rebuilding walls – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

Under Nehemiah, work on the walls of Jerusalem began. But it wasn’t long before the opposition started.

We see this at the end of chapter 2 when the Jews’ enemies tried to accuse them of rebellion.

That accusation no longer had any teeth behind it, however, with Nehemiah leading the efforts under the authority of Artaxerxes himself.

So in chapter 4, they tried to discourage the Jews by mocking them, calling them weak, and questioning their ability to rebuild their walls.

But when the Jews continued to work and had in fact built up the wall to half its height, their enemies tried stronger tactics, threatening to attack them when they least expected it.

In the face of this opposition and the size of the task, some of the Jews began to falter, saying,

The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall. (Nehemiah 4:10)

So Nehemiah took action.

He posted guards to protect the laborers and even armed the laborers themselves.

They also set up a system where if there was trouble, a trumpet would blow and all would rally to defend the people being attacked.

But beyond these practical things, Nehemiah also encouraged the people saying,

Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes. (14)

And with all this, the work continued on.

What can we learn from this?

I think it’s important to realize that Satan’s tactics haven’t changed very much over the centuries.

And when we start to rebuild the spiritual walls of our lives, Satan will first try to discourage us. He’ll tell us we’re too weak to change.

He’ll say, “What are these feeble Christians doing? Will they restore their walls? Can they bring their marriages back to life? Can they bring back to life all the things they tore down because of their sin?”

If that fails to discourage us, he’ll start to attack and bring trials and troubles in our lives in order to stop us.

How do we respond in the face of this opposition?

First, remember that while Satan is strong, God is stronger. He is “great and awesome,” and he will help and deliver us.

But we have to fight. We need to clothe ourselves with God’s armor and refuse to surrender to Satan’s attacks.

Second, remember that we have brothers and sisters to help us.

Tell them your struggles. Ask them to pray for you. Let them rally around you and support you when you feel under attack. And do the same for them when they’re under attack.

Satan gets angry when we rebuild our spiritual walls.

Let’s not be intimidated by him.

Rather, in God’s strength, and with the support of others, let us rebuild our walls and become the people God has called us to be.

Rebuilding the walls

Nehemiah had a massive task ahead of him as he looked to repair the walls around Jerusalem.

But it was an important one. As long as the walls were down, the Jews were defenseless against their enemies. And so after three days of rest, he started to inspect the damage.

After doing so, he told his fellow Jews his plan to repair the walls. And taking heart from Nehemiah’s words and the authority they had received from King Artaxerxes, they started to work side by side to repair the walls.

What can we get from these chapters? I think there are a few things.

First, like Jerusalem, we are people with broken spiritual walls. And as long as those walls are broken down, we are vulnerable to the attacks of the Enemy.

He has no mercy on us, especially since we have declared war on him by becoming Christians. He will keep attacking our weak points, trying to get us to fall and to drive us away from God.

For some of us, it’s a struggle with our temper. For others, it’s a struggle with lust. For others, it’s a struggle with unforgiveness. For yet others, it’s a struggle with bitterness.

Whatever your struggle may be, they are broken walls in your life and must be repaired if you are to become whole as a Christian.

Like Nehemiah, we need to take a careful look at our lives in the light of God’s word and see just where the damage in our walls are.

Where are we often falling to temptation? What are the areas Satan is attacking us in.

Satan isn’t stupid. He doesn’t waste his time attacking us where we’re strong. He attacks us where we are weak.

So inspect your walls and see what needs to be repaired.

Second, know that the King is on our side and that he has given us the resources to repair the walls.

Peter put it this way,

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3)

Finally, not only is God on our side, but we should be working side by side with our brothers and sisters to rebuild the walls in our lives.

James wrote,

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)

In other words, we ought to be accountable to one another. Find a Christian you can trust and share your struggles with them. Have them pray for you. Do the same for them.

And as you do, you’ll find the walls in your lives starting to be rebuilt.