Lessons from Nehemiah, Part 2

Oct 24: Lessons from Nehemiah by Bob Jamison, Director of Family Guidance, Inc.

This past Sunday we looked at Nehemiah, Chapter 3.

The names are hard to pronounce and there are a lot of them. By listing them, Nehemiah is making several points:

a) He shows that they were a team – it’s like the movie credits at the end of a movie – everyone who participated in the project is listed as a participant.

b) Listing the details establishes the credibility of the document, and the event itself.

c) The names are there to remind others of the sacrifice the workers made, to inspire the same sense of participation and sacrifice.

Who responded to the call to build the wall? If you are tuned to a certain “frequency” or call to mission (for example, helping the homeless) then participate! But if your passion/call is something else (for instance, or teaching children to read) then follow that passion.

The people:

- The “daughters” (Neh 3:12). Usually women didn’t count for much, but here the women wanted to be part of the effort.

- the men of Tekoa, except not the nobles (Neh 3:5). Why did the nobles not participate? – too proud, too noble, too lazy?

- the people repaired “their” section – near their own homes. But there is still mutual accountability – all the holes in the wall had to be repaired for each family to be protected.

The Gates:

The Sheep Gate – sheep entered the city there.

The Fish Gate – fish were brought to market through this gate.

Dung Gate – the Waste Management division.

Every project has a dung gate – the job that nobody else wants. The “dung gate” job is just as important to God as the Sheep Gate and the Fish Gate jobs. A prime example is Jesus, who chose to be the servant and live among those who would mock, reject, and kill him.