Steak and Crab LegsSometimes you can read a biblical passage and it's like you're devouring a delicious steak at Applebee's; the meat (being the principles of the passage) is right there in front of you, and you can eat it up without much work involved. Other times, however, you can read a biblical passage and it's like you're feasting on crab legs; you have to work to get to the meat, but when you finally crack it open and pull the meat out, it's oh so delicious! (Pardon the analogy if you don't like crab legs, but I love them!) Perhaps Nehemiah chapter three is of the crab leg variety of biblical passages, because unlike chapter two (which basically exudes easy-to-spot principles that are just waiting to jump right off the page at you as you read), the meat of the third chapter is somewhat hidden under a layer of crust that needs to be cracked.
Nehemiah Chapter Three - A Crab Leg Delight
Nehemiah Chapter Three - A Crab Leg Delight
Nehemiah chapter three is entitled, "Builders of the Wall," wherein a long list of builders (including their names, their professions, and where they are from) is supplied. I believe most people might be quick to skip over this chapter in their reading of Nehemiah, or at best they skim over it quickly so they don't feel guilty later, when they're telling someone about how they have read the 'entire' Bible from cover to cover. Ha! However, believe it or not, passages like these are placed in the Bible for a purpose, including those long boring lists of genealogies and such, and often times the meat (principles) can be found once you've done a little 'digging'. Sometimes the 'digging' process doesn't even have to mean using commentaries, Hebrew/Greek word studies, and Bible dictionaries (although I highly recommend the use of these aids as often as you can, when necessary). Sometimes 'digging' simply means reading the passage, focusing on what it is revealing, and then asking, "Why is this piece of information included? What can I possibly take away from this?"
Spiritual Leaders
With that in mind, let's take a look at Nehemiah chapter three. Let's think about it, make a few cracks in the crust, and devour the delicious meat within! For instance, notice how the chapter begins by talking about the role of the priests. The priests are mentioned first; they "went to work and rebuilt the Sheep gate ... set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred ... and as far as the Tower of Hananel" (vs.1). If we think about this passage, we clearly see that the priests (the spiritual leaders of the time) did not consider themselves too 'spiritual' or too 'important' to put their hands to work along with those of whom they spiritually led. This is a principle that can certainly be applied today, where too often spiritual leaders have big egos, enormous pay checks, and absolutely no aptitude for doing things that they have come to feel is beneath their status as a spiritual leader. These same people may be quick to tell others what needs to be done, but then not so quick as to help do the very work they speak of. However, the priests in Nehemiah's time walked the talk! They were the first mentioned among those who labored in the building of the wall. They must have realized that spiritual leaders (like themselves) could not rightly lead anyone to do what they were not willing to do first. This is a principle that we should all adhere to, as we lead others. Every time we challenge our followers, whether we're their teacher, their deacon, their pastor, their youth pastor, their mentor, their parent, their friend, their role model, or simply their brother or sister in Christ, we should make sure that we are willing to put our own hands to work first so that our actions will confirm what we say, and then our actions will compel and inspire our followers more than words ever could.
With that in mind, let's take a look at Nehemiah chapter three. Let's think about it, make a few cracks in the crust, and devour the delicious meat within! For instance, notice how the chapter begins by talking about the role of the priests. The priests are mentioned first; they "went to work and rebuilt the Sheep gate ... set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred ... and as far as the Tower of Hananel" (vs.1). If we think about this passage, we clearly see that the priests (the spiritual leaders of the time) did not consider themselves too 'spiritual' or too 'important' to put their hands to work along with those of whom they spiritually led. This is a principle that can certainly be applied today, where too often spiritual leaders have big egos, enormous pay checks, and absolutely no aptitude for doing things that they have come to feel is beneath their status as a spiritual leader. These same people may be quick to tell others what needs to be done, but then not so quick as to help do the very work they speak of. However, the priests in Nehemiah's time walked the talk! They were the first mentioned among those who labored in the building of the wall. They must have realized that spiritual leaders (like themselves) could not rightly lead anyone to do what they were not willing to do first. This is a principle that we should all adhere to, as we lead others. Every time we challenge our followers, whether we're their teacher, their deacon, their pastor, their youth pastor, their mentor, their parent, their friend, their role model, or simply their brother or sister in Christ, we should make sure that we are willing to put our own hands to work first so that our actions will confirm what we say, and then our actions will compel and inspire our followers more than words ever could.
A Few Other Principles
Chapter three contains other principles. Take for instance the fact that great effort is taken to list everyone involved in building the wall. (1) Just as 1 Corinthians 12 explains, "everyone" is useful and needed in the family of God; we should all be a part of what God is doing, and each of us should build our part of the wall. (2) Nehemiah reveals how people from all kinds of professions helped build the wall, including perfume makers, jewelers, merchants, and others! This principle reveals that no matter your profession, as glorified or as menial as you think it might be, there is a place for you to work alongside everyone else in the kingdom of God. Kingdom work is not reserved just for the priests and spiritual leaders! (3) Nehemiah mentions those few who refused to partake in building the wall (vs. 5). The nobles of Tekoa would not "put their shoulders to the work." This little fact reminds us that in every church, youth ministry, community, family, and situation in which God is using people to do a great work for his glory, there will always be those among us (even inside our own camp) who are at odds with the mission. For whatever reason, these nobles did not want to participate, possibly because they felt the work was beneath them (as elite members), or they didn't agree with the plans, or they wanted to be in charge (and yet, as the passage makes clear, they were not the supervisors). But no matter the reason, notice what didn't happen as a result of their lack of participation. - Nehemiah and the gang did NOT battle with them, take them to court, or try to force their hand in the situation. Having done so might have stirred up a mess and thwarted the mission altogether. Instead, these few were apparently overlooked and ignored as the mission went forward. This is a principle we can apply to our own situations. Instead of fighting it out and bickering with those who are not on the band wagon, concerning God's work in a particular situation, we would do well to overlook them (as far as their inactivity goes) and continue moving forward with those whom God has provided to carry out his mission.
The Dung Gate
While there are several other principles that can be extracted from Nehemiah chapter three, I don't want to belabor this posting by trying to list them all (as you can no doubt discover them for yourself as you study the passage, crack the crust, and pull out the meat). However, I feel as though I would be remiss if I did not conclude this posting with perhaps my favorite principle from this passage. It involves the construction of the Dung Gate, made by "Malkijah son of Recab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem" (vs 14). Malkijah, to whom I will henceforth refer to as "The Man" (because he was "The Man," in the cool sense of that term, and because I won't even pretend I know how to pronounce his real name), constructed a gate that was used solely for taking trash and refuse out of the city to be burned. In the Hebrew, the word "Dung" literally means "ash heap". 'The Man' could not have had a less glorified task in the building of the wall, and yet he no doubt did his duty without complaint. Moreover, he was a district ruler's son, and yet he did not go about asking to construct the prestigious main entrance gate that was within proximity to a beautiful water fountain. He was content to build the gate near the trash, the ashes, and the rotten odors, and I'm sure he took pride in his work just like every one of the other builders. The principle we can pull from this passage is simply this: Let's not be too eager to serve in the glorified positions, as those of lesser glory are equally valuable and just as needed! Just imagine if 'The Man' had refused to rebuild the Dung Gate or failed to complete it because it wasn't the most special and glorified place to be building; no doubt the city would have been vulnerable to attack from enemies, and trash would probably have begun to make its way into the city with no clearly defined gate and walls marking where the burning was to take place. 'The Man' knew that the Dung Gate and portion of the wall was just as important as the other more glorified areas of the wall. Too often, we forget this is true today; we forget that stuffing pews with literature, handing out bulletins, making phone calls, cleaning the church, taking care of babies, greeting visitors, visiting the elderly in nursing homes, and a million other duties that are perceived to be menial are just as important and necessary as those tasks that are perceived to be more glorified, like preaching, singing in the praise band, and teaching a Bible study. Like 'The Man,' we need to do whatever the task God sets before us, whether glorified or not, and we should do it to the best of our ability, as unto the Lord. (Who's 'The Man?' Are you?)
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