T-63 - Faithful Service

When I last wrote on Nehemiah, before Easter, Nehemiah had led the remnant in Jerusalem to begin rebuilding the city wall. As with any task of this size, the efforts of the workers did not go unnoticed. Consider…

Nehemiah 2:19-20 (NIV)
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 I answered them by 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 or any claim or historic right to it.”
[1]

Yes, the work did not go unnoticed. And in fact, anytime we undertake a task directed by The Spirit, we too shall confront such as Sanballat, Tobiah and Gesham. Indeed, the work of believers will often be ridiculed and questioned by nonbelievers. This in fact is not their ‘fault’ for they are simply responding to the direction of he whom they follow; the prince of lies, of deceit and of deception. Scripture teaches us that anytime we come to serve the Lord, we must be prepared for temptation.

Sometimes this temptation appears in the form of something ‘good’ which prevents our efforts on something ‘great.’ Sometimes, it presents as a question of our intention or of our own abilities from external sources. It may appear as a question of our own worthiness rising up from inside. No matter it’s characteristics, the source of such questions is Satan and the purpose of such temptations is to render us ineffective.

In the instance presented in the text today, observers questioned the allegiance of Nehemiah and that of his fellow workers. They of course were questioning Nehemiah’s allegiance to the earthly king without regard to his allegiance to the King of Kings! But Nehemiah seized the opportunity to render a lesson to these non-believers.

Rather than defend the efforts of the worker based on the authority granted him by King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah answers with the assurance of a man of faith; “The God of heaven will give us success.” The success of the workers is not grounded in the authority of the king of the provisions of the men serving the earthly king but rather in the power wielded by God alone. And in this, in fact, the king Artaxerxes and all his men and resources are simply being used by God to accomplish God’s will in the rebuilding of a city. Nehemiah goes on to comment that “We his servants will start rebuilding…”

I think this fragment is important. Nehemiah did not say that they ‘would rebuild’ but that they would ‘start rebuilding.’ Nehemiah answered as a man dependent upon God and fully aware that his appointment was to ‘begin’ the project and not necessarily to finish the project. By this, we can clearly see that Nehemiah is devoted to God and not to the project of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. This speaks volumes as to the character and posture of Nehemiah and provides and example from which we may draw many important lessons.

The further response of Nehemiah, “but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it”, sets the record straight for those who are not part of God’s family. True enough that these three naysayers were nothing more than ‘carpetbaggers’ who profited from the destruction of Jerusalem but more importantly is the underlying concept that the non-believer has no right to the kingdom of God and indeed, shall not come into its possession.

From this then, I conclude that people of faith, those that have been grafted onto the family tree of Abraham, must diligently discharge their responsibilities with respect to the calling of God upon their life; that any who have a claim to the kingdom of God must be about rebuilding the walls of the new Jerusalem according to His purposes; that a man of faith depends upon God but takes decisive action as required and that a believer must be willing to speak the truth in the face of adversity.

As I conclude my study of this text in Nehemiah, I am convinced that God wants people who serve him faithfully. God wants his children to serve faithfully in the face of obstacles and opposition, despite hardship and temptation and in the face of danger or adversity. God calls us, each by name, to be fully His. He equips his children with everything necessary to accomplish the task He has appointed. He enables his servants with everything needed to be successful in their pursuit of His glory and His kingdom. We then, as Nehemiah, must simply start for God will finish.

שָׁלֹם

Carl
[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.