1Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel.
What I love about the church of God is how it is made up of all kinds of different people. We have such a variety, the poor, the rich, the black, and the white. We all come from different sinful backgrounds. We have those who are the intellectual, and those who are simple in their thoughts. The cross of Christ has made it to where no man can boast, unless he will boast in the Lord. (I Cor. 15:31) Yes, we are made up of all kinds of people, but the beauty of it all in His divine wisdom, is that we are to be one in Him.
In this chapter we see how God used Nehemiah to bring a varied group of fellow Jews to build a wall. He will use all types of these people to do the rebuilding of the wall. I wish that we could look at them all but I would like to talk about just a few of them from chapter three.
The first person that Nehemiah list is that of Eliashib. God would use the high priest of the land along with his priestly brothers to help physically build the Sheep Gate and its doors. These priest of God were physically working alongside of their brothers to get the work done. Grab hold of this thought. You see, I believe that they saw their physical contribution to be just as spiritual as their priestly duties. They did not see the distinction between the two. This is even more borne out in the passage because as they were building they would dedicate their physical work to the Lord. These guys worked so hard that they even helped with the building of two of the towers.
No matter what type of work you may do, realize it is your gift to God. We are to take our everyday task in life and offer it to Him. Whatever we do in word or deed do it as to the Lord.
Nehemiah 3:5 ( ESV )
5And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.
Now the Tekoties were hard workers, we know this to be true, as we see them once again in verse 27 working on another section of the wall. They were the type of guys who were willing to go above and beyond. I often ask myself why does it seem like certain people do so much work in the church. Like the Tekoites they are not willing to think about how they have done their duties but rather what more can we do.
Not all the Tekoites had a mindset to work. One of the saddest statements in the book of Nehemiah is recorded in the last part of this verse. The nobles (or these rich ones and rulers) would not stoop to serve their Lord. How sad that some of Christ followers are like that. There are some within the house of God who see that working for the Lord is downgrading. The work of the Lord for some reason is something that only the, "little people do." Tekoite nobles are happy to give money to the missionary, but would never consider being one.
One of the other reasons they saw that serving the Lord was beneath them is that some of them may have been tied in with serving Tobiah. (6:17-19) Brothers and sisters, our Lord has made it clear, that we cannot serve two masters.
Nehemiah 3:9 ( ESV )
9Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of£ Jerusalem, repaired.
Nehemiah 3:12 ( ESV )
12Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.
Not all of those who were wealthy or of nobler birth had the attitude of the nobles of the Tekoites. God was able to use Rephaiah and Shallum who were rulers of half of the district of Jerusalem. These men were proud to serve the Lord and saw Him as their master. When we see the Lord as our master we will be willing to stoop down. Why would we be willing to stoop down? We, as followers of the Lamb, want to see him exalted at all times. What a joy it is to serve Him, who came to this earth, and made himself a servant to his lowly creation.
In the last part of verse 12 an incredible thing is now brought up. Look at who helped Shallum repair the wall. Shallum's daughters came out to help their daddy. Now think about that, not only were these women, but they were women who were of noble birth. Here are these godly girls willing to lay aside their, "dignity," and be servants in the work of God. They could have claimed privilege, but laid it aside, as they saw what a privilege it was to work for the Lord.
They came from everywhere and from every walk of life. These people of God were Levites (3:17), goldsmiths (3:8 & 32), perfumers (3:8) and from all around the area. They had come for a purpose to rebuild the wall. Once again what I love about this passage is how God wants to use all of these people for His glory.
Do I feel like certain things that God ask me to do are, "below me?" Do I act like the Tekoite nobles? Am I tied up with the world to the point that I don't want to serve the Lord? Am I willing to be a servant to others like our Jesus? Do I believe that only certain people can serve the Lord?
May our lips shout out Isaiah's words, "Here I am Lord, use me."
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