In the third chapter we get to see Nehemiah put leadership into action. He strategically placed the people to work on the wall. The majority of the chapter reveals the various locations of the people working on the wall. Building a wall in the desert in late spring and early summer is not a simple task. Nehemiah knew that building the wall was not going to be easy so the people were placed where they had the most incentive to do the job well and see it through to completion. Many of the people were working on the wall that was in front of or very close to their home. Talk about incentive.
It is also important to note the frequent use of the phrase “next to them”. Nehemiah understood the value of teamwork. Could you imaging going out to build a wall day after day in the hot sun? That would be difficult but going out day after day and seeing that no one was helping would be enough to make anyone give up. Nehemiah ensured that all the sections were covered. Everyone could see someone else bearing the burden. They weren’t all building the same amount of wall but at least they were building. At this point I must clarify. It is clear that not everyone was pulling their own weight. The text tells us that the nobles were not supporting the work. Isn’t that the way it always is. No matter what the project there is always someone that refuses to help. There is always someone that refuses to get involved. Nehemiah handled it beautifully. He ignored it. As you read the text he makes a quick mention that they are not supporting the work and then he continues on with all the people who are supporting the work. He had a wall to build and he had the support of most of the people in building it. As long as the nobles weren’t in the way then they weren’t a concern. Nehemiah understood that sometimes there are people that just have to be left out of the work we are doing. His attitude was, “I am not going to pull your weight and I am not going to beg for your help. We are going to do something great and if you want to be a part good if not then just stay out of the way.” While I am on this note I think it is also important to see that it was the nobles who were not supportive. These are the people with the power, the position, the wealth and yet they are not supporting the work. Well, as we will soon see God doesn’t need people with power, position, or wealth. This leads me to the next point that I see in the chapter.
Prayer alone did not accomplish the work. We saw in the first two chapters that Nehemiah prayed a lot about this wall. According to historians this wall had lain in ruins for at least 140 years. I think it is safe to say that a lot of prayers had been said about rebuilding the wall. I cannot tell you how many times that I have heard people say we just need to have faith and pray. Then we sit in “faith” waiting for God to do something. So did Nehemiah lack faith? NO! The faith is clear. Nehemiah had faith. Nehemiah knew that praying was necessary. He knew that faith was necessary. He also knew that he must do what he could and let God do what Nehemiah could not. I wonder if we are too often content to “have faith” because we are in fact too lazy to do anything else. We pray for the starving when our kitchen cabinets are over flowing. We pray for the homeless but we do nothing to provide them shelter. We pray for orphans but don’t do anything to help them. I know those are all big endeavors. How about this, we pray for our nation but won’t take the time to vote. I found this quote a while back and think it fits quite nicely into this discussion.
“Past the seeker as he prayed came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten. And seeing them he cried, ‘Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?’ God said ‘I did do something. I made you.’” ~Author Unknown
I have heard it said many times that faith without works is dead. Mother Theresa didn’t end world hunger, but she made a difference. Edmond Burke said it best when he said, “No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” What are you doing? What could you do if you tried? Who could you help?
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