Rebuilding or starting anything new from a spiritual perspective will always evoke a desire to oppose by some. We see this as Nehemiah rally’s the exile to re-build the walls. If there is a struggle, it is generally worth it.
Nehemiah 3: Rebuilding the Wall
1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel.
2 And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.
3 The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
4 And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired.
5 And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.
6 Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Gate of Yeshanah. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
7 And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of the governor of the province Beyond the River.
8 Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
9 Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired.
10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired.
11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens.
12 Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.
13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall, as far as the Dung Gate.
14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
15 And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king's garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David.
16 After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men.
17 After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district.
18 After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah.
19 Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the buttress.
20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired another section from the buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
21 After him Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib.
22 After him the priests, the men of the surrounding area, repaired.
23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house.
24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress
25 and to the corner. Palal the son of Uzai repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh
26 and the temple servants living on Ophel repaired to a point opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower.
27 After him the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.
28 Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house.
29 After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired.
30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite his chamber.
31 After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate, and to the upper chamber of the corner.
32 And between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.
Nehemiah 4: Opposition to the Work
1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.
2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?"
3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, "Yes, what they are building---if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!"
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.
5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
6 So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry.
8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
10 In Judah it was said, "The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall."
11 And our enemies said, "They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work."
12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, "You must return to us."
13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."
The Work Resumes
15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.
16 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah,
17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.
18 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
19 And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.
20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us."
21 So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.
22 I also said to the people at that time, "Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day."
23 So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.
Things to think about…
1. An interesting phrase repeated in Neh 3 is that the builders repaired their ‘doors, bolts and bars’. This denotes security, order and completion. The wall was a significant visual factor for any city that expressed security and protection from its enemies. Christ is the wall of security symbolically being represented here for the Christian with the Gospel being the only gate through which they can enter?
2. All the family members got involved in the national rebuilding program of the capital. We will no doubt see the same after the horror of the Ukraine/Russian war. Shallum’s daughters are a wonderful example of the diligence and fearless work of his daughters, Neh 3:12, a “ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters”.
3. Consider Neh 3:28-30 where it says a number of them repaired the wall and gates opposite their houses. It’s easy to look at other people’s lives and consider their ‘walls’ which need repair. Our personal issues I.E ‘the walls’ closest our own house, should consume our immediate attention. Question:- are there any ‘cracks’ or ‘breaches’ in the ‘walls’ of your life in Christ? Eg Pride, anger, self will, unbelief, etc. Let’s repair the walls near our own houses before pointing out the cracks with anyone else with their walls.
4. In Neh 4:1-14 we see Sanballat, Tobiah and the Arabs, the enemies of the Lord, speak out against the builders and discourage them from their work. Nehemiah prays and encourages the workers to continue vs 14. What was more discouraging, is that there were some of the Jews who discouraged the workers, vs 12. They did this 10 times. The most difficult discouragement to deal with I find is when it comes from within the body of Christ. This is what Nehemiah was dealing with here. His response was to encourage the workers, not convert the discouragers, vs 14. How do you think this situation is played out within modern church? Can you think of examples of where Christ responded to dissention when it was displayed among the disciples with respect to His building program? It all works out for good. The ultimate dissention against Christ put Him on the cross and secured salvation for us all. Be encouraged even through spiritual trial, there is a purpose for and the church.
5. In Neh 4:15-23 the work carries on with both the sword in one hand and the trowel in the other. This activity continued in shifts. Sometimes there are situations that require our undivided attention either within a family context or within the church. These are generally intense periods that involve great spiritual warfare and can be quite physically and emotionally draining, vs 23. Can you recall a situation where you seemed to be taxed beyond your limit of endurance? The Lord of all the earth rather than leaving you and forsaking you is near you and beside you making you stronger in the storm so you can be more greatly used for His purposes, John 15. It’s all about the pruning and the fruit. The sword and shield is symbolic of Eph 6 and the armour of God for the Christian. Do not enter the battlefield without it.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups on break over School holidays
Prayer Points
1. Pray for our Easter services.
2. Pray the Lord blesses the money sent to Polish Baptist Church in Chelm efforts to support Ukrainian refugees. This is the church we will be supporting.
3. Upcoming Australian elections
4. Continue to pray for the flood clean-up and all those affected a second and third time round as well as the money donated to help.
5. Folk sick with Covid – relief and healing.
6. Ukraine to continue to repel Russia and peace to come. Pray for Mariupol and eastern Ukraine.
7. Christ to be seen through us in our community.
8. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. CBC has raised $2800 for Ukrainian refugees and $1200 in flood donations. I have been messaging Chelm Baptist Church and they are very appreciative of our support.
2. Russia seems to be gradually losing the war. Pray they are held accountable for war crimes.
3. The world is responding overwhelmingly to the war in Ukraine. It has united the west and others against Putin’s evil.
4. God’s word affecting people for Christ
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
6. Flood cleanup is restoring communities around Ipswich and Brisbane.
