Nehemiah 4 reminds me of my own salvation experience. I heard the truth of God’s Word and I believed. I asked God for forgiveness and He poured out His Spirit as confirmation. At that moment I was born again, however, I was still living in the world, surrounded by people who did not want me to change. Some were angry that I would no longer participate. Some ridiculed the idea. Some attacked my very immature faith. 1 Peter 3:15 says “Be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you“. I found that I needed to separate myself in order to build up my understanding. The chapter begins with the Jewish settlers rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. “When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry…He ridiculed the Jews… “What are those feeble Jews doing? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble burned as they are?“. Frequently the sources of our discouragement come from multiple sides. “Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, ‘if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!’“. It has been said that we battle against the world, the flesh and the devil, but the rest of the chapter gives us hope.
Nehemiah continued, noting that all the enemies of Israel were uniting. “They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble“. The reason was, they were being effective. They “heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead… the gaps were being closed“. The next verse gives the key to success, “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night“. These battles should never be fought alone. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us of our need to meet regularly with brothers and sister of the faith. The primary reason given is to “encourage one another“! Don’t let stress keep away from church. The chapter describes how you might feel today, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall“. I love Nehemiah’s response, “I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows“. Are you at a low point? At the lowest point in my life, I was adopted into the family of God and my church family stood with me. Nehemiah told them, “fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes“. Perhaps you are at a high point now, is there someone in need that you can stand with?
The chapter then describes the process of building with help, “From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor… each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked“. Nehemiah mentions another critical tool for those of us rebuilding. A trumpet was used to alert others of danger. This is where we sometimes hesitate. If you do not let others know you are in need, they cannot help. “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!” The chapter concludes with a reminder that we need a helper. “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day“. Maybe you are still alone, outside the wall of God’s protection. Jesus said to you, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Don’t let discouragement keep you isolated.