This morning we looked at the book of Nehemiah and saw how this man, an official to a foreign king in Susa, demonstrates what James calls ‘the seamless unity of believing and doing.’ (James 2:25, The Message) The book is written at the end of the Babylonian exile and shows us Nehemiah’s very practical role in rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem as the Jewish people return there after seventy years. Much of what he does seems very mundane: organising teams to build, persuading the king to give him safe passage and materials to use, ensuring the safety of people and the project when opposition occurs. But at the same time, we see how everything he does is soaked in prayer and based on a sure knowledge of God’s character. He is a great example of seeing how the miraculous and the mundane are woven together and how our lives should display faith and works going hand in hand.
Nehemiah was concerned about what was happening in Jerusalem, even though he had never lived there. (Neh 1) He brought his concerns and sorrow to God instead of simply being overwhelmed by them and he had hope because of who God was (Neh 9:6, 17-18). Despite natural fear, he prayed and had specific requests for the king (Neh 2:2-5); when opposition came, he combined practical action with prayer (Neh 4:9-18). Everything we do needs to be soaked in prayer, rather like when we marinate a meat to make it more tender. But the meat will still not be edible unless we then cook it! In the same way, Nehemiah shows us the value of hard work for God as well as the need to pray. He teaches us that there is no division between the sacred and the secular, that praying and working are both absolutely essential in the kingdom of God. He shows us that we need faith and prayer: ‘Our God will fight for us!’ he declared. (Neh 4:20) But we read also that they continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. (Neh 4:21) He was wholly committed to this work, saying that neither he nor his brothers nor his men nor the guards with him took off their clothes at night; each person had his weapon, even when he went for water. (Neh 4:23) Nehemiah’s commitment, faith and capacity for practical work can be inspirations to us as we serve God in our society.
