The Walls Of Jerusalem Series

The Walls of Jerusalem

Nehemiah 3:1-32

Introduction

- Nehemiah is a great study of leadership, but also shows obedience to God

- Last week we saw Nehemiah’s assessing of the project before him

-- He also revealed the mission God had given him to those around him

-- And also, we examined his reaction to ungodly resistance by local authorities

- In all of these things one thing is clear: Nehemiah trusts God to be faithful

-- APP: He knows that God has called him, and so it is God that he will obey

-- This faithfulness is where we begin to see their trust at work …

- Read Nehemiah 3:1-32

- Pray

∆ Point 1 – The Northern Wall

- It is important to note that this chapter appears to be an insert to the memoirs

-- The chronological events resume in Chapter 4, but this is just as important

-- You might be asking, why is a list of names and work they did, important?

-- APP: Hang with me and we will see all of this at the end of today

- Jerusalem’s walls in this time would be approx. 1.5 square miles

-- City of Millbrook is about 13 sq. miles; much LARGER than Jerusalem here

-- But a wall that is 12 feet high would still be a huge undertaking for anyone

- Nehemiah begins by identifying the sheep gate being rebuilt by priests (v1)

-- This gate would’ve been on the Jericho Road; used for entrance of sheep

-- Sheep would’ve been brought here for sacrifice of sins as a ceremonial event

-- Therefore, to have the priests build it makes perfect sense

- The text suggest it was totally destroyed; and they ceremonially dedicated it

-- The entire wall would not be dedicated for years to come; but this was important

-- It was the first act of reclaiming what was rightfully theirs; their heritage

- The priests built the wall up to the Tower of the Hundred; a military barracks

-- They also built to the Tower of Hananel; a defensive strategy point in the wall

- The men of Jericho (v2) took over from there; Re IMP: This a joint project

- The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah (v3)

-- This gate was used to bring fish into the market from Sea of Galilee or Med Sea

- Meremoth, son or Uriah, continued to build the next section of wall

-- Hakkoz accompanied Zerubbabel back to Jerusalem years before

-- He had a problem validating his family lineage; was excluded from temple

- APP: Later when it was validated by Ezra in Jerusalem they were restored

-- This family’s dedication to the city is second to none, even after being shunned

- The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa

-- This would’ve been a small city south of Jerusalem who supplied help

-- Although, notice the passive refusal to work of the nobles (v5) “too good for it”

-- The local men however were more than willing to work and be a part

- TRANS: As we can already see, this project is not a one man job …

∆ Point 2 – The Western Wall

- Turning a corner in the wall’s construction, we proceed down the side of the city

- The Jeshanah gate (aka old gate) was then repaired by Joiada and Meshullam

-- Jeshanah was an old city in the kingdom of Israel, rich in tradition (v6)

-- This gate’s name probably was a hat tip to their ancient traditions

- APP: Something that we ought to hold fast too as well …

-- It is an encouragement for us to also remember where you’ve come from

- The next section was built by men and women from neighboring towns (v7)

-- Additionally, merchants and traders also helped secure this part of the wall

-- Most likely, they would’ve had a financial interest in seeing this completed

-- APP: If you are a seller of gold/goods, you need security from robbers

- These different families continued repairs all the way to the Valley Gate

- APP: Notice how these people were repairing sections by their homes

-- Need you to see something here: Nehemiah’s charge is very simple:

-- If you rebuild the area immediately around you and the work will be quick

- APP: Can you see the connection to us? What if we rebuilt around us?

-- What if we spent time bringing people to Christ immediately around us?

-- HUGE: We get discouraged because the world is so big - but our world is small

- The Valley Gate apparently opened out to the valley of Hinnom (v13)

-- It was the gate Nehemiah traveled out of to inspect the walls of the city