Nehemiah 7:1-4

Nehemiah 7:1–4 KJV (WS)

1 Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed, 2 That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many. 3 And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house. 4 Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.

Introduction

I have the utmost respect for creatives.

People that are able to visualize and imagine something brand new.

I do not have this ability.

I am much more geared to adapt someone else’s work for my own.

I can take something already in existence and rework it to fit my context.

This is more my strength.

Thank God for those that came before to start this church.

We get to build off of their work.

This is only possible because decade after decade the people of the Baptist Tabernacle have endeavored to protect and promote what God wrought back in 1955.

This is necessary for any group of people that hopes to maintain and pass down something precious and valuable.

Our passage this morning shows us how Nehemiah hopes to do exactly this with the work God had accomplished in Jerusalem.

If we hope to continue to pass on this miracle of a church, then we need to take heed to what Nehemiah does in this passage.

The project is completed.

In our last look at Nehemiah, the walls had been completed, but the gates had not been hung.

Now the walls and gates were both finally restored.

I can only imagine the satisfaction Nehemiah must have felt upon the completion of this monumental task.

I wonder if he went out one day and rode the same route he had taken when he had surveyed the damage that first week in Jerusalem.

No longer were the walls in ruins.

No longer was the city a reproach to all that saw it.

Napoleon said that a leader is a dealer of hope.

Nehemiah had given the people hope.

He told them from the beginning that God was with them.

Now that their task was complete, he had been proven right.

Lesser men would have been tempted to bask in their accomplishment.

Nehemiah recognizes that this is not an option.

He must stay engaged for one very important reason.

Nehemiah’s job is far from complete.

We all understand that a city is more than walls and gates.

What good are walls and gates if there is nobody to guard them?

The people banded together to accomplish something that past generations had failed to do.

If they didn’t take care of it, then it would not be long before all their hard work would degrade and decay back to a state of ruin.

Such is the way of all things.

Some people are okay with their hard work crumbling, Nehemiah was not.

But, just as the reconstruction was too big of a job for one man, so would the upkeep be too big of a job for one man.

Thankfully, we see in scripture that Nehemiah is a mature enough leader to know that he cannot do the job alone.

Would you agree that an immature leader is a dangerous thing.

We see them all over.

The world is full of immature leaders.

Karl Jasper - The power of leadership appears to be declining everywhere. More and more of the men we see coming to the top are merely drifting.

Walter Savage Landor - When little men cast big shadows, it is a sign the sun is setting.

Nehemiah was mature enough to admit he needed help, and we see next that he had a high standard for who he hired.

In verse 1, Nehemiah deputizes the Levites to act as gate keepers for the city.

The Levites had experience with this kind of task.

1 Chronicles 26:12-19 details the responsibility of the Levites to act as gatekeepers to the Temple.

They were not, in normal times, responsible for the gates of the city.

Extraordinary circumstance call for extraordinary measures.

There is a disappointing mentality being promoted among younger generations today.

I understand that we need to protect our health and our time with our families.

I get it.

Big time proponent.

Sometimes you have to put your big boy pants on, dig deep, be an adult, and just do what need to be done.

I imagine Nehemiah going to the Levites to get their help.

He may have said, I know you guys don’t normally do this, but we are in a tight spot.

The city is large and the people are few.

Would you, for a season, take responsibility for the gates of the city.

You do have experience doing this kind of thing.

The levites must have agreed because it says that they were appointed to serve as porters.

Next, Nehemiah enlists two assistants to oversee the defense of the city.

The first one mentioned is Hanani, his brother.

You remember Hanani from the beginning of our study.

It was Hanani that brought news to Nehemiah about the condition of the city.

Apparently he had also returned to Jerusalem either with Nehemiah or sometime during the construction.

Now Nehemiah places his brother in charge of defending the city alongside another man.

Hananiah, who Nehemiah calls the ruler of the palace.

The palace was a citadel or fortress close by the Temple.

This fortress was situated in one of the only vulnerable locations of the city.

Hananiah was a military man, who knew how to secure a location.

More importantly, though, he was a faithful man that feared God.

When leaders fear God, they will be faithful.

You’re all familiar with the great wall of China.

The Great Wall of China was supposed to be insurmountable.

It was breached 4x, however.

Each time it was because the gate keepers were bribed.

Between the Levites and the H - Brothers, Jersualem had faithful men watching over the gates.

With the right personnel in place, Nehemiah then assigns schedules related to the protection of the city.

The first order he gives is regarding the gates.

Jerusalem would not follow the example of other eastern cities.

The typical Eastern practice was to open the gates at sunrise.

The gates of Jerusalem would only be opened at certain times of the day.

Opening the gates too early in the morning would make it easier for the enemy to slip into the before everyone was awake.

Nehemiah directs the gate keepers to only open the gates once the sun was high in the sky.

This way the people of the city will have time to take care of other business without having to worry about who is coming and going through the gates.

When you have few people, you have to make adjustments.

The gates could only be open when there were people to watch them.

Next, Nehemiah directs watchmen were to be set up in specific places.

This was for after the gates were closed.

Watchmen were to be appointed, most likely by the H - Brothers.

Hanani and Hananiah were to go around the walls and identify specific places where dedicated watches should be set up.

These were probably vulnerable places on the wall that needed a dedicated watchmen looking out.

Finally, each family was responsible for the portion of the wall closest to their house.

This is a brilliant strategy that had worked well during the construction.

By making everyone responsible for their part of the wall, Nehemiah promotes each family taking personal responsibility for the protection of the city.

Not only are you guarding the place where you live, but you are also guarding the portion of the wall that you just finished building.

Through flexibility and full participation, Nehemiah was able to provide for the protection of the city despite the low number of residents.

God had enabled the people to complete a great work, now they would need to work together to bear the burden of protecting and maintaining it for future generations.

Application

What has God given you that you need to protect and maintain for future generations?

What is something valuable that you have received or that you have built that is in need of maintenance and preservation?

We could talk about heirlooms, property, businesses, jewelry, or even a classic car.

What about spiritually?

My parents are here today, before I was born, God led them separately to join the church that I was mostly raised in.

You may not realize it, but their decision to join that church has a direct impact on you.

I inherited some things growing up in that context that guide my decisions for our church today.

You see they passed some things on to me that I now desire to pass on to my children.

It’s not enough for us to experience the work of God in our life, we need to do what’s necessary to pass that on to the next generation

One thing that is necessary for this to be true is for you to admit that you can’t do this yourself.

Like Nehemiah, you need help.

I used to have parent meetings with my youth group just like Bro. Clarence does.

I used to say to the parents and the teens, as a youth pastor, I cannot replace a kid’s parents, but I can supplement them.

All of us need someone to supplement what we are doing.

We need Hanani and Hananiah to come alongside and help us protect or promote the things we are trying to accomplish.

It is true that if we are going to succeed in passing this church and it’s mission on to the next generation, it will take all of us working together.

Here is what I am asking, though…

In general, keep watch over the areas close to your house.

In other words, invest in the areas where God has specifically gifted you.

Do what you’re good at!

But, also, be willing to step away from what you’re used to.

Like the Levites who were used to watching over the temple, be willing to watch over the gates if that’s what is needed.

Like the citizens of Jerusalem, we are few and our mission is great.

Conclusion

Do we want to pass on the mission of CBT to the next generation?

We need to promote involvement from every corner of this church family.

No one of us can do it alone.

We need men and women who will fear God and be faithful.

We need to view our church as something worthy of protection and promotion.

If we do this, then in 70 years, there can still be Christians worshipping God and evangelizing this community out of the Baptist Tabernacle.