Buildersof the Ministry
King Nebuchadnezzar first marched into Jerusalem in the year 606 BC (cf. 2 Chr36:5–7; Dan 1:1). Many of the Jews were sent into exile, including KingJehoiakim. Twenty years later, in 586 BC, because of the persistent wickednessof the Jews and the rebellion of king Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar’s army marchedinto Jerusalem and razed it. The temple and palaces, as well as the wall ofJerusalem, were torn down (2 Chr 36:19).
Fifty years later, or seventy years after the first exile in 606 BC, theprophecy of Jeremiah (Jer 25:11–12) was fulfilled, and the Jews were allowed toreturn to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The people were eventually able tocomplete rebuilding the temple after the LORD sent the prophets Haggai andZechariah to preach to them. The wall of Jerusalem however remained in ruinand, as long as it remained in ruin, Israel could not defend herself and so tofunction as a proper nation again.
There were some attempts to rebuild the wall during the reign of king Ahasuerus(of Queen Esther) and the initial years of king Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:6–7), buttheir efforts were brought to a stand-still and whichever parts of the wallwere built were destroyed by the enemies of the Jews by the sanction ofArtaxerxes (Ezra 4:12, 23).
It was only in the year 446 BC, more than 90 years after the Jews firstreturned from exile, that Nehemiah, who was still serving in the Persian courtas the cup bearer, heard about the situation in Jerusalem, and after muchprayer, as recorded in Nehemiah 1, he asked permission from the king to returnto help the people rebuild the wall. The king granted him leave, and so inNehemiah 2, we see Nehemiah arriving in Jerusalem, and conducting an inspectionof the wall. Three days later, he announced to the people, that they shouldrebuild the wall. The people unanimously agreed, and so begun the rebuildingprocess.
Nehemiah 3 records for us how the work was carried out. This chapter is a veryimportant chapter for the archaeologists and historians because it contains adetailed description of the topography of ancient Jerusalem. We are, however,not so concern with that. Our concern is the lessons we may draw from thedescription of the people involved in the rebuilding work.
The building of the wall, after all, provides a very beautiful analogy for thework of the church. As the work of rebuilding the wall required much effort, itbeing “great and large” (Neh 4:19), so the building of the church is no meantask. As the rebuilding of the wall required teamwork and contribution fromevery member of the returnees and their families, so the ministry of the churchcannot possibly be shouldered by the officers of the church alone. But whilethe rebuilding of the wall involves the piecing together of rocks and boulders,the work of the church involves the building-up of “lively stones” (1 Pet 2:5).
With this in mind, let us consider some of the participants in the rebuildingof the wall that we may learn some lessons pertaining to our individualcontribution in the work of the church.
The High Priest and theOther Priests
The list of workers begins with Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests(v. 1). I believe that it is no coincidence that these priests should be listedfirst. Israel was properly a theocracy and secondarily a monarchy and, in theabsence of the monarch, the high priest would naturally be esteemed as the mostimportant person amongst the exiled. With this in mind, the hands-oncontribution of the high priest is instructive.
In the first place, it demonstrated his humility. He could have excused himselfby saying that the nature of his work is religious, and so he should leave thework for others to do. He did not do so and so provides an excellent lesson forthe officers of the church. Sometimes, it may be prudent for the officers ofthe church to step back and allow the members of the church opportunities tocontribute to the work. For example, in PCC, I think it is a good idea that weleave our Psalters on the chairs after the service and the officers of thechurch do not attempt to collect them. Why? So that the children will be givenopportunities to contribute to the work, by collecting them! Nevertheless, theofficers of the church must be willing to do the most menial and unrewardingtasks when necessity arises.
Remember how our LORD washed the feet of His disciples and said:
Ye call me Master and Lord: and yesay well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet;ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, thatye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servantis not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that senthim (Jn 13:13–15).
If Jesus, the LORD of Lords, the King of kings, was willing to stoop down anddo such a menial and humble task as washing His disciples’ feet, then surely,those who are called to be His servants in the church, must be very willing todo the same. Christian leaders, we must remember, must never be lords over theLord’s heritage, but be examples and servants to the flock (cf. 1 Pet 5:3; Mk9:35). All officers of the church must be willing to pour out their lives forthe members of the church sacrificially. They must constantly be thinking ofwhat examples they are setting for the members of the church.
Consider the priests. Consider how they Led by example.
The Tekoites
But what if the leaders of the church do not set good examples? What if you area member of the church and you notice the poor example of one or two of theleaders? Well, the temptation to judge, murmur, and to think lowly of theseleaders, will no doubt be very strong. But I would urge that we should refrainfrom doing so. What the Scripture teaches us concerning not judging others (Mt7:1–4) and esteeming others better than ourselves (Phil 2:3) must also beapplied in our relationship with the leaders of the church too. Moreover, theScripture also teaches us to be respectful to such as are older than us evenwhen they err (1 Tim 5:1). The same principle may be applied to the officers ofthe church. An officer of the church who persists in bad example, without validreasons despite entreaty from members and fellow officers of the church, mayeventually have to face the discipline of the church.
In the meantime, what should you as a member do? I believe you should pray. Butbeyond that you should learn from example of the Tekoites.
Notice that in verse 5, the Tekoites were repairing a section of the wall, buttheir nobles would not lend a hand. The Tekoites were, however, notdiscouraged. In fact, to the shame of their leaders, the Tekoites not onlydiligently worked on the portion they were assigned, but repaired an additionalsection of the wall as well (v. 27).
This surely is an excellent lesson for us. If your leaders are not setting goodexamples in any aspect of Christian life, you must still do what is pleasing tothe Lord. You must work doubly hard that peradventure the Lord may grantrepentance to your leaders when they see your good example.
Consider the Tekoites. Consider how they Laboured the harder.
The Men of Jericho
Jericho is situated more than 20 kilometres northeast of Jerusalem. Of allthose who participated in the rebuilding of the wall, the men of Jericho (v. 2)dwelt furthest from Jerusalem. In that sense, it would appear that having awall in Jerusalem would benefit the men of Jericho least. If there was going tobe an impending invasion, for example, it would not be easy for them to flee toJerusalem to benefit from the protection there.
But the men of Jericho came. They could have excused themselves from coming, byappealing both to inconvenience and the fact that they would not reap anyimmediate benefits from the wall. But they came anyway. In doing so, theyexemplified the teachings of Paul: “Look not every man on his own things, butevery man also on the things of others” (Phil 2:4).
In these days of consumerism and selfish individualism, many will be tempted todo only such things as will benefit them directly in tangible ways. Sadly, thisattitude has also crept into the church. Many of us today will join a localchurch as members only when we perceive we can benefit from being members inthe church. And many of us attend worship to receive rather than to ascribeworth and glory to God. One tell-tale sign of this attitude is that eveningworship services for which “interesting topics and speakers” have beenscheduled will generally be better attended than those with “routine” Gospelmessages and regular preachers. In the same way, many of us will be willing toserve in the church in visible capacities rather than in the background. Somany a modern Christian will be keen to be a Sunday School teacher, butreluctant to come early on the Lord’s day to get things in order for theworship service.
But we should rather learn to give without thinking of receiving. The LordHimself teaches us: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
Consider the men of Jericho. Consider how they Look beyond their owninterest.
The Goldsmiths andApothecaries
The goldsmiths, and apothecaries or perfume-makers, were involved in rebuildingthe wall too (vv. 8, 32). These could simply have excused themselves by saying:“We are highly skilled professionals, and the things we do are so refined, howcould we be involved in burdensome work of construction?” But no, they cametoo. The job may be too menial and mundane for their skills. But it did notmatter they could contribute to it nevertheless. They might not know how tobuild, but they were willing to learn.
This is how a church must function. Many of us have special skills, but theseskills are not always needed, or there might be too many persons with the sameskills, in which case we must be willing to serve in another area. “If thewhole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing,where were the smelling?” (1 Cor 12:17). If there is a number of personsskilled in desktop publishing, but only one is needed, then the rest must learnto contribute in other areas. Then again, there are some areas of service inthe church which may require much effort and commitment, but little skills,such as logistic arrangements. Are we willing to contribute in these areas toothough we may have professional secular callings? The Apostle Paul teaches us:“In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Phil2:3b).
Consider the goldsmiths and apothecaries. Consider how they Lowered themselves.
The Daughters of Shallum
Here, a surprising group of builders: women (v. 12). At least it must have beensomewhat surprising for Nehemiah, for he made special mention of them. Shallumthe son of Halohesh was building on a part of the wall. Whether he had sons ornot, we do not know, but one thing is certain, he was building the wall withhis daughters!
Now, we must realise that the work of building the wall is no delicate matter.The wall was probably made up of massive rocks hewn from the surrounding hills.Some of these rocks must have been so huge that they require several men tolift. To make matter worst, Jerusalem sits at the top of a hillock, and whenthe wall was broken down, some of the blocks would have fallen down the slopes,and many of them would be buried under much soil and debris. The builders hadto dig these up, haul them up the hill (they did not have modern machines), andput them back in place and cement them down with limestone mortar. It was avery tedious and, in some sense, dirty job.
The women could easily have excused themselves for their lack of strength, butthey did not. They came, and they contributed to the work. Now, we can applythe example of the women’s contribution generally to encourage those of us whofeel feeble or inhibited to serve because of various limitations, such as verytaxing workloads in the office. But let’s think for a moment of how women cancontribute in the church. Is it true as someone said: “women in a Reformedchurch are to be babysitters and cooks only?” I think not. Though, because ofthe inability of men in these areas, the sisters’ contributions are muchappreciated here, the sisters can help out in many other areas too. Who saysthat only the men can work in the PA team? Who says the women cannot helparrange chairs? Who says women cannot in private conversation help to “expound…the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26)? Who says women cannot contributemuch to the prayer life of the church? Though they should not pray publicly,their agreement in public prayer and their private prayers are invaluable forthe work of the church. And who says, being a godly mother is not serving inthe church in an important role? And besides, is it not true that many aminister of the Gospel has his hands strengthened because of the motherlycounsels and encouragement of older women in the congregations (cf. 1 Tim 5:2).The fact is that every hand and every willing heart in the congregation cancontribute significantly to the work through various legitimate ways.
So let us consider the daughters of Shallum. Consider how they Lend a hand.
The Merchants
The final group of builders we should consider here is the merchants (v. 32).Merchants are essentially businessmen. Most businessmen are opportunists byinstinct and training. This time of great activity as the wall was rebuiltwould certainly be an excellent time for businessmen to make some profit. Theycould, for example, profit by selling trowels and drinks. But they set asidetheir pecuniary interest, and decided to join in the work. By their laying asidetheir selfish ambitions, they exemplified Paul’s instruction to “Let nothing bedone through strife or vainglory” (Phil 2:3a).
Such an attitude in every member is important for the successful building of alocal church. Where the members of the church are pursuing their personalinterests, opinions, and preferences, the church will be bound to be disunited.How could she be united when her members are pursuing their individual agendas,which can be very different? This is why the Lord appoints officers in thechurch to lead the church. The officers, particularly the elders in the church,are responsible to set the direction of the church according to the dictates ofthe Word of God and the state of the flock (Prov 27:23; Jn 21:15–16). Sometimesthey may not represent the majority of the members, and sometimes they may evenset directions for the church, which may not be agreeable to certain members ofthe church. Now, unless the members are convinced by Scripture that the leadersare wrong, they ought to submit to the leadership (cf. Heb 13:17). In otherwords, members should learn to set aside their personal opinions and prejudicesin order to work in concert with the other members in the church according tothe direction and pace set by the appointed officers. This, I believe, is how achurch should function and grow.
Consider the merchants. Consider how they Laid aside theirpersonal interests.
Conclusion
When we look at the varied backgrounds, gifts and stations in life, of theparticipants in the building of the wall, we are reminded of the very importantprinciple of participation in the church. The church is like a body, for as theApostle Paul says: “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all themembers of that one body being many, are one body: so also is Christ” (1 Cor12:12).
Every one of us whom God has placed in the church has an important part tocontribute in the work of the church. Let us consider the builders of the wall,and think for a moment how we too can have a role in the body of Christ
—JJ Lim
