SERIES: Nehemiah
TEXT: Nehemiah 3:1-32
MESSAGE: “Why Work Matters”
“Everyone will be forgotten, nothing we do will make any difference, and all good endeavors, even the best, will come to naught. Unless there is God. If the God of the Bible exists, and there is a True Reality beneath and behind this one, and this life is not the only life, then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God’s calling, can matter forever.” ― Timothy Keller
“What appears here at first blush to be a list of forgotten names and boring details of wall construction, on closer examination, becomes something quite dramatic and exciting. It may be observed first that what occurred was the result of an incredible feat of organization. The entire community was mobilized and was led to work harmoniously and simultaneously on all parts of the city wall… Second, the entire workforce demonstrated an unquenchable dedication and an ardent enthusiasm as they strained feverishly to complete the task. Third…The enemies of the Jews were completely caught off guard by the speed and drive of Nehemiah and his compatriots. Before they could effectively organize to stop the Jews or destroy their work, the walls and gates were restored. Fourth, this section of Nehemiah is also interesting because it is one of the best sources on the topography of ancient Jerusalem. Fifth, the passage shows the involvement of the whole Jewish community, as is demonstrated by the mention of representatives of crafts, trades, towns, and various social classes.” — Howard Vos
TEXT: Nehemiah 3:1-32
“Apathy can only be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal which takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice.” — Arnold Toynbee
Q: What’s the significance of today’s text? Let’s explore three aspects of this chapter and why each matters…it’s the redemptive significance of: (1) The Names (2) The Gates (3) The Work
1. The Names (v. 1)
Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel.
“…to find that the high priest and his fellows are working side by side with the craftsmen-artists and the men of trade. It symbolizes the whole enterprise.” — Derek Kidner
“The Bible begins with the announcement, ‘In the beginning God created..’- not ‘sat majestic in the heavens’. He created. He did something. He made something. He fashioned heaven and earth. The week of creation was a week of work.” — Eugene Peterson
“What is the Christian understanding of work?…[It] is that work is not, primarily, a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. It is, or it should be, the full expression of the worker’s faculties…the medium in which he offers himself to God.” — Dorothy Sayers
2. The Gates (v. 28-29)
Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. 29 After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired.
3. The Work (v. 32)
And between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.
“Work has dignity because it is something that God does and because we do it in God’s place, as his representatives…All work has dignity because it reflects God’s image in us, and also because the material creation we are called to care for is good.” — Timothy Keller
“…in Genesis we see God as a gardener, and in the New Testament we see him as a carpenter. No task is too small a vessel to hold the immense dignity of work given by God.” ― Timothy Keller
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” — John 1:29
TAKEAWAYS: How can we apply this to our view of work?
- Every person is needed
- Rebuilding started at home
“In Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, God sent his people to various places for diverse reasons. God spoke the world into being, into places. He made Adam, breathing life into him and giving him dominion over the Garden of Eden…God gave the creation mandate—the call to make a place in the world—to Adam and Eve first, and it remains binding on the church today. As Christians redeem little parts of the world, working faithfully to care for others and their places, reflecting the gospel, they reflect Christ. A theology of place should begin and end with God as the ultimate placemaker, the one who creates places and people for times and seasons only he knows.” — RuthAnne Irvin
- Each name matters to God
“…we can be encouraged that God takes the time to record names…The Bible doesn’t just say ‘and lots of people made repairs to the wall.’ No, it specifically names each person that made repairs and that has been recorded for all of eternity!…Nothing is done for the Lord in vain on this earth, even if no one else sees it. So don’t lose heart in your work for the Lord knowing that ‘God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.’” — Ian Gordon
“They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” 29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” — John 6:28-29 (NLT)