Nehemiah, Patriot in Action

GOLDEN TEXT: “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts.” —Haggai 2:4

NEHEMIAH 2:17,18; 4:6; 13:19-21

NEHEMIAH was a faithful servant of the Lord who returned to Jerusalem with the first group of Jewish captives released under the decree of Cyrus. Subsequently he became cupbearer for King Artaxerxes, and through this intimate association with the king, succeeded in obtaining from him authority to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. When the Lord has work to be done he knows how to have the necessary servants in positions to accomplish it.

In Nehemiah’s approach to the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, important factors may be noted. First, he saw the need.—“Ye see the distress that we are in.” As a rule it is difficult to engender interest in a project for which there is no need. Nehemiah’s confidence in the success of the undertaking was based on the fact that he was able to see the Lord’s providence in his being able to obtain the needed authority from King Artaxerxes.

This not only gave him confidence, but when he related the circumstances to those in Jerusalem who would share the responsibility of the undertaking with him, they said, “Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.”

As always during this “present evil world,” when there is something to be done for the Lord, Satan always has his emissaries ready to oppose the work. (Gal. 1:4) The opposition may be violent, or it may be concealed and subtle. In any event, the Lord’s servants need always to take this into consideration and to prepare themselves accordingly with whatever safeguards may be necessary at the time, and in keeping with the Lord’s will.

Nehemiah, and the faithful Jews in Jerusalem, had their enemies, who were determined that the walls of the city would not be rebuilt. These were Sanballat the Horonite, and his servant Tobiah an Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, who were leaders of the movement to stop the work. Nehemiah took every precaution to protect his work against any aggressive move that might be made against them by these clever adversaries. When these enemies learned that the work of building was actually in progress, they “conspired all of them together, … to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.”—ch. 4:8

But the builders, under the direction of Nehemiah, would not be deterred by this threat of possible violence. The record states, “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” (ch. 4:6) Here is another formula for success in the service of the Lord; namely, “a mind to work.” Acceptable service to the Lord must be motivated with a sincere desire to serve, and not merely by a sense of duty.

The poet wrote, “Ne’er think the victory won, nor once at ease sit down; thine arduous work will not be done, till thou hast gained thy crown.” Nehemiah found it necessary to remain alert in safeguarding the interests of the Lord’s people. After the crisis with respect to the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls had passed, another danger, more subtle, loomed up. The Jews returned to their old sins of ignoring the Law, particularly in this instance, in not properly observing the sabbath.

The Jews themselves, as well as “men of Tyre,” brought their wares and sold them to the people in Jerusalem on the sabbath day. (ch. 13:16) Nehemiah “contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?” Forthwith he commanded that the gates of the city be closed when it “began to be dark before the sabbath.”

But this did not stop the evil, for the “merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged without Jerusalem.” Apparently the people of the city were willing to travel out to these merchants and purchase what they thought they needed. Perhaps the merchants, as well as those who bought their wares, thought this would be an acceptable compromise with the requirements of the Law.

But compromise with the Lord is never acceptable. Nehemiah knew this, and took a strong stand against it. He said to the evil doers, “Why lodge ye about (margin, before) the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you.” (ch. 13:21) We read that from “that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.” Courageous faithfulness had won. Our Golden Text pertains to the rebuilding of the “Lord’s house,” which did not compare very favorably with the former temple, hence the Lord encouraged them to faithfulness in its re-establishment.

QUESTIONS

Who was Nehemiah?

What important factors entered into his success as leader of God’s people?

Is mere duty sufficient for acceptable service to God?

How did Nehemiah demonstrate that compromise is not acceptable to God?

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