BACKGROUND:
Nehemiah knew there was no way he could share with the people in Jerusalem what God led him to accomplish without first doing some research and planning. After taking time (three days), presumably to think, pray, and get acquainted with some people there, he took a few men into his confidence, men he could trust.
Then he made a careful survey of the walls to analyze the problem he faced. He did so at night, apparently to avoid letting others know his plans before they were firmly fixed in his mind. During these night hours he gained perspective and developed an effective plan to accomplish the task he had come to Jerusalem to perform. In his nighttime inspection he rode his horse or mule from the Valley Gate in the southwest wall east to the Jackal Well, the site of which is unknown, and to the Dung Gate in the southeast part of the city.
Possibly this is the same as the Potsherd Gate. The Fountain Gate was north of the Dung Gate on the eastern wall. The King’s Pool may be the same as the Pool of Siloam which was near the King’s Garden, or the King’s Pool may have been south of the Pool of Siloam. Apparently the rubble there kept him from proceeding on his mount so he went up the valley (probably the Kidron Valley east of the city). Either he went all round the entire wall or, more likely, he retraced his steps from the eastern wall. He went back into the city at his starting place, the Valley Gate.
After Nehemiah had completed his secret survey and was satisfied that he had developed a workable plan, the time had come to reveal to the Jews why he was in Jerusalem. First he challenged them to notice their deplorable circumstances, which had brought them trouble and disgrace. Then he challenged them to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and followed his challenge with a personal testimony as to how God’s gracious hand had granted him favor before King Artaxerxes.
When Nehemiah gave his challenge, the people’s negative feelings became positive. Despair turned to hope. They responded and began the rebuilding process.
Apparently word spread quickly regarding the Jews’ response to Nehemiah’s challenge. As soon as their enemies heard the news they stepped up their efforts to hinder the process. They used every demoralizing technique they knew, beginning with ridicule and the suggestion that they were rebels. Joining Sanballat and Tobiah was Geshem the Arab.
But Nehemiah was ready for their insidious attack. He affirmed that the God of heaven would enable them to succeed. The Jews, God’s servants, would rebuild, but the three opponents had no share or claim (present) or historic right (past) to the city.Once again Nehemiah brought the task—both in the eyes of Judah and his enemies—into clear focus. Their dependence was not to be on their abilities, human resources, or personal genius. Their hope was in the God of heaven!
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
Success is never a one-man show. Nehemiah knew that he could not rebuild the wall without the help of other people. When he goes to Jerusalem, the people are defeated, apathetic, living among ruins. Twice before in the last ninety years somebody has tried to rebuild the wall. They've failed twice. They have no confidence. They're negative. For 90+ years they've been saying it can't be done. Nehemiah arrives on the scene and within a matter of days he has rallied the support of the entire city. He puts them together, mobilizes them, and rebuilds the wall in 52 days.
Let's look at how Nehemiah faced the challenge before him.
Whenever You Set Out To Do Something for God….
#1. EXPECT OPPOSITION
The fact is that the moment you say, "Let's do something," someone will jump up and say, "Let's don't." When God's people rise and say, "Let's build," Satan says, "Let's arise and oppose."
Some people are naturally resistant to change. They don't like it. They want the status quo, which is probably Latin for "the mess we're in".
Nehemiah 2:10 says, "When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this they were very much disturbed that some would come to promote the welfare of Israel." He names two leaders of the opposition. You'll find these people all through the book of Nehemiah. Sanballat was the governor of Samaria, Tobiah was the leader of the Ammonites. Nehemiah has not even arrived in Jerusalem yet and there's already opposition.
I Corinthians 16:8-9 says, "I will stay here at Ephesus. There is a real opportunity here for a great while and a worthwhile work, even though there are many opponents." Circle "opportunity" and "opponents".
First leadership law today: There is no opportunity without opposition. If you're going to help change people or change the situation, expect opposition.
v. 19 "But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked us and ridiculed us." Another guy is now mentioned. In v. 10, before Nehemiah arrived there was just Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite. Now we notice the opposition has expanded to include a third party. Opposition usually grows as the project continues. First there are only two opponents, then a third party.
As we get further into Nehemiah we find six different sources of opposition. He got it from every side! The opposition's first strategy: "They mocked and ridiculed us." They laughed! Those Jews are never going to get it built. They haven't done it in ninety years; they won't do it now. The second thing they do is they accused them of rebelling against the king. This excuse had been used before. Ezra 4:13 -- that was the very accusation that got the wall stopped the last time. It had worked before when Ezra was trying to get it rebuilt. The opposition went to the king and said, "The Jews are rebuilding the wall. Once they get it rebuilt, forget any more taxes from those people." Then the king issued his decree: No more wall rebuilding. It had worked before, they tried again. Rebuilding the wall is rebelling against the king, King Artaxerxes. But now it didn't work. The reason it didn't work now is because Nehemiah is on the scene. And Nehemiah is no pushover.
V. 20 "And I answered them saying, `The God of heaven will give us success. We, His servants, will start rebuilding. But as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem, any claim or historic right to it." Nehemiah refused to argue. If you're wise you will not argue with the opposition. Instead he points out that it's God's project and God's idea. V. 12 he said "I had not told anyone what God had put in my heart to do." God put the burden on him. It wasn't his idea to rebuild the wall, it was God's idea. Since it was God's idea they would trust Him for its success. That's confidence. He answers the opposition quickly and confidently.
I John 3:13 says, "Don't be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you." If you start working for God, expect opposition. Anybody who does anything is going to be ridiculed. The moment you hang your sign out, somebody is going to start throwing rocks at it. The only way to not be criticized in life is to do nothing, be nothing, and say nothing. If you decide that you're going to live for Jesus Christ at work, school, or any other place, somebody is going to start laughing at you. Count on it! They're going to ridicule you. Let them laugh! They will question your motives.
People will question your motives just like they questioned Nehemiah's. "Are you an empire builder? Are you on some ego trip, trying to do what nobody else has done in ninety years?" That's part of the price of being a leader.
Leadership Law: Satan’s most common tool of attack is discouragement. This is why we are commanded over and over again in scripture to encourage people. Listen to Hebrews 3:13 – “day after day, as long as it is called today, encourage one another…”
People will oppose you. Kites rise against the wind not with it! Salmon swim upstream against the current, not with it! GO AGAINST THE FLOW!!!!
Whenever You Set Out To Do Something for God….
#2. WAIT FOR GOD’S TIMING
V. 11 says "I went to Jerusalem and after staying there three days I set out..." He stops for three days. Nehemiah does not make some grand entrance, flash the flags, bands playing, arrives in on a white horse. He doesn't proclaim, "I'm here to save the day. Now get to work!" When he arrives in Jerusalem, the first thing he doesn't do is get brick and mortar together. He didn't even announce why he was there. He did nothing for three days.
He arrives with a king's escort, into a town that is defeated and discouraged. He goes to his home and says nothing for three days. Don't you think that caused a little curiosity? Do you think the existing power structures in Jerusalem said, "What is this guy here for? What is he going to be doing?" For three days the speculation is rising. What is Nehemiah doing? By the third day everybody has heard of Nehemiah. He's actually using the delay to his advantage. He's using it for psychological build up so that when he presents the proposal, they'll be ready to listen.
Ecclesiastes 3:7 says "There is a time to be silent and a time to speak." Ecclesiastes 8:6 says, "There is a right time and a right way to do everything." Underline "right time". If you're going to share in changing a life or a situation, you've got to wait for the right timing. Jesus had a profound sense of timing in the ministry. Different times in His life He would say, "It's not time yet. My time has not yet come."
In v. 12-16 we have Nehemiah's research party of actually going out and inspecting the walls of Jerusalem. You've heard of Paul Revere's midnight ride. This is Nehemiah's midnight ride.
In v. 12 he says, "I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding. By night I went out through the Valley Gate to the Jackel Well and the Dung Gate examining the walls of Jerusalem which had been broken down and its gates had been destroyed by fire."
He goes on and explains how at midnight he's out traveling around the walls of the city, actually inspecting. He is personally inspecting the damage in the middle of the night. He only takes a small group with him. He obviously didn't want to attract attention.
Every good leader knows exactly what Nehemiah is doing here. He is doing his homework. His background checks. This is the lonely part of leadership, the un-glamorous part of leadership. It's the part nobody ever hears about. It's the guy doing his preparation, checking out the situation, getting the facts. v. 14 says there was so much rubble he even had to get off his horse and walk through it. At this point the size of the project probably starts to sink in and he thinks, "This is worse than I thought. Why did I volunteer for this? I've never built anything in my life."
V. 16 says "The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews, or the priests, or the nobles, or the officials or any other who would be doing the work."
Why is he being so secretive about this survey? Because he didn't want the plan to be stalled before it got out of the starting gate. There had been 90 years of negativism and he didn't have all the facts yet. Is it easier to promote a good idea or kill a good idea? Have you noticed that negative people tend to be more vocal than positive people? Nehemiah doesn't have all the facts yet so he says before I even announce what I'm going to be doing, I'm going to get the facts.
Finally,
#3. UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROBLEM
He comes to the people: "I've got some stuff to tell you but first the bad news." Rather than minimizing the problem, he emphasizes it.
V. 17 "Then I said to them, `You see the trouble we're in? Jerusalem lies in ruins and it's gates have been burned with fire. Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace."
These are emotional word pictures he uses here. "The place lies in ruin ... burned with fire ... we're in disgrace." He's lays out the seriousness of the situation. Why? Because these guys had been living with this for years.
Isn't it a fact of life that when you live with a bad situation long enough, you start ignoring it? If something breaks in your house the first two or three weeks it really bugs you; six months later it's still broken. When you live with a situation long enough you can become apathetic about how it is. In this third step, Nehemiah refocuses their attention to the problem "We have got a mess." He's getting them to face the facts.
Leaders face the facts; and leaders help others to face the facts. Change never occurs until we become discontent. If you want to create change in your school, work, home, office -- one of the marks of a leader is he creates discontent.
If you're content you don't want to change anything. That means you're going to have to put up with some criticism, because anyone who stirs the pot, rocks the boat, is in trouble. They're shaking up the status quo. That's the mark of the leader.
When Nehemiah states the problem he does not use external motivators. We're going to rebuild this wall; whoever gets their section done first gets an all expense paid vacation to the Dead Sea! He doesn't use external things. The older you get, the less external motivations work. External motivators work great on kids. But the older you get those kinds of motivators don't work anymore.
Leadership Law: The greatest motivation in life is not external, nor internal, but eternal. Nehemiah says, "Let's rebuild the wall for the glory of God! So God's name is not in disgrace. Let's rebuild the wall for the kingdom of God and for the glory of His people." He challenges them with the right kind of motivations.
For all of us - Let's build COV into the church that shakes the world for Christ. Let's build COV into the church that will reach the San Ramon Valley for Christ. Are you willing?
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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