Komstad Evangelical Covenant
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Shared Work But in this chapter, the story changes. The hint came at the end of chapter two. Nehemiah called the people to a great partnership, and they agreed. Now they must work. There are no details given for the way the wall will be constructed. No tools mentioned. No diagrams listed. Only the stories of families and groups that each take on a little piece of the problem. Since the chapter offers no real story that might add some excitement to this retelling, we can look instead at a few of the smaller scenes, the short accounts of each building site. Most are only a brief paragraph long. Some only a sentence. But they offer some hints as to the reasons why such work would have been successful. And in some cases, they give reasons why the work would only have been more difficult when the people walked onto the job site. Some days you just can't find good help. But good or bad, this chapter is worth a look. We can begin at the beginning. No Such Thing as Secular Work Nehemiah begins his account with the priests. See the first few verses of the chapter. They put their strength to the matter at hand, even though it is not their primary job. Perhaps this is the first step in priestliness, the ability to understand the people they serve. But more than that, this is a tremendous humility, to bend and stoop along with everyone else when the need calls for bending and stooping. The same thing can be seen in verse eight, where the goldsmiths and perfume-makers made repairs to their sections of the wall. Not priests, but still way outside their chosen profession. Goldsmiths would have worked with delicate matters, small hammers and smooth surfaces. Perfume was a thing that would be mixed or cooked, something soft and aromatic. Stone work was rough and back-breaking. In the church today, we aren't called to construct a wall of stone. We face a different problem. Our communities are in danger from other areas, and we are called to build with different tools. Our families starve for lack of a spiritual wisdom or character. Look at the gifts given to the church that allow us to teach or lead or encourage. Some are clearly gifted to share the gospel of Christ with people they have never met. Some of us are gifted to paint or build. And just as God provides the gift ... he will just as surely lead us to places outside the comfortable boundaries of that gift. So teachers can paint. And encouragers can witness. Preachers can dig holes. In a way, it is necessary because of the greatness of the need. But it can also be a reminder that character is more important than your gift. To be clear, nobody is given the ability to teach. We are allowed a facility in the classroom, perhaps, but God teaches. God builds. God speaks to hearts and draws people to himself. And he also strengthens the character of those who call on his name. It is a refining process, like the fires that burn impurities from ore to produce pure silver. In Nehemiah's day, the burden of stone work would be a primary refining process for anyone who stepped up on the wall to build. It didn't work for everyone. In verse five, the nobles of the town of Tekoa have no heart for such menial work. They had money, power, prestige ... but no heart. Too bad. No Reason to Avoid Another Person's Problem The men of Tekoa deserve some additional mention here. They were building a wall in Jerusalem. Not Tekoa. There may have been some kind of umbrella effect that would improve the safety of Tekoa if Jerusalem is strong, but it also might not have mattered. We don't know why they came. They just came. When the hurricanes ravaged the gulf coast around New Orleans, teams of volunteers left their homes to help. Some were military, some Red Cross. And some came from churches with almost no connection to the areas being helped. We had a group come through upstate New York after an ice storm. They may have been the same people who responded to the gulf. The group was the same, workers from Baptist Churches who live on standby for the time they will be needed to help. In New York, they cut trees and cleared ground. Menial work. Hard work. In the gulf, they probably did the same. They seem to have a heart for the misfortune of others, so much so that they are willing to go and help. You have to settle that decision ahead of time. There is no time to write down the positive and negative aspects of the decision. You go because of the problem. Or you go because of the love of God. Trump card. Topples any argument. In Jerusalem in Nehemiah's day, the workers of Tekoa must have had that kind of reason. They must have been called. In spite of the lackadaisical nobles, the Tekoa contingent are credited with another section of wall. They do the work of two groups. And give credit to Gibeon and Mizpah, who also send workers. You can see them in verse seven. No Time to Ignore the Danger to My Family Let's hear it for Benjamin and Hasshub. They had no such far-reaching vision. They didn't travel far to work on the wall. They worked right outside their house. For many of the people, this wall was Life or Death. Safety or Fear. A good life for their children or the loss of everything they loved. If you come to church for the good feeling, take a look around you. The fear that conquers us hurts our children. The days when we allow our families to get by on Alcohol is robbing our teenagers of life and future. Too many accidents in South Dakota involve a single vehicle and a young driver ... and alcohol. Drugs don't affect the family next door. They affect our children. Our inability to explain why one sexual partner is the safest and best option will leave our younger generation with only one voice, and that is being screamed at them from every song and every television program that they hear. And it isn't just the wise choices that matter. It is God. If we cannot call our own generation to a living, consistent, relationship with God, then our children will assume that it cannot work. Everyone is telling them that spiritual truth doesn't matter. If we don't live it as if it is the most precious thing in life, then the damage will be done at our own house. No Use Resting on Yesterday's Work And we can't depend on the message that was preached yesterday. If you look at a map of Jerusalem, maybe something that you find in the back of your Bible, you might see several different lines. Some are darker, some dashed, some labeled to show the wall of the city during a particular era, some indicating that the city grew or shrank over time. Every time the wall moved, it had to be built all over again. The world has changed since our parents were the teachers and the leaders and the witnesses. They built well at Komstad. We worship in a church building and a congregation that grew from their faith and their lives. But every generation speaks the message of God to a new audience. We face new challenges. Meth instead of beer. Internet instead of magazines. Our children. Our friends. Our day. Our wall. Give credit to Nehemiah's team. They worked well. But now it is our turn. With spiritual tools. With spiritual stones. Outside our own houses. Rise and build. |
Open
my eyes so that I might see great and
wonderful things in your word.
Psalm 119:18
Psalm 119:18
Beresford,
South Dakota
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