The Book of Nehemiah

Word Study

"a mind to work," Hebrew lev la-asoth (לֵב לַעֲשׂוֹת), literally "a heart to do," a will, a whole-hearted eagerness to labor. Despite the mockery of Sanballat and Tobiah (v1-3), "So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof." The work advanced to the halfway point. And the secret is given in a memorable phrase: "for the people had a mind to work." The Hebrew is "the people had a heart to do", the whole cause of the rapid progress was the people's wholehearted willingness. Not their skill, not their numbers, not favorable conditions (they had fierce enemies), but their heart to work carried the wall up. When God's people set their hearts to labor, much is accomplished. "A mind to work" is the great engine of every good work: a willing, eager, wholehearted spirit that keeps building despite mockery and obstacle. Note too that "all the wall was joined together", the sections built by the many families of chapter 3 came together into one connected whole. Willing hearts, each doing their part, joined the wall into one. Half the work was done, not because the task was easy or the enemies few, but because the people had a heart for it. Where there is a mind to work, God's work goes forward.

Explanation

In spite of the enemies' mockery, the wall rose to half its height. The reason given is simple and powerful: "the people had a mind to work", a wholehearted willingness and eagerness to labor. It was not superior skill or easy conditions but a willing heart that drove the progress. And the many separate sections were "joined together" into one connected wall. When God's people set their hearts to the work, much is accomplished quickly. A willing, eager spirit is the engine of every good work of God.

Gospel Focus

"The people had a mind to work", a willing heart is the great secret of accomplishing God's work. God has always prized willingness: the tabernacle was built by those "whose heart stirred him up" and who were "willing" (Exodus 35:21), and God "loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). "If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted" (2 Corinthians 8:12). It is not primarily talent or resources that God's work requires, but hearts willing to labor. The Lord Jesus did His Father's will with a whole heart, "I delight to do thy will, O my God" (Psalm 40:8; Hebrews 10:7), and He calls His people to serve "with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men" (Ephesians 6:7). Where there is "a mind to work," obstacles that would stop a reluctant heart are overcome, and the work advances even against opposition. Ask God for this willing heart, for yourself and for His church, for a reluctant, grudging spirit accomplishes little, but a people with "a mind to work" can build a wall to half its height in the face of enemies. And the willing heart itself is God's gift, "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). Pray for a mind to work, and much will be done for God.

Word Study

"made our prayer," Hebrew va-nitpallel (וַנִּתְפַּלֵּל), we prayed. When the enemies conspired to attack (v7-8), Nehemiah's response is captured in one perfectly balanced verse: "Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night." Here is the union of faith and diligence, of dependence on God and responsible action, that runs all through Nehemiah. The little word "nevertheless" is important: whatever the enemies plotted, "nevertheless" the people of God prayed and watched. They would not be paralyzed by the threat.

"set a watch," va-naamid mishmar (וַנַּעֲמִיד מִשְׁמָר), we stationed a guard. He prayed, casting the matter on God; and he set a watch, taking sensible precautions. He did not pray and then do nothing, presuming God would act while he sat idle; nor did he merely organize a defense and forget to pray, trusting his own vigilance. He did both. This is the biblical balance: "trust in the LORD with all thine heart" and yet act wisely (Proverbs 3:5); work "as though everything depended on you," pray "as though everything depended on God." Prayer without watchfulness is presumption; watchfulness without prayer is self-reliance; but prayer joined to watchfulness is faith at work. Nehemiah models the whole-souled response of a believer under threat: cast it on God, and then do the wise, diligent thing.

Explanation

Faced with the enemies' plot, Nehemiah did two things together: he prayed to God, and he set a guard day and night. This union of faith and action is characteristic of the whole book. He did not pray and then sit idle expecting God to do everything, nor did he merely organize defenses and forget to pray. He depended on God and acted wisely at the same time. This is the biblical balance, praying as though all depended on God, and working as though all depended on us. Prayer joined to watchfulness is faith at work.

Gospel Focus

"We made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch" beautifully unites the two things God calls us to hold together: prayer and vigilance, faith and diligence. The Lord Jesus taught the same pairing: "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation" (Matthew 26:41), watch and pray, not one or the other. To pray without watching is presumption, as if God's help excused our responsibility; to watch without praying is self-reliance, as if our efforts needed no God. True faith does both. We depend wholly on God, "except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain" (Psalm 127:1), and yet we take up our responsibility to be alert and act wisely, "be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Against the schemes of the enemy of our souls, the answer is the same as Nehemiah's: pray and watch. Cast every threat on God in prayer, and then do the wise, diligent, vigilant thing. Do not let opposition paralyze you; say "nevertheless," and pray and watch. The God who hears our prayer also expects our watchfulness, and blesses the faith that joins the two.

Word Study

"remember," Hebrew zekhoru (זְכֹרוּ) from zakar, to remember, call to mind. The threat had bred fear among the people, and Nehemiah's remedy is telling: "Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible." The cure for fear of the enemy is to remember the greatness of God. Nehemiah does not minimize the danger or offer empty reassurance; he redirects their gaze. And then, having steadied their hearts in God, he calls them to action and to a worthy cause: "fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses." He gives them something worth fighting for, their families and homes. Faith in God does not make us passive; it makes us brave to fight for what matters. The order is important: first remember the Lord (settle the heart in God), then fight for your loved ones (take courageous action).

"great and terrible," ha-gadol ve-ha-nora (הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא), great and awesome, to be feared. They were afraid because they were looking at the enemy; he tells them to look at the Lord, "great and terrible", greater and more to be feared than any human foe. The right fear casts out the wrong fear: to remember how great and awesome God is shrinks the enemy to size. Fear of man is conquered not by looking away from the danger, but by looking up to the God who is greater than the danger.

Explanation

When fear spread among the people, Nehemiah rallied them by pointing away from the enemy and toward God: "Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible." The cure for fear of man is remembering the greatness of God, who is more to be reckoned with than any foe. Nehemiah did not deny the danger but redirected their gaze. Then he gave them a worthy cause: fight for your families and homes. Settling the heart in God comes first; then courageous action follows. The greater fear of God drives out the lesser fear of man.

Gospel Focus

"Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible" gives the biblical antidote to fear: not looking away from the danger, but looking up to the greatness of God. The right fear conquers the wrong one. "Fear not them which kill the body, but... rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28); "sanctify the Lord God in your hearts... and be not afraid of their terror" (1 Peter 3:14-15). When we remember how great and awesome God is, the threats that loomed so large shrink to their true size, and we can say, "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?" (Psalm 118:6). This is not denial of real danger but the triumph of a greater reality: God is greater than the enemy. And such God-centered courage is not passive; it fights for what matters, "your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses." Faith makes us brave to stand and contend for our families, our faith, and the work of God. When fear grips you, do as Nehemiah counseled: remember the Lord, great and terrible, and let the fear of Him swallow up your fear of man, then rise and fight for what God has given you to defend.

Word Study

"wrought in the work," Hebrew oseh ba-melakhah (עֹשֶׂה בַּמְּלָאכָה), doing the work. This is the famous image of Nehemiah 4: the builders working "every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon." They labored and stood ready to fight at the same time. The work did not stop because of the threat, but neither was the threat ignored; they built with one hand and held a weapon with the other. The parallel accounts add that those carrying loads worked one-handed, and that "every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded" (v18).

"held a weapon," machaziq ha-shelach (מַחֲזִיק הַשָּׁלַח), grasping the missile/weapon. It is a vivid picture of the believer's life in a hostile world: we must both build and be ready to defend, both labor for God's kingdom and stand guard against the enemy. Neither can be dropped. If they laid down their weapons, they would be defenseless; if they laid down their tools, the wall would never rise. So they did both together. This required extra effort and constant readiness, but it kept the work going and the workers safe. The lesson is enduring: the work of God goes forward in a world of opposition only when His people are willing to build and battle at once, trowel in one hand, sword in the other, laboring and vigilant together.

Explanation

This is the memorable picture of Nehemiah's builders: each worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other. The building did not stop because of the danger, but the danger was not ignored either. They labored and stood ready to fight at the same time. It took extra effort and constant alertness, but it kept both the work advancing and the workers protected. It is a striking image of serving God in a hostile world: we must both build and be ready to defend, both work and watch, at once.

Gospel Focus

The builders with "one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon" picture the Christian life: we must both build and battle, both labor and stand guard. The believer is a builder, "labourers together with God" (1 Corinthians 3:9), and also a soldier, "endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3), who must "put on the whole armour of God" and take "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:11, 17). We cannot lay down either tool or weapon: to abandon the work is to leave the wall unbuilt; to abandon the weapon is to leave ourselves defenseless against "the wiles of the devil." So we build the kingdom and resist the enemy at the same time, working and watching, trowel and sword together. And Nehemiah's confidence for the fight was, "our God shall fight for us" (v20), the battle is finally the Lord's. We build diligently, we stand guard vigilantly, but the victory is God's. Take up both trowel and sword: labor faithfully for God's work, stay armed and alert against the enemy, and trust that "our God shall fight for us." That is how the wall rises in a hostile world, and how the church is built against which "the gates of hell shall not prevail" (Matthew 16:18).