The People Had A Mind To Work

I. Introduction:

[!NOTE] Primary Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 2:15-18

II. Background

A. Return from captivity

B. In 586 B.C., the Babylonian Army under King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, took the Jews captive, and resettled them in other lands. In 536 B.C., The Persian Empire conquered the Babylonian Empire and allowed all captured people to return to their homeland.

C. Jewish return

D. In 536 B.C., Zerubbabel led 42, 360+ to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple In 458 B.C., Ezra took 1,354+ to Jerusalem to restore proper worship In 445 B.C., Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to oversee construction to rebuild the protection wall around Jerusalem.

III. Rebuilding the Temple

A. Zerubbabel began temple construction soon after arriving in Jerusalem

B. The rebuilding process ran into some major problems

C. Ezra 3:10-12 – Many of the old were disappointed because the new temple would not be as good as the temple they remembered from their youth. Ezra 4:2-3 – Enemies of God’s people who worshipped God in error tried to join Judah and have a say in the construction of the temple. Ezra 4:4-5 – The enemies tried to discourage the Jews from working Ezra 4:6 – The enemies tried to turn the Persian king against Judah Ezra 4:23 – Eventually the enemies of God stopped the work by force

D. For about 10 years the work of the temple was stopped until the prophets of God pointed out the real reason they quit working—they quit caring.

E. Haggai 1:2-4 – Judah lived in comfort and ease and God’s work was undone The people began to rebuild the temple and when the enemies tried to stop the work, Judah overcame their opposition. The people finally determined to God’s work and the temple was built.

IV. Rebuilding the wall

A. Nehemiah’s motivation

B. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king—a very important position since he would have to make sure the king’s food and drink were not poisoned. Nehemiah 1:3 – Nehemiah heard that Jerusalem’s protection wall was broken and so Judah was vulnerable to her enemies Nehemiah prayed for an opportunity to fix the problem and then asked the king for permission to go to Jerusalem to oversee construction of the wall. God answered his prayer and the king granted his request.

C. Nehemiah’s appraisal

D. Nehemiah examined the wall at night with a few men to determine the extent of the damage. He then told the priests, nobles, and officials of his plan to rebuild the walls. Nehemiah 2:18 – the officials determined to rebuild the wall.

E. Observations on the people’s work

F. Sometimes we skip over Nehemiah 3 when studying this book because it only appears to tell who worked where but there are some interesting points made if one will examine the text.

G. Nehemiah 3:5 – the nobles of the Tekoites did not work

H. The nobles probably thought they were too good to get into the work They may have been some of the same nobles who, in 2:18, decided that rebuilding the wall would be a good thing to do. Even today, some want the benefits without working themselves. Some just do not want to work and will let others do what must be done.

I. Nehemiah 3:12

J. In contrast to the Tekoite nobles, Shallum, leader of half of the district of Jerusalem, joined in the work. Even Shallum’s daughters worked on the wall though the women were often not expected to do such work. Nehemiah 3:17 – even the Levitical priests worked Nehemiah 3:27 – The Tekoites did work in addition to what was required Nehemiah 3:31 – the goldsmith became a common laborer to rebuild

K. Judah had opposition to the work

L. Nehemiah 4:1-3 – Enemies taunted them and belittled their work

M. The enemies of God planned to attack Judah

N. Nehemiah 4:14 – He told the people to trust God Nehemiah 4:16 – The people prepared to defend their work In 52 days, the wall was completed.

O. Nehemiah 4:6 – Reason for success: people had a mind to work

P. Douay-Rheims: “So we built the wall, and joined it all together unto the half thereof: and the heart of the people was excited to work.” Holman: “So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working.”

V. Application to us

A. God has given His children work to do individually and jointly in the church

B. The attitudes that helped Judah do its work will serve us well

C. See problems to be solved and work to be done and get busy

D. Everyone must be involved

E. Ephesians 4:16 – the church grows when everyone works Cannot be like the nobles who will reap the benefits from other’s labor. The young can work in the kingdom; “work that we all can do”80/20 rule should never apply to God’s people; should be 100/100. Trust in God’s way, work according to His will, and pray for His help We can be successful in God’s work if we have a mind to work, not just good intentions.

F. Like Ezra and Nehemiah, we need a plan of action to outline how we will do what God has commanded us to do.

G. The elders have published a plan that outlines the work that Northwood will be doing in order to accomplish God’s work. This is not a creed, statement of faith, or law but a plan of action. There is much work that we must do and this document will allow every member to know what is being done, what are of work for which each deacon is accountable, and ideas for what each member can do. Sometimes the elders have a service to discuss the plans for the year; this is a written copy so that one can have access to the information throughout the year. As with all plans, some things may need to be revised; next year things may be added and other things taken out. This is simply an expedient way for the elders to communicate to the congregation how we hope to accomplish the work God has commanded us to do as a church. I hope each member will prayerfully consider what has been written and determine to do his or her part to do God’s work We will all give an account to our Lord for our labor in His kingdom. If you have a question or concern about anything in the work plan go to the elders and discuss it with them.

H. We must overcome any opposition

I. We may be discouraged because the work here is not like some place where we once attended but we must not compare different places. Enemies on the outside and possibly from among our number my try to thwart God’s work; we must do His will anyway and stand for truth.

J. Enemies on the outside and possibly from among our number may try to discourage us.

K. We must not let others move our hearts by snide remarks or ridicule. Some never have a word of encouragement or are always critical of efforts to do God’s will; if it is not scriptural, ignore it—critics don’t build anything but have destroyed many things. Israel did not enter the Promised Land because some of their brethren opposed them with force of arms—they gave up because some simply told their brethren all the reasons they could not take the land.

L. We cannot be like Judah who lived in comfortable homes and preferred to stay there when there was work to be done at the house of God.

M. The very things that give us comfort at home—comfortable furniture, TV’s, entertainment—may be the golden shackles Satan uses to bind our hands and feet so that we do not work in God’s vineyard. Comforts of home should refresh us, not enmesh us.

VI. Conclusion: There is much to do, will you do it? Do you have a mind to work? Some work hard but all need to work. It is a problem that Jesus saw and prayed about: Matthew 9:37-38. Will you fulfill Jesus’ prayer for harvesters and laborers?