OVERVIEW:
Nehemiah prays to God about Jerusalem’s desolate condition; Nehemiah petitions the king for permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem; Nehemiah organizes the people and they begin repairing the walls; opposition to the work arises.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
As the book of 2nd Chronicles came to an end, we saw that God’s people were taken into captivity by the Babylonians. In the book of Ezra, we saw that God worked in the heart of Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia (note, that while Israel was in captivity, the Babylonians were overtaken by the Persians), to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, and to restore temple worship. After this small “revival” (only a remnant of God’s people chose to return), which began around 536 B.C., God used a prayerful man named Nehemiah in 445 B.C. to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the ruined city. God’s purpose behind this mission was to restore both safety and order to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
After hearing reports of the sad state of the city of Jerusalem, Nehemiah became burdened for his brethren and began to pray. This was all in spite of the fact that he was in a high position in the king’s court (he was the cupbearer — Nehemiah 1:11) and truly had no worries for himself. After all, it wasn’t his fault that the city was in the condition it was in! He could have easily justified not doing anything but praying. Instead, he risked his own life by going before the king with his request to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 2:1–6) Unlike Nehemiah, so often we pray, expecting God to do all the work. Nehemiah, however, was willing, not just to pray, but to get up off of his knees, stand to his feet, and do something about the need at hand! Proverbs 16:9 talks about the Lord directing our steps but for Him to do that, keep in mind, it necessitates that we be standing and moving! Notice that God did more than just get the king to grant his permission for the work to be accomplished! He also worked in the king’s heart to make him willing to fund the entire project! It becomes yet another example of the fact that our God is able to do “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think!” (Ephesians 3:20) But do recognize, that just like Nehemiah, we need to ASK and then we need to ACT! We must, as the old saying goes, “PRAY as if it all depends upon GOD, but WORK as if it all depends upon US!” God expects us to DO the POSSIBLE and TRUST HIM for the IMPOSSIBLE.
In chapter 3, notice that God lists the names of the workers and the actual work He used them to accomplish. Note that each man had a specified area of responsibility. It is a great reminder of the principle that “NO man can do EVERYTHING, but EVERY man can do SOMETHING.” It is interesting to note in verse 5, however, that some of the “nobles” didn’t do anything! God talked about this very thing through the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 1:26–29, when he said, “not many NOBLE are called” to do the work of God. Perhaps we should do some major introspection if we find ourselves at a place in time where we are not involved in the work of the Lord. It may be because we feel that we’re “above” doing such insignificant tasks, or that we have the egotistical attitude that we are too “noble” for such trivial work. Note that God also used the Apostle Paul to talk about those who think of themselves “more highly than [they] ought to think”! We must always keep in mind, we are “SERVANTS of the MOST HIGH God!” (Daniel 3:26)
Note also, that there are 10 gates that were repaired in this chapter. They paint for us an incredible picture of the Christian life:
1. The SHEEP Gate. (3:1) This speaks of Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross. This was the first gate to be repaired, for without the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, there is no salvation. Note that the Sheep Gate had no locks or bars, for the door of salvation is always open for the sinner to enter!
2. The FISH Gate. (3:3) Symbolizing that as the recipients of salvation, we have been called to be “fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17)
3. The OLD Gate. (3:6) Pictures the fact that we are to follow the “old paths” of the word of God, that we might find “rest for [our] souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16)
4. The VALLEY Gate. (3:13) Picturing that we are not to think more “highly” of ourselves than we ought to think, but to “lower” ourselves, having an attitude of humility, just as our Lord Jesus Christ did. (Philippians 2:5–9)
5. The DUNG Gate. (3:14) This is the gate through which the waste of the city was taken, picturing the fact that we are to “…cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2nd Corinthians 7:1)
6. The Gate of the FOUNTAIN. (3:15) This points to our need to “be filled with the Spirit”. (John 7:37–39, Ephesians 5:18)
7. The WATER Gate. (3:26) This gate speaks of the word of God. (Ephesians 5:26) Notice that this “just happens” to be the seventh gate mentioned! (As we have previously seen, seven is the number of perfection/completion in the Bible.) Psalm 19:7 says that God’s word is “perfect”! As you might could suspect, it “just so happens” that this gate needed no repairs!
8. The HORSE Gate. (3:28) The horse is a symbol of war in the Bible, and pictures for us the fact that we are in a warfare as soldiers of Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 6:10–17; 2nd Timothy 2:1–4)
9. The EAST Gate. (3:29) This is a picture of Christ’s return; that time when the “Sun of Righteousness” will rise in the east with healing in His wings. (Malachi 4:2)
10. The Gate MIPHKAD. (3:31) This gate is a picture of God’s judgment. Note that the Hebrew word “miphkad”, that the translators chose to not translate here, means “appointment, account, or census.” It points us to the reality that one day we all have an “appointment” with our Lord Jesus Christ at His Judgment Seat, at which time we will give an “account” of the life we lived after being inhabited by His Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:10–12; 2nd Corinthians 5:10)
If you’ll take just take a minute to walk back through the 10 gates, you’ll notice that even the very order in which the gates are mentioned is highly instructive about how we have been called to walk as believers now that we’ve entered through the “narrow gate” of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Note in chapter 4 that the enemy appears. There is one thing for which we can always be certain: when God’s work is being accomplished, the enemy will always show up to come against it! The enemy will ridicule us, try to discourage us, and/or attempt to strike fear in us, anything to try to halt “the work of the Lord” through us! Notice what chapter 4 reveals about how this remnant actually overcame their enemies! It was through prayer! (4:9) Again, notice in verse 9, that Nehemiah did not just depend on prayer alone; he also set a watch! Four times in the New Testament Jesus told us to “watch AND pray!” (Matthew 26:41; Mark 13:33; 14:38; Luke 21:36) May God also find us giving diligence to both!
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
- As the KING’S CUPBEARER — Nehemiah 1:11 (Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer – i.e. He served the king beverages at his table, just as Jesus drank the cup of the King’s wrath for us on the cross – Luke 22:42.)
- Through NEHEMIAH — Nehemiah 1–3 (Nehemiah left the king’s court and his high position behind, to go far away (approx. 750 miles) to build a wall of protection for God’s people, in the same way that Jesus left the King’s court and His exalted position to build a wall of protection for us!)
- As the SHEEP GATE — Nehemiah 3:1 (Jesus is the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” — John 1:29. The only way we can become one of Christ’s “sheep” is by entering through the right “door,” which is none other than Christ Himself — John 10:1, 7, 9, 10.)