Nehemiah 3:1-32

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. ² And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. ³ But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. ⁴ And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. ⁵ And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. ⁶ Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. ⁷ And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. ⁸ Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. ⁹ And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah. ¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces. ¹² And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. ¹³ The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate. ¹⁴ But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. ¹⁵ But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king’s garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty. ¹⁷ After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part. ¹⁸ After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah. ¹⁹ And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against the going up to the armoury at the turning of the wall. ²⁰ After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib. ²² And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain. ²³ After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house. ²⁴ After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house, that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh. ²⁶ Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out. ²⁷ After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel. ²⁸ From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house. ²⁹ After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate. ³⁰ After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber. ³¹ After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith’s son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner. ³² And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.

The book of Nehemiah opens with a problem presented to a faithful servant of God serving in the land of Persia. Nehemiah receives word that the city of Jerusalem is in shambles and its people are defeated and dejected. He was burdened for the name of God, the wellbeing of His people, the condition of God’s city, and the work that God wished to do through His people, so He called upon God in prayer. In God’s time, He opened the door for Nehemiah to receive from King Artaxerxes all that he needed to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city. After arriving and assessing the situation, he gathered and rallied the people to the first cause of rebuilding the walls. While you and I are not engaged in the building of physical structures for God’s kingdom, we are in the same business that Nehemiah was in, and that is building up the people of God. That is God’s work in the world. It is bringing glory and honor to His name by calling out a people for Himself who are being conformed to the image of His Son. The work of the people of Jerusalem under the leadership of Nehemiah provide for us three critical principles by which all of God’s work in the world must be carried out. These three principles, while not following in any particular order, are actually found in every verse of the chapter. Those three principles teach what we must do in order to do God’s work, God’s way.

The first principle to point out in these verses is that God’s work is always done according to His purpose. What does that mean? It means that there are a variety of tasks that His people could choose to engage in. There are any number of “good” and wholesome causes that we can give ourselves to. However, if we read the New Testament, there is one mission and one purpose that He has given to His Church. That purpose is to bring glory to Him by making disciples of Jesus Christ. That is the singular purpose of the Church. That purpose becomes individualized when we consider that God has sovereignly called and equipped every believer in the body of Christ to serve His kingdom purpose through the local church. He has gifted each believer to contribute to the building up of the body of Christ. Just as every family had a section of the wall to build on, so He has given every person in the local church gifting to contribute to His kingdom work. The danger presented is that we can focus so much on our spiritual gift that we can miss out on the opportunities to serve that are before us. We should view spiritual gifts, not as an end in themselves (as the Corinthians did in 1 Corinthians 12-14), but as a means to an end. Spiritual gifts exercised through loving service are the way God accomplishes His purpose through His people. All true Christian ministry serves the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission which is making disciples of Jesus Christ by calling them to a public profession of faith as a part of God’s visible community through baptism and teaching them to observe everything the Christ has commanded in His Word. Any deviation from that purpose and what we are engaged in ceases to be Christian ministry.

The second principle that these verses give to us is that God’s work is always carried out with His people. There is a large movement in Christian circles today that seeks to “deconstruct” the Christian faith. While this movement is varied, one of segments of it is to undermine or do away with committed church membership and the regular, consistent gathering of God’s people in a local church. One thing we quickly learn as we observe Nehemiah 3, is that it contains a list of names of real people who were real Israelites and who were actively committed to the work of the Lord together. Throughout the Bible, God carries out His work through His people. The entire story of the Old Testament is how God set apart the people of Israel to reveal Himself to the world by giving them His law, His covenant, and His Word. All of His dealings in the world were through the people He had called by His name. In the New Testament, the transition takes place to focus upon Christ and His Church. It is through those “called out ones” and that “assembly” (the two meanings of the Word ekklesia which is translated “church”) that God reveals His Word and accomplishes His purpose in the world. In Nehemiah 3, we find in the lists of names a variety of people from all walks of life. There were priests, rulers, goldsmiths, apothecaries, merchants, Nethinims (temple assistants), Tekoites, Gibeonites, Meronothites, and men of Jericho. They were from Jericho, Tekoa, Mizpeh, Zenoah, Beth Haccherem, Beth-Zur, and Zelah, not just Jerusalem. As we survey the text, we will also find that there were many who were very committed and even took on extra responsibilities in building multiple sections of the wall, while others did not engage in the work. This variety of people with their different skills, backgrounds, and callings came together to each take their section of the wall and accomplish the work of God.  In the New Testament, the pattern that we have been given for how believers live out the Christian life is in the context of local churches. In local churches, the people of God regularly gathered for discipleship, worship, and service. Membership is not so much about having one’s name on a role, but it is about our public, known commitment to those ideals. Therefore, without regular involvement and commitment in a local body of believers, most of the commands of the New Testament have little to no bearing on our lives. Commands such as the “one another(s)” found in Ephesians 4:25-32 were written to and applied in the context of a local church. If you and I are going to serve God, it must be with His people.

The third principle that we find scattered through these verses is that God’s work is to be carried out according to His pattern. In Nehemiah 3, there are 42 sections of work mentioned with 10 gates and other towers to be built in addition to the wall itself. Each of the gates serve to symbolically represent components of God’s plan for His people. The “Sheep Gate,” where sacrifices were brought to the temple, would remind the people of the need for atonement for sin that we know ultimately found its fulfillment in Christ. The “Old Gate” pointed the people forward from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The “Valley Gate” and “Dung Gates” both opened to the Valley of Hinnom where Israel would dispose of trash and cleanse the city. They represented the need for God’s people to be humble (lowly) and cleansed of defilement. The “Fountain Gate” and “Water Gate” were near the Pool of Siloam that was fed by the Gihon Spring. They both pointed to the refreshing supply of life given by God’s Spirit. The “Ophel” and “Horse Gate” are where temple servants lived and horses were kept, respectively. They served to remind God’s people of where their real strength lied. It was not in their military might, but in their right relationship with God. The “East Gate” and “Gate Hammiphkad” would both serve as reminders of Israel’s coming Messiah that would bring the glory of God back to Jerusalem that had departed in their captivity (Ezekiel 10:16-22; 11:22-25; 43:1-5). The gates serve as a reminder of God’s perfect standards for His people and are reminders of the truths of His Word (Psalm 24). It is through those gates that one had to enter to be in God’s city, Jerusalem, and it is through the truth of His Word that we must find life in His name. When we set out to do God’s work, we must remember the standards for our conduct and our service that He has given to us. We can never deviate from His pattern. When Moses built the tabernacle, he was commanded, “And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount” (Exodus 25:40). Like Moses, we must do everything according to God’s perfect standards. Just like Nehemiah and the people used the old bricks and remnants of the wall to rebuild the wall from, you and I don’t have to “reinvent the wheel,” but simply follow God’s pattern in His Word. We don’t have to be creative, just faithful and obedient.

As we seek to engage in God’s work, this chapter of Nehemiah that seems to be a random list of names that worked on the walls of the city of Jerusalem over 2400 years ago actually has much to teach us about how we fulfill God’s calling on us today as the people of God. Are we working according to His purpose, serving alongside His people, and diligently following His pattern? Have we neglected our work for the Lord? Have we treated our gathering with His people as a secondary thing in our lives? Have we ignored His Word and tried to do things our way instead?