Nehemiah 3:13

Nehemiah 3:13 says, The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate.  This was another person who was not an inhabitant of Jerusalem but was involved in rebuilding the wall.  None of us are born into the family of God but are reborn into His family if we are a part of it and we should be willing to do God’s work wherever we are needed.

Verse fourteen adds, But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.  The section Malchiah rebuilt and the door he set was not a glorious section, but the door by which garbage was removed.  We should never feel that we are too good to do even the most lowly of jobs in the church if God calls us to do them.  This may not have been a glorious job, but it was a necessary one. 

Verse fifteen continues, But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David.  Shallun was a ruler, but he didn’t believe himself to be above doing the manual labor necessary to help rebuild the walls and gates.  He put in the doors to the gate of the fountain and also rebuilt the wall of the pool of Siloah.  He made sure the wall could be secured and that there was a secure access to into the city as well.  We need to secure the church from those who would destroy it, but we also need to ensure that people have access to the church through faith Jesus Christ, the only way which is available to enter into God’s kingdom. 

Verse sixteen concludes, After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty.  Nehemiah was another ruler who was at work.  He rebuilt the wall next to the burial place of David and the other kings who had died and to the pool that was before it.  We don’t need to worry about the tombs of those Christians who have gone before us, even if they were powerful leaders of Christianity, since as with Jesus Christ, they are not a person’s final resting place.  I am not saying that we shouldn't keep cemeteries up, but simply that one day they will be empty and of no importance in the Kingdom of God.  Of course, for any of this to apply to a person, he or she must first accept Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior and Lord.

 

Nehemiah 3:6

Nehemiah 3:6 says, Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.  Two people were said to have rebuilt the old gate.  We as Christians may often need to work together, so that we can accomplish what needs to be done for God and not for praise for ourselves.  Still, some people seem to want all the credit for themselves and are not willing to work if someone else is going to share the credit or receive equal praise. 

Verse seven adds, And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river.  The next section also had two men named as the rebuilders, so there was more than one section that needed more than one person to do the work, just as there are many things that we as followers of Christ need more than one person to working to accomplish.  Our main call is to share the gospel, and we all need to be at work doing this, not so we can be praised, but so that people may be saved, and God may be glorified.  

Verse eight continues, Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.  This verse lists two people, but they were working on two different areas, and they had different abilities.  One was a goldsmith and one we would call a pharmacist.  No matter what we may do for a living, we as Christians all need to be doing the work of God in the world, and no one is better than anyone else in doing it. 

Verse nine states, And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem.  Rephaiah, who was repairing the next section, is referred to as a ruler of half of Jerusalem.  He may have been a ruler, but he didn’t view himself as too good to help in the work.  Our position in the world should never make us think we are too good to do even the hardest work to advance God’s kingdom.  Matthew Henry points out that he might have been ruler of only half of Jerusalem because the Persian government didn’t want one person to have too much power and if two were appointed, one could keep watch on the other.  We may not have the government appointing us to places of service in the church, but we may need to watch over each other to make sure that one person does not try to become too powerful, feeling that he or she is better than everyone else or that God can work only through them. 

Verse ten continues, And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.  We aren’t told of the status of these two men, but they were just as important as the rulers or the craftsmen, if they weren’t so themselves.  God needs all His people to be at work for His kingdom today, no matter what our qualifications may be.  God will equip us to do what He calls us to do. 

Verse eleven says, Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces.  We have two men who again are listed as working together to repair the next section, and as already stated, we need to work together to make sure that all the work of God is done today. 

Verse twelve adds, And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.  Now, we have the ruler of the other half part of Jerusalem and his daughters listed as rebuilding the next section of the wall.  Whether we are male or female as Christians, we are all to work together to do the work of the church today.  Of course, to do God’s work, we must first be a part of His family, and the only way to be a son or daughter of God is to put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  

 

Nehemiah 3:1

Nehemiah 3:1 says, Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.  The high priests and his brother priests rebuilt the sheep gate.  They didn’t consider themselves above doing the actual work.  No matter how high up we might be in the church organization, we need to be willing to do the work that needs doing and never believe that it is beneath us to do so.  After rebuilding the sheep gate, they sanctified it.  We should always sanctify our work to God.  They set up doors in the gate, but we today need to open doors to anyone who would become a part of God’s kingdom by putting their faith in Jesus Christ. 

Verse two adds, And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.  The work on the different parts of the wall was being done by several different groups.  The men of Jerico even helped rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  They were working with Zaccur, who was a Levite.  God’s work is not exclusive to anyone based on where they were born, but it is to be shared in by all believers, no matter how we may be divided physically. 

Verse three continues, But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.  The sons of Hassenaah completely rebuilt the fish gate.  It seems this group worked alone on this particular project, but they were still a part of the overall work.  From what I can find out, Hassenaah meant the Hated One, but his sons were working to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  I do know that what the world may view us as shouldn’t keep us from joining in with other Christians to do God’s work. 

Verse four states, And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana.  As stated, many different people were involved and working on different sections of the wall.  We will also see that later, some of these men went to work on other sections.  We need to be working together to ensure that all of God’s work gets done, and if we complete one part, we need to move on to the next.  Of course, this all needs to be done under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Verse five adds, And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.  The nobles of Tekoa did no work to help repair the walls of Jerusalem.   I believe that too often today those who consider themselves to be higher up in the view of the world expect those that they view to be beneath them to do the work of the church while they sit back and relax.  I am not saying this is true of all more affluent people, as we will see that many nobles were doing the work, but it seems to be true of too many.  We need to understand that as followers of Christ, we all have the responsibility to do whatever needs to be done to accomplish God’s work and bring Him honor and glory, no matter our status in life or even with a local fellowship of believers.  The first step as always, though, is to become a part of that fellowship of believers, and the only way to do that is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.