Nehemiah 3 Verses 1 to 32 Mobilizing the People

Nehemiah 3 Verses 1 to 32 Mobilizing the People July 27, 2025 Lesson 4

The Relentless Pursuit of Obedience Class Presentation Notes AAAAAA

Background Scriptures:

· Nehemiah 3:1-32

Main Idea:

· Nehemiah couldn’t rebuild the wall by himself.  He called the entire population to join the task.

Study Aim:

· To understand that God’s purposes are accomplished when His people work together toward a common goal.

Create Interest:

· At first glance, chapter three might appear to be boring or irrelevant to us today. It is filled with a lot of names and chronology. Yet, a closer look will reveal great treasures in the chapter as the walls and gates are rebuilt. The entire city was led to work in unity on all parts of the city wall which was divided into 40–41 sections. The entire work force demonstrated an unquenchable dedication and fervent zeal as they strained feverishly to complete the job. The enemies of the Jewish people were completely caught off guard by the speed and drive of Nehemiah and his companions.

· The key factor in accomplishing his goal so quickly was to break the wall down into manageable sections. A 2 ½ mile project became reachable instead of being an overwhelming project. Nehemiah was able to complete the larger goal by breaking up the task into smaller goals.

· When faced with a large assignment, most people make one or more mistakes.

o Underestimating the task including the proper amount of time, energy, and money.

o Putting the work off until the last minute. Procrastination leads to rushing, stress, and many times … failure.

o Spending time on later, more interesting problems before tackling them earlier and more basic ones.

o Trying to do too many things at once.

· What did Nehemiah do to get this project done so quickly?

o He delegated authority.

o He developed the project by getting everyone involved in the construction.

o He directed and coordinated his efforts. Work teams were involved in construction projects that were near their own homes.

§ The workers were more motivated.

§ They traveled less.

§ If attacked, they would tend to not leave their post because their families were near.

o He drew attention or recognized the accomplishments of each worker. and praised good work.

§ Let’s learn from how the walls were completed so quickly and the lessons of the gates.[1]

Lesson in Historical Context:

· Chapter 3 describes the complete rebuilding of the wall, including the gates, and so it does not fit the sequence of the rest of the narrative, in which the wall was built in separate stages (4:6–7) and the gates were not fully restored until the last stage, in 7:1, as 6:1emphasizes. Nevertheless, this section roughly corresponds to the pattern in Nehemiah’s autobiographical story, in which each phase of progress on the walls is followed by opposition.

· The work on the wall was a remarkable feat of organization, diplomacy, and cooperation. The wall was divided into forty sections, each with its own work party, although in three or four cases the same work party repaired two sections. People with houses, shops, or places of work near parts of the wall worked on these sections in many cases, out of self-interest. Different sectors of the Jerusalem population were represented in the communal project, from priests and other temple staff to laity such as merchants and guild members. Judeans from several towns in the province, such as Jericho (v. 2), came to the city and took responsibility for certain sections. In a number of cases, they were grouped under the leadership of officers in charge of administrative regions in the province, who were officially assigned to the project, as verse 17 (for his district) seems to indicate.[2]

Bible Study:

· As I begin the study of this chapter I am overwhelmed, as I suspect you are if you have read the chapter with the facts and list of persons involved.   My chance of remembering these folks is slim to none…As such I am approaching the study looking for pearls of wisdom to share that we can use today in our lives.   Blessings to you as you plow through my ramblings.

· The facts to note are that everyone was assigned very specific tasks and that everyone cooperated together in a unified effort.Each person kept his or her eyes on a specific task and worked to accomplish the project. Each used the specific gift God had given. Throughout this chapter, 38 workers and 42 different groups are named, all cooperating and working together to build their city and its walls. Practically everyone was taking part in the project:

o political leaders (vv. 9, 12, 14, 16, 19)

o priests (vv. 1, 22)

o common people, both men and women (vv. 2–4, 12)

o business leaders (vv. 8, 32) and craftsmen

Thought to soak on as we begin.

· Cooperation is an absolute essential in achieving any task that requires more than one person. Oneness of spirit is a must. Unless there is unity, people are moving in different directions, pulling against each other and accomplishing little.

· The result of pulling against each other is dissension and divisiveness. Think how often dissension and divisiveness rip apart families, friends, workers, classmates, athletes, businesses, social organizations, churches, communities, political parties, nations, and a host of other relationships.

· For these reasons and so many more, success in maintaining order and achieving goals is largely dependent upon the harmony of the participants. Listen to what God’s Holy Word says:

o Matthew 22:37–40 (NASB95)

37      And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

38      “This is the great and foremost commandment.

39      “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

40      “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

o John 13:34–35 (NASB95)

34      “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

35      “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The purpose of the work

· Nehemiah was concerned about only one thing, the glory of God. “Let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach” (2:17; and see 1:3; 4:4; 5:9).

o The Gentiles delighted in mocking their Jewish neighbors by pointing out the dilapidated condition of Jerusalem.

· Of course, the rebuilding of the walls and the setting of the gates also meant protection and security for the people. Jerusalem was surrounded by enemies, and it seemed foolish for the residents to improve their property when nothing was safe from invasion and plunder. Over the years, the citizens became accustomed to their plight.

o Like too many believers in the church today, they were content to live with the status quo. Then Nehemiah arrived on the scene and challenged them to rebuild the city to the glory of God.

· For the most part, the world today ignores the church. If it does pay any attention to the church, it is usually to condemn or mock. “If you are the people of God,” unbelievers ask, “why are there so many scandals in the church? If God is so powerful, why is the church so weak?” Whether Christians like it or not, we are living in a day of reproach when “the glory has departed” (1 Sam. 4:21).  Discuss both pro and con.

The pattern of the work

· Nehemiah was a leader who planned his work and worked his plan, and the way he did it is an example for us to follow. Thirty-eight individual workers are named in this chapter, and forty-one different groups are identified. There were also many workers whom Nehemiah did not name whose labors were important; and each worker—named and anonymous—was assigned a place and a task.

· Note:  “A great many people have a false idea about the church,” said evangelist D.L. Moody. “They have an idea that the church is a place to rest in … to get into a nicely cushioned pew, and contribute to the charities, listen to the minister, and do their share to keep the church out of bankruptcy, is all they want. The idea of work for them—actual work in the church—never enters their minds.”

· The people finished this difficult task because they obeyed the same leader, kept their eyes on the same goal, and worked together for the glory of God.

o Neither the enemy outside the city nor the difficulties inside the city distracted them from their God-given task. Like Paul, they said, “This one thing I do” (Phil. 3:13).

§ Philippians 3:13 (NASB95)

                             Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of ityet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

The people in the work

· As you get acquainted with the various people mentioned in Nehemiah 3, you will find yourself saying, “This is just like the church today!” Circumstances change but human nature remains pretty much the same.

· God uses all kinds of people.The chapter mentions rulers and priests (vv. 1, 12–19), men and women (v. 12), professional craftsmen (vv. 8, 32), and even people from outside the city (vv. 2, 5, 7).

o There was a place for everyone, and a job for everyone to do.

The places of the work

· Nehemiah began his list of the “workstations” with the Sheep Gate in the northeast corner of the city (Neh. 3:1). Then he moved counterclockwise around the walls. The gates named would encircle the city of Jerusalem, beginning north of the temple and moving counterclockwise around the city. This geographical layout seems to provide the organizing principle for Nehemiah 3:[3]

· Often, when reading the Bible, we can detect a second and hidden line of truth running beneath the surface of the primary and obvious meaning. We call this second strata of truth “typology.” Nehemiah 3 is a case in point.

o The names of the gates point us to Christ, the One by whom alone we can gain access to God. The names of the gates not only speak of Christ, but they also depict aspects of the Christian life.

§ The Call to Salvation: the sheep gate (3:1–2) Yahweh, the good Shepherd, will protect the flock from outside ravages, the abuses among the sheep.[4] John 10:9“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 14:6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

§ The Call to Service: the fish gate (3:3–5) Matthew records two separate occasions where Jesus fed large groups of people with bread and fish, which He miraculously multiplied.[5]

§ The Call to Sovereignty: the old gate (3:6–12)

§ The Call to Suffering: the valley gate (3:13)

§ The Call to Scorn: the dung gate (3:14)Therefore I make a decree, that any people, nation, or language who will speak with negligence against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, will be dismembered, and his house will be made into a refuse-heap, since there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.” 30

§ The Call to Success: the fountain gate (3:15–25)

§ The Call to Spirituality. the water gate (3:26–27)Living, source of eternal life.

§ The Call to Strife: the horse gate (3:28)

§ The Call to Sunrise: the east gate (3:29–31)Consistent, always there every day, you can count on, and His coming again.

§ The Call to Searching: the gate Miphkad (3:31–32)

· Note: The significance of some of these gates will be more apparent if the context is consulted. For example, the old gate was built by the rulers. The east gate is the gate of the sunrise—a thought connected with Christ’s coming. “Miphkad” means “appointment” and reminds us that God has appointed the day in which He will judge the world. We are to be associated with Christ in that.[6]

· No one person could have accomplished the work of repairing the walls and restoring the gates. It took leadership on Nehemiah’s part and cooperation on the part of the people. Each had a place to fill and a job to do.

o So it is with the church today: We must work together if we are to finish the work to the glory of God.

o “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58, NKJV).[7]

Thought to soak on:

· You don’t have to have a special gift to be an important member of the body.  In the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls, no one has a special gift. Or rather, many people had special gifts, but their gifts were irrelevant to the project

o (in the terms of 1 Corinthians, it is more important that people are living lives of dedication to each other’s needs than that they are exercising gifts).

§ There were goldsmiths and a perfumer involved, but their gifts were totally irrelevant.

§ There were priests, but their regular work in God’s service was also irrelevant to this project and they didn’t make this work a reason for not being involved in the building project.

§ There were administrators or overseers, but they didn’t make this work an excuse to avoid getting their trowels out.

§ There were people from Jericho and Tekoa, who didn’t make their not being Jerusalemites an excuse (though apparently some of the important people in Tekoa found more important things to do) and people from Gibeon and Mizpah (who didn’t appeal to their not living in this province and thus being under the authority of the governor of Samaria, or to its being indiscrete for them to be associated with the work because of this fact).

§ There were women as well as men, even though one might have thought of this laborious work as men’s work.[8]   Discuss.

More  we could glean from this study:

· First:  In a community project there is a great value to be placed on careful organization and the securing of cooperation on the part of all members of the community. Every part of the wall had its builder, and it would appear that Nehemiah had given careful attention to the proper distribution of the assignments made.

· Second:  Repeatedly, as in verses 10, 23, 28, 29, and 30, it is said that one repaired the wall over against (nearest) his house (10).

o It would seem that, in the assignments made, attention was given to a man’s personal interest and responsibility.

o Alan Redpath has made this matter the subject of an entire chapter, which he entitles “The Starting Point for All.”[] His thesis is briefly that all sound Kingdom-building begins in the home and among those who are closest to us. This is a principle, he says, that is to be found throughout the Scriptures.

§ For example, in Acts 1:8, the disciples were to witness first at Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria, and finally in the uttermost parts of the world.

· Third:  God’s work should challenge all classes of people alike. The high priest, Eliashib, was not too good to work with the lowliest countryman on the building of the wall. Residents of Jerusalem worked side by side with the men of Tekoa, Gibeon, and Zanoah. Merchants, goldsmiths, and apothecaries were all assigned a place to build and, so far as we are informed, willingly accepted the task assigned.

o Cooperation seems to be the keynote of the chapter, and until we come to chapter 4 there is no suggestion of either major discord or opposition, though there were differences in zeal for the task.

o We see some whose nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord (5). Others earnestly repaired the other piece (20).

· Fourth:  The expression they sanctified (1) suggests the essentially religious nature of this undertaking. The meaning is that these builders were “consecrated” or “dedicated” to the service of God the material structures that they had erected.[9]

Thoughts from Adrian Rogers 9-17-1978

· Nehemiah 2:13–15)  He gathered the facts of the situation.

o What is he doing? He’s out there surveying. He’s out there getting the facts. He wants to see what the condition really is. He’s not like an ostrich that sticks his head in the sand. He’s saying, “Really, what are the facts?” And once he sees these facts, then he’s ready to go do God’s work.

· He formed a fellowship to help him in the ministry.

o Nehemiah did not believe in a one-man ministry. Nehemiah knew that there is strength in numbers, and strength in unity, and he knew that he could not possibly do it by himself. And though God had called him to lead, he said, “Come, let us do it together.”

· He fortified his faith.

o Look in verse 18, if you will: “Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me.” (Nehemiah 2:18) I love that verse.

o And if you’ll listen, God will lay something on your heart. And I want you to focus on it. I want you to say like the Apostle Paul, “This one thing I do.” (Philippians 3:13)

§ Do you really have a goal in life? If not, why not? God has a purpose for your life, and your goal ought to be that purpose.[10]

Charles Spurgeon 12-21-1911 shares a thought for us.

Vs. 8 Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. [11]

· This broad wall between the godly and the ungodly should be most conspicuous in the spirit of our mind.

· The ungodly man has only this world to live for; do not wonder if he lives very earnestly for it. He has no other treasure; why should he not get as much as he can of this?

· But you, Christian, profess to have immortal life, therefore your treasure is not to be amassed in this brief span of existence. Your treasure is laid up in heaven, and available for eternity. Your best hopes overleap the narrow bounds of time, and fly beyond the grave; your spirit must not, therefore, be earth-bound and groveling, but soaring and heavenly.

o There should be about you always the air of one who has his shoes on his feet, his loins girded, and his staff in his hand, —the air of a pilgrim ready to be off and away to a better land.

o You are not to live here as if this were your home.

o You are not to talk about this world as though it were to last forever.

o You are not to hoard it, and treasure it up, as though you had set your heart upon it; but you are to be on the wing as though you had not a nest here, and never could have, but expected to find your resting-place amongst the cedars of God, in the hill-tops of glory.[12]

George O. Wood shares a closing prayer

· I pray that for our congregation that there will be examples in these days of what was seen in this beautiful portrait of Nehemiah’s work. That many people came together and did Your work with a whole heart. Give me, Lord, extra special ability in the Spirit to lead beyond my training and my inclinations, my background, my limitations, and to do the work which You’re calling me to do. Give us all, Lord Jesus, the Spirit of faith and courage to mount up and to work with You and for You.[13]

· What does this passage reveal about the best way to accomplish an overwhelming task?

· How can you depend more on the Lord’s help to accomplish the work He has given you to do?

· What should we do whenever we finish a big project or experience success?

· A powerful example of teamwork can be found in the early church, as described in Acts 2:44-47. The believers shared everything they had and worked in unison, breaking bread and praying together. Their collective efforts led to daily additions to their community of faith. This serves as a reminder that when we come together for a shared mission—to spread the love of Christ—God's purposes are not just achieved but multiplied. It demonstrates that the body of Christ is designed to function as a team under Christ's headship.

Grace and Peace,

[1]Rod Mattoon, Treasures from Nehemiah, Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2008), 38–39.

[2]Leslie C. Allen, “Nehemiah,”in Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, ed. W. Ward Gasque, Robert L. Hubbard, and Robert K. Johnston, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012), 100–101.

[3]James M. Hamilton Jr. et al., Exalting Jesus in Ezra-Nehemiah(Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), 113.

[4]Thoralf Gilbrant, “צֹאן,” in The Old Testament Hebrew-English Dictionary, The Complete Biblical Library (WORDsearch, 1998).

[5]Jason Darrell Coplen, “Fish,”in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

[6]John Phillips, 100 Sermon Outlines, The John Phillips Sermon Outlines Series (WORDsearch, 1979), 54.

[7]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Determined, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 47.

[8]John Goldingay, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther for Everyone, Old Testament for Everyone (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press; Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2012), 91–92.

[9]C. E. Demaray, “The Book of Nehemiah,” in Joshua through Esther, vol. II, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1965), Ne 3:1–32.

[10]Adrian Rogers, “Let Us Arise and Build,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), Ne 3:1–5.

[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update(La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ne 3:8.

[12]C. H. Spurgeon, “The Broad Wall,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 57 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1911), 603.

[13]George O. Wood, George Wood’s Sermons: Old Testament, George Wood’s Sermons (WORDsearch, 2013), Ne 3.