Video Transcript: Nehemiah: Rebuilding Ruins

Nehemiah: Rebuilding Ruins (transcript)
By David Feddes

The Book of Nehemiah speaks of rebuilding ruins, how a great leader raised up by God helped the people of Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of their devastated city. Before we look at the book of Nehemiah and some of the major themes in it that still apply to us today, I want to just look first with you at a timeline leading up to the book of Nehemiah. I'm going to start about 300 years earlier, because for these 300 years, God's people are facing a constant barrage of difficulties. In 722 BC, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian Empire, the 10 tribes were exiled, taken elsewhere or they mingled in with some of the people of Judah. And basically, those are sometimes called the 10 Lost Tribes. But it was a huge devastating blow for such a large chunk of the nation of Israel, now a divided kingdom, to be taken away. In 605 BC, Daniel and others were taken to Babylon after an invasion by King Nebuchadnezzar. In that 100 year period in between there, Israel and Judah had been squeezed between great world empires. In 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar’s generals came back and Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, burned its temple, and carried off all kinds of things. So in 722, there's this devastating deportation of the 10 tribes, in 586 the destruction of Jerusalem and the wipeout of Judah and the taking away of the people of Judah and exile.

In 539, there was Belshazzar’s feast. Remember that feast where the handwriting appeared on the wall – you have been weighed in balance, and found wanting. And that night the Persian Empire invaded the city of Babylon and the Babylonian Empire was overthrown and Persia took over. In 538 the Persian King Cyrus, called upon the Jews and gave a decree that they return to Jerusalem and begin to rebuild the temple. This was a key moment, because it was a devastating time for the people when their temple, the holy place of God, had been destroyed. And so this opportunity to return to rebuild was tremendous. And work began on building a new temple in 536 BC. But then that work was halted by opposition before they could complete the building of the temple. And then from the period of 520 to 516, always remember you're counting down on these numbers before the time of Christ, From 520 to 516 the temple was rebuilt completely. Now 478 is where Esther is made Queen of the Persian Empire. And you remember the story of Esther, Haman the evil assistant to the king, plots to wipe out the Jewish nation. But his plot fails and Haman is hanged. Now we come a little closer to the period we're talking about: the priest Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in 458 BC. That's recounted in the book of Ezra. And he began to teach God's law and lead more and more returning exiles to the city and building up its population more and more. And then in 445 Governor Nehemiah arrived in August, and they built like crazy for a couple of months. And the initial version of the walls, at least, was completed in October.

Now let's just set this timeline and the events of Nehemiah in more of their spiritual context and of what the people of God were going through. A basic question in this whole area is Would the Jews survive as God's covenant nation? God had made promises to Abraham that through his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed. God had made promises to David that someone from his line would reign forever. God had had the temple built and yet the temple had been destroyed. The descendants of Abraham had been scattered. David's line was no longer sitting on a throne of any kind. Now many in Jerusalem, in this particular time of Nehemiah, had previously been living as exiles in other lands, and for them to come back to their own land after so long away, some of them had no memory of that land. They had grown up in other lands and now they were coming back again. When they got back, there were regional rivals who wanted Jerusalem to stay weak, and who wanted the Jews to stay scattered, because in some cases they had taken over their land or they had benefited from the weakness of Jerusalem and had been able to build up their own power centers. And with this, for God's people, came spiritual challenges – just discouragement at the circumstances even though they had been allowed to return under their land, or apathy where some of them were building their own houses and trying to make a little income again, but they had no thoughts of rebuilding God's house, they had no thoughts of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. They're just apathetic toward their God and toward the building up of God's people. Some of them were intermarrying, with non-believers from other nations, and the very preservation of God's people as a distinct nation was threatened by this intermarriage with worshipers of other gods. And then of course, there were just all the political and economic worries that came from being in a difficult situation. So in that era, when the question Would they survive as a nation and as God's people, we read in God's word of how God is faithful, and how he moved his people through some of their key leaders to do great things and resulting in the rebirth of his nation.

One thing that occurred was the repopulating of the land from the decree of Cyrus. And then later the return of Ezra. Led by Him, exiles returned and they reproduced, they had children, and they reclaimed ancestral lands and began to repopulate the land that God had given them centuries earlier. There was also a restoration of worship, and rebuilding the temple. Now this rebuilding of the temple was led by Zerubbabel and by Jeshua, and the prophets that we have in the Old Testament, Haggai and Zechariah. encourage people not to just think about their own houses, but urge them to rebuild a house for God; a place to worship and to restore the worship of the nation. There was a reviving of commitment to God's word and relearning God's word. And Ezra and those associated with him were teaching God's law, so that the people would know and live the Word. And then there was the rebuilding of the ruined walls, making the city of God strong again. And as that city stood strong again, and its walls stood in their grandeur again, it would renew national morale. And God used Nehemiah to do that. And so it was God's grace to send prophets and leaders and teachers to help in the rebirth of this nation. And in the history of God's salvation and redemption, He was carrying on that promise to Abraham. And as the New Testament says, In the words of Jesus, salvation is from the Jews. And God kept the Jews going, he kept his nation going, leading up to the salvation that He would provide in our Lord Jesus Christ.

So with that setting of the timeline and the situation and salvation history and God's work in the rebirth of the nation, let's take a little closer look at Nehemiah himself and at the book of Nehemiah and some of the key hallmarks in it that still teach us today. One thing about Nehemiah, and about any great leader, is the recognition of a serious need, and then a heart to do something about that need – in wanting to do something about it, asking God and talking to God and seeking guidance from God and praying to God. And then as he talked with God, acting upon what God showed him. God's people and God's leaders need to be ready to battle against opposition. And against those who tried to stop the Lord's work at the same time as they battled the need to build.

We find in Nehemiah the importance of having servant leaders – leaders who are willing to sacrifice, who are willing to work right along with everybody else. And also the importance of the people they lead, working willingly, working hard to carry out a great work together. And we see the importance of repenting of sin, in spiritual renewal, and then rejoicing in the Lord and in His salvation. And all that he's done.

I just want to highlight each of those with some passages in Nehemiah that show those. First of all, recognizing the need. The very first part of Nehemiah, Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. Nehemiah is living in the city of Susa which is where the emperor or king of the Persians is living. And Nehemiah is his assistant, the cupbearer to the King, who tastes his food and tests his wine to make sure it hasn't been poisoned. Obviously you got to be a pretty trusted person to be the king's food and drink taster. But he's living far, far away, hundreds and hundreds of miles or kilometers from the land of Judah, and Hanani comes and brings a report I asked him concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 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. Well, this eats at Nehemiah. This troubles and deeply bothers him even though he's far away from there. Perhaps he himself had never seen it.

He was still one of God's people whose heart was with Jerusalem, with the City of God. And once he had that sense of a great need, he himself didn't just lament that need and feel bad about it, he started to develop a heart to do something about it. And the king noticed one day, by the way, it was forbidden to act sad or to be downcast in the presence of the king; get yourself killed for that. But Nehemiah finally couldn't conceal it any longer. And the king noticed that Nehemiah was down and he said, this can be nothing but sadness of heart, what's the matter? And Nehemiah pleads with him, send me to the city in Judah, where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it. Nehemiah has this heart to do something. And he asks the king for permission to leave the service of the king in that area, and travel far away to rebuild the ancient city. Now, this is a map from the ESV Study Bible, which just gives you a quick picture of the Persian Empire at that time, and it extends even to places that aren't on this map. And you can see Susa, kind of towards the right side of the map and the path that Nehemiah followed in traveling that long, long journey. And this wasn't like a car or airplane, this was on foot and on horse. And making that trip from Susa, all the way to Jerusalem. He had this heart to do something. And once he got there, he acted intelligently. The first thing he did was to scout out the dream. He didn't tell everybody else about his dream to rebuild the city. He says I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. If you're a leader, don't go off half cocked. Sometimes you have a heart to do something. But yeah, you have to check it out a little more thoroughly for yourself. Maybe just a few people. Make sure you know the situation before you start advertising, before he starts saying “oh, here's the vision God has given me”. First scout out the dream that God's given you. And then there comes a time to share the dream. He sees it. He's got these people with him. And then he gathers others and says, Come, let's rebuild. And I also told them about the gracious hand of my god on me and what the king had said to me, because the king had given him permission. And so the people were encouraged by that. And after scouting the dream, he shares the dream. And as leaders, that's how to do it. First, make sure that it is really from God, and that you've got an action plan and that you know how to pursue it. And then comes that moment when you share it and try to get others involved.

Now, another thing about Nehemiah is the way that he combined prayer with action. And this just runs through the whole book of Nehemiah, from its very beginning to the very end. Right after he finds out the broken condition of Jerusalem and the discouraged feelings of its people, he says I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. He just goes to God in prayer. He doesn't know what else to do at that point. And before he says anything about what God should do to help him, he first just recounts and acknowledges that Jerusalem's problems had come upon it because of its sin and God's judgment. And so he gives a prayer of humility and repentance, and he wants to renew his own walk with God. And then he gives God the petition – grant your servant success. Well, four months later, after keeping on with his prayers to God, he gets his opportunity when the king noticed that he was sad. And when the king asked about that, he says, before I said anything, I prayed to the God of heaven, and answered the king.

And what a wonderful model that is for all believers, and all leaders. That there comes a moment when we must speak. But before we speak to others, we speak to God and ask that God will favor what we're about to say to the others and that God will work in their heart. Then he speaks to other people. He says, The God of heaven will give us success; we His servants will start rebuilding. So they're about to take action, but they're going to take that action with a consciousness that God is hearing their prayers and answering them. It's in line with what Psalm 127 says, Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. You could almost inscribe that verse over the book of Nehemiah, Unless the Lord builds, its builders labor in vain and that's why that whole book of Nehemiah is so full of prayer.

In Nehemiah we find this motto comes true: pray like it all depends on God and then take action like everything depends on you. When they're facing opposition, Nehemiah says we prayed to our God and we posted a guard. I love that sentence. That sentence is worth a whole sermon. We prayed to our God, and we posted a guard. You don't neglect prayer in order to immediately take action. But when you are praying, you don't neglect the action either. You do both – you pray to God and then you post that guard. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome. So focus on God. Remember how great he is, how awesome he is, but don't just sit around with awesome thoughts of God. Remember him and then fight. Pray like it depends on God than fight like it depends on you. We were aware of their plots, says Nehemiah and we took certain action against those enemies. And the actions worked, but he doesn't say, so we were really smart and we figured it out and we took care of it. He says we were aware of their plot and they took action.

But afterward the summary is: God had frustrated their plot. They were all trying to frighten us thinking their hands will get too weak for the work and it will not be completed. But I prayed now to strengthen my hands. And he prays that prayer and then his hands gain strength and his hands get right back to work again. In Nehemiah you just have this constant conversation with God. Hear us Oh God, for we were despised, turn their insults back on their own heads. Sometimes you have to pray against your enemies and pray in the midst of your discouragement. Again and again there's just that short prayer – remember me? Remember me for this also, oh my God, when he does something that serves God and shows mercy to me according to your great love. And God don’t just remember me, remember the evildoers. Sometimes he doesn't give particular advice to God, what he should do with those evildoers. He says, God, please pay attention to those evil doers. And do what you think, that what you know needs to be done with those evil doers.

And as you read Nehemiah find the story starts in prayer, it is filled with prayer, and what's the last words of Nehemiah in that book, remember me with favor, oh my god – it ends in prayer. And those prayers throughout the book are answered. Here's just one quote, when our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work. God answers prayer. God drives back the enemy. God inspires and empowers the people. God answers prayer. And that's why you keep praying. And that's why you keep working. And if you're to be a leader among God's people, you must be a man of prayer, or you must be a woman of prayer. And you must encourage the people to pray. But you must also be a person of action. A person who is blown along by the wind and the power of the Holy Spirit, and then works in the might and the power of God.

Another thing about Nehemiah and the people under his command was that they were ready to battle and to build. They weren't just warriors. They weren't just builders. They were both and that is a tremendous model for God's people right to our own time. Half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. Those who carried materials, did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other. And each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. And they had guards by night and workmen by day. You had people who are models for us still today, where when we do the Lord's work, you'd better have a sword in one hand, because Satan and his enemies and those who work for him are going to be coming after you. But don't just hold a sword. Hold your tools for building your materials, for strengthening and building up the walls. Christians are an army of battlers first of all, and the New Testament makes that very clear. You need to fight the good fight of the faith, endure hardship with us. Like a good soldier of Christ Jesus put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, contend fight for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. Christians need to be an army of battlers. To have a fighting spirit when it comes to dealing with the enemies of God. But Christians can't just be battlers. Because if Nehemiah and his people had only been battlers, Jerusalem would not have a wall.

Nothing would have got built. They would have just stood there all the time ready to fight with somebody. And that's not what they did. They were ready to battle but they also kept on building. Christians are a crew of builders. Encourage one another and build each other up. Just as in fact you are doing, encourage one another daily. Try to excel in gifts that build up the church. The apostle Paul speaks of the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. And this is an important principle: the stronger the building gets, the stronger the walls get, the better you're able to resist attacks. If you build well, if you're building each other up, this actually strengthens and aids your battling. You can fight much more effectively if you've got powerful ramparts, and big walls and things that you've built up that have made you strong. If you're only fighting all the time, you'll be exhausted. You've got to be a builder, and encourager. And so those of us who are leaders need to keep that balance between being ready to defend against attack and to fight when we need to. But not to just become full time fighters, or arguers, or quarrelers certainly, but those who build up encourage and strengthen the people of God.

Another thing that we learned from Nehemiah is the importance of having leaders who are willing to serve and to get their fingernails dirty, to get in there and work and sacrifice themselves. And at the same time workers who are willing to follow those leaders and to cooperate and work together. I'll just pick a few sections. There's a lot of comments about different people who worked on the wall. But here are just a few. The next section was repaired by the men of Toccoa. But their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under the supervisors. So their nobles thought they were too important and too good to do manual labor to build up the walls of the city. Fortunately, most of the people did not feel that way. And most of the men of Tacoma did their part on the wall and they pulled it off without the nobles. Shalem repaired the next section with the help of his daughters. So here's a guy whose daughters are working harder than some of the guys who consider themselves big shots. Isn't that the story still today? Or some who think they're really important and hot stuff but are not willing to do the grunt work for the church. And meanwhile, the lowly daughters and people who aren't thought that highly of are really carrying on the Lord's work and are willing workers. Nehemiah was not one of those nobles who thought he was too good to work. And he was the top one of them all. He said, I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, the work is extensive and spread out and we’re widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us. So you see, they're not just willing to fight but they are coordinated. They're working together, and their leader is ready to sound the trumpet when they need to pull together.

We see that Nehemiah is urging by his own example, as well as by his words, that other leaders should be servant leaders. I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. So he's holding them accountable. They’re leaders and they better take action. And a Christian leader still today has to be someone who holds others accountable and urges them on and is himself willing to do work too. Nehemiah compares himself to some of the earlier governors. The earlier governors, those preceding me, placed a heavy burden on the people. And their assistants also lording it over the people. But out of reverence for God, I did not act like that. Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. To see the people that had other leaders yet the walls still remained in ruins and the people remain downcast. That's what lousy leadership can do for you. You just are so desperately needy when there's nobody ready to stand up and be different. And when the people in charge have only their own luxury and their own ease in mind, what Jesus later called hirelings. There are some who are in the church, who are just hirelings who are in it for the money, who are in it for the proceeds. They are not in it to build up God's City. They are not in it to encourage and to mobilize God's people. God wants servant leaders and willing workers.

We also see that both repentance and rejoicing are here in the book of Nehemiah. Sometimes God's people can swing too far one way or the other, where they're always just smiling 24 hours a day and saying it's so fun to be a Christian, and I'm so happy and all is well and I think positive and isn't it all just great. Oh, yeah. And you get other Christians who are just Man, Woe is me. I'm a sinner. God punishes sin. The world is bad; it's falling apart and so on. Now, you get a healthy dose of both in the book of Nehemiah. Repenting over what has gone wrong but also rejoicing in the grace of God and in what God does.

All the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. The Levites read from the Book of the Law, making it clear and giving the meaning so that people could understand what was being read. So it's a wonderful thing that God's law is being read, and that people are understanding it. But it also has a powerful impact in driving people to repent because they realize how far short they fall of keeping God's law. All the people have been weeping as they listened to the words of the law. Nehemiah said, Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks. And send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. There's a time to repent and grieve about sin. But then there is a time to hear the word of grace from God, and to enjoy his goodness. They received his joy as your strength. And as they did that, and as they rejoiced in what God was accomplishing there came a time when the work was done, when the people were really committed, and it was time just to dedicate the wall and to celebrate God's goodness to them. At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem the Levites were sought out to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of Thanksgiving. They get the choirs together. He says I also assigned two large choirs to give thanks. And on that day, they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing, because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. Nehemiah started out with a city in ruins, charred rubble, and no walls around it. And now there are walls around the city of God again. In the Psalms they say, look on her ramparts, walk around her. For Zion is this beautiful city. It's once again starting to take that kind of shape. And you can imagine the joy that the people received.

And as we read that joy in Nehemiah, we reflect again on what the New Testament tells us. That we have a city whose builder and architect is God. And Jesus is preparing a place for us. And we are here in this world, to be building the city of God for him. And we too, should rejoice whenever ruins and rubble begin to be rebuilt, when something good emerges from the ashes, and when we have the delight of being someone who God uses to bring it about.

So as you read Nehemiah, there are many wonderful themes and things to learn from. Remember the history of salvation that God is keeping his promise to Abraham, keeping the promises to David, carrying on and moving towards the coming of the Messiah, and the establishing of God's kingship among all the peoples of the earth. And as you read that, you can also apply many particular principles. Recognizing a need and having that on your heart to do something about it. And then praying to God, and taking action as God leads you and empowers you. Being ready to battle opposition and deal with tough things. But also to keep building people up. And building in a positive way, not just being negative. Of being a servant leader or a willing worker or quite a bit of both. Being ready to repent of all the disgrace and sin that's infected your life and the life of the congregation or the group of people you're associated with. At the same time, bringing good news of God's grace, taking that news to heart rejoicing in the Lord, as you see what He's accomplishing, what He is building, through you and in His kingdom.

And as we think on Nehemiah, we think about what the New Testament says about the Lord's building. Jesus says, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. Just as Nehemiah, a leader of God's people, determined to build those walls no matter what the enemy was throwing at him. So Jesus says, I'm going to build my church and hell itself and all the demons are not going to prevail against my church. What a tremendous encouragement that is. And then the Apostle says, In Jesus, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him, you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. Nehemiah is a tremendous and inspiring book about God's faithfulness and grace, about dedication to God. It's a tremendous book about living out what God reveals to you and building it. In a positive way. Take that book to heart and you will become a stronger and better leader in the Lord Jesus Christ and you too will be able to rejoice at the way that God is building his kingdom through you.