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In 1660, a Baptist preacher named John Bunyan was put into prison in England. What was his crime? His crime was simply that he was a Baptist and was preaching the Gospel in England. At first, his sentence was only three months. At the end of those three months, the prosecutor asked him one question—will you stop holding your illegal meetings. He answered his accuser boldly: “If you release me today, I will preach tomorrow.” His imprisonment was extended another 12 years. It was during that 12 year time in prison that he wrote one of the most beloved books of the Christian faith ever written. It was a book called Pilgrim’s Progress. If you’ve never read Pilgrim’s Progress, you should. Next to the Bible, it ought to be required reading of every Christian of every age. Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the Christian life. The main character is a person named Christian. And the book takes us on his journey from his hometown called “City of Destruction” to his destination called “Celestial City.” He starts his journey very difficultly because he’s carrying a huge burden with him. Of course, the burden that he’s carrying represents his sin. He meets a man named Evangelist who puts him on the path to the Celestial City and tells him how to be relieved of his burden. He meets other characters along the way. Characters like Mr. Worldly Wiseman, Mr. Legality, Obstinate and Pliable meet him and try to distract him. But then he arrives at the place of deliverance and his burden is rolled away. Is that the end of the story? Is that the end of Christian’s journey? No—it’s really just the beginning, because all of that happens in the first few pages of the book. The rest of the book is Christian’s struggle and journey to the Celestial City without his burden. Along the way he is distracted by places like By-Path Meadow and Vanity Fair. He is captured by the giant called Despair and taken for a while to a place called Doubting Castle. Friends like Faithful and Hopeful help him along the way until he eventually makes his way to the Land of Beulah, and crosses over the River of Death to the Celestial City. It is a wonderful book about the Christian walk. A walk that isn’t over when Jesus saves us. Because that’s just when it begins. Just because the burden of our sin is lifted doesn’t mean our journey is through. It just means that we are able to walk the path that ends in Glory. Sometimes bad choices might get us captured in Doubting Castle. Sometimes we might lose our friends Faithful and Hopeful on the filthy hill called Lucre. We might be tempted to avoid the hill called Difficulty and end up on the easy roads called Danger and Destruction. But when Jesus saves us, He will lead us back to the right path. And one day, that path will lead us to the Celestial City He has promised us. One day our journey will be complete. One day we will meet our Savior face to face. And when we meet Him, my greatest hope is to hear Him say to us the words of Matthew 25:23: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” That is the testimony of a journey well taken. That’s the testimony of a job well done. In our passage tonight, we see another testimony of a job well done. And it gives us a wonderful picture of what we will see in that day when our job is done. Now, it’s not an allegory like Pilgrim’s Progress is. It was a real, historical event. But in that real, historical event, we can see three things that happen when our job is finished. When our job is finished, the hero will be exalted. When our job is finished, the rebellious will be obstinate. And when our job is finished, the enemy will be exposed.
Around six months before our passage tonight, Nehemiah was sitting in Shushan. He didn’t waste any time, did he? And here it was sometime around the first of October and the wall was completed. What an incredible task they had accomplished. It was so incredible that it’s hard to believe. Even within a few hundred years, scholars and historians were trying to explain it away. Rebuilding that wall in 52 days was impossible! Josephus was a Jewish historian who lived in the first century during the same time as many of the apostles. Even he didn’t believe Nehemiah could have built the wall in 52 days. He said that it really took 2 years and four months. And scholars have been doubting it ever since. Guess what? The text says that the wall was built in 52 days. That means the wall was built in 52 days. Was it impossible? Of course it was! But God specializes in impossible. You see, if the wall had been built in two years and four months, it would have been hard work. It would have been difficult. But they could have gotten it done in that length of time. And if they got it done in that amount of time then they could have taken the credit. Nehemiah could have been hailed as this great leader and all the people could have been praised for everything THEY accomplished. We like to take credit for difficult things, don’t we? But there’s no way we can take credit for impossible things. And a ragtag group of feeble Jews building a wall that was 2 ½ miles long and up to 8 feet thick in places was impossible. But God accomplished the impossible. And when He accomplished the impossible, the world around them knew it. Verse 16 says that when their enemies heard that the wall had been completed that quickly, they were “cast down in their own eyes.” In other words, all of a sudden, they had a self-esteem problem. The vast Arab nations to the south… the Samarian nation to the north… The Ammonite nation to the east… And the Ashdodite nation to the west… All of a sudden all of them felt small in their own eyes. Does that mean that the remnant was no longer small and weak to them? No—it means that they were now able to see how big God is. “They perceived that this work was wrought of God.” When we do the work that God calls us to do… we accomplish our greatest purpose in life. Our greatest purpose in life is to glorify God. The mission that He has given us is the Great Commission. He calls us to make disciples everywhere we go and in everything we do. When we are faithful to do that, one of these days, we’ll hear Him say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But when we hear that, it’s not going to exalt us. It’s going to exalt the one who saved us. The hero that gives us the strength to do what He’s commanded us to do. The hero that walks with us and equips us and empowers us to do His will. Jesus is the hero of our story. How He can take frail vessels—feeble people like you and me—and how He can use us to reach the world is impossible. But when we are submissive and obedient, He will be exalted—not us. Praise God that when our work is done, our Hero will be exalted! But not only will the Hero be exalted, the rebellious will be obstinate.
Notice what happened in verse 17. There was no doubt that the work had been accomplished by God. There was no physical way that that feeble remnant could have accomplished such a feat. They didn’t have the strength. They didn’t have the manpower. They didn’t even have the resources. And remember that many times, they didn’t even have the desire! But they did it. And not one person who looked at it objectively could deny that it could have only been done supernaturally. It was nothing short of a miracle that had happened before their very eyes. You hear people all the time who say things like, “I would believe in God if He would just do a miracle for me.” Oh really? One thing we’ve learned from our study in the book of John is that Jesus did miracles all over the place. But, even though He continued to do miracles, fewer and fewer people believed in Him. What a true miracle from God does is simply remove a person’s excuses. The miracle of the completed wall removed any excuse the surrounding nations had for not believing in the God of the Jews. And I’m sure that some believed. But the ones who didn’t, became hardened in their disbelief. Their rebellion was made clear. It was as clear as the rebellion of the citizens in the parable that Jesus gave in Luke 19. Verse 14 says, “But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him saying, we will not have this man to reign over us.” One thing that I have noticed. As we move farther and farther along this timeline of history, one thing is becoming more clear. If a person stands in the public eye and confidently stands up for biblical principles, he will be scorned and ridiculed and mocked. Look at what happened with Miss California a couple of months ago. Look at what happened with Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin. And I am convinced that the closer we come to the Lord’s return, the clearer the line will become. Throughout history, God has been about the business of removing man’s excuses for not submitting to Him. And there will come a time when all excuses are gone. And when all excuses are gone, there is a clear choice. The sad thing is, that even in the undeniable face of God’s works, many will reject Him. Not only will they reject Him, they will shake their fist at Him in rebellion. But should that surprise us? No, it shouldn’t. Because it happened in Nehemiah’s day. There was no mistaking that the remnant was built because of a miracle of God. Verse 16 says so. But even in the face of an unmistakable act of God, people rejected Him. Verse 17-19 talks about Tobiah and some of his henchmen inside the city who still were shaking their fist in rebellion against God’s work. But that’s not just something that has happened in the past and is going to happen in the future. It happens today, doesn’t it? The works of God are all around us. Just open your eyes! Psalm 19 says that the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Romans 1:19-20 says, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” God has revealed Himself in His creation. But how many people today refuse to acknowledge Him? How many people deny Him altogether? How many people reduce Him to some kind of cosmic Santa Claus or the “man upstairs?” How many people refuse to recognize God as Creator and Sustainer and Lord and Master of all? How many people refuse to see their sin the way that He does and accept His eternally gracious gift of grace and mercy? And make no mistake about it, when a person rejects Christ, they are shaking their fist in rebellion against a holy God. Did you know that’s what our evangelism is supposed to do? When we present the Gospel, we leave a person with a clear choice. We remove their excuses. When they reject the Gospel call, they are being rebellious and obstinate in God’s eyes. When we do the work that God calls us to do, the Hero will be exalted. But, sadly, the rebellious will be obstinate. But those aren’t the only things that happen when we do our job well. Because when we do the work that God calls us to do, the enemy will be exposed.
Notice what was going on in verse 17-19. There was a group of people inside Jerusalem who were secretly passing information back and forth to Tobiah. Remember that Tobiah was one the leader of the Amonites. He was one of the thorns that had been in Nehemiah’s side since before he ever arrived in Jerusalem. Every time Tobiah came against the remnant, he was defeated. Never in battle, but always in prayer and action. In the face of the opposition, the people kept doing God’s work. And God prospered their faithfulness. But in spite of all of that, there were traitors in their midst. They were spies. And the spies gave Tobiah information that he used to come against Nehemiah. But God did to them what He always does. He exposed them. The Bible is very clear when it says to beware, because your sin will find you out. There is no such thing as secret sin. Sin that is supposedly behind closed doors, isn’t. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. And He will always shine His light on sin to expose it. It might not happen right away. As a matter of fact, sometimes God’s grace is such that He gives the one who is in hidden sin some time to repent. But if that repentance doesn’t come, He will expose the sin. Just like He did with these spies in our passage. And just like He will do in the end times. 2 Thessalonians tells us that the One who restrains evil will be removed and the Man of Lawlessness will be revealed. It will be plain as day. God’s enemy will be exposed for who he really is. And people will still rebel against God.
The same pattern that we see in Nehemiah’s day, is the same pattern that we will see when Jesus returns. When Jesus returns, He will be exalted. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. But that doesn’t mean that every knee will bow willingly. Many will bow because they will have been physically broken by the presence of Christ. But even though they will be physically broken and bowing before Christ, they will still be in their rebellion. They will still be shaking their fist and saying, I will not have that man rule over me. In the last days, even though the Hero will be exalted, the rebellious will still be obstinate. And even as the rebellious are obstinate, the enemy will be exposed. The Antichrist who will have ridden into power on a wave of peace and prosperity and goodwill… will be exposed for the bloody tyrant he really is. And he will lead the rebellious in an open war on Christ and His armies. And he will be defeated and bound and ultimately cast forever into the lake of fire.
The pattern is clear throughout history. Whether it was in Nehemiah’s day, whether it’s in our day, or whether it’s in the future. We all fall into one of two categories. Either you are with the group who is exalting the hero. Or you’re with the rebellious group who is in the camp of the enemy. Either way, you will be exposed. There is no way to cover up who you belong to. Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit. The fruit is evidence now, and will be judged later. And when it is judged, you will hear one of two things. Either you will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” That’s what I want to hear. But not all of us will hear that. Because many will hear the terrifying words of Matthew 7:23: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Do you know which one you’re going to hear?
