Let me invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 6 as we continue in our series. If you’re using the pew Bibles, you’ll find Nehemiah chapter 6 on page 402. Page 402 in our pew Bibles. This evening as we continue in our series we’re going to read from verse 15 through to chapter 7 verse 3. And while you’re turning there, let me just open up by saying or reminding you that the central theme that we’ve come across in the book of Nehemiah, this golden thread that runs through this book, is that God works sovereignly through responsible human beings to establish and accomplish His work of redemption. God works sovereignly through responsible human beings to accomplish His work of redemption. God works through means. He calls and He commissions us. Having given us the gifts and the abilities in order to serve Him, to go and do that which is for His glory, that which is pleasing in His sight, and ultimately that which has an eternal weight and significance attached to it.
But the other prominent theme that we have encountered in the book of Nehemiah thus far is also that every genuine work of God will inevitably run into difficulties. Every genuine work of God will inevitably run into difficulties. And those difficulties will take the form of opposition from outside, or sometimes even problems from within. And it’s important – and I think that this is what we’ve been reminded of week in and week out – we must remember that Satan, God’s enemy, is constantly at work to frustrate God’s people in their own walk and development and sanctification. And at the same time, also to frustrate their kingdom labors. He cannot touch our salvation; that is secured by the blood of the Lamb. But he strives to isolate, to divide, to immobilize believers, as well as to distract and even wear them down with busyness. Sometimes doing good things, but sometimes good things at the expense of the best thing with regards to the gift set that has been entrusted to us. It’s an attempt to weaken individual Christians and ultimately to disrupt the corporate witness.
But in the midst of all of that, in the midst of this spiritual war, we have these beautiful passages like Genesis 50 where Joseph speaks to his brothers and he says to them, “What you intended as a malicious deed, as an evil act, God turned it around and He used it for His good and for His glory.” And that’s the message throughout Scripture, isn’t it? Even when our plans and what we endeavor to do are frustrated, it is God who works all things for the good of those who love Him, who are in Christ, and He does all of that for His redemptive purpose and plan. It’s stunning the way He brings it all together that nothing is wasted in the economy of God.
And we’ve encountered some of this in the book of Nehemiah up until this point. We’ve seen external opposition in chapter 4. We’ve seen internal opposition in chapter 5. And just as we saw last week, there is a combination of external and internal factors that sometimes coalesce; they come together. And we’re going to see a continuation of that as we look at the verses that are before us this evening. And yet as we saw and as we were reminded last week, God is the one that graciously strengthened the hands of God’s people, uniting them and helping them to plod on and to get the task finished so that the glory ultimately goes to the Lord our God. And that’s what we’re going to see again in these verses that are before us.
Before we continue, let’s bow our heads in prayer and then we’ll read God’s Word together.
God Most High, this is Your Word. You’ve given it to us as Your people. Now would You open it up, encourage our hearts, comfort and strengthen us, that the glory may be Yours. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.
Nehemiah chapter 6, reading from verse 15. This is the Word of God:
“So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 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. Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.
Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. And I said to them, ‘Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.’ The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.”
The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands forever.
As we read this passage, the beginning, it’s the beginning of October, 445 BC, and in a space of less than two months, the unthinkable has happened. Verse 15, we’re told, “So the wall was finished.” But I want you to notice the detail in verse 16 as well – “with the help of our God.” That’s the language of providence, brothers and sisters, and our confession states that God does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures’ actions and things. He works all things to the glory and for the purpose of His own, so that the plan of redemption will be fulfilled and there will be many who will be called to believe in His Son. This project that we’ve been journeying with Nehemiah through, it has been completed by the hand of providence, and we see that in the verses before us. A wall that is 9 feet thick, 2 miles in length around the great city of Jerusalem, and it was completed in 52 days. Even with our modern equipment, that would be stretching it very far to accomplish this. It’s meant to be a stark reminder to us that when the hand of God is upon the people of God as they faithfully labor, both individually putting sin to death but also kingdom labors, ministries, the Lord does the seemingly impossible that the glory may always be His. It’s never about us, but it’s about what He is accomplishing through His own people. He is the one, as we have been reminded in the morning as we have been looking at the parable of the sower, He is the one who brings the seed of the Gospel to sprout. We sow it; He brings forth the fruit. He is the giver of faith by grace. He is the one that nurtures the fruit of the Spirit as we seek to love and obey, as we seek to do and to go.
And so as we turn to our text in Nehemiah 6 this evening, I want to just draw out three points for us to consider. The first is this – I want us to note the completion of the wall. Secondly, I want you to notice the conniving of the enemy. And thirdly, I want you to consider the cherishing of the community. So it’s the completion of the wall, the conniving of the enemy, and the cherishing of the community.
The Completion of the Wall
Firstly, let’s consider the completion of the wall. And I specifically want to focus on the results and the implications that arise from that. We see it in verses 15 and 16 of the passage. If you’d like to have your Bibles open, we’ll refer to that on a couple of occasions. Friends, when Nehemiah records those words in verse 15, “So the wall was finished,” one can almost imagine there was a sense of relief in his tone as he’s penning that down – that the milestone had been reached; the Rubicon had been crossed. But as much as it was a relief, there is also in those words embedded thankfulness and praise to God for His faithfulness in listening and in hearing and bringing it to pass the prayers that Nehemiah had laid before the throne. You remember them well, hopefully, back in the opening chapter. Nehemiah, he receives the news regarding the disgraceful state of the city of Jerusalem and specifically the walls. On top of that, he hears about the great trouble and the great shame that the people of God were living in. They were living in a state of disgrace in some sense.
And Nehemiah is immediately cut to the heart. That’s what was prayed this evening by Jack. He immediately was cut to the heart and he fasted and he mourned and he prayed. And he did that for four months. For four months, he fasted and prayed and mourned over the condition of the great city of Jerusalem and the people of God. He was pleading. In some sense, he was begging with God to come down and restore both the city and the people that it would be a witness to the greatness of God.
And then of course throughout the building process we have these short prayers that are noted for us where the whole process was covered in prayer. Nehemiah understood that it was God who made them prosper – chapter 2 verse 20. It was God who protected them day and night – chapter 4 verse 9. It was God who fought for them – chapter 4 verse 14. And as we were reminded last week, it was God who strengthened their hands to accomplish all that they were able to accomplish. And what we’re going to see this evening is that it is God who accomplished this work through His people. It was by the help of God that this was done. And Nehemiah knew that this wall was finished because God was behind the scenes, working through His people.
I love what Thomas Watson says. He says this. One of the Puritan writers, he says, “The tree of mercy will not drop its fruits unless shaken by the hand of prayer.” Let me say that again. “The tree of mercy will not drop its fruits unless shaken by the hand of prayer.” What a beautiful image. And in some sense, Nehemiah’s life and his prayers as they come to pass, that’s a testimony exactly of what God is able to do and what He wants to do through His people.
Now as you look at verses 15 and 16 in our passage – and I’ve already alluded to this – but I want you to notice another crucial statement, because we’re going to linger on this a little while. It’s not just about God’s people recognizing God’s hand in the completion of the wall. That is good and it’s right because it results in praise and adoration. But I want you to look at verse 16 right at the end. Nehemiah writes this. He says, “This work had been accomplished with the help of our God.” That’s not God’s people that are making that statement, because no sooner is the project complete than the enemies of God are giving their assessment. They immediately recognize that this was not humanly possible, but God was working behind the scenes through His people.
A couple of things about that verse, verse 16. Notice and recognize that God’s intervention is international. Verse 16 it says, “all our enemies, all the nations, saw that this was the hand of God.” Sanballat, Geshem and Tobiah, the three men who are the men that we encounter throughout the text of Nehemiah, they are the proverbial black crows who are sitting on the electrical wires, looking down, waiting for the opportunistic moment to strike with seeds of dissension and looking for the opportunity to bring destruction. But it’s them, it’s those three enemies of God, that now have to stand back and as they’re looking at the completed project they’re the ones that actually profess that they are forced – the language in the Hebrew is actually they were “coerced” to accept the fact that this is something that God did. It was God who worked through His people.
What’s also interesting is that the Hebrew text – you have in your ESV Bibles that it was accomplished “with the help of our God” – well that word, “help,” is not in the original Hebrew. The verb that is present in the Hebrew is a passive word meaning “accomplished.” It was accomplished by God. In other words, the implication is that the rubble and the stone, it was acted upon and it was formed into this 9 foot thick wall, 2 miles long, and done in 52 days. In other words, behind the scenes, those who were the enemies of God, as much opposition as they threw at the project, at the end of it all they had to take a stand back and they recognized, “This is the work of God.” And yes, there were 40 yard construction crews made up of farmers and priests and women and laborers and skilled artisans and what have you, but they were simply using their gifts and their abilities that God had entrusted to them, but it was God who was at work through that all.
In some sense, by saying, “This was accomplished by our God,” that word, “our God,” the enemy finally perceived, finally understood, finally grasped. The Hebrew word there is “yada,” which means, “to know.” But the enemy finally knew that in actual fact this was not a physical battle that they had been fighting, but it was a spiritual battle and that their false gods ultimately had lost and it was the real living and true God who had accomplished what He set out to accomplish.
They had been defeated, they had been crushed, and the impact – look at verse 16 again – look at the impact this had on them. “They were afraid and they fell greatly in their own esteem.” Do you remember as we’ve journeyed through Nehemiah up until this point the tactics that Sanballat, Geshem and Tobiah have used upon Nehemiah and the people of God has been to intimidate and bring about fear. And it’s almost as if at this point, when the project is complete, God has turned what they strove to do, He’s turned it back on themselves because how they’re broken and they’re filled with fear as they recognize what has taken place. In some sense they’ve been brought to the end of themselves. All their plotting, all their intimidation, they’ve recognized as being foolish because they’ve missed the point of what was truly going on.
Now here is the encouragement for us. Friends, in the midst of our battle with sin, in the midst of your battle with sin, as you strive to put that which you are struggling with to death, and as we pursue plans for the extension of God’s kingdom – various ministries to reach those who have not yet heard the good news of the Gospel both locally and internationally – it is so important for us to remember that our enemy, he is a defeated enemy. His plans will not prevail. He will attempt to show that they will prevail, but they will not. But Christ’s resurrection has secured the victory for us. The blood of the Lamb has secured us and reminds us of that hope daily, the promises are ours. As we have been reminded this morning, they are ours in Christ Jesus. So don’t be distracted in the battle.
The Conniving of the Enemy
And that brings us to the second point. I want you to notice in verses 17 through 19 the conniving of the enemy. The conniving of the enemy. In some way, these verses are meant to indicate the final flail, a last ditch attempt to try and sow one further seed to bring about a destructive means. But it doesn’t work. We need to remember that throughout this building project there have been three antagonists. I’ve already mentioned them. Sanballat – he was off to the north in Samaria. We are going to learn in chapter 13 that his daughter married into the high priestly family so there is a deep and abiding connection, a strong connection within the Judaic society. Geshem, who is the Arab, he and his sons basically rule over many of the provinces of Moab to the south, into Arabia, and off into Egypt as well. And then you have Tobiah, the one who is mentioned in our text this evening. He is off to the east. And he married into an influential Jewish family just as his son did and his daughter.
And so there are key political and economic links with prominent families in Jerusalem, and it’s in that context that we read verses 17 and 19 because these are the men that Satan is using, ultimately, powerful, influential and well connected individuals in the city of Jerusalem. Men with little in common, quite frankly, except they are united to make sure the work of God does not take place. As one commentator said, he said this – “The devil’s strategy is summarized in one word – side track.” You know what that is. On a main line between two cities, two major cities, there’s a main line, and along the way there are various side tracks where a train can deviate, can veer off, and stay there for a day, a week, a month – however long they wish. Brister probably knows this very well with his many excursions on trains! And the strategy of Satan is to side track the people of God in order to prevent them from carrying out the work of God in their generation. Now ultimately it’s foolishness because God will bring it to pass, that which He has purposed and planned. And usually the spiritual war is against those who are involved in the work directly, and that’s why we often hear and that’s why you’re encouraged as congregation members to be praying for your pastors and for missionaries on the field. Often it’s the leaders of congregations or missionary organizations that you often hear of how they have fallen prey to sin, public sin, and of course the repercussions of that. And so be praying for them.
And in chapter 6, what we see and what we will see is a number of means of side track that the enemy uses. Three of them we looked at last week – David Felker expounded on that. And I’ll just go through that very quickly; I’m not going to go into detail. But the first side track or the means of side track is to allure Nehemiah and to get him to compromise on the plains of Ono. While I was preparing for this evening I came across the title of a sermon that went like this – “Oh No, Don’t Go to Ono!” I thought it was quite entertaining the way that was put together! But that’s the first means of side track. But notice that Nehemiah wasn’t taken in by the flattery. His immediate response to those who are trying to distract him is he says, “I am busy with a great project and I cannot come.” In other words, he keeps the main thing the main thing.
The second means to side track, if you won’t compromise, if you won’t enter into discussion and be a little bit more accommodating, then the enemy resorts to direct lies. You remember Sanballat’s open letter filled with malicious lies. And it’s essentially the rumor weed. You remember VeggieTales about 20 years ago? I’m not going to sing the song but – “It’s the rumor weed, yeah, yeah!” And that’s essentially what’s happening here with Nehemiah. His design is to have this open letter to get as much support from all who will listen in order to bring a crowd against Nehemiah and those who are leading.
Then the third means to side track was to lure Nehemiah into fear and sacrilege. Again, Nehemiah simply responds with the truth. He prays and he leaves it with God. That’s what David gave to us last week.
But in our verses, verses 17 through 19, there is actually a fourth means of trying to side track the work of God. And in some way I think that it’s probably the most subtle of the lot. We see in verse 17 that the nobles of Judah are corresponding with Tobiah and Tobiah is in correspondence with the nobles of Judah. Many of these nobles are bound by oath we’re told. That’s beyond just the marriage vows and the marriage affiliation, the family affiliation. There’s political and economic ties. And these strong bonds are bonds that are not to be broken and connections that are not to be betrayed. And it’s these nobles in Judah, people that are supposed to be on Nehemiah’s team, who are essentially telling Nehemiah daily about the good deeds that Tobiah is doing. It’s drip, drip, drip. “Come on, Nehemiah. He’s not that bad. Do you not remember how he did this for us? Do you not remember that maybe having economic affiliation with Tobiah, it will actually stand us in good stead in the long run. What about having him as a partner so we can actually make use of his army as a defense against those who might consider attacking us?” Drip, drip, drip. All the while, Tobiah is the one who is also sending Nehemiah letters of intimidation.
William Gurnell, he was a 16th century Puritan, he said this. He said, “Fear is Satan’s weapon that is held in reserve.” “Fear is Satan’s weapon that is held in reserve.” And that’s essentially what is happening here. The whole thing was a charade. What Tobiah was communicating with the nobles was different the way that Tobiah was actually dealing with Nehemiah directly. And what’s interesting is how Nehemiah responds. He doesn’t. He does nothing. He has already prayed to God about Tobiah and he’s left it at the throne of God’s grace and sovereignty and he moves on to that which he has been entrusted to do.
Friends, what we must remember, we must be aware of Satan’s schemes. Remember that the real battle is spiritual – 2 Corinthians 10. Remember and understand the enemy – that he is “a roaring lion who seeks whom he can devour.” And then we’re encouraged by Paul to “stand firm,” in Ephesians 6, “with the whole armor of God.” So know your God, press into Jesus Christ when the battle becomes warm and hot. Press into Christ. Confess your sin. Keep short accounts with the Lord and keep on doing that which pleases Him. Obey His Word and grow in your knowledge of Him. Friends, if we want to grow in Christlikeness or if we want church ministries to be effective, it is God who must come down and He must help us. He must come down and He must help us.
By the way, that’s part of our theme this year – awakening. “O that You would rend the heavens and You would come down.” God, have mercy upon us. Come down. Work in us. Work through us, that the glory may be Yours and Yours alone. My question to you is, “Are we still praying for that?” Are we burdened that God would mobilize us, that He would work in us, that He would continue to transform us into the likeness of Jesus Christ and that He would work through us so that those who are the lost in the Belhaven, the North State Street corridor and the greater Jackson area, that they would hear the good news of Jesus Christ? Are we praying, are we pleading, are we begging with God, “Lord, show Your power and change lives?”
The Cherishing of the Community
So having built the wall with the help of God and having weathered the enemy with the help of God, the work is not yet done. Because from chapter 7, right through to the end of the book, we’re going to see that it’s actually all about the cherishing of the community. It’s about building up the community of faith. Friends, the rebuilding of the wall was never the ultimate goal here. Don’t be distracted by the project that is set before us. The people are the ultimate concern. That’s what truly broke Nehemiah when he heard the reports of what was happening back in Jerusalem. He was concerned about the trouble that the people of God found themselves in, that they were living in a state of disgrace. And now with the wall having been reestablished, it was an opportunity to build up the people of God so that they may be agents of grace to those who were watching.
Nehemiah Institutes Worship
So in chapter 7, in these first three verses, he tells us how he begins this project of cherishing and building up the community. Verse 1, he appoints gatekeepers, singers, and the Levites. In other words, he institutes worship in the city. He institutes worship in the city. Why does he do that? Nehemiah understands the human condition in the human heart very well because having completed the wall it would be so easy for them to sit back and just relax because the defenses are now up. But in some sense, Nehemiah wants to remind them that in actual fact their true defense is the Lord their God. He is the one that enabled them to do what they’ve done, but ultimately He is the one that is going to be their ultimate defense. And so he wants them to worship and have their priorities straight to keep their eyes fixed on the Lord their God.
Friends, as we seek a church to be revitalized, as we seek a church to be awakened, worship is central. Gathering together on the Lord’s Day, both evening and in the morning, is central. This is where God meets with us as His people. As the Word is expounded, the Spirit actually quickens the heart and He does a work of grace in us – individually and corporately.
But secondly, let me say this as well. We can have as many committees and as many ministries until they are coming out of our ears, we can have a well-oiled machine, but if worship is not central, it is simply a shell without the kernel. It has got to be God’s people who are gathered in worship, reliant upon God as we do the ministries that we do.
Nehemiah Appoints Godly Leaders
Secondly, having instituted worship, notice in verse 2 of chapter 7 he appoints godly leaders. His brother, Hanani and the castle governor, Hananiah, are appointed – men to safeguard the work that has begun, has been completed, men of integrity; men who feared the Lord. Nehemiah understood that unless a man who was appointed feared God and actually lived a life of integrity before the people, they would not be able to withstand the oppression and the difficulties that would come as they cared for the Lord’s people. Right before God. Right before others.
Nehemiah Nurtured the Community
So Nehemiah reestablishes worship, he then appoints godly elders, and then thirdly we notice that he nurtured the community. The first task that was given to the elders, to the leaders, was to get the people of God together and to work together, to encourage them to take responsibility for the work, to use their gifts, to use the graces and abilities that had been entrusted to them for the greater good of the corporateness of the people. In other words, they were to stand on the walls to protect the families within, to protect the homes. They had already grown in their love and their care for one another as they were building the walls together, and now what Nehemiah is doing, he’s saying, “Don’t let us slip and slide now. Let’s continue to grow in grace, grow in love, so that ultimately this worship that we have of God and how God is molding us and shaping us together, it becomes a beautiful light to the surrounding nations.”
So let me ask you this as I close. How are we doing as individuals and as a church in light of what Nehemiah has set out here? Friends, in our pursuit of Christlikeness and our desire to build and expand and advance the kingdom and the message of the Gospel, in the midst of the spiritual battle and the opposition that we sometimes struggle with and we face, let’s remember what the real focus is; let’s remember who the real focus is. It’s the body of Christ. It’s your brothers and sisters who are seated in the pew next to you. And here’s the thing – we cannot do it in our own strength. We cannot do it in our own strength. We need to turn to the Lord, asking Him, “God, as You have begun this project, as You have begun this ministry, as You have begun this good work in us, God, I am reliant and I am dependent upon You to help us so that we may be the people that You have ordained us to be; that we may be able to do that which You desire to do in the Jackson and the greater Jackson area as well.” It’s in our weakness that His strength is set forward and ultimately the glory will be His.
May God remind us and encourage us in this, today and always. Let’s pray.
Our Father in heaven, we do give You thanks and we give You praise. We thank You and we praise You for the work that You have begun in each one of our lives, and Father we pray that You would be the one that would continue to grow us in our love for the Lord Jesus Christ, and that by Your Spirit You would change us into a deepening Christlikeness. Father, we also pray for this congregation, for the various ministries. Lord, we pray that You would help us to always be mindful that what we do is not just simply for the sake of doing, but it’s because people are who we want to reach. Father, we want to see people grow in their knowledge of You, but we also want to see people hearing the good news of Christ that they may come and they may worship too. And we pray this and ask these things in Christ’s name, amen.