

 

 

Let Us Rise up and Build (Part - 1)

LET US RISE UP AND BUILD (PART – 1)

So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build” (Nehemiah 2:20)

 

I wish I could dissect this book of Nehemiah, verse by verse, word by word, so I could show you all the treasures hidden inside. This book is a training manual for leaders written by the Holy Spirit. Nehemiah was a leader chosen by God for a specific purpose, to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, whose stones were burned and made into heaps of rubbish. So, come along as we learn from his life.

Nehemiah, the Cupbearer:

Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, King of Persia (Nehemiah 1:11). What is special about that? Nehemiah was not from Persia, he was Jewish. Either he was brought as a captive or he was born to captive parents. Whatever might be the case, how could a king trust a person whom he had brought as a captive from another land with his food and drink. Nehemiah definitely would have been a trustworthy man and a favourite of the king as we can see the King’s concern about Nehemiah’s sadness (Nehemiah 2:2).

Hanani Visits Nehemiah:

When Nehemiah was in the citadel of Shushan his brother Hanani visits him along with some other men. Even though Nehemiah was living in the comfort of a palace in Persia his heart was in Jerusalem, the place of his father’s tombs. He enquired about the welfare of the Jews who had escaped and who had survived the captivity. But the news he got was not good. The survivors who were left from the captivity in the province were there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem was also broken down, and its gates were burned with fire. (Nehemiah 1:1-3).

Nehemiah wept and mourned:

When Nehemiah heard about the state of Jerusalem it was unbearable for him. Nehemiah said “When I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 1:4). His brother Hanani bore the news in his heart and brought it all the way from Jerusalem. We cannot deny that every Israelite would have been deeply affected by the destruction of Jerusalem. But we don’t know whether any man was affected to the extent Nehemiah was affected by the news.

We don’t find Nehemiah questioning why this person or that person has not taken an effort to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. But he went into days of fasting to find out what he can do about it. When God has a purpose for your life, you will be burdened by that issue and you will be looking for ways to solve that issue, others may not be equally burdened or they may even seem to be unconcerned. It could be simply that it is not their purpose in life. It may be for you to accomplish. The Bible says “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do” (Philippians 2:13). It is God who creates the desire in you to fulfill His will for your life.

 What do you request?

The king could make out Nehemiah’s distress from his face and he enquires about it. He finds the reason for Nehemiah’s distress and he had a question for Nehemiah “What do you request?” (Nehemiah 2:4). Imagine getting the question from the king himself. But Nehemiah was unperturbed. He did not trust in his political influence or his royal connections. Had he trusted in his royal connection, he would not have fasted and mourned for days. He would have straight away gone to the king. But Nehemiah trusted in the one who holds the king’s heart and can turn it wherever he wishes like the rivers of water. So Nehemiah prayed to God and placed a request before the king. Because the good hand of God was upon him, the king granted all his requests.

The Good Hand of God was upon Nehemiah:

The Good hand of God was upon Nehemiah because he trusted in God more than the king or any man. What happened because he trusted in God? The King gave all his requests and not only that. He also gave things which Nehemiah didn’t ask for. The king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with him (Nehemiah 2:9). Imagine leaving Jerusalem as a captive and returning as a cupbearer of the king protected by captains of the army and horsemen. This is what happens when the good hand of God is upon you.

Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem:

When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, it couldn’t have been a secret affair. Nehemiah came carrying letters for governors of the provinces he had to pass through, he brought timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertained to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that he was going to occupy (Nehemiah 2:8). We cannot imagine how they would have brought all those timbers from Persia to Jerusalem without any machinery and when everything had to be done manually. The king had also sent captains of the army and horsemen. So, Nehemiah did not return alone. He would have returned with at least few hundred men. Everybody in Jerusalem would have heard about Nehemiah’s return, the return of the cup bearer of King Artaxerxes. It would have elicited hope among the remnant Jewish people.

Sanballat and Tobiah Deeply Disturbed:

But there were some people in Jerusalem who were deeply disturbed by Nehemiah’s visit. Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite were deeply disturbed (Nehemiah 2:10). Why were they deeply disturbed? They were deeply disturbed because someone had come to seek the well-being of those people. They wanted Jerusalem to remain desolate and the walls to be broken. If Jerusalem is built up, they may not have anything to do there and they may not be able to show their authority and they were disturbed. But Nehemiah did not react or show any concern about their disturbance.

Nehemiah inspects the city:

After Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, he went to inspect the city. He arose in the night; he took a few men along with him and went around the city (Nehemiah 2:12). Nehemiah’s brother Hanani had already told him about the condition of Jerusalem. He could have started his planning and design based on his brother’s words from Persia itself. But he wanted to look for himself the condition of the city. If God had placed a burden on his heart for the city, the way he looks at the city would be different from another person whose heart is not burdened for the city. Eventhough Hanani was his brother, whose words he trusted; when it came to fulfilling the purpose of God, he had to do it on his own. Of course, Hanani also had a role to play in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, but that was a different one (Nehemiah 7:2).

Nehemiah inspects the city…. In the night:

Why did Nehemiah go around the city in the night? What would have happened if he had gone around the city during the day time? When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, it couldn’t be kept secret. People in Jerusalem would have been interested in the purpose of his visit carrying all those timbers from Persia. On the other side, there were Sanballat and Tobiah alerted by Nehemiah’s presence. If he had gone around city during the day time, he would have received lot of admiration and attention from the Jewish people, but that would have distressed Sanballat and Tobiah even more. He neither wanted applause for himself nor cause discord in the city. He wanted to fulfill God’s purpose for his life to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. For that he had to take some extra effort, to rise up in the night and to spend one sleepless night. But that prevented many unnecessary problems.

 I told no one:

“I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode” (Nehemiah 2:12). It seems like a very simple statement. But it requires great strength of character and absolute trust in God to do this. Many times, people struggle in their mission because they have faltered in this step. As soon as God gives us a vision or puts a burden in our heart, it is a natural human instinct to immediately share it with people who are close to us.

 What could be the reason we want to share our vision with others before we are fully ready? We may think that we will be supported by them or it could be just to receive some recognition. These people may have similar goals and ideas in life, so we may think of getting some help from them. I want to make it clear that, I am not saying we should never share our vision or ideas. Here I am mentioning about the initial formative stage of our idea or the starting phase, immediately after receiving the vision. We can learn from the life of Nehemiah that after he was clear in his mind what he wanted to do about the walls of Jerusalem, he called the elders and leaders and shared his vision with them (Nehemiah 2:17). Prior to that Nehemiah did not tell anyone.

 But there should be a phase in our life, when we have to take time to wait in the presence of God and to be alone when the ideas and designs are being conceived and when we are being trained for the mission. We can see it in the life of many saints both in the old and the new testament.

 Joseph – Joseph had two dreams when he was young. As soon as he shared those dreams with his brothers, they became jealous of him (Genesis 37:5-11). They even went to the extent of saying, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him ………………..We shall see what will become of his dreams!” (Genesis 37:19,20).

 Moses – Moses knew from a young age that he would deliver Israel from slavery. So he thought the Israelites would readily accept him. The Bible says “Moses supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand” (Acts 7:25) They even pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? (Acts 7:27).

Why did they push him away? If there was anyone who could deliver them from slavery, it should have been Moses. He stood before them with all the splendor of an Egyptian prince. He was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds (Acts 7:22). He could have convinced the Pharaoh through his tactical and intelligent speech. But the Israelite slaves rejected and pushed away an Egyptian prince who offered to deliver them. But forty years later, he came back to them as a shepherd, not as one who was mighty in words and deeds, but as one who was slow of speech and slow of tongue. But now people accepted him. What made the difference? It was God’s time for him to start his mission. Forty years earlier, he would have been able to tackle the Pharaoh, but wouldn’t have been able to tackle the rebellious Israelites in the desert.

 Jesus Christ – Before starting his ministry he was led to the desert by the spirit for 40 days where he was tempted by satan and was with the wild beasts and the angels ministered to him (Mark 1:12)

 Apostle Paul – Apostle Paul, before he started his ministry, spent three years in Arabia (Galatians 1:16-24).

Nehemiah shares his vision:

After Nehemiah had taken stock of the situation and after deciding how to go about it, he called the leaders, elders and nobles and shared his vision with them. It was a very short exhortation and invitation, “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.”  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. (Nehemiah 2:17 &18).

He shared his vision in three steps. There was no exaggeration and no big claims. He could have easily boasted about his royal connection or about the support he got from the royal treasury. He did not do anything to attract people’s support and he did not force them either. He simply explained to them  

1.      - the ruined state of Jerusalem and gave a call to rebuild

2.     - that the hand of God has been good upon him

3.    -  about the King’s support

He got an immediate response. They said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work. (Nehemiah 2:18).

 

-        To be continued