Sermon Tone Analysis

Nehemiah 7:1-73

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Caswell © 2000

Restoration - An Inside Job

 

In a remote Swiss village stood a beautiful church.

It was so beautiful, in fact, that it was known as the Mountain Valley Cathedral.

The church was not only beautiful to look at--with its high pillars and magnificent stained glass windows--but it had the most beautiful pipe organ in the whole region.

People would come from miles away--from far off lands--to hear the lovely tones of this organ.

But there was a problem.

The columns were still there--the windows still dazzled with the sunlight--but there was an eerie silence.

The mountain valley no longer echoed the glorious fine-tuned music of the pipe organ.

Something had gone wrong with the pipe organ.

Musicians and experts from around the world had tried to repair it.

Every time a new person would try to fix it the villagers were subjected to sounds of disharmony--awful penetrating noises which polluted the air.

One day an old man appeared at the church door.

He spoke with the sexton and after a time the sexton reluctantly agreed to let the old man try his hand at repairing the organ.

For two days the old man worked in almost total silence.

The sexton was, in fact, getting a bit nervous.

Then on the third day--at high noon--the mountain valley once again was filled with glorious music.

Farmers dropped their plows, merchants closed their stores--everyone in town stopped what they were doing and headed for the church.

Even the bushes and trees of the mountain tops seemed to respond as the glorious music echoed from ridge to ridge.

After the old man finished his playing, a brave soul asked him how he could have fixed the organ, how could he restore this magnificent instrument when even the world's experts could not.

The old man merely said it was an inside job.

"It was I who built this organ fifty years ago.

I created it--and now I have restored it.

That is what God is like.

It is He who created the universe, and it is He who can, and will, and is in the process of restoring it.

Introduction

 

The walls were completed, the gates were restored, and the enemy was subdued; but Nehemiah’s work was not finished by any means.

Like the Cathedral, the city looked fine but the people inside needed restoring.

On top of this Nehemiah had to protect the city from the enemy.*

Ephesians 6:13*, /And having done all, to stand./

Nehemiah had been steadfast in building the walls and in resisting the enemy, and now he had to be steadfast in consolidating and conserving the gains.

A city is much more than walls, gates, and houses; a city is people.

It was time to organize the community so that the citizens could enjoy the quality of life God planned for them.

God had great things in store for Jerusalem.

His plan of redemption for all mankind hinged on this important city.

After Nehemiah had /repaired the walls he sought to restore/ the people.

Today's passage is divided into 3 sections.

I.Enlisting the Leadership  II.Establishing the Citizenship  III.Encouraging the Worship

 

/Firstly/     Enlisting The Leadership

 

*Nehemiah 7:1* /Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed.

/

/ /

The words */appoint/* and */gave charge of/* are key words in verses 1 to 3. Nehemiah /appointed/ responsible leaders to important civil and religious positions.

/a.

Administrators./

/ /

*Nehemiah 7:2*/ That I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many./

Like all good leaders, Nehemiah knew he couldn’t do the job alone.

One of his first official acts was to appoint two assistants, his brother Hanani and Hananiah, who was in charge of the citadel.

The citadel was a fortress in the temple area, guarding the north wall of the city, which was especially vulnerable to attack.

Hanani and Hananiah would work with Rephaiah and Shallum, rulers of districts in the city.

/Why was Nehemiah convinced that these men would be good leaders?/

They had two wonderful qualities: They were faithful to God and they feared God.

Dr. Bob Jones Senior, often said, /The greatest ability is* dependability*/.

If we truly fear the Lord, we will be faithful to do the work He has called us to do.

When leaders fear people instead of fearing God, they end up getting trapped and that leads to failure.

/ /

/b.

Singers, Levites, Priests, & Temple Servants/

/ /

1.

The *singers* encouraged the people in their worship of the Lord.

They praised the Lord in song, proclaiming His greatness and His goodness to them.

The Book of Psalms contains many of the songs that they sung.

They practiced these songs.

*Verse 44* tells us that 148 sons of Asaph served the Lord as singers.

The /singers/ played an important role in the life of the city.

There are at least eighteen references to singers in the Book of Nehemiah and eight references to giving thanks to the Lord.

There was not much singing during the exile, when the nation was out of fellowship with God.

But now the musicians encouraged the people in their worship at the temple.

Their ministry was important to the nations spiritual life.

*Ephesians 5:18-20 says:* /And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ./

/ /

2. The *Levites* served the Lord in a number of ways.

They primarily served in the temple.

But they also had roles as judges and civil leaders within the community.

They taught God's Law to the people.

As leaders and teachers they had an important ministry applying God's Word to daily living.

The *priests* ministered in the temple by presenting sacrifices and prayers on behalf of the people.

Over 4,000 priests are recorded in chapter 7. Praise, prayer, God's Word and fellowship have always been vital to the health of God's people.

* *

*Acts 2:42,47 speaks of the early Church.*

/And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Praising God, and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved./

3.

The *Nethinim* are listed in verses 46 to 60 along with the *sons of Solomon's servants*.

The Nethinim carried water and wood to the temple.

These were needed for cleansing purposes and offering sacrifices.

Joshua assigned the Gibeonites this task when he enslaved them.

The sons of Solomon's servants were foreigners enlisted for work by Solomon.

For these two groups to return from exile seems to indicate that they had come to trust the God of Israel.

They served in a very practical way even though it was behind the scenes.

/ /

/c.

Gatekeepers & Guards/

 

*7:3*/ And I said to them, Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house./

*Gatekeepers.*

/What good are strong new gates if nobody is guarding them and controlling who enters and leaves the city?/ /What good are walls if the gates are open to every foe who wants to enter the city?/

The gatekeepers were given specific instructions as to when to open and close the gates.

To open the gates early in the morning would only invite the enemy to come in while the city was asleep and unprepared.

To close and lock the gates without the guards on duty might give enemy agents opportunity to slip in unnoticed.

*Guards.*

Nehemiah also had appointed two kinds of guards, watches: Those to patrol the walls at specific stations and those to keep watch near their own houses.

Since many of the people had worked on areas of the wall near their homes, Nehemiah now challenged them to guard the areas they had built.

With guards at the gates, watchmen on the walls, and a solid */neighborhood watch/*, the city was safe from outside attack.

All of this has a message for us today.

/If God’s people don’t protect what they have accomplished for the Lord, the enemy will come in and take it over./

We need guards at the gates, faithful men and women who will not allow false Christians to get in and take over the ministry.