After dividing the project of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem into sections, Nehemiah made his assignments. This is what chapter 3 is primarily about. It is a list of those who rebuilt the gates and each adjoining section of the walls.
Notice first, that Nehemiah delegated the authority. Nothing in the chapter makes a specific point of this, but it is obvious that this is what happened. Nehemiah made the assignments, but from then on he seems to have allowed each group of workers to proceed as it saw fit. This is clear from the slight variations in how the work was done. Is delegation important?
A real leader does as much of the hard work for his people as he can. And he delegates as many important matters as he can because that creates a climate in which people grow.… Make sure the jobs you give your people are important and that you really give them the jobs.
Next, we see that Nehemiah got everyone involved. It is amazing to see the number and the various types of people involved in rebuilding these walls. The names of forty-one heads of task-force groups are mentioned, and that does not include the names of places or the names of the individuals’ fathers or grandfathers Think of the types of workers.
The priests must have played an important part. They are listed first, verse 1 speaking of “Eliashib the high priest with his brothers (fellow priests). The priests might have excused themselves from heavy work, pleading that it was not their calling, but it is to their credit that they did not. We read that when they had completed their assignments, they dedicated (or consecrated) both the Sheep Gate and the Tower of the Hundred to God, which shows how they regarded their labor. Their labor was unto God, and the product was for Him.
Next to the priests were the men of Jericho. Jericho was a good way off, and the men of Jericho might have argued that the reconstruction of Jerusalem was of little use to them. But they worked too.
Verse 8 mentions “Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths” and “Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers.” These were skilled craftsmen who might have complained that the construction industry was not their field or even that the rough work of building might damage their delicate hands. But again, it appears they took on their fair share of the work.
At several points in these lists are the names of people said to be rulers over certain districts or subdistricts. Women were not expected to do construction work, but some of them did. We are told of repairs made by Shallum, ruler of a half district of Jerusalem, with the help of his daughters. Temple servants are mentioned as making repairs. Shemaiah, a keeper of the gate (“city guard”) is mentioned. He would have been the Jews’ equivalent of a security official or policeman.
Finally, toward the end of the chapter, there is mention of merchants. We might expect them to have been trading now, profiting by the situation. Apparently they were not. They were working with the others.
What a remarkable achievement! Yet in fairness (and perhaps as an encouragement to us), it is necessary to say that Nehemiah did not achieve total success. The cooperation was remarkable, but according to v.5, the nobles of Tekoa, “would not stoop to serve their Lord.”
The success of Nehemiah in marshaling the entire population of Judah in this enterprise is something we need to take special note of, for today in the Church everyone is also to be involved. Ephesians 4.11-13 tells us what the proper pattern is to be: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…”
It was Jesus who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
This is the basis of what Bible teachers today call “an every-member ministry.” It means that the ministers in the Churches are to prepare the people in the Churches to do the Churches’ work. That is, clergy are to teach the laity, and the laity are to do the work of serving each other and the world.
Unfortunately, many Churches have it completely turned around. It is said that today the Churches resemble more than anything else a football game played in a large stadium. There are eighty thousand spectators in the stands who badly need some exercise, and there are twenty-two men on the field who badly need a rest.
Maranatha!
(mar-uh-nath-uh – “Our Lord Comes”)
Pastor Steve can be reached at PastorSteve@MaranathaBibleChurch.org