Nehemiah’s Wall serves as both metaphor and inspiration at Kingdom Defense.
The Book of Nehemiah tells the story of how Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem so that followers might once again worship God in safety. Nehemiah accomplishes this daunting task in a remarkably brief period of time using common folks who built with one hand while defending their actions from enemy attack with a weapon in their other hand.
The biblical account of “Nehemiah’s wall” is well known. Nehemiah was a Jew in Persian captivity. He was the cupbearer to the Persian King Artaxerxes. In 444 b.c, Nehemiah was granted permission to return to Judah and rebuild the dilapidated walls and gates of Jerusalem, which had been destroyed during the Babylonian invasions in the early sixth century.
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he toured the city walls to assess the damage. He faced opposition as he made plans and directed the people in rebuilding the city walls. He was threatened as he persisted. Nehemiah had opposition from enemies and opposition from the people he was leading(1).
The Bible says that the threat was so great from outside the city Nehemiah posted armed guards along the walls to protect the city until the building was done. Men were armed and ready to fight while they worked daily to build the wall. The book of Nehemiah shows that Judah at the time was surrounded by enemies and under constant threat of attack. Nehemiah and his crew worked with great urgency and astonishing speed in order to rebuild the wall.
9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.
10 And so in Judah it was said: “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubble; And we ourselves are unable to rebuild the wall.”
11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.”
12 When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,”
13 then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows.
14 When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
15 Now when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.
16 And from that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them kept hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah.
17 Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens carried with one hand doing the work, and the other keeping hold of a weapon.
18 As for the builders, each wore his sword strapped to his waist as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.
19 And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another.
20 At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
21 So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared.
22 At that time I also said to the people, “Each man with his servant shall spend the night within Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.”
23 So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me—none of us removed our clothes; each took his weapon even to the water.
(New American Standard Bible (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 2020), Ne 4:9–23.)
Nehemiah’s Wall as a metaphor.
As metaphor, one might say that Nehemiah’s Wall illustrates the current state of Christianity. Declining (2) participation shows no sign of abating, while attacks against Christians, both physically and spiritually, accelerate. The wall that needs rebuilding is both spiritual and physical, spiritual from the standpoint of rebuilding our relationship with Christ, and physical from the standpoint of defense against those who would harm followers of Christ.
