Dedication, Service & Reformation

Context: The work is finished. Those who had come from the surroudning villages to build have now returned home. Their lives were settled and structured The city is left unpopulate apart from the leaders...

Nehemiah 11:1–4 (ESV)

Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants. And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez;

Coronavirus pandemic has caused people to evaluate their lifestyle. People are moving out of cities, choosing a rural location. It is human nature to decide things based on our preferences (actual or perceived needs etc.). I wonder how, if we moved house/location how much our decision would be influenced on where/what God is calling us to. Would we move sensing a call to a particular place, or choose a place and then look at how we can fit God in?

Casting lots / willingly offering

Why was it important that the city was populated? It needed security: a) against opposition and b) against social/economic collapse. They therefore needed to find a way to populate the city. This was done in two ways it seems:

Casting lots - a normal practice…

Proverbs 16:33 (ESV)

The lot is cast into the lap,

but its every decision is from the Lord.

We would no longer cast lots to discern the will of God, rather we rely on the Holy Spirit who leads us.

Acts 16:6–7 (ESV)

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

Unpack Paul et al being prompted by the Holy Spirit to the take the mission of the Gospel in the direction God wanted, not the direction they intended. We need to do this with people around us who can weigh and test God’s calling/leadership, not in isolation. The spirit of individualism prevelant in our society poses a risk to the church…

Willingly - it is possible that some people took the place of those who were drawn by lot, or volunteered before lots were drawn.

NOTE:

We see two different response amongst the people here (likely there are other experiences/responses not recorded in the scripture…) some went willingly, others might have gone reluctantly.

Like the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah, cautious and eager respectively, we need to recognise that God works with us as we are. That doesn’t mean he won’t transform us (of course he will!) but it means we need to practice pateince with people around us.

Particularly now in the world we are taught/encouraged to villify those who are different to us - we might look at people as inferior/weak etc. Especially now the pandemic is at a point of being ‘personally responsible’ we need to love one another and respect one another!

It was significant to leave the surrounding countryside in order to live in Jerusalem. The city was far from desirable and posed a risk. If there was an attack from a foreign army the city would be a target, the surrounding villages would likely have been overlooked. There was no land within the city to farm, so life was going to be different.

All this in the Holy City, the place where God dwelt amongst his people and was bringing about his salvation story…

All inclusive holiday vs. Home - I have never been on an all inclusive holiday, but there is a stark contrast between an all inclusive holiday (click fingers, food appears!) vs having to get up and make food for yourself...

Nehemiah had left behind the comfort and routine of the King’s palace in Babylon to live in Jerusalem - a pile of old bricks! We see here a foreshadowing of the attitude of Jesus Christ:

Philippians 2:3–8 (ESV)

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

How might God being trying to interupt you? Do you have a preference which is at odds with God’s plan?

Immense Privilege

It was an immense privilege to be able to serve God in the city. A holy City needed holy people, living to a higher standard!

‘A holy city would be a contradiction in terms if inhabited by unholy people. ‘

It was not their proximity to the city which made them holy - it was the ongoing challemnge and responsibility of living like God’s people, being distinct from those around.

As God’s church we need to be those who practice what we preach. Love. Repentance. Joy. Hope. If we do not, what do we expect the outcome to be?

Variety of Ministry

We see people with different gifts/skills/backgrounds all being part of the work of God’s community. We’ll be looking at this in a bit more detail later on in the year (October) as we explore through 4x sermons belonging to God’s church and serving him.

2. Joyous dedication

Nehemiah 12:27–43 (ESV)

And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate. And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, and certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.

The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

This is the climax of the restoration work in Jerusalem. The wall which would not support a fox now stands FIRM! Firm enough to support those marching on it in worship. The questions of mocking (Nehemiah 4:2b-3) are answered!

Nehemiah 4:2–3 (ESV)

And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!”

Recall the dedication of the temple foundations and the altar in Ezra where the work is met with joy AND weeping. Here we see no weeping whatsoever. The Lord puts joy in the hearts of his people. God’s people are marked by joy!

Why are God’s people marked by JOY? Unpack the hope of Christ in the hearts of the people of God… We do not face suffering, hardship or uncertainty alone: we do so in the community of faith, full of the Holy Spirit, in the presence of God who is always with us and will never leave us or foresake us.

How would it have felt at that moment? For Nehemiah, seeing his vision, leadership and obedience met with success? How would it feel for the builders who had left their homes to build? They had faced opposition and despite this had seen the power of God at work. Human will and divine power collide to bring this project together! Thinking about significant events and milestones, how do we feel about the upcoming completion of the phase 1 building work at Pinhoe Road?

What a sight: the procession, starting together, splitting in two and heading in opposite directions around the city, concluding at the temple! It was significant! A meeting of human effort and divine will!

It is important to note that in Hebrew the word for ‘dedication’ carries with it further meaning. It connects with the word ‘initiation’ and actually suggests a new start. We know the story of the Exile and now the people have returned. We know the story of the destreuction and now the building work is finished, the temple and wall are restored. For the people of God under Ezra-Nehemiah, with the experiences of the past behind them they returned to the place God’s presence dwelt and they had a fresh start. This was their opportunity to turn over a new leaf and walk in newness of life.

As Christians born again in Christ, we have this opportunity. By God’s grace we continue to grow and move forward as opposed to slide baclwards… As the church now, following the pandemic, we have the opportunity to turn over a new leaf. When we return to the building on 12th September (God willing!) things will be different. We’ve lost some people along the way, we might have gained some people along the way too (BTW: can’t wait to meet you!).

3. Backsliding in Jerusalem

Nehemiah has left Jerusalem and returned to his work in the King’s company. He visits Jerusalem and finds that the people have fallen back into the old ways (sinfulness: ignorance etc). They had covenanted together to NOT live in the ways which bought about the Exile in the first place and now here they are...

Do we act consistently, or are we tempted to backslide?

Nehemiah confronts this sin and has to build in a solution to stop it from carrying on… Nehemiah challenges those who have sinned! We do church discipline a bit differently than Nehemiah (cf. Nehemiah 13:25 cursed them>beat them>pulled out their hair).

Do we build in accountability which stops us from pursuing ongoing sin?

Nehemiah records his ongoing struggle with the people of Jerusalem a couple of times, asking God to remember that he has done his best with them!

4. A Bigger Vision

Ezra and Nehemiah saw beyond the need to rebuild the temple or the walls of the city. They knew these places need to be populated by people whose hearts were in right standing with God! They took sin and the need for holiness (repentance) seriously.

It is easy for any church to focus on confronting the sin of those outside of the church family - the Gospel is already enough of an offence, without us needing to add to it... I am convinced that ministers are tasked with calling sinners to repentance and the religious to repentance.

Ministry Transformation Project… Not just about a building, but how we use it. THE MTP team have poured themselves out over the physical plans, all with the thought of how the spaces can be used for ministry and mission. We have thought about the welcome journey, prayer ministry (on Sunday and through the week!), engaging first timers and making a space for newcomers to meet us, how can we capture people’s attention from the street.

A new entrance met with the same attitudes will not see droves of people joining us… How do we welcome people, connect with them and then follow up?

Closing prayer: Lord, would you help us to see beyond the building, recognising that we too need to be ‘refurbished’ as we practice confession and repentance.

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