“For they all were
trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the
work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen
my hands.” – Nehemiah 6:9
There’s a beautiful
story in Nehemiah about perseverance, continuing in a work despite all difficulty. Yet, if we read it too quickly, we just might
miss it because the story itself is as entertaining as any screen production!
The scene begins with
Nehemiah, the Prophet. He has been in
captivity for years and is serving as King Artaxerxes cup bearer. Being cupbearer was not a title anyone would choose. His duty was to taste everything the King ate
so that if it was poisoned, he would die instead of the king. Obviously in a
world of national enemies, the King knew not to get too fond of Nehemiah.
But Nehemiah had heard
that the Jews that had escaped captivity were trying to live in Judah because
the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and even burned. They were without food, being attacked and
having their food stolen, having to place their own children into slavery to
survive! Without a wall to protect them they
were in constant fear of their enemies. As is the case even in modern days,
Jews were hated.
Nehemiah’s heart was
grieved for them, which I happen to believe this was part of God’s encouraging
him to act. So, he prayed first, and
acted second (there’s a whole lot to be said about that!). He went before King Artaxerxes and asked that
he be sent to rebuild back the wall, and that the King would use his power to
have the neighboring lands provide building supplies.
While supplies were
sent out of reverence to the King, many of the governors surrounding Jerusalem
were not happy about the rebuilding of the wall. Two such were Tobiah and Sanballat. They knew this would better the wellbeing
of the children of Israel and cut off their stealing of the supplies from the
Jews.
Nehemiah begins to rebuild the wall
with the volunteers he could get from the Jews and is continually mocked with statements like “Whatever they build, if even a fox
goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.” (Nehemiah
4:3). But Nehemiah persevered! Sometimes
you have to turn a deaf ear to the naysayers and just pursue God’s plan.
Tobiah and Sanballat could not stand
the thought of them completing the wall, and fortifying Jerusalem as a city
once again. So, they sent a message to
Nehemiah trying to trick him to leave the city and come to them. Obviously, their intent was to lure him away
and kill him. Note, it’s often the
leader the enemy will go after as this is the fastest way to stop the
work.
But Nehemiah was given wisdom to
understand what was behind their plan.
He sent them a message saying “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why
should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” (Nehemiah
6:3) and continued to work.
Five times they tried to lure him
away from his work – FIVE. But the final
time they sent a messenger to him with a note in hand telling him that it had
been reported to the nations that the Jews planned to rebel, and that Nehemiah
had hired prophets to say that “There is a king in Judah!” which would bring a
breach of trust between him and King Artaxerxes.
Nehemiah sends back yet another
message in the same hands saying “No such things as you say are being done, but
you invent them in your own heart.”
Ok, now things are getting serious!
He’s called his enemies out! He’s called them liars. If you’ve ever been in a conflict you know
this is an escalation point!
Nehemiah’s team wants to have him
stay in the temple, a holy place that would be less likely to be invaded to
harm him. Yet, Nehemiah sees the work at
hand, and knows it must be done. He
continues to lead despite adversity and even a death threat. He understands that their threats were meant
to slow their work, or even stop it.
Nehemiah perseveres!
In 52 days an entire wall was rebuilt
around Jerusalem. It was 2 ½ miles long,
39 feet tall, and 8.2 feet thick! There
were 34 watchtowers, and seven main gates. No bull dozers, no cranes, no
massive transports of large concrete blocks.
It was built by hand by men who pursued a plan with a leader that was
continually leading, continually pursuing the goal.
That wall was built in 52 days, and
to date it has been attached 52 times. It was destroyed once after Nehemiah
built it, and in 1535 was rebuilt by Sultan Suleiman I, and it took four
years. Being completed in 1541, it still
stands today.
Had Nehemiah not persevered, what
would have become of the Jews? An entire
race could have been destroyed. But
Nehemiah, praying first, knew God was on His side. Acting second, He knew God would strengthen
Him and not see Him fail. And in the
end, Nehemiah rejected praise for His work and pointed all the glory to
God. Ah, that’s when you know you’ve
really done a great job – when you can see that God’s hand was with you and you
succeeded. It’s a double whammy – you did
good work, and you pleased God.
Friends, don’t give up on what you’ve
been called to do. Leaders, do not
abandon your post! PERSEVERE!
“So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And
it happened, when all our enemies heard of
it, and all the nations around us saw these
things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they
perceived that this work was done by our God.” – Nehemiah 6:15-16
