The Wall Is Finished But Nehemiah's Work Isn't

As we begin Nehemiah 7, we are halfway through the book of Nehemiah. This is a good place to do a Biblical time period check of where we are in the greater story of God’s plan of redemption.

What is the historical context of Nehemiah 7?

We are in the post-exilic period, which covers the years from 539 BC to the birth of Jesus. The 500 years are divided into four periods.

The Four Historical Periods

• Persian Period. This is where we are in our story of Nehemiah. This time period began in 539 BC and lasted over 200 years. It is during this period that the last books of the Old Testament are completed. The book of Nehemiah is the last historical book before the 400-year silence between the Old and the New Testaments, and it covers the time period of about 432-400 BC. The book of Malachi is the last prophetic book. It was most likely written in 430 BC.
• Greek Period: Under Alexander the Great, this period began in 331 BC and lasted over 150 years. There are no Biblical accounts during this period or the next, hence the 400 years of silence.
• Maccabean or Hasmonean Period: In 167 BC the Jewish people revolted against Greece and gained independence. This was the last time Jews would be under self-rule until the modern state of Israel in 1948.
• Roman Period: This is the period we are most familiar with, because the New Testament overlaps it covering from about 5 BC to around 95 AD when the apostle John wrote Revelation.

The Persian Period

Now let’s get back to the Persian period, where we will find Nehemiah and the last historical written record of the Old Testament before that stretch of silence. Despite the opposition, God prevails and Nehemiah perseveres. After about 140 years of lying in ruin, the 2.5 miles of wall are rebuilt. It’s a testament to God’s divine intervention, Nehemiah’s strong leadership, and the people’s renewed faith.

With the wall rebuilt, the tables are turned. Jerusalem is protected. The people, Temple, and covenant are all a lot safer. Now the opposition is afraid. Not because Nehemiah threatened or ridiculed them, but because they are afraid of what God has done. The nations realize the return of the people has brought about a return of their God, and there are enough God stories from the past to scare them. Stories of parting seas, slaying angels, and falling walls. Stories we still tell today!

Is the opposition over?

The opposition never ends, and it won’t end until Satan is silenced once and for all. So in Nehemiah 6:17-19 Tobiah is still at it because he knows people. This is about family connections. Connections that never should have happened had the Israelites not intermarried.

You see, Tobiah is an Ammonite, but he married the Jewish daughter of a returned exile Shekaniah. Tobiah’s son Jehohanan is married to a Jewish woman, the daughter of Meshullam. Therefore, Tobiah is a son-in-law in one Jewish noble family and a father-in-law in another Jewish noble family.

Tobiah’s Jewish family relations are sending letters to Nehemiah trying to convince him that Tobiah is a good guy. But Nehemiah is not having it. Really, what kind of pressure can letters from a few noble families create when you have letters of your own with the support and protection from Artaxerxes, the King of Persia?

Opposition in Nehemiah

The author, Nehemiah, clearly wants us to learn something about opposition, because the topic crops up in almost every chapter. Even right here, after such a miraculous effort of perseverance and victory, there is a quick rebound of opposition.

The takeaway is that riding the wave of opposition is like riding a roller coaster that never ends. It has a lot of ups, downs, twists, and turns. Expect it. Don’t resist. You may leave your stomach behind or get dizzy and have a hard time focusing, but you can’t get off.

You must learn to ride the roller coaster with your hands in the air, praising God with a smile despite a heart racing with fear. Because your trust is in the Lord and you are confident that you will survive.

The only other option is to ride the roller coaster with your hands braced against the safety bar with no thought of God. Thinking only of the danger you are in, fearful you won’t survive. Sick to death and worn out from resisting the ride.

We must learn to enjoy the thrill of the ride God has given us.

How to persevere

As James 1:2-6 teaches us, faith produces perseverance and with perseverance we will finish the work. Nehemiah persevered through the opposition by:

• Executing the plan.
• Being patient.
• Praying at every turn.
• Pondering every action.
• Perceiving each situation.

God, the greater author of the Bible, wanted us to learn to enjoy the thrill of His call. But he did not want to leave us without an example of how to do it. Nehemiah is our example.

Our journey will not look like Nehemiah’s, but the goal is the same. In the end, our testimony and Nehemiah’s testimony are as Nehemiah 6:16 says, “They realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.” Our goal is the same as Nehemiah’s: for the world to know that whatever work we accomplish was done with the help of our God. What will your testimony be?

Perseverance may require sacrifice

Nehemiah gave up the perks of the palace for the problems of his people. Is God asking you to give something up for a higher purpose? For example, Susan is the author of the Bible Book Club podcast. As she wrote about these chapters in Nehemiah, she was a little put out. Her husband was spending the day with their grandson. The weather was amazing, and they kept sending her pictures. She wanted to be there. But she also wanted to be with the Word because she enjoys studying God’s Word each week. FOMO is real.

Sacrifices for the Lord come in all sizes. Nehemiah’s was huge. On that day, Susan’s maybe not so much. But who knows what tomorrow may bring. Remember, one day Nehemiah was comfy in the palace sipping wine for the king. The next day he was leading a national construction project and evading enemies on all sides. Whether big or small, do it all for the glory of God…like Nehemiah!

Is Nehemiah’s work done?

The wall of protection is up and the gates are in, but Nehemiah’s mission is not over in chapter 7 verses 1-3 because gates are a place of entry and therefore must be guarded. Nehemiah can’t trust everyone at this point. Even the Jewish nobles are problematic. But he can trust his brother Hanani, the very one who journeyed all that way to Susa and told him about the wall. He also chooses Hananiah, a man of integrity who fears God more than most.

Nehemiah hand-picks the overseers to guard the gates and gives the orders. He never wants the gates to be left unattended. There will be no opportunity for secret opposition. The gates are not to be opened until the sun is hot, instead of at dawn. They are to be shut at night by the gatekeepers and guarded by the residents. The limited hours may have been a precaution against attack or a necessity because the city did not have enough guards.

The importance of walls and guarding your gates

In the last few chapters, we have talked about this concept of a wall. The wall protects the Israelites both physically and spiritually. It keeps them safe from enemy attack, but more than that it protects the Temple where God’s presence dwells. Their eternal future hangs in the balance on that wall.

We still need that wall today. God doesn’t dwell in a temple made of stone anymore. He dwells in us, which means the wall we need to build today isn’t made of bricks. It’s made of faith. Every heart needs a wall of protection, and we build that wall by building our faith. If faith is the bricks in the wall, then the Word of God is what holds the bricks together.

Gates are openings or opportunities in our hearts. Places where influences, ideas, and temptations can enter shaping our desires, direction, and beliefs. If we do not guard these entry points, we can be vulnerable to spiritual attacks.

Scripture is clear about guarding these entry points: Matthew 6:22-23 tells us the eyes are a gate that must be guarded. Mark 4:24 says ears are a gate that must be guarded. Proverbs 4:23 reminds us the eyes and ears are the entrance points that allow things to enter and take root in our heart.

Points to Ponder

• Who can you appoint to help you guard the gates to your heart?
• Which gates to your heart are weak points of entry?
• Conversely, who and how can you be a gatekeeper for someone else?

What happened after Nehemiah built the wall?

With the wall complete and the gates secure, Nehemiah moves on to the next build on God’s to-do list: rebuilding Jerusalem’s population. The city is big but empty. It needs people for security, and the people need houses to live there. But the houses have not been rebuilt.

Israel loves a good headcount of who’s who, so in verses 4-5 Nehemiah calls all the returned exiles into Jerusalem for the count and to contribute to the city’s rebuild. The record they create has six categories of people.

• Leaders in Nehemiah 7:6-7.
• Regular citizens listed in Nehemiah 7:8-38.
• Priests, the descendants of Aaron, listed in Nehemiah 7:39-42.
• Levites, including the singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants in Nehemiah 7:43-56.
• Descendants from Solomon’s servants in Nehemiah 7:57-60 who may not be Israelites but are grafted into the people of God.
• Mystery group of undetermined ancestry in Nehemiah 7:61-65. This list includes both regular citizens and priests. The priests of undetermined ancestry are excluded from acting as priests until they can be verified using the Urim and Thummim.

The Urim and Thummim are still a great mystery to us today, but what we do know is that they were placed on the breast piece of the High Priest and used to discern God’s will, maybe like casting lots. From the passage, it sounds like the Urim and Thummim are lost and until they are found, or God provides another way to discern His will, they cannot include these men in the priesthood.

The totals are in

In Nehemiah 7:66-69 we get the total count of Israelites. If the names and numbers in this list sound familiar, it’s because this list is duplicated by Nehemiah from Ezra’s list in the book of Ezra chapter 2. The lists are identical except for a few discrepancies that were most likely corrections or updates.

Genealogies are important to Israel because they:

• Validate who is part of the covenant of the Promised Land
• Determine who is eligible for the priesthood
• Identify who carries the royal line of David and the promised Messiah.

With everyone gathered and accounted for, Nehemiah sets the example and compels them to give in verses 70-73. The people gather, give, and return. But before they do Nehemiah will do another little rebuild, of the heart, with the help of his old friend Ezra in our next chapter.

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