Series: Rebuilding [#5]
ENDURING THE STRUGGLES OF REBUILDING
Nehemiah 4:1-23
Introduction:
I heard an old preacher say, “The Bible tells us to love our neighbors and to love our enemies, probably because they are generally the same people.” In the case of the Jews rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, this was certainly true. In this chapter we find that the people of Jerusalem are surrounded by hostile enemies on all four sides coming at them from all four directions- It is their neighbors who do their best to discourage them from continuing the work that God has called them to.
How we deal with problems says more about our character than most anything else. If you want to know what a person is really like, watch them when things go wrong; when they are imposed upon; when they are made to wait; when someone cuts them off in traffic; when they are tired and achy.
Nehemiah 4:1-3 (NIV)
“When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble- burned as they are?” Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building- even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”
In order to endure the struggles of rebuilding, you must recognize…
1. The sources of discouragement.
A source of discouragement is…
Trash talking.
Sanballat is ticked off. He is a governor of a nearby territory who no doubt feared the potential of a strong Jerusalem emerging as a threat to his territory. Now it is obvious that these Jews are serious about the project, and Sanballat is upset about it; and so he resorts to trash talk.
If you want to trash talk someone, put down their…
Qualities. “What are those feeble Jews doing?”
If you want to trash talk someone, put down their…
Ambitions. “Will they restore their wall?”
If you want to trash talk someone, put down their…
Optimism. “Will they offer sacrifices?”
If you want to trash talk someone, try to tear down their…
Enthusiasm. “Will they finish in a day?”
If you want to trash talk someone, try to tear down their…
Confidence. “Can they bring stones back to life?”
Nehemiah 4:7-8 (NIV)
“But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.”
A source of discouragement is…
Threats.
These knuckleheads determine to go beyond ridicule; they make a show of force. We’re not sure if this was real or just a bluff. We don’t know if they were actually making plans of attack or if they were just talking. We do know that from every direction, the people in Jerusalem could look and see enemies.
Nehemiah 4:10-12 (NIV)
“Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.” Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
A source of discouragement is…
Burnout.
For all of the excitement of chapter 2, and for all of the unified commitment to hard work we see in chapter 3, we are really seeing the reality of the situation in chapter 4. One of the things that is true in any work we undertake for God, is that we are naïve if we expect everything to be just hunky-dory all the time.
God’s people can easily become burned out when we allow human nature to jump in.
Fatigue. “The strength of the laborers is giving out.”
Frustration. “There is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
Fear. “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”
In order to endure the struggles of rebuilding, you must recognize…
2. The responses to discouragement.
Nehemiah is facing the greatest test of his leadership; if he fails to act decisively, wisely, and effectively, he might retain the title of governor, but his leadership of the people will be over; the wall will not be rebuilt; and the glory of God will still suffer. Nehemiah shows us here the proper response to discouragement.
Nehemiah 4:4-5, 9 (NIV)
“Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.”
When you are discouraged…
Pray.
Nehemiah 4:6, 15 (NIV)
“So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.”
When you are discouraged…
Persevere.
Notice verse 6 says, “The people worked with all their heart”. Verse 15 says, “We all returned to the wall.” Verse 21 says, “We continued the work.” In fact, we see in verse 21 a redoubling of their efforts: “Till the stars came out.” Quitting time would normally be sunset, but they worked later than that; theirs was a desire to get the job done. There was an urgency to work.
Nehemiah 4:13, 16-20 (NIV)
“Therefore 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. From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “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!”
When you are discouraged…
Plan.
Nehemiah took the concerns and fears of the people into account; he didn’t bash them or merely say “suck it up, men; don’t be such wimps!” Nehemiah carefully planned the deployment of the people. This included positioning a show of force at the most vulnerable points of the wall; a system of rallying the people together in the case of an attack; an organization of the people into a force that would be ready. He took the time to do things well and in an organized fashion, and I believe that that pleases God.
Nehemiah 4:14 (NIV)
“After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
When you are discouraged…
Be positive.
Nehemiah says two things here, and they are both important:
“Remember the Lord”.
“Fight” is Nehemiah’s second word to the people; and he says, “Fight for your families”, if the need arises.
Nehemiah 4:9, 21-23 (NIV)
“But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day. Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.”
When you are discouraged…
Be prepared.
The workers were armed with building tools and weaponry at the same time. These people were serious about being prepared; they didn’t take off their clothes, Nehemiah said.
Conclusion:
As I talked to someone this week about being tired of problems always occurring, they admitted that they no longer knew what to do; and the only answer I had for them was, don’t quit. Just because it gets hard doesn’t give us a reason to quit. Keep going.
