Ask anyone who has read the book of Nehemiah what the book is about, and you will
most likely hear a story about Nehemiah being a great leader and accomplishing a
great work for the Lord. That is certainly true, and his work was very valuable to
Jerusalem. Nehemiah would have accomplished very little without the dedication of
the people to follow his leadership. It takes a team to build a wall in less than 2
months. It takes a team to guard a city against the attacks of a fierce
enemy. When it comes to the work God has given His people to do, there is
no room for people who just want to be observers. We need workers to get the
job done, and Nehemiah had workers who believed in the work God had sent him to
do.
Our love for the Lord is demonstrated by the way we live our lives. Lysa Terkeurst
said, “Our acts of obedience are evidence of our trust in God.” When we
respond to God’s love for us by loving Him back, it affects every portion of our lives.
We pray to Him. We read His word. We care about His people. We teach our
children that God wants a relationship with them. God wants to spent time with us
and help us to do the work He has given us to do. God has clearly given His children
a very important job to do. We are to work with Him to make followers of Jesus.
In a different time and different place, Nehemiah also had a big job to do.
God had touched his heart with a desire to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah
responded to God by making himself available to God. He prayed and planned
while he waited on God’s timing. When God made a way, Nehemiah traveled to
Jerusalem to do the job God had given him to do.
Nehemiah assessed the work, and then he shared his vision with the people of
Jerusalem. The people knew that things were so bad in Jerusalem that their
neighboring cities were mocking the people of Jerusalem because of the
condition of their city. Nehemiah pointed that out to the Jews, and they knew he
was right.
They heard how God had made a way for Nehemiah to come to Jerusalem and lead
them in rebuilding the walls. The people responded by saying, “Let’s rise up and
build.” Now, in chapter three we see how the people followed Nehemiah and
worked together to carry out the work God had given them to do.
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.
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.
- What are the benefits of teamwork in the Lord’s work? What happens when we
work together?
When we work together with the right attitude, we encourage one another and
experience the joy of serving God with real teammates. When we work together,
we accomplish much more that the sum of our individual efforts.
When we work together, the gospel spreads, people are helped, and God is
honored.
What is the impact of spectators in the Lord’s work? - How did the priests set the example for all the Israelites? (3:1)
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.
The leaders led by example. The first person mention in chapter three is Eliashib,
the high priest. He and his priests led the way by rebuilding the Sheep Gate and the
wall in that area of the city. Even though these men were the spiritual leaders, they
did more than just talk about what needed to be done. They got busy and led by
example. Nehemiah led the other leaders, and the leaders led the people.
There are all sorts of leaders listed in this chapter. Political leaders, family leaders,
industry leaders – all did manual labor on the walls and gates. Eliashib gathered the
other priests, and they started to work at the Sheep Gate in the northeast corner of
the city. That was the area where the sacrifices came into Jerusalem. The
priests would have been especially interested in that portion of the work. - Why do think Nehemiah recorded who worked and on which area they worked?
I believe God wanted it recorded for all posterity to know who worked and what they
did. This is a reminder that God sees our work, and our work for the Lord matters.
Our work influences other people. - How did Nehemiah organize the work according to the purpose? (3:1-32) Why is
this important?
Nehemiah divided the work into 40 sections. He didn’t say, “Just go and do whatever you feel
like doing, and we will just hope that it turns out to be a wall.” Someone had to lead, and Nehemiah
was the one God sent to Jerusalem to lead the people in the rebuilding of the wall. Nehemiah
was the coach who called the plays. Nehemiah didn’t do all the work, and Nehemiah doesn’t
get all the rewards for what was done. He simply led the work. - What is the purpose of a church, and how can we organize around our purpose?
We have been called to make followers (disciples) of the Lord Jesus Christ. We, too, need
Leaders to lead us in the fulfilling of our instructions. We, too, need to be organized according to
our overriding purpose. Can you imagine what a church would look like that was centered
around some other purpose other than the God gave us? Our imaginations won’t have to
work very hard. All around us there are groups of religious people who call themselves churches
who are not organized according to the purpose God has for a church. As a church, our business
is sharing the gospel. We lead people to Jesus. We teach people how to live life in such a way
that God is honored by the things we do. If any church is designed to produce any other product
that the product God called us to do – that group is off track. - What can we learn from the fact the people worked on a section of the wall near
their homes? (3:3-4, 28-29)
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.
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.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem rolled up their sleeves and went to work on the wall. The sons of
Hassenaah build the Fish Gate. Meremoth worked next to them. Meshullan worked next to him.
Zadok worked next to him, and so on and so forth. They didn’t stand around waiting on the perfect
opportunity, they accepted the opportunity that was available. By working close to their homes,
they could be near their work, have a heightened interest in their section of the wall, doing a better
job keeping their eyes on the project 24/7. - What criticism was leveled at the men of Tekoa? (3:5) Who in the church is exempt
from the work of the Lord?
5 And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop
to serve their Lord.
Tekoa was a town about 11 miles from Jerusalem. Some of the people traveled to
Jerusalem to help with the walls, but their nobles did not. Other people from other
areas also got involved in this project. Apparently, the only group in which the
leaders failed to set the example was Tekoa. Leaders lead, they don’t just talk about
what needs to done. - What effect do you think this accomplishment had on the people involved?
The destruction of Jerusalem’s walls had exposed the Jews to shame and trouble.
When the walls were rebuilt, it served as a sign that Israel’s God was with the
Jews, and it served as a warning to their enemies. After the walls were built, this is
what Nehemiah wrote in Nehemiah 6:16, When our enemies and the surrounding
nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized
this work had been done with the help of our God.
While the walls brought fear to Judah’s enemies, it brought comfort, peace, and
blessings to the Jews. They were proud of their work, proud of their city, proud of
their people, and proud to proclaim the name of their God.