The Builders of the wall Nehemiah 3

Introduction

Chapter 1 of Nehemiah introduces us to the condition of Jerusalem and Nehemiahs burden to rebuild Jerusalem. Nehemiah fasted and prayed and grieved over the condition of Jerusalem.

Chapter 2 Reminds us of God’s Sovereignty, seeing Nehemiah being in the right place at the right time to have the time and resources to get to Jerusalem and rebuild the city so it is no longer a reproach to God.

Here in chapter 3 we are going to see the builders of the wall, which is a great reminder that everyone has a part in the ministry. Let look this morning at the people who helped rebuild Jerusalem.

The Pattern of the Work

Nehemiah not only planned his work, but he worked his plan.

38 individual workers are named in this chapter along side 42 different groups.

There were also workers that Nehemiah didn’t name who’s labor was just as important.

It took every person doing their job to make it work

I think about what the Apostle Paul wrote about in 1 Cor 12 and 14, where he compares individual christians to members of the human bodies.

Each member of the body is important and has a specific job to do.

What a relief to think that God doesn’t expect one person to do everything. He has called all of us to do something, and that is the thing we should do.

Something else we can learn from Nehemiah is that if their is a clear goal it unifies the effort.

Psalm 133:1–3 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, That ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: That went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: For there the Lord commanded the blessing, Even life for evermore.”

It is important to note that they rebuilt the walls and didn’t start from scratch.

They took the materials that were there along with some of the materials that Nehemiah brought with him and rebuilt the walls

Warren Weirsbe siad this in reference to today “ It is not by inventing new things that we take away the church’s reproach, but by going back to the old truths that made the church great in ages past.”

The word repair is used 35 times and it is defined as “to make strong and firm”

Nehemiah wasn’t just looking for a quick repair that would fall apart, but a sturdy fix that would last for years to come.

My grandpa loved old trucks, growing up he would always have one that he would tinker with, but he had one that I’ll never forget. It was a 64 or 65 chevy truck that he bought off Ebay that in the pictures looked great and of you weren’t to close to the truck it looked pretty good as well. My parents took him to Oklahoma to pick it up while we were visiting my cousins. When they go to pick it up they notice the paint job is pretty bad and the whole body was pretty much just bondo. He was supposed to go home after he picked it up, but he didn’t get very far in that truck. That truck was a pain the whole time he had it.

I feel like sometimes this is how we try to fix things as Christians put some bondo on it and cover it in paint and everything will be okay.

Nehemiah wanted it fixed right and we should want it fixed right as well

The people of the work

God uses all kinds of people

this chapter mentions rulers, priests, men, women, professionals, and even people from outside the city.

There is a job for everyone

Leaders set the example v1

Eliashib and the other priests help work on the sheep gate in the northeast corner of the city.

This is where the sacrifices would be brought into the city, which is likely why the priest took interest in this part

Some people will not work vs. 5

Tekoa was a town about 11 miles outside of Jerusalem

Some of the people travelled to help out, but their nobles “put not their necks to the work of the Lord” Help us not get to high and mighty to be a part of the work

Some people do more work than others vs 11, 19, 21, 24, 27, 30

In these verse you’ll notice that they did more than the one job they had, they would do another piece after they finished their first assignment

You’ll notice the phrase “another piece”

In verses 10, 23, 28-30 you’ll notice they did the work at their homes.

What is the lesson we can learn from this? Christian service begins at home. A Chinese proverb says “Better to be kind at home than to burn incense in a far place.”

The last thing we will look at on the people of the wall is found in verse 20

You’ll notice there isn’t a lot of detail about the effort put in by the workers outside of one man named Baruch, you’ll notice Nehemiah commended his work by saying he did his work earnestly.

The closer we get to Christs return the more earnest we should be in his work

The places of work

The Sheep gate found in verse 1 and 32

This was the gate that the animals were brought into the city including the temple sacrifices. The gate was near the temple area, so it makes sense that the priest would work at this area. This is the only gate that is sanctified.

The Fish Gate vs. 3

The Fish gate was west of the Sheep gate and between the two gates stood the tower of Hammeah and Hananeel. These two towers were the defence system of the city. The soldiers here would guard the temple and the northern approach to the city

Merchants used this gate when they brought fish from the Mediterranean sea.

This would have been a key entrance to the city

The Old Gate vs. 6

This gate is probably the corner gate located at the northwest corner of the city

The valley gate vs 13

This would be located at the southwest corner of the wall about 500 yards from the dung gate and would have opened to the Valley of Hinnom\

The Dung gate vs. 14

This was located at the southernmost tip of the city near the pool of Siloam. It was the main exit to the valley of Hinnom where the city disposed of trash

The Fountain gate vs. 15

Was located on the east wall, just north of the dung gate, in a very strategic location near the pool of Siloam and the water tunnel built by King Hezekiah.

The water gate vs. 26

Led from the old city of David to Gihon Spring. Jerusalem was one of the few great cities not built near a great river therefore it relied on reservoirs and springs for its water

The text does not say the gate was repaired, just that the walls around it were.

The Ophel vs 26-27n

a hill south of the temple area between the horse gate and water gate

This is where the temple servants would’ve lived because of its closeness to the water supplies.

The Horse Gate vs. 29

Led directly to the temple and is likely what we know today as the Golden gate

Tradition says this was the gate Jesus entered the temple through on palm Sunday.

The gate Miphkad vs 31

This would be where the army was reviewed and registered. The north side of Jerusalem was the most vulnerable place, so it makes sense to have the army set up here.

Conclusion

No one person could have repaired the walls of Jerusalem, it took the leadership of Nehemiah and the cooperation of the people. Each person did their part and the walls and gates were repaired.

I think we can learn a lot for today from Nehemiah. We must work together if we are going to finish the work to the Glory of God