Cooperating to Restore

Introduction

Good morning once again. It’s great to see you all. Go ahead and open your Bible to the book of Nehemiah chapter 3. Last week I began a walk through the book of Nehemiah as he traveled to Jerusalem, with the king’s permission, to rebuild the city walls and gates of the city. Just to recap a little about where we are at in chapter 3:

The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. In 536 B.C. a group of the Jews led by Zerubbabel and Jeshua returned, first restoring the altar and then laying the foundation of the temple. Fast forward 20 years to 516 B.C., when the temple is rebuilt. This is referred to as the Second Temple period in history. Later on, Nehemiah gets permission from the king to come back and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This is where we arrive in chapter 3. The work is about to begin.

Let’s read Nehemiah 3, verses 1-32. There are a lot of names and lists of who is doing what and where so I have a map for you to look at as well.

Nehemiah 3 (ESV)

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 and to the corner.

25 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.

This is the Word of the Lord. Let’s pray and ask God to help us understand an apply it to our lives.

I. The Workers were Motivated

C.S. Lewis is one of the more famous authors in history. He is probably most well known for having written the Chronicles of Narnia which are some of my favorites. In the book, Prince Caspian, we meet a unique character. His name is Reepicheep and he is a mouse. Here’s how Lewis describes him:

“Reepicheep is the Chief Mouse. He is the self-appointed humble servant to Prince Caspian, and perhaps the most valiant knight in all of Narnia. His chivalry is unsurpassed, as also are his courage and skill with the sword.” - C.S. Lewis

If you’ve read the book or seen the movie, this part is actually depicted in the film.

Reepicheep, though smaller than other warriors is courageous because he loves Aslan and the Aslan’s prince more than anything else. He’s even willing to give his life in loyalty to them. During a battle in Prince Caspian he’s almost killed. Lucy heals him with medicine from a special diamond bottle she carries. Aslan is there and Reepicheep bows before him. It is at this moment that he notices that although he has been healed from the brink of death, his tail is missing. He begs Aslan to restore it, which leads to a conversation between Aslan about whether the mouse things too highly of his honor in his tail. But then something happens. Aslan notices the other mice with drawn swords. Here’s what Lewis wrote:

“Why have your followers all drawn their swords, may I ask?” said Aslan.“May it please your High Majesty,” said the second Mouse, whose name was Peepiceek, “we are all waiting to cut off our own tails if our Chief must go without his. We will not bear the shame of wearing an honor which is denied to the High Mouse.”“Ah!” roared Aslan. “You have conquered me. You have great hearts. Not for the sake of your dignity, Reepicheep, but for the love that is between you and your people … you shall have your tail again.” - From Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

What kind of loyalty and love they showed him! But why? They loved this mouse chief who was more honorable and courageous than many men. His goal in life was to serve Aslan’s purpose, Aslan’s people, and the true king. And this mouse was ready to protect what he loved. He would do whatever it took to see it accomplished.

That is the kind of loyalty that I believe Nehemiah inspired in getting the Israelites to rally around the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.

He was convinced of the truth, goodness, and beauty of God. If we are going to move the needle, we also have to be convinced of the truth, goodness, and beauty of God that is displayed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This beauty is moved forward in the work of the church.

II. Nehemiah Organized the Workers

A. Motivation and Organization

In the previous section Nehemiah had motivated the people to build and they were ready to work. But now he had to organize the crowd of workers.

Have you ever heard the old saying, “how do you eat an elephant?”

The answer is: one bite at a time.

Nehemiah had surveyed the destruction and come up with a plan. Now it was time to put it into action.

The people were willing to do the work. Nehemiah used a team strategy with each team doing the work that they were capable of doing. The work was divided into 14 sections with 43 teams.

B. Occupation of the workers:

We are given the occupations of the workers. They are:

Government officials

Priests

Levites

Gatekeeper

Goldsmiths

Merchants

Perfumers

Temple servants

C. Regionality of the workers

Jericho

Tekoites - Their nobles would not stoop…

D. Families

Verse 12 - he and his daughters

E. Proximity in the city to the work

No professional builders are listed. Common people doing the work together. They are from different backgrounds and occupations and families and they are working together to see a task completed. This prefigures cooperation in the church. It’s a picture of what it should look like when the church of Jesus Christ bands together under the task of the Great Commission. When we work selflessly with bowed knees to Jesus.

II. The Workers Were Unified.

Derek Thomas writes about the excitement of this passage for believers in Christ today. It is

...exciting because here we see an example of what the church can be, a powerful and united force attempting and accomplishing great things for God; suggestive because it tells us that this should not be an isolated incident in the life of the church but a powerful incentive to learn from the example shown here and be equally busy fulfilling God’s call for us in our own time. - Derek Thomas

What can we learn from this and how it applies to us individually and as a church.

Here are a few ways:

Don’t shrink from big challenges.

Christians should not shrink back from a big challenge. God has given us a big mission that we can not complete without Him. But we trust in Him. We have just as much of the Spirit of Christ as a bigger church. So we must move forward in knowing and serving Christ.

We must move to seize opportunities that the Lord puts before us.

A great New Testament example is the church at Antioch launching a missionary movement by sending out Paul and Barnabas to the world.

We should answer the call in Philippians 2:14-16

Philippians 2:14–16 ESV

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Hold fast to the word of life. Nehemiah was a man who knew and stood on the Word of God.

2. Christians must face challenges together—as one body in Christ.

The unity of the workers is pretty amazing.

- Each one assumed responsibility for what he could handle.

- Some could handle more than others so they gladly did so (e.g. vv. 19-20, 27) (some worked another section”

- None sought the limelight, attention, or applause

- Everyone got their hands dirty from government officials to temple servants.

** A good leader demonstrates humility. It is striking that the first person mentioned in this work team is the high priest himself. He, along with his fellow priests, took up the tools and began working on the Sheep Gate.

- They displayed a deep awareness that everyone counted; no rock star mentality.

This is the kind of living we find in:

Romans 12:3–5 ESV

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

3. Christian unity lays the groundwork for great effectiveness.

Part of the effectiveness was because of what was missing. Grumbling and disputing seem to be missing and their unity is the undergirding for them being effective at their task.

- no boasting in one’s accomplishments

- no laziness

- no “one-up-manship”

- no procrastination

- no passing the buck to others

- no recognition-seeking

How did they reach unity?

- They listened to the exhortation from Nehemiah and took it seriously.

- They saw the significance of the “reproach” (v.17) they had lived under in which the Lord’s name and fame had not been recognized among them.

- They repented of their pettiness and laziness and stinginess.

- They were gripped by the ability of a unified people under the blessing of the Lord (2:18b)

- They put feet to their commitment. Unity was not just talked about. It was lived in action.

- They refused to be dissuaded by naysayers (v.5)

- They were showing in their unity and their work that they believed God’s promise to Jeremiah regarding the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 29:10–14 ESV

10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

God has placed each one in the body of Christ as He desires for His purposes.

Note the affinity of the workers; realize that someone in each team God had gifted to lead out in the effort; everyone did their part.

Consecration of the Sheep Gate

I want you to notice something about the priests work. Before they set the doors on the Sheep Gate, they consecrate it. This is an interesting account and we don’t hear about the other gates being consecrated. Why this one? Well, to seek an answer for this let me tell you a little more about the Sheep Gate. According to Derek Thomas,

Ezra & Nehemiah The Heart of Servant Leadership

The Sheep Gate is the one through which sheep were brought for sacrifice and lay directly adjacent to the temple, explaining the interest given to this gate by the priests: they were working at the section containing what was, in effect, their front door! This section was also consecrated by the priests, suggesting that the project was far more than a piece of civil engineering. These priests saw themselves as working for the Lord and desiring his blessing on their efforts.

The sheep that would be sacrificed for sin were brought in through this gate. They recognized the importance of this as the gate the sacrifice entered. The sacrificial system was central to their relationship to God and they would want to reestablish it as quickly as possible.

The church doesn’t sacrifice the blood of animals now. We have Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God in the flesh who was the perfect sacrifice. He died for our sins, in our place, once and for all as the only acceptable sacrifice. Those who believe this good news that he died in our place and rose from the grave, and is coming again, get the honor of working to see the kingdom of God advanced and people restored to right relationship with God. Being full surrendered to Him is how we can move toward unified service for Him.

Jesus is the only way that any of this can happen.

At the beginning of the sermon I told you about Reepicheep and the loyalty he inspired in his followers.

Nehemiah was convinced of the goodness and worth of God. He wanted God’s glory in His people. He wanted the city where God had said He put His name to be rebuilt and the nation restored. Because Nehemiah was not working for himself but for the accomplishment of the promises of God in God’s Word and was obedient, the people followed. They also worked for the restoration and from that unified purpose we see great effectiveness. God does amazing things through His people.