Scripture: Nehemiah 3:1-32
Sermon Series: Nehemiah: Making a Difference for God – Sermon 04

How’s your myth detector? Do you believe any of these commonly held myths? Adding salt to water makes it boil quicker. It doesn’t. It may actually make boiling take longer! Dropping a penny off a building can kill someone. The terminal velocity of a penny is 30 to 50 mph. Not fast enough to kill, but it would sting. You should never touch baby birds. Birds have a limited sense of smell, so mama birds won’t abandon babies who smell of humans. We use only 10% of our brains. Ultimately, every region is used almost every day, though with some folk, you do wonder. Einstein failed math. While Einstein failed an entrance exam for school, he still excelled in math.

Let me share one more: Work is part of the Curse. No, it’s not. God designed us to work, find fulfillment in it and enjoy it. So, WORK is Not Just A 4-Letter Word, as we’re going to see in Nehemiah 3 today.

The word work is one of the most used in conversation and usually used negatively, even by Christians. When was the last time you said…I have so much work to do or I have to work (said with a frown). What about It’s a job! or This job is killing me or All I do is work?

Do you have a biblical attitude toward work? Our values must be measured against the yardstick of Scripture. Psalm 19:7-8 says, The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. We too easily buy into the myths of a lost world and need a biblical theology of work and rest.

Nehemiah 3 sounds like a Hebrew phone book. It contains nearly 40 names, some very hard to pronounce. Many preachers and Bible students skip this chapter. It seems “boring.” God has it here for a reason. First, it reminds us that God knows our name, that individuals are important to God.

It also teaches us about work and working together. If you go through these 32 verses and circle every time the words work, repaired or built are used, it’s 50 times. There’s a lot of sweat in these verses.

Work is a major part of our lives. We spend the majority of our week doing work, either in an office, at home, at school, in a factory or on a construction site. If you work just 40 hours a week for 40 years of your life, you’ll put in over 80,000 hours at a job during your lifetime. If you go to college, you’ll spend 15,000 hours preparing to work. We haven’t mentioned the hours commuting or spent working outside of your paid job like yard work, cleaning or caring for children. All of these hours represent a massive portion of our life.

What’s the point of it all? Is it just to provide a paycheck, put food on the table, and keep a roof over your head? No, it’s so much more. If we’re going to live for God, it’s vital that we have a biblical worldview of work.

Nehemiah 3 gives a detailed account of the work of how the walls surrounding Jerusalem were rebuilt. For over a century the holy city had been defenseless. Walls and gates served as protection against national enemies and raiders.

As we found in chapters 1 and 2, Nehemiah was commissioned by God to make Jerusalem the city God wanted it to be. Nehemiah 3 details how the work of this project was accomplished. Today we want to talk generally about a biblical view of work and then specifically what this chapter teaches us about work. If you’re taking notes…

1. God enjoys work. 

Before you and I were a thought, before this world was created, when there was nothing, God was busy working.  Today, some believe God is on vacation as our world burns, but God is always at work! 

God was the first worker. He enjoyed work! That God enjoys work is deeply rooted in Scripture. It reflects the idea that labor isn’t a curse. It’s a divine partnership. God is depicted as a worker and creator. We are made in His image and are to find purpose, creativity, and joy in our daily efforts.

The word good appears 10 times in Genesis 1 and 2. The phrase God saw that it was good is a repeated refrain used to describe God’s creation week.

The Creator models work and then rests to enjoy His completed creation. He’s intimately involved in creating and sustaining the world.

Human beings are made in the image of God and are designed to work. 

God created and placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to work and keep it. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them… And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’ (Genesis 1:27-28). Work was designed by God to be inherently joyful, fulfilling, and a way to manage or subdue the earth.

When God sent His Son to this earth, Jesus didn’t come as a philosopher as we find in Greek culture, or as a statesman as we find in Roman culture. Jesus came to work, both as a human tradesman and divine servant. He came as a common carpenter. A carpenter had to work hard and be creative.

Sin contaminated work and made it difficult. 

In Genesis 3 we discover that it was human sin that made work so grueling. The command and fulfillment of work didn’t change but the difficulty of it did.

Work can make us want to curse. It was profoundly impacted by sin. In our broken world, God’s original design has been badly corrupted. The very nature of work has fundamentally changed. It’s now toilsome. There will be thorns and sweat. This vivid imagery paints a dire picture of the devastating consequences of human rebellion against God. There is alienation from God, alienation from other humans, and alienation from work. Work isn’t what God designed it to be. It’s become difficult, distorted, and disillusioning.

The show, Dirty Jobs, takes a humorous look at some examples of what it’s like to work in this fallen world. The show begins with a quote from the host, Mike Rowe, usually spoken while in the midst of a particularly dirty task: My name’s Mike Rowe, and this is my job. I explore the country looking for people who aren’t afraid to get dirty—hard-working men and women who earn an honest living doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us. Now, get ready to get dirty. Those dirty jobs have included a roadkill collector, a shark suit tester, a bologna maker, and a hot tar roofer. Your job may not be that bad, but the Fall means work is often difficult. When it comes to work, we tend to go to extremes.

We undervalue work. 

This leads to all kinds of problems. It usually results in whining and complaining. Many have a bad attitude toward work. Rather than being grateful for a job and a way to provide for ourselves and families; rather than being grateful for opportunities to engage non-Christians and build friendships and have conversations with them, and grateful we can invest our lives in something that contributes to the wellbeing of society, we dread the moment we punch in and can’t wait to punch out. We’re not valuing work the way God intended us to value it.

Some refuse to work. Help wanted signs are everywhere today. God doesn’t do or want us to do bailouts for those refusing to work. The Bible teaches tough love. Read 2 Thessalonians 3. God knows that hunger is a motivator.

Just a sidebar for parents: If you have an adult child who won’t work, you’re not helping them by letting them live off of you for free.

Teens can work around the house and help out. Maybe you’re thinking, “I can’t get them to do anything.” Who pays for their phone, clothes, Culver’s? Legally, you have to feed them, but the government doesn’t tell you what to feed them. A few cans of spam or sardines and they’ll start helping out.

We overvalue work. 

It’s the opposite extreme. It’s working to the neglect of God. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain (Psalm 127:1). It’s building your house independent of God. God has little or no place in your work. It’s earning a living with no reference to God. Essentially, you’re an atheist when it comes to your work or career.

In this case, work is not a drudgery, it’s an idol. It’s become too important, more important than God. It can manifest itself in a number of ways:

• You overwork out of avoidance and escapism. It’s easier to go to work than face problems with your marriage, your home or your heart. Maybe it’s not the work that’s the idol, it’s personal comfort. It’s an escape mechanism.
• You overwork out of anxiety. You overwork to gain a sense of security. You trust the paycheck and job, not God. You’re afraid to depend on the Lord to meet your needs. It drives you to work much more than you need to work.
• You overwork out of fear of what people think. You’re a people pleaser, not a God-pleaser. You hate disapproval, so you won’t tell your boss “No.”
• You overwork because of pride. You have unbridled ambition, trying to rise to the top, jockeying for position, influence and always having to be the best.

All of these are motivations that can lead to being a workaholic, working more than we should or need, making an idol out of our work.

God designed us to rest, but it’s limited. 

Rest is part of God’s plan for us. In the Creation account God rested on the 7^th day after creation, but not because He was tired. Rest is essential. It’s part of our design, but the Bible limits rest. In Scripture it’s one day of rest out of seven. Incidentally, rest and worship go together. Neglecting worship is spiritually disastrous.

The bottom line is that in God’s design, work gives us purpose. A problem linked to mental health for those who won’t work is a lack of purpose. When we work as unto the Lord, it gives us purpose that’s even beyond this life.   So, work but know how to rest from work and work for the Lord, not the job.

2. Works can’t earn God’s forgiveness. 

Salvation can’t be earned through human effort or even good works. It’s the free gift of God’s grace, received entirely through faith in Jesus Christ. You don’t work for a free gift. Titus 3:5, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. The most perverted view of work is that we can earn our way to heaven through good works. That’s not how God’s forgiveness or salvation works.

Imagine trying to jump from the earth to the moon. No matter how much you train, how healthy you eat, or how hard you try, you’ll never reach it. God’s standard of righteousness is the moon and because of our sin, we are earthbound. The distance between our best human efforts and God’s perfect holiness is greater than the distance between the earth and the moon. You can’t work or somehow leap your way to heaven. You must accept the bridge that Jesus built through His cross. It’s all of God’s grace!

3. What does Nehemiah 3 teach us about work? 

A winning team must do it together. There’s no i in TEAM. Ours is the day of superstars. There are no superstars on this list. Something that should stand out is that though a Nehemiah’s name is mentioned, it’s not the Nehemiah of the book.

Though some occupations are mentioned, there’s no mention of a bricklayer or a carpenter. God is not looking for professionals but committed servants. With God commitment is more important than ability. When we get Home, we’ll find that the ones who had significance with God weren’t the “Christian celebrities.” It will be faithful, unnoticed servants in this world!

During the defense of the Bataan Peninsula in World War II, an officer lined up a company of men and asked for a volunteer to go on a dangerous mission. Anyone willing to go on this mission was to step forward two paces. Glancing down at his memorandum for a moment, he looked up, exclaiming, “What, not a single man?” Quickly, his aide pointed out to him, “You don’t understand, sir. The entire line stepped forward two paces!”

Nehemiah experienced a similar response to his challenge for the people in Jerusalem to join this mission to rebuild the walls. Nearly everyone stepped up. Here’s a drawing of the walls, beginning at the Sheep Gate. These verses take us on a tour clockwise of the walls as they’re repaired.

All work is God’s work when it’s done for Him. 

A project of this magnitude could never have been entertained without the mobilization of the entire community. It’s not the usual church situation where 20% often do 80% of the work. For this project to be undertaken, it demanded much more. What you have here is the involvement of nearly everyone.

If we’re going to take seriously the mandate given to us by Jesus to go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations, it demands the mobilization of the totality of God’s people—no pew sitters, no pew fillers, no observers; total mobilization of the troops in the army of God.

To be a participant of the Church’s mission implies church membership. A whole-hearted relationship with a local church is God’s plan for every believer. Read the New Testament for yourself. The local church is a key to your spiritual growth. It takes a church to raise a Christian. Membership means a committed church family and community for a united mission!

That this starts at the Sheep Gate is symbolic. It says, “Put God first!” This gate provided access to the Temple. Animals were brought through it for sacrifice in worship to God. This being first follows Christ’s mandate to Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

The priests dedicate or consecrate this first gate for the glory of God. By doing so they encourage all the builders to focus on the greater purpose of rebuilding the walls – to glorify God.

Every worker is important. 

Whole families worked together. Verse 12 mentions a man and his daughters working together on the wall. Women in that culture weren’t supposed to do construction. Cultural norms were set aside for the goal and greater good of a project to glorify God.

Many worked and repaired near their homes where they lived. Is serving the Lord important in your marriage, for your family? The family who serves together grows spiritually together. A local church is no stronger than its marriages and its families. Based on yours, how strong is our church?

In 1948, shortly after Israel was re-birthed as a nation, the Jewish sector of Jerusalem was being strangled by a line of Arab combatants. There was time to get women and children to the coast – away from besieged Jerusalem. But Dov Joseph, the man in charge refused to allow the evacuation. He reasoned that Jewish men would fight harder to defend their sector of the city if they knew the lives of their wives and children depended on their bravery. Personal interest is a powerful motivator. 

In the Bible we often find lists of names. We tend to skip over them. Would we want our name or the names of our children skipped over? Everyone from nearly every family and occupation was involved.

Verse 11 needs background from the book of Ezra to see how noteworthy it is. Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. Malchijahhad been disqualified 13 years earlier because he’d disobeyed God’s Law, but he’d made it right. Being sidelined in the past does not have to be permanent. His involvement reaffirmed his new and public commitment to the things of God.

And there are no small jobs. Jesus said if we give a cup of cold water in His name, it will be remembered. Some jobs aren’t desirable. Who wants to do the Dung Gate? How do you feel about a dirty bathroom at a gas station? But every task is important, even the Dung Gate. And it was a ruler, not a menial servant, who repaired it (verse 14). That sounds like Jesus as He washed the disciples’ feet. We need more who are willing to do the Dung Gate repairs.

All the good work we do is God working through us. 

Does God need us? I’m reading the book of Joshua in my devotions right now. In chapter 6, God made the walls of Jericho come tumbling down. So, couldn’t God have made the walls of Jerusalem go up without Nehemiah or these workers? Absolutely! God loves to use us, but He doesn’t need us. It’s all of grace. We have the joy of being used for things eternal and significant.

Jesus said in John 15:5, Apart from Me you can do nothing. God gives us power and purpose when we serve Him. He works for us and through us. It’s only by God’s grace that we’re walking, breathing, and our heart is beating.

Successful projects and work are shared. 

Some Western missionaries in a remote area of the Philippines set up a croquet game in their front yard. Several native neighbors became interested, and so the missionary explained the rules, gave each a mallet and ball, and got them going.

As the game progressed, an opportunity came for one of the players to take advantage of another by knocking that person’s ball out of the court. The missionary explained the procedure, but his advice puzzled his native friend. “Why would I want to knock his ball out of the court?” he asked. “So, you will win!” the missionary explained. The short native, clad only in a loincloth, shook his head in bewilderment. In that hunting and gathering society, people survived not by competing, but by sharing equally in every activity. The game continued, but no one followed the missionary’s advice.

When a player successfully got through all the wickets, the game was not over for him. He went back and gave aid and advice to his fellow players. As the final player moved toward the last wicket, the game was still very much a team effort. Finally, when the last wicket was played, the whole group shouted happily, “We won! We won!”

That’s how this wall building was done. It’s how a church should function. We should work together cooperatively, not competitively. When one member scores, it’s a point for the whole team. While it may be possible to run a church, business, or organization single-handedly, it’s not God’s method or plan. God loves teams. He’s the Superstar not us.

Notice a repeated phrase, next to him or next to them. They partnered together. Jews even came from the surrounding areas to help. No one person or family could do it all but together they rebuild the whole wall. Just imagine what we could do as a church if we partnered together? 

Some refuse to work and serve the Lord. 

There’s one sad verse. But their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord (Nehemiah 3:5b). The Bible doesn’t hide the truth. In every church, every ministry there are those who refuse to get involved. The original language suggests a stubborn ox that refuses to be yoked to the team. It’s a cause for big disappointment. It’s noteworthy that it’s the nobles. Maybe they felt it was beneath them. They wanted to benefit from a rebuilt wall but didn’t want to put in any effort.

Non-involvement always hurts or limits God’s work. Recently, I was talking to a friend who ministers to troubled churches. He shared that one of the bigger problems in churches is finding spiritually committed married couples. There will often be one spouse very committed, but the other isn’t. So, the committed spouse who’d dive in spiritually, holds back because their spouse isn’t on the same page and it hurts the church and cause of Christ.

Healthy marriages are rare today. In our anti-marriage culture, that situation is even more harmful. Our world, our churches, desperately need healthy spiritually minded married couples. We just don’t have enough of them.

Priscilla and Aquila were a godly committed couple who ministered with Paul and made a huge difference for the gospel and the early church. Look them up for yourself. We desperately need more Priscilla and Aquilas today!

Fortunately, others stepped up for these who refused to work, taking on extra parts of the wall. The Tekoites did two parts (verse 27). That’s what often has to happen when some won’t do their part. Others must double up. 

Nehemiah 3 is a model for us at Grace. 

Just imagine what we could do as a church family for God’s glory, if we’d partner and work together as they did. For us, like them, the need is so great. Too often at Grace we limp in service, outreach and financially. God doesn’t want us to limp. Please join the team! Please step up! Let’s build something great together for the glory of God!

In his book, Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling, Andy Crouch insists that as much as we might like to, we can’t change the world. Not any one of us alone, anyway. What we can do is partner with like-minded people who share a common vision for making real, if small, changes in our immediate culture – our church, our neighborhood, our town. 

This week I learned of another gospel preaching church that’s closing its doors in our community. That’s two in five years. It means less churches sharing the gospel and less believers active for their faith in our community.

This united work on the wall at Jerusalem is an important message for us at Grace! Please pray, please serve, please reach out to the lost around you, please give! Just think what we could do if we’d commit to Jesus in all of this and do it together!

They’re building new homes all around us. This is our time! None of us can do it all. Each of us can do something!

Conclusion

It was the closing night of a summer VBS. The teacher of one of the classes had missed one night and hadn’t met a boy who had come that night and who was there that Friday. But this boy only had one hand. It shook her a little and she began to be afraid that the others might make fun of him. But things went smoothly and she soon put the boy’s handicap out of her mind. When they assembled in the auditorium and the time came for the closing program, she led the children to the front and told them: Now, let’s all build our churches. Put your hands together now, here’s the “church,” here’s the steeple…

Suddenly, she was aware of what she had done. The little boy couldn’t build a “church.” He only had one hand. After a moment of awkward silence, the little girl seated next to him held her hand up to his and said, Here, let’s build the church together.

Folks, Here, let’s build this church together.