Finishing the Work

Introduction

The purpose of every football play is to score a touchdown.

Every player has a job and every job is important

Someone is in charge and calls the plays - someone else is in charge and calls the plays

Every scoring play is either the result of really good execution or really bad execution

Offensive linemen finishing blocks - what it means and why it’s important

Finishing blocks may be the goal for the individual, but there is an ultimate goal that supercedes finishing the block.

Every lineman who gets pancaked better be prepared for what comes next - dirty play.

This is the story of Nehemiah and it is very evident in these few verses today -

Completing a task in the Christian ministry does not mean the enemy is going to cease hostilities.

Main 1: Don’t forget the miraculous.

What task was completed? The wall was finished in 52 days.

It wasn’t just 52 days - it was 52 days in the middle of the hottest time of the year. The wall was finished in the early fall season. One commentator says this about verse 15 - “a superb understatement.”

The wall lay in ruins for more than 100 years and now just 52 days after the project started it was finished. The rebuilding of the wall classifies as miraculous.

But, wouldn’t you think there would be more than this one verse? This is an incredible feat. Now, some read this story and propose a number of reasons why this number is so low.

Restoration had already started and Nehemiah’s plan piggybacked.

the people were motivated by fear of their enemies and Jerusalem wasn’t that big when the wall was built.

The work was inferior and the wall wasn’t built with a high quality.

Or, Nehemiah moved portions of the wall where the work would have been difficult.

Some of these things are true, but they don’t explain why Nehemiah’s enemies recognized the work as the work of God. There is more on this in our second point.

But, on this issue of the miraculous completion of the wall, we see three important lessons for us.

First -

Humility reigns in the building of the wall.

Are we fully committed to humility in both leadership and following?

Nehemiah never sought recognition for the work. Nehemiah was committed to honoring God in everything.

And, the people that he led were in the situation they were because they were disobedient and made countless attempts to make a name for themselves. Not only that, but he saw the project through the eyes of God.

Second -

God provides in accordance with His character.

Are we trusting in God as our provider?

Led by a cupbearer, not an engineer. the people building and the people serving as watchmen were specifically trained for this, but God’s character is seen as they were provided with what they needed to finish the wall.

Third -

Are we enthusiastic partners? With God and with each other? There is no way that the wall gets finished if everyone is angry and unenthusiastic. It is clear that the builders and the watchmen kept their focus and realized that their partnership with God was working to discourage and defeat their enemies.

Main 2: Recognizing God’s favor builds confidence.

What we see in verses 15-16 is this:

Recognizing God’s favor builds confidence

So, these people saw this miraculous process unfold and they were left shocked. In the Hebrew, verse 16 reads “when all our enemies heard, and all the surrounding nations saw, they fell greatly in their own eyes.”

The enemies of the Israelites really held themselves in high esteem. In fact, they thought so highly of themselves that they believed that they could successfully oppose God and the people of God.

Now, if I steal from my finishing blocks on the football field example, these people thought practice was unnecessary. they didn’t watch film during the week. They didn’t meet in position groups to discuss disguised coverages or common 3-technique twists. Why?

Because they were too great in their own eyes - they were captured by the sinful pride of life. They overestimated their own strength and underestimated God and His people.

The Israelites. Their confidence level was a 99 out of 10 at this point. Despite the opposition, the schemes, the tactics, the deception, and the trials they faced, the wall was complete! Praise be to God!

Their path to the finish line was long. It was filled with challenges, opposition, evil schemes and deceptive enemies. Your own fear about something God is calling you to may not be coming from those who oppose you. Maybe your fear is from the unknown or feelings of inadequacy. Imagine these Israelites - pulled from their “day jobs” to construct a wall. Talk about feeling inadequate! Or maybe it’s the possibility of failing. There are others among us who are more than aware of the Sanballats and Tobiahs in their lives who do not want you to succeed. They might remind you of the cost to continue on the path. Maybe even get you to turn around or stop.

Let me encourage you this morning with a simple phrase: WE BUILT THE WALL.

God calls people for an assignment.

Press on, build the wall. Refuse to flinch in frightening times - build the wall.

Some try to explain away the building of the wall, as if it was only notable for the Israelites.

Friends, this perspective misses the entirety of these verses!

Nehemiah literally states in Hebrew that the enemies surrounding Judah “knew that it was because of our God this work was accomplished.” Everything and everyone that contributed to the accomplishment of the project was the result of God’s divine hand. Both the people of God and the enemies of God know this truth.

“Judah’s enemies tried to make Nehemiah and the Jews afraid; but in the end they were the ones who feared.”

If God has called you, if He has given you the assignment, you must press on. You must press on! If we will refuse to flinch in the face of fear and be faithful to God’s call, others will take notice. Nehemiah recognized that those who once wanted nothing more than to frighten him and his team of workers were now frightened themselves.

The nations surrounding Jerusalem and Judah were demoralized “because they realized that this work had been done with the help of God.” You see, those in ancient Mesopotamia and adjoining regions connected a nation’s status with divine favor or judgment.

Larson, Knute, and Kathy Dahlen. Holman Old Testament Commentary - Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Edited by Max Anders, Broadman & Holman Publishers., 2005, p. 206.

Are you open to letting God do the work in your life and become the beacon of God’s power?

Main 3: The enemy will look for new ways to stifle God’s plan.

The enemy is always willing to “play after the whistle.”

Nehemiah 6:17-19 “During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah’s good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.”

You’ve probably all seen it happen on TV. A guy gets crushed by an offensive linemen who finishes the block.

He gets up and is irate. He’s embarrassed, he’s angry, he’s a lot things that don’t work well on the football field.

As God’s sworn enemy, Satan has seen his share of pancake blocks. Tobiah hated the things of God and he was Nehemiah’s arch enemy. We read in these verses that Tobiah is going to try another means of ruin - infiltration.

Tobiah’s family had become connected with Jewish leadership in Jerusalem - verse 18 tells us this.

Interestingly, Tobiah's name means “Yahweh is good” but he sticks to his deceptive and undermining guns. He is connected in Jerusalem and he wants to grasp power. He probably idolizes Nehemiah because of what he saw accomplished under his leadership, but he’s not willing to sacrifice personal gain.

Pay attention to our personal view of endings.

Let me share it this way - Nehemiah, we like the project, we don’t like you. These enemies must of thought, there must be more to this whole operation then just a wall. It’s certain that Nehemiah thought about this - that the visible and immediately tangible ending may not actually be the end.

Hebrews 11:27 “By faith he (Moses) left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees Him who is invisible.”

The purpose of the wall was far bigger than the wall - it was actually to bring people inside and reintroduce God-centered worship.

Rebuilding the wall and infrastructure prepared the way for reviving the people inwardly to fulfill the ultimate goal - Godly worship.

The purpose of the wall was to facilitate inward change.

Despite this reality, Tobiah continued his attacks. He’s using family members to send intimidating letters to Nehemiah. I know that letters don’t sound all that intimidating, but in the context, they were.

Nehemiah is dealing with informants - people who were telling Tobiah what Nehemiah said and then writing to Nehemiah about the “good deeds” of Tobiah.

Our enemy has no regard for the boundary lines of God. In Chapter 7, verse 1, Nehemiah charges some with being gatekeepers, singers, and priests. Nehemiah knew that if the boundary wasn’t secured, and every detail wasn’t secure, the people would never experience a return to Godly worship.

In Nehemiah 7:3, we read that Nehemiah even charged citizens with using their homes and posts as defense posts against enemy tactics.

What role do you play in helping return people to Godly worship?

Has God laid a foundation in your life upon which to build a wall, but the enemy’s tactics distracted or discouraged you?

What Nehemiah’s leadership in building this wall symbolizes and shows us is that all of us have a part in God’s redemptive story. The wall itself didn’t bring the people security. Opposition will always threaten us, just as Tobiah infiltrated the Jewish community.

The first verse of our closing song says it simply -

Worthy of ev'ry song we could ever sing Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring Worthy of ev'ry breath we could ever breathe We live for You

After what the Jewish people had gone through, yet the wall completed in 52 days. He is worthy of it all. They were being encouraged by Nehemiah’s leadership to live only for God.

Is there something that stands in the way of you living only for God?

We’re going to sing the chorus of the song, Build My Life, twice. During this time, if you hear God say, Let’s talk about this, come to this place of prayer. God will meet you where you are, so if you hear His voice, listen and respond.