A continuation of the last devotion, we are looking at how the Jews cooperated when they were threatened while they were rebuilding the Jerusalem wall. This devotion looks at how all were drafted into service building the wall and protecting the workers. This meant the Jews had to cooperate during a new normal.
Nuggets
- What God wants us to remember when we are in the chaos is that He is never going to leave us.
- The building tool was in one hand; the weapon, in the other – they were ready.
- We must consciously decide to cooperate.
Rebuilding Together under Difficult Circumstances
The Council Has Spoken
Coordinating Spiritual Gifts
Collecting for Others
In the last devotion, we looked at the difficult circumstances encountered by the Jews when they were trying to rebuild the Jerusalem wall after exile. In this devotion, we will look how they cooperated to get the wall built.
Let's Put It into Context #1
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines cooperation as “the actions of someone who is being helpful by doing what is wanted or asked for” and “association of persons for common benefit.”
Resource
Let's Put It into Context #2
• When we are doing God’s Will, Satan is going to try to stop us.
• The Jews had to be steadfast in their faith in God.
• They made a conscious decision to follow God’s Will.
In the last devotion, we looked at the Jews rebuilding the Jerusalem wall after returning from the Babylonian exile. The Jews found opposition to rebuilding the wall from its neighbors. Most vocal was Sanballat, from Samaria, and Tobiah the Ammonite.
The decision was made to rebuild the wall despite the opposition. Workers were armed as they worked.
Encouragement
“After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes’” (Neh. 4: 14 CSB)
Remember. Oh, we’ve talked about that so much over the last year.
When we are in the midst of chaos, it is hard to remember God provides. When our enemies are bullying us, it is hard to remember we rest in the palm of His hand.
What God wants us to remember when we are in the chaos is that He is never going to leave us. He will always fight for us. He has never lost a battle and won’t start now.
The Expanded Team
“When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall. From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah, who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. Each of the builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was building, and the one who sounded the ram’s horn was beside me. Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, ‘The work is enormous and spread out, and we are separated far from one another along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!’ So we continued the work, while half of the men were holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out. At that time, I also said to the people, ‘Let everyone and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day.’ And I, my brothers, my servants, and the men of the guard with me never took off our clothes. Each carried his weapon, even when washing’” (Neh. 4: 15-23 CSB)
We talked in the last devotion how Nehemiah did more than just kick it into damsel-in-distress mode. He didn’t just sit back and expect God to do all the protecting.
- “So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night” (Neh. 4: 9 CSB).
- “So I stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows” (Neh. 4: 13 CSB).
It wasn’t just Tom. It wasn’t just Tom and Sally.
It was Tom, Sally, and Elaine — it was everybody.
Nehemiah stationed them by families. He didn’t say by company — as in soldiers.
Nehemiah expanded the team. He said families — the most elemental group.
They cooperated because their lives depended on it.
Oh, it made it really hard to build one-handed. We do what we have to do.
I pulled three things out of this.
Thing #1: Half worked while half watched. That was the new normal for them for that time. The officers, who you would think would be the higher-ups, were support staff.
Thing #2: Laborers and builders did double duty. The building tool was in one hand; the weapon, in the other – they were ready. They didn’t have to get ready. They were expecting trouble.
Thing #3: The nobles, officials, and the rest of the people were more than just backup. They were on call to go where they were needed. Everyone was vital to their safety.
Oh, yes. That is a lot of people to get to cooperate. It was people who were volun-drafted to do things they never thought they would do – and probably really didn’t want to do.
It is hard enough to cooperate when we are in our normal. If we are learning a new normal, cooperation may seem like it is more of a voluntary happening.
That is when we must consciously decide to cooperate. We must put our relationships with others above the chaos.
Yes, the Jews were still expecting God to fight for them (Neh. 4: 20). They were prepared to do their part.
Making the Connections
Isn’t that a good visual for today? I need to have my keyboard in one hand and my sword in the other. I know my Insomnia Buddy is right there to step in with encouragement when I sound the ram’s horn, even at 0-dark-thirty. (Trust me, we are messaging each other at 0-dark-thirty.)
It is bad enough when our enemies bully us. It is worse when our family and friends try to influence us to not follow God’s Will.
The problem is we all have our own unique opinions. Oh, mine may be similar to your, but I have my own spin on them.
It has to be that way. Our opinions are formed out of our experiences. All of our experiences are different.
So, we have to make a decision to cooperate with each other. We have to deal with each other in love as a creation of God. We have to maintain the unity He requires.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
Worldview people could bring up difficult questions about disciples not being cooperative. However, their arguments will be tinged with the false assumption that disciples should cooperate with others to the point of condoning their sin.
We’ve been looking at defending our beliefs when we are witnessing. That means we have to be secure enough to convince someone to accept our beliefs.
Our questions should still serve us to determine on what we need to focus.
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
Hoyt reminded us that Sanballat’s great-great-great…great grandson is alive an well in the world today. Have you ever thought God was calling you to do something and have one of your family or friends shoot down the idea?
Whyte had harsh words that still ring true today. He wrote, “It is not truth that divides us up into such opposed parties as we see all around us in Church and State, it is far more lies. It is not principle once in ten times. Nine times out of ten it is pure party spirit.”
Society today will not be unified by the worldview. It can’t. Its leader is Satan, the master at causing division.
We must choose God to unify us. God is the God of love, peace, and unity.
So, what can we do?
• Be earnest in our work.
• Be persistent and consistent.
• Fight those we have to fight – ourselves, others, spirits.
• Work to eliminate the rubbish in our lives through “… true repentance, a confessing and forsaking of sin” (Randall).
Satan is going to launch full-frontal attacks. We have to be prepared for them.
We have to work together as the body of Christ. By cooperating with each other, we present a united front against Satan, making it easier to withstand his attacks.
In many cases, it will be a conscious decision to cooperate. We should always decide to do what God is calling us to do.
Gracious Lord. You call us to be a community. Help us to present a united front to Satan. May You always find us doing You Will. Amen.
What do you think?
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