Nehemiah 3: “The Work On The Wall Begins With Each Working On The Wall By His Own House”
By
1. TIMELINE:
These graphs depict the timeline of the Old Testament, and note that the book of Nehemiah is written about a period of history after the Babylonian captivity and beginning in 445 BC.
Graph of Persian kings & Jewish companies sent out by them to Judea:
1.1. In our last study, we did an introduction for the book and then also looked at chapters 1-2.
1.1.1. We saw in our study that in 445 BC that Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I, heard that the people in Jerusalem were in great distress and reproach, and the city wall was still broken down and its gates burned. This caused him to mourn, pray, and fast for four months that God might move the king’s heart and allow him to go and to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall. Finally, the Lord prepared the king’s heart for a conversation with Nehemiah, and when the king noticed that Nehemiah’s countenance was sad, he asked Nehemiah why he was sad in heart. The king then heard Nehemiah’s request and allowed him to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city’s wall. The king gave Nehemiah all that he requested to successfully complete the job: official papers to give to the governors along the way, official paperwork to get all of the wood for building the gates, and an armed escort to assure a safe trip.
1.1.2. Nehemiah means “comfort or consolation of Jehovah,” and he proves worthy of it.
1.1.3. The book of Nehemiah has been called, “the first book written about leadership.”
1.1.4. In our last study, we looked at how the wall the people were building can be looked at as a metaphor for the wall that we are building of our lives in Christ, a wall that defines our separation from the world.
1.1.5. In our last study, we also concentrated upon the characteristics that a good leader should have, as Nehemiah is a man who is an incredible example of a godly and effective leader.
1.1.6. I want to emphasize the fact that we don’t want to look at these principles of leadership strictly from the perspective of pastors and church leaders. All of us are leaders to an extent, whether with our wives, with our kids, or with family and friends. We all need to grow in our understanding of leadership and as leaders.
1.1.7. We observed several principles for effective leadership in Nehemiah’s life, including that an effective leader:
1.1.7.1.Gets people to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise, and enjoy doing it.
1.1.7.2.Understands people’s needs and recognizes problems.
1.1.7.3.Does not rush into action.
1.1.7.4.Goes to the Lord first about problems.
1.1.7.5.Willing to be a solution to problems.
1.1.7.6.Waits on God to open doors, move in people’s hearts, and give the vision God has for them.
1.1.7.7.He keeps his emotions under control.
1.1.7.8.He plans.
1.1.7.9.He is discreet, keeps some things confidential, and tells others his plans at the proper time.
1.2. Concerning leadership, people often point to the “it” factor, that is, a leader is a person who has followers, and if you do not have followers that you are not a leader.
1.3. Vince Lombardi, the great football coach who led the Green Bay Packers to several national championships once said, “Leaders are made, they are not born; and they are made just like anything else has ever been made in this country—by hard effort. And that’s the price that we all have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal. And despite what we say about being born equal, none of us really are born equal, but rather unequal. And yet the talented are no more responsible for their birthright than the underprivileged. And the measure of each should be what each does in a specific situation. It is becoming increasingly difficult to be tolerant of a society which has sympathy only for the misfits, only for the maladjusted, only for the criminal, only for the loser. Have sympathy for them, help them, but I think it’s also time for us to stand up for and cheer for the doer, and the achiever, one who recognizes a problem and does something about it, one who looks for something extra to do for his country, the winner, the leader!” He did not have a spiritual perspective, but I think there is truth there nonetheless.
1.4. When we think about what makes an effective leader of God’s people, we ought to consider human responsibility verses divine initiative:
Gene Getz (the guy that wrote The Measure Of A Man) has written a commentary on Nehemiah that has some really good points in it. What has really grabbed my thoughts and brought me to prayer has been the issue he brings out about the balance of human responsibility and divine initiation. As is shown in the life of Nehemiah, an effective leader is one who has gotten a proper balance of human responsibility and divine initiative.
When we consider our service to the Lord and the work that we do in the ministry, we can have the perspective that all we need to do is pray about things and God is going to work out His plans and lead us. I have good friends who have this approach. One brother who used to be a pastor will not initiate a single thing in ministry. He always waits for others to ask him to do anything trusting that God will lead those who are supposed to interrupt his life and lead him in any direction. He is always faithful when he is asked to do anything. But, he didn’t motivate people under him when a pastor, and everyone seemed to always feel in the dark about what he was doing or planning, and that was because he wasn’t doing or planning. It is kind of funny to me that the only times he and I have ever spoken is when I call him.
Then, in the opposite extreme, there are guys who don’t pray and have never learned to wait upon God to lead them and give them direction. The flesh can really get in the way when we aren’t seeking and waiting upon God in prayer however. One pastor of this persuasion told me once that he doesn’t wait for God to open doors, he kicks them open. When he pastured he was a very manipulative pastor and was often doing things that you could consider to be under-handed.
But, as Gene Getz writes, one of the main keys to success in ministry is learning to have the proper balance between the two, human responsibility and divine initiative.
Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, and as such in a very prestigious and important position to the king. The cupbearer was sort of the king’s right hand man and one of his most trusted servants. Nehemiah knew that if he was going to be able to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall around the city that God had to do the miraculous and move upon the king’s heart to give him permission to leave, and also all that he needed to succeed in the work. Nehemiah prayed and fasted for four months and did not let the king know his great burden and sadness for the people of Jerusalem and the state of the work of God there. But, while Nehemiah was fasting and praying he was also planning what it would take to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. It has been brought out that Nehemiah’s life shows that an effective leader is one who plans.
What he planned: Nehemiah knew he would have to give the king a precise time he would be gone in order to complete the rebuilding of the wall, so he planned out what it would take so he could have an answer when the king asked. Nehemiah realized he would need official papers to give to the governors along his journey, otherwise they would make him return for them. He determined to ask the king for these immediately. Nehemiah also knew that he would need official papers in order to obtain the wood that would be needed for repairing the wall. He determined to ask the king for an official paper to give to Asaph who was the keeper of the forest wood. Without having made these plans Nehemiah would not have been able to complete the rebuilding of the wall in just 52 days, a marvel even in our day.
Getz brings out how many times we are hindered from effectively leading because we do not plan. Swindoll in his commentary says that planning does not hinder God’s working through you, it enables you to do even greater things for God. Planning does not occur because of a lack of faith, but rather it is wise to do. So, we need to pray and trust God and also plan our work, and then work our plan.
I have to admit that having a proper balance between human responsibility and divine initiative is one of my weaknesses. I don’t make enough plans. God is revealing some things in me that need to change.
But, anyway the Lord has been impressing upon me that we as pastors often do not consider what the greatest needs or problems are in our churches and ministries. We get caught up in just trying to keep up, and often times I think we go just through the motions. I think that we ought to always be asking God what the greatest needs and problems are in our church and ministry, and then ask God to show us what ways we might be able to see those needs be met. We need to make plans for ministries as the Lord leads us.
Right now in our fellowship I believe that our great need is to reach out and grow. Of course, I teach VBV through the word and try to love the sheep as much as I can, as Pastor Chuck Smith has shown us to do. But, I am thinking of some ways that might work for us to meet this stated need. One idea is that we could encourage the various families in our church to have block parties. We could help them plan these as outreaches to their neighbors and friends, and then also go and be with them at the party, and maybe even allow the Lord to use the opportunity to share the gospel or invite people to church. Perhaps an EE class could compliment this ministry.
In his commentary Getz tells several stories from his pastoring and leading that illustrate the balance I’ve mentioned. Here is one of those stories that caused me much thought:
This problem of balancing the human and the divine became very clear to me one day when I served as a full-time professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. I was participating in a faculty discussion regarding a projected multimillion-dollar campus development program. To test the waters, we had sent out some initial communication to friends of the seminary, explaining our intent and asking for feedback and support. The response was meager.
These results would not be surprising to those involved in fund-raising, particularly if they evaluated our initial mail-out. It was a simple letter—no colorful brochures and a few details. But one faculty member—who was well known for his strong views on God’s sovereign control of the universe and who was usually rather verbal against any kind of promotional effort—spoke out forthrightly. “It appears God is telling us not to build since we’re getting so little financial response from our friends.” At that time, I was a junior member of the faculty but I couldn’t help responding in the same outspoken manner. “It may also indicate,” “I said, “that we have failed to do our part in letting people know how important this project really is to our future effectiveness.” The facts are that once we began to do a better job in the promotional and development areas of our school, people began to respond. Since that day—a number of years ago—a great campus has been build comprised of numerous up-to-date structures. God honored our human efforts that were combined with prayer and faith in Him. At the same time, God worked in the hearts of people to respond to our communication.
Even thought Nehemiah diligently planned his work and then worked his plan, and was successful, it is important to note that when he was all done he states that the work was completed because the good hand of God was upon them (see Neh. 2:8, 18 for example).
As I mentioned earlier, we don’t want to look at these principles strictly from the perspective of pastors and church leaders, for all of us are leaders to an extent. My wife reminded me today that all it takes to be a leader is to have one follower. We all ought to realize that we cannot just leave it up to God to do everything. For instance, if you are needing to find a job, by all means pray about finding one. But, then do your part and go and beat the streets looking for one. Or, for another example, if the Lord has shown you that there is something in your life that you need to change, by all means pray about it. But, then make a plan to deal with it. If God has shown you that you should be a better steward with your money, pray about it. But, then perhaps buy a book on budgeting, read it, and come up with a plan to live under a budget. Etc., etc.
1.5. In our study today, we are going to look at chapter 3 of the book, and again also consider some of the principles of effective leadership seen in the life of Nehemiah, and look at how Nehemiah as a leader motivated the Judeans to continue to work on the wall.
I’d like for us to consider how it was that Nehemiah attempted to motivate the Judeans to begin to build the wall. The way leaders usually try to motivate others is by providing some sort of external rewards for them. Parents tell their children that if they clean their room that they will take them to watch a movie. Bosses offer bonuses for certain achievements, or sometimes they will do things like give the best employee the parking spot right in front of the front door for the month, etc.
There are a few rare leaders who have been able to motivate people by appealing to inner motivations of pride, altruism, building character, etc.
Charles Swindoll writes about how that Winston Churchill was a man who was able to motivate others by appealing to their inner motivations:
I have always been impressed with the life of Winston Churchill. In Churchill’s speeches, I cannot find a time in which he ever employed extrinsic [external] motivation. Listen to the words he spoke as England prepared to confront Nazi Germany just three days after Hitler rapidly occupied Belgium, France, and Holland:
I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.
Long after the bombs fell and it appeared Great Britain would have to stand alone against Hitler, he declared:
We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
And I will never forget the amazing speech he gave to a very fearful people in Britain when he addressed the House of Commons on December 30, 1941. It included these words:
When I warned [the French] that Britain would fight on alone whatever they did, their generals told their Prime Minister and his divided Cabinet, “In three weeks England will have her neck wrung like a chicken.” Some chicken; some neck.
The Nazis never wrung England’s neck. Somehow Churchill, stubby little creature that he was, could stand in front of a microphone and strengthen Brits by the thousands with intrinsic motivation. He appealed to their inner strength, their sense of right and wrong, and to their zeal.”
A friend of mine sent me an email this week in which he shared how in his career as a teacher that he motivated his students, he writes:
During my career as a teacher, I felt that my strongest impact could be made by being a "facilitator" for students. Being a facilitator requires giving direction as needed, helping with skill building, giving opportunity, and encouraging. There are many ways to motivate students--fear of failure, rewards--immediate and distant, peer group pressure, fear of punishment, and more--but the best is when you can take a bit of something they've done well and let them see the next possible thing through that lens. That's encouraging. Believing in a student, having specific evidence for that belief, and then expressing both the belief and the evidence. That's how I encouraged others.
Nehemiah was able to motivate just about everyone in Judea to help in the building of the wall, including the people of the city, the officials of Judea, the high priest as well as the rest of the priests, the people living outside of Jerusalem, even children in the various families.
We will see that as an effective leader, that Nehemiah used a combination of methods to motivate the Judeans to rebuild the wall. An effective leader of people utilizes internal motivating factors more than external ones. Nehemiah knew that the Judeans already had inward zeal for the Lord and thus desired to see the wall of the city rebuilt, they just hadn’t yet had a leader whom they could follow to get back to the work. Nehemiah simply said, “See the ruins? We’re in a terrible strait. Let’s rebuild this wall.” And the people said, “Let’s do it.”
But, we will see in this study, that Nehemiah told all of the people in Judea to rebuild the wall by their own house. This motivated the people to work hard for a number of reasons, including: a) They knew that they would have direct personal benefit for their work on the wall, b) They didn’t have to travel far to work so this helped them both in their productivity as well as in their moral, c) They were able to work together as whole families, d) They were able to have some control over their work.
We in the church today have been motivated by our leaders often in such a way that we are trained to serve the Lord for what we may get out of it. However, the church should never be motivated to do what they do for what they will get out of it. President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in Dallas, TX in the early 60s was an incredible motivator of the American people. In one of his speeches he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” I wish that the leaders in the church today would lead the church to have such an attitude, and even “church” for “country” in their preaching.
1.5.1. We will see how that Nehemiah was able to motivate just about everyone of every age and station in life in Jerusalem and Judea to work diligently on the wall.
1.5.2. Three days after his initial arrival in Jeruslaem, Nehemiah had been investigating the current state of the wall around Jerusalem. He had been riding his horse around the wall in the middle of the night and investigating what all that it would take in order to rebuild the wall. He must have realized with each ride how great of a task he had undertaken, and how that without God’s help and leading that there was no way that he would be able to accomplish the task, much less get it done in the timeframe that he had promised to King Artaxerxes I. James Montgomery Boice has written the following about how that the task of rebuilding the wall was an overwhelming one: “Commentators differ over the size of the city at this time and therefore over the length of the wall Nehemiah was to build. But even by the most modest estimates, the circumference of the city was one and a half to two and a half miles. Moreover, the destruction was great, and the stones to be reassembled were massive. This was not a case of a group of workers merely constructing a garden fence, a brick wall, or even a large earthwork fortification. The blocks that had been tumbled down into the valleys below were of great weight, and these had to be exposed and then hauled back up to the site of the wall and reassembled. This required many workers, diverse skills, and even, we may suppose, a certain amount of lifting and moving machinery…Not only was the task itself overwhelming, but it also had been attempted before and had been given up, which meant that he was bucking a history of defeat. The work had actually begun in the second year of King Cyrus in 538 BC, more than ninety years earlier…When Nehemiah arrived, the most recent failure was only thirteen years in the past. Nehemiah faced not only a difficult task but inertia as well…To make matters worse, the only people Nehemiah had to work with were discouraged…But overwhelming tasks are opportunities for great men, which Nehemiah was.”
1.6. Virtually all of the people in Judea were motivated and focused and worked hard on the wall of the city. The city of Jerusalem had 12 gates, just as the New Jerusalem will also have (see Rev. 21:12, 21). The number twelve is the number of complete administration as seen in their being twelve tribes of Israel and twelve apostles chosen by Jesus. In this chapter, the gate of Ephraim (Neh. 8:16; 12:39) or the Gate of the Guard (Neh. 12:39) are not mentioned. Those who repaired the wall of the city are listed going from structure to structure from beginning at the north (top) and going in a counter-clockwise direction, just as the Bible Knowledge Commentary lists these structures in this diagram:
1.6.1. The word “repaired” that is used in reference to the wall is a word that means “to make firm or strong.” All of the stones for the repair of the wall were already in existence and just needed to be reassembled. In the same way, when we as Christians come to get our lives straightened out and right with God, we are just putting back in place what was already there. We just need to appropriate the blood of Christ over our sins by confessing and repenting of them (1 John 1:9).
1.6.2. As we read about the repairing of the wall and the gates into the city, we ought to also ask ourselves if we are guarding the gates into our lives, and our home, in order to make sure that we do not compromise with the world. The gates are a metaphor of our lives and the city of Jerusalem in some ways symbolizes our life as one of God’s people. The work of God begins at our own house and it is within our own home that we must be first found faithful so that we might be given further responsibilities for lives. Alan Redpath writes, “A church is no stronger than its homes.”
1.6.3. When I was in Campus Crusade back in my college years, we used to have an illustration of the “Balanced Christian Life” that was illustrated by five equal spokes in a wheel. The spokes were named, Prayer, Witnessing, Fellowship, Obedience, the Word. If you were maintaining a proper balance of all of those you were would be living a healthy and balanced Christian life. The gates into the city sort of remind me of the complete administration of the things that we as God’s people allow to come into and out of our life. If we have a proper balance of these things we will lead a healthy and fruitful life for Christ.
2. VS 3:1 - “1 Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.” – Those who repaired the wall by the Sheep Gate and Tower of Hananel (Hundred) are listed: Eliashib the high priest along with the other priests
2.1. The Sheep Gate, in the north, was the place where the animals for sacrifice were brought into the city of Jerusalem. Therefore, it would make sense that there would be priests helping to repair the wall by this gate.
2.2. Jesus said that He is the “door” to the sheep and His sacrifice is the One for which all of the animals sacrificed for sin in the Old Testament symbolized.
2.3. Unfortunately, we will see later in the book that ‘Eliashib’ did not remain true to the work and ended up causing Nehemiah quite a bit of trouble when he became an ally with the enemy when he made a room for Tobiah in the courts of the Lord (Neh. 13:4-9).
3. VS 3:2-5 - “. 2 Next to him the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built. 3 Now the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars. 4 Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to him Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs. And next to him Zadok the son of Baana also made repairs. 5 Moreover, next to him the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their masters.” – Those who repaired the wall by the Fish Gate are listed: the men of Jericho, Zaccur the son of Imri, Hassenaah, Meremoth the son of Uriah, Meshullam the son of Berechiah, Zadok the son of Baana, and the Tekoites, but, their nobles did not support the work
3.1. The Fish Gate was the place where fish were brought into the city from the Mediterranean Sea to sell.
3.2. Unfortunately, not everyone helped in the rebuilding of the wall, as was the case with the nobles among the ‘Tekoites.’ The rest of the ‘Tekoites’ built in a couple of places on the wall (vs. 5 & 27). The Tekoites were not the only people outside of Jerusalem to help on the wall because also men from Jericho, Gibeon and Mizpah helped.
3.3. Jesus has called us to be fishers of men, and as such we need to disciple those fish that have been caught that come into our lives.
4. VS 3:6 - “6 Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.” – Those who repaired the Old Gate are listed: Joida the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah
4.1. The Old Gate reminds us of the fact that we are to continue to walk in the everlasting way and the wisdom of God who is the Rock of Ages.
4.2. Jeremiah 6:16 tells us: “16 Thus says the Lord, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”.
5. VS 3:7-8 - “7 Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, also made repairs for the official seat of the governor of the province beyond the River. 8 Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.” - Those who repaired the Broad Wall are listed: Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, and Hananiah one of the perfumers
6. VS 3:9-11 - “9 Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. 10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs. 11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of Furnaces.” - Those who repaired the Tower of Furnaces (or ovens) are listed: Rephaiah the son of Hur, Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, Hattush the son of Hashabneiah, Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hassub the son of Pahath-moab
7. VS 3:12-13 - “12 Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters. 13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall to the Refuse Gate.” - Those who repaired the Valley Gate, and part of the Refuse Gate, are listed: Shallum the son of Hallohesh, Hanum and the inhabitants of Zanoah
7.1. Refuse had to be taken away from the city, and this was done through the Refuse Gate.
7.2. As was mentioned, the gates are a metaphor of our lives and the city of Jerusalem in some ways to symbolize our life as one of God’s people.
7.3. Many years ago when I was in my 20s and attended a musicians fellowship, there was a young guy who was teaching one night and he got up to teach and told us that the Lord showed him an illustration one night when he was going to the bathroom. He began to talk about the toilet and how it is used for eliminating refuse from our lives. He had diagrams he had drawn up of the toilet which he referred to as the porcelain throne, symbolizing the throne of God, and he showed the flusher as our confessing and repenting of sin. It was hilarious even at the time for us young guys, but there was a point in that study. There is something that is very humbling about the way that God created our bodies in that we have to regularly expel refuse. We as Christians amass sinful guilt that needs to be eliminated from us regularly, if we are to be healthy. We confess and repent of our sins, and as 1 John 1:9 tells us, we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. The Refuse Gate reminds me of the confession of sin we are to make whenever we realized that we have sinned, and the gate then symbolizes the propitiation of our sins that Jesus makes for us.
8. VS 3:14 - “14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem repaired the Refuse Gate. He built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.” – The rest of those who repaired the Refuse Gate are listed: Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem
9. VS 3:15 - “15 Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He built it, covered it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at the king’s garden as far as the steps that descend from the city of David.” – Those who repaired the Fountain Gate and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at the king’s garden are listed: Shallum the son of Col-hozeh
9.1. The Pool of Shelah is the same as the Pool of Siloam mentioned in the New Testament.
9.2. The Fountain Gate reminds us of the Holy Spirit and the rivers of living water that Jesus said flow from the innermost being of the one who believes in Him.
10. VS 3:16 - “16 After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, official of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs as far as a point opposite the tombs of David, and as far as the artificial pool and the house of the mighty men.” – Those who made repairs as far as opposite the tombs of David and the artificial pool and house of the mighty men: Nehemiah the son of Azbuk
11. VS 3:17-19 - “17 After him the Levites carried out repairs under Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the official of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. 18 After him their brothers carried out repairs under Bavvai the son of Henadad, official of the other half of the district of Keilah. 19 Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the official of Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the ascent of the armory at the Angle.” – Those who repaired the wall in front of the ascent of the Armory at the Angle: the Levites under Rehum, Hashabiah the official, the brothers of these ones under Bavvai the son of Henadad, and Ezer the son of Jeshua, the official of Mizpah
12. VS 3:20-24 - “20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the doorway of Eliashib’s house even as far as the end of his house. 22 After him the priests, the men of the valley, carried out repairs. 23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub carried out repairs in front of their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, carried out repairs beside his house. 24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah as far as the Angle and as far as the corner.” – Those who build by their house all of the way as far as the Angle and the corner are listed: Baruch the son of Zabbai, Eliashib the high priest, Meremoth the son of Uriah, Benhamin and Hasshub, Azariah the son of Maaseiah son of Ananiah, and Binnui the son of Henadad
12.1. Some people worked harder on the wall than others. Note that Baruch the son of Zabbai ‘zealously’ repaired a section of the wall.
12.2. Ecc. 9:10 tells us that we are to work zealously for the Lord: “10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.”
13. VS 3:25 - “25 Palal the son of Uzai made repairs in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs.” – Those who made repairs in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king by the court of the guard are listed: Palal the son of Uzai, and Pedaiah the son of Parosh
14. VS 3:26 - “26 The temple servants living in Ophel made repairs as far as the front of the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower.” – Those who made repairs in front of the Water Gate are listed: the temple servants living in Ophel
14.1. Warren Wiersbe writes the following about the Water Gate: “The Water Gate led from the old City of David to the Gihon Spring, located adjacent to the Kidron Valley. Jerusalem was one of the few great cities of antiquity that was not built near a great river, and the city depended on reservoirs and springs for its water. The text does not say that this gate was repaired.” The word of God is referred in scripture to “water” which cleanses our lives, and Wiersbe brings out that the fact that this gate was not repaired reminds us of the fact that the word of God stands forever.
14.2. According to Warren Wiersbe ‘Ophel’ was a hill located south of the temple area.
15. VS 3:27 - “27 After them the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.” – Those who made repairs in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel are listed: the Tekoites
16. VS 3:28 - “28 Above the Horse Gate the priests carried out repairs, each in front of his house.” – Those who carried our repairs of the wall above the Horse Gate are listed: the priests who lived by there
16.1. H.A. Ironside writes, “The horse is used with striking frequency in the Scripture as a figure of the warrior. It is so described in Job 39:19-25, where “He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off” (v. 25). In Zechariah 1:8, and in Revelation 6, we read of four symbolic horses, which speak of warrior powers; and when the eternal Word of God, clad in blood-dipped vesture, descends from heaven to the battle preceding the awful supper of the great God, at the beginning of the millennium, He is seen in vision riding on a white horse, and the saints are seen similarly mounted..The Horse Gate may speak, then of soldier service in a world opposed to God and His truth. It bids us “earnestly contend for the faith…once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3 rv).
16.2. We Christians must realize that God has called us to be warriors for Him.
17. VS 3:29-31 - “29 After them Zadok the son of Immer carried out repairs in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, carried out repairs.” - Those who carried out repairs of the East Gate are listed: Zadok, the son of Immer
17.1. Wiersbe believes that the ‘East Gate’ is the same thing as the “Golden Gate.” Tradition has it that Jesus entered into the temple through the East Gate.
17.2. The east is the place where the sun rises, and Jesus Himself is the Bright and Morning Star. He arises in our lives and gives us new life, and one day He shall return and gather the saints together in the clouds to always be with Him.
18. VS 3:30-31 - “ 30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah carried out repairs in front of his own quarters. 31 After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, carried out repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner.” –, and the wall in front of the Inspection Gate as far as the upper room of the corner are listed: Shemaiah the son of Shecanian, Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, Meshullam the son of Berechiah, and Malchijah one of the goldsmiths
18.1. The ‘Inspection Gate’ was evidently used for military purposes. Warren Wiersbe writes that it was here that the military was reviewed and registered.
18.2. The north part of the city wall was evidently most vulnerable to attack and thus it is believed that the military would be present at this gate.
18.3. Perhaps we could see a parallel in our lives here and think of this as being the “Introspection Gate,” for just as the military was reviewed and inspected here so we too as God’s people need to always ask the Lord to show us if there be any hurtful way in us, any sin that we need to repent of .
19. VS 3:32 - “32 Between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out repairs.” – Those who repaired the wall between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate are listed: the goldsmiths and the merchants
19.1. Now, we end at the same gate where we began.
19.2. Jesus, whom the sheep gate reminds us of because He was the lamb without spot or blemish who was led to the slaughter for our sins, is the beginning and the end, alpha and omega.
20. CONCLUSIONS:
20.1. Remember that the work of God begins for you in your own home. Assess the needs of those under your care, and recognize their problems. Then, let the Lord show you how to meet those needs as the leader that God wants you to be.
20.2. Always remember to keep a proper balance of human responsibility and divine initiative. Pray, but also plan, and when you are done give God the credit and glory.
20.3. Remember to consider how each person under your care as a leader needs to be motivated, and use the best and most effective means to motivate them.