The Long View: By Tim Kernan
Nehemiah 4:1-14
1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 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?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!”
4 Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of [a] the builders.
6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. 9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
10 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.”
11 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.”
12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
13 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. 14 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 brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
This is an amazing and encouraging passage. After Zerubbabel’s 50 000 member mission team and Ezras 5000 member mission team, the arrival of Nehemiah brought the wall up to only at half of its height with many large gaps. They were only half way done even after the people had worked “with all their heart”! Tobiah the Ammonite even commented that a fox could break down what they had built with their tears, sweat and blood. The truth of the matter was that he was probably right. A fragile wall, only half of its height, with large gaps is of zero military value. Yet Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the men of Ashdod could clearly see the potential and the danger of a strong Jerusalem so the work done on its walls by the feeble Jews drew their attention like a moth to a flame.
Almost worse than their “enemies” were the “people of Judah” who’s faithless perspective focused on the abilities of men and not the abilities of God. To them it was impossible for the small remnant to rebuild the wall. It seemed that every time a fox came along the wall would crumble and they would have to start over! Then the Jews who lived “near them” came and warned them that wherever YOU turn they will kill US! Its an interesting way to say wherever YOU turn they will kill YOU! Of course the Jews who lived “near them” weren’t going to be there when the attacks came because they weren’t going to be helping with the wall… With friends like that, who needs enemies!
I’m deeply impressed by Nehemiah’s approach to the situation. The first thing he does is pray. The second thing he does is re-organize the people at key spots on the wall and the third thing he does is remind them of how deadly important this battle is. It’s that kind of leadership that reminds us there are no leadership problems, only leadership challenges. Instead of panicking he took the long view and the faithful view.
In London when I read this passage to the church I see eyes well up with tears even before I explain it. After pouring out all of our dreams, all of our hope, all of our faith and working with all of our hearts the wall is only half way up. It has gaps and it seems that almost monthly, Satan’s little fox scampers along the wall and financial challenges, experience challenges, and yes even sin and maturity challenges can make us feel like we are starting over from scratch. It’s discouraging when we feel like we are even letting friends down.
That being said, it’s not about us and our wall, its about what God can do. In the past couple weeks I’ve put a lot of pressure on Lianne, the London leadership and the church as a whole to perform, especially in the area of baptisms. I was hoping that we could give the machine a little shake and get it working again. However there were no baptisms and most of the 18 people we were studying with did not have the conviction or courage to make the decision for Christ. I realize that my worldly perspective will not take the church to where we need to go and pressure and panic can actually destroy the work we have done so far.
The first thing I did was have an awesome time with God in the park in front of my flat at Wood Green. Lianne and I took turns with Junior so we could take advantage of our day off. Then in all our times with the leaders we re-organized, rescheduled, re-invigorated, re-thought and combed through everything we do as a church. We simplified and focused our efforts. One decision we came to is that, as a church, will have an evangelism time before every d-time. Also, we are going to change the way we look at the people we disciple. Instead of only treating their problems we are going to call them all to the same standards that we have as leaders. A handful of people can be exhausting to disciple if they are not being called to the same standard and expecting fruit from them. It’s safe to say that Jesus was the nicest guy to ever live yet even he was willing to cut off branches that bore no fruit (John 15: 1-7). Some of our best leaders were getting taken burnt out because they were giving everything they had without calling the members to “deny themselves daily and follow” Jesus (Luke 14). This sentimentality was stealing their zeal for the mission. Disciples are not liabilities, they are assets.
Lastly, this Sunday in the sermon and in the leaders meeting I reminded the church how much we have to lose. We need to remember that we are fighting for our families, physical and spiritual, and that the Kingdom we are building is worth every sacrifice.
The people under Nehemiah worked with all their hearts, built a “two steps forward – one step back” wall (that had gaps), they had enemies who could see the potential of their work even when sometimes they could not. They felt like they were letting down their friends (who were not terribly encouraging either) but it was all planned by God so that they would count on Him. Eventually they got to the point spiritually where they were not saying: “there is a god but look at all my problems”. Instead they were saying “Look at all my problems BUT THERE IS A GOD!”
It was at that point that God demonstrated His power. The wall went up and the gaps were closed in 55 days. An incredible miracle of God! (Nehemiah 6:15-16) Do you still believe in miracles?
I especially want to lift up our awesome brothers in Congo, Ethiopia and Kenya who are experiencing much the same struggles as we are in London. Brothers, God is keeping us humble so he can do even greater things with us! Let’s learn our lessons quickly so we can get to the miracles! We are so proud of you and we are right there building with you. I am personally hoping to be back in Africa in February. Please pray for it!
Its my sincere prayer that this week we will all first go to God in prayer, then recommit ourselves to our bible talks and fellow disciples who are building the Kingdom and protecting the gaps. I pray that deep in our hearts we have the courage to face all our problems, even write them all down, and confidently say: BUT THERE IS A GOD!
Love,
Tim
