The Crew Did the Rebuilding

The Crew did the Rebuilding.

“The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests were up and at it: They went to work on the Sheep Gate; they repaired it and hung its doors, continuing on a far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel. The men of Jericho worked alongside them; and next to them, Zaccur son of Imri. The Fish gate was built by the Hassenaah brothers; they repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, worked; next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel; next to him Zadok son of baana; and next to him the Tekoites (expect for their nobles, who wouldn’t work with their master and refused to get their hands dirty with such work). Nehemiah 3:1-5 (The Message)

He was King Artaxerxes cup bearer before he turned community leader, this was governor Nehemiah. He would have made a good “PROMISE KEEPER” as well. There are seven promises of a promise keeper and Nehemiah was keeping the fifth promise when he went back to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. That promise goes like this…”A PROMISE KEEPER is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources.” This was a cupbearer named Nehemiah.

When we give chapter 3 a read we find that there is a long list of men who got in there and rebuilt a wall. Sure we got our “Nay-Sayers” there in verse 5 and to be quite frank we will always have those who aren’t willing to jump in and get something done but by the time we get to verse 10 the men are rebuilding next to the spot that they had to repair. They were going further than they had to go. In my “PROMISE KEEPERS” study Bible there is a great commentary with a list of 5 crucial principles that when combined with the leadership of Nehemiah defined “The Crew”.

The members of the rebuild team were so important to Nehemiah that they got recognition forever in the pages of God’s Word. There was mobilization that Nehemiah had to perform with the 9 teams that were grouped into 42 work crews. And since the stones had to fit, cooperation had to occur so that each segment fit seamlessly with the ones “next to” the ones on either side. Nehemiah’s coordination had to be planned so that the next work crew could go in and pick right up with where the other work crew left off. And everyone knew that the work had to come to its completion.

I had joined a few friends one Saturday morning for a kind of coffee and pastries Bible study. These brothers were already in the Book of Nehemiah so we all opened our Bibles to where they left off at which was chapter 3. Before we got into this we were having a conversation about how men needed to get back into the spiritual leadership role in our homes. We were all old enough to know when they stopped prayer in school and when “social tolerance “had entered the scene. We all agreed that we should be rebuilding what has been torn down like they did in Nehemiah’s time.

If we, as men of integrity, want our kids to truly have it better in their time, it is our time to take up our tools and our weapons and fix the walls. When Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem he was met with “Nay-Sayers” and actual war mongering enemies. The men who did the work had a sword at their side and trowel in their hand. We have the sword and the trowel in one handy-dandy notebook…The Bible. This morning take some time and see what you can do to rebuild what has been torn down in your neighborhood. -- Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent contributor to Freedom Fighter

Digging Deeper: We continue to look for ways to enhance your studies of the Word. Starting today, the links will be directed to the ESV sight. By clicking on the Scripture links, you can not only read the text, but listen as well. Please give me your feedback. Proverbs 4; Numbers 29-31; Mark 9:1-29

Dig This Quote: “The ministry of God is done by the people of God, not just by ordained pastors. That means you and me—children, adults, new believers, laymen, and clergy alike. Scripture makes it clear that God intends for all those who call on the name of the Lord to be involved in His ministry. God easily could have called on His angels to fulfill His will on earth, but He chose you and me, as members of His church, to carry out His work. He designed it to be a highly personal calling according to the gifts He gave each one of us (see 1 Cor. 12:8-10). And the vehicle He provided for us to pour gifts into is His church.” “Church” Means “People”
Jesse Miranda, contributing author for “Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper”1999 version

Check out this weeks STEWARDSHIP INSIGHT from George:http://keswickgeorge.blogspot.com/

Determined Digging: Level 1 - Psalm 30:5; Level 2 - Psalm 37:23-26