Repairing the Breach

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Isaiah 58:12 ESV

12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

Today we are going to use the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem to pull some key principles in relation to repairing the breaches in our personal lives, relationships, church, city, and nation.

Five Steps to Repair the Breach

Identify the Breach

Pray Before You Plan

Everyone Builds

Be Flexible

Repair & Fill

EVERY WALL HAS A STORY

Imagine a beautiful rock wall surrounding a magnificent city. Then all of the sudden, you come to a place in the wall that has been shattered. The city is exposed.

<< Ruined Wall Image >>

A city without walls in the ancient world was not merely inconvenient, it was indefensible, shameful, and spiritually exposed.

Think for a moment: what walls in your life, family, or community are lying in ruin right now?

In the account of Nehemiah the walls of Jerusalem were not merely architectural features. In the ancient world, a city's walls were the physical expression of its security, identity, and integrity.

Commerce happened at the gates.

Legal proceedings happened at the gates.

A city without walls was not a city: it might as well have been an open field.

When the Babylonians attacked Judah and breached Jerusalem's walls in 586 BC (2 Kings 25:4, Jeremiah 39:2), the destruction was not only military. It was the physical declaration that God's protection had been withdrawn and the covenant community had lost its structural integrity.

The gates were burned, meaning not just that defenses were gone but that the normal rhythms of civic and economic life had been destroyed with them. 

In Summary: The physical evidence was a result of a spiritual breach.

Nehemiah 1:4 ESV

4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

The Fractal Principle

We are going to see in this story how one man’s burden to repair the breach led to a nationwide repair.

Trees, Snowflakes, Stock Market all are examples of the fractal principle in nature. All of them produce the same pattern from the smallest to largest scale.

<< Fractal Slide >>

IDENTIFY THE BREACH

Nehemiah 1:3 ESV

3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

Trouble & Shame

When there is a breach in your life, you will find yourself living in a constant state of “trouble” and “shame.”

This take a mature and wise person to stop and assess their life, seeing if there is any breach.

trouble heb. rah; evil, wickedness, depravity, misfortune, disaster, adversity, affliction, misery, sorrow, wretchedness.

shame heb. cherpah; disgrace, exposure, to betroth as if by surrender

a breach in your life could place you in a situation that is like a forced marriage.

Face the Breach

Acknowledge if there is a breach in your life and take action.

The breach of this city was caused by a people’s lack of keeping the covenant God made with them. This resulted in a removal of God’s protection over their lives and wellbeing.

Ignoring a breach will only continue to leave you in trouble and in shame.

Where is the breach in your household? Your marriage? Your own spiritual life? The first step of repair is the courage to look — and to confess what caused the wall to fall.

PRAY BEFORE YOU PLAN

Nehemiah 1:4–7 ESV

4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.

Repentance

It says that Nehemiah sat, wept, mourned for DAYS.

Nehemiah 2:1 “1 In the month of Nisan (April), in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.”

Based on this timeline, Nehemiah was in this state of mourning for four months!

What would happened if you full stopped your life and sat before the Lord seeking direction on how to repair the breach?

Favor With God & Man

Nehemiah’s private time with God, produced favor with man.

Don’t let the favor of man, supersede the favor of God.

Nehemiah 2:4 ESV

4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.

This can be a quick trap to fall into. You have just spent all this time praying and fasting and now this man has the answer for me.

NO! Nehemiah slows down, knows who his source is, and responds to the King’s request by praying to God — that’s maturity.

The Mission Starts in the Prayer Room

Now, the walls of Jerusalem became ruined due to a spiritual collapse in the people.

The repair was going to be made in the same way — it starts in the spiritual.

“Don’t go to the king until you’ve been to the King.”

Resource Released

Nehemiah 2:8 ESV

8 … And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

The King releases the resource and even sends military escort.

EVERYONE BUILDS

Inspect the Walls

Before Nehemiah gives one instruction or lays out a plan, he takes a full assessment of the breach in the walls.

He reviews the gates and the damage that has taken place.

There were 11 gates around the city, 6 of them needed repaired.

Unified & Focused

Nehemiah chapter 3 is one of the most beautiful portraits of what a unified people can do.

Priests, merchants, goldsmiths, daughters, officials — each assigned their section, each working where they lived.

From a practical standpoint, this is brilliant! He didn’t have the guy that lives on the west side travelling to the east side to do work.

He had people take responsibility and rebuild where they were.

Practically: he wasn’t asking people to go fix other people’s breaches - he was asking them to work on their breach first.

LOG & BRANCH

Luke 6:41–42 ESV

41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

As you start to repair your breach, this will lead to the greater body having their breaches repaired.

BE FLEXIBLE

When you begin to repair the breach — the enemy is not going to be happy.

That breach is how the enemy has been able to have access to your life, your family, your legacy, your creativity – and now you are cutting off the flow.

Nehemiah 4:7–8 ESV

7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. 8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

Anger

Fighting

Confusion

Sound familiar?

The enemy does not like your progress and will do anything he can to create frustration, fighting, and confusion in your life.

Don’t be surprised, be flexible!

Nehemiah 4:14 ESV

14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

Change Your Strategy

The primary goal was to rebuild the wall, yet they were flexible enough to continue repairing the breach and deal with the enemy.

Nehemiah 4:16–18 ESV

16 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, 17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. 18 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

Specialized Armor

Eph 6 - Known as the Whole Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10–20 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Romans 13:12 - calls it the Armor of Light

1 Thess 5:8 - calls it the helmet of the hope of salvation

2 Cor 6.7: - Weapons of Righteousness for the right hand and the left

Is 59:17 - a Righteous Breastplate, Salvation helmet, garments of vengeance for God, a cloak of zeal

Winning Strategy

Prayer - God is the source

Preparation - be flexible

Persistence - don’t give up, fight!

REPAIR & FILL

Nehemiah 6:15–16 ESV

15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

The breaches are repaired in record time that even the enemies acknowledged that God was with them.

Oh, if only the church would be know for “only God” moments as repairers of the breach!

The House of the Lord Restored

Simultaneous to the walls of the city being repaired, the House of the Lord was being rebuilt.

Ezra stands up and reads the law for 7 days – leading the people to no only repent in their hearts, but renew their covenant with God.

The Lord Fills the House

We are responsible to repair the breaches in our lives.

Sometimes the breach is caused by our own actions or by the prior generation.

Regardless of how the breach arrived, we are called to be repairers of the breach.

Once repaired, the Lord must fill that space.

Psalm 16:11 ESV

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

John 15:11 ESV

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Nehemiah 8:10 ESV

Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

This took place before the wall was finished the joy begins before completion

CLOSE

Isaiah 58:12 ESV

12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

Notice that God is not saying that “he” will do these things. He says that you will raise up the foundations, and that you will be called the repairer of the breach, you will be called the restorer of streets to dwell in.

Before you have made a single move, God has already called you to be the repairer.

What wall is God calling you to repair?

Where is your section?

Who needs you to weep before you work, pray before you plan, and build near your own house?