Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 3:1

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they built the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

Ch. Neh 3:1-32 . The Distribution of the Work

The Rebuilding of the Wall. The present chapter mentions 42 portions of the work. But the description is clearly incomplete; and we may suppose that Nehemiah’s list either has been only partially reproduced by the Compiler or had been preserved in a mutilated copy. See notes on Neh 3:7 ; Neh 3:25-28.

Eliashib the high priest ] Eliashib was the son of Joiakim, and the grandson of Jeshua (Ezr 3:2; Neh 12:10). Though he co-operated in the work of rebuilding the walls, his close connexion with Tobiah, as described in chap. Neh 13:4, shows that he did not sympathize with the policy of Ezra and Nehemiah in separating the Jews from any alliance or combination with other nations.

The technical title ‘the high-priest,’ literally ‘the great priest,’ which is used here and in Neh 3:20, Neh 13:28, is found in Lev 21:10; Num 35:25; Num 35:28; Jos 20:6 ; 2Ki 12:10; 2Ki 22:4; 2Ch 34:9; Hag 1:1; Hag 1:12; Hag 1:14; Hag 2:2; Hag 2:4; Zec 3:1; Zec 3:8; Zec 6:11. Elsewhere we find him called ‘the chief priest,’ e.g. 2Ki 25:18; 2Ch 24:11; 2Ch 26:20; Ezr 7:5; Ezr 8:17; Jer 52:24.

the sheep gate ] This gate is also referred to in Neh 3:32 and Neh 12:39. There can be little doubt that it is the same gate as that mentioned by St Joh 5:2, ‘Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda.’ The fact that the priests restored it suggests its proximity to the Temple. This is confirmed by the reference to it in chap. Neh 12:39. Its position was in the N.E. portion of the city, and corresponded to the modern St Stephen’s gate, so far as the change in walls and ground-level permits of comparison. We may suppose that the name was taken from a sheep-market in the immediate neighbourhood. Large numbers of sheep would be required for the Temple sacrifices. The chief supplies of sheep would come from Eastern Palestine and the land of Moab. Their arrival through this eastern gate, whether a market stood near or not, was sufficient to account for the name.

Socin (Baedeker, Palestine and Syria, p. 151) says ‘As the pool of Bethesda is now believed to have been near the present ‘Ain esh-Shif,’ and not at the place assigned to it by tradition, we must inter that the sheep gate led from the industrial quarter of the Tyropon into the Temple precincts.’ Comparing, however, this passage with Zec 14:10, it is tempting to identify ‘the sheep gate’ with ‘the gate of Benjamin,’ which is not mentioned in our chapter, but which clearly stood at the N.E. of the city (cf. Jer 37:13).

they sanctified it ] The same Hebrew word occurs in connexion with the completion of a building in 1Ki 8:64, ‘The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court.’ It does not anticipate the solemn dedication of the walls in chap. 12. The completion of the priests’ work was signalised by a special sacred function. (See note on the word ‘sanctify’ in Neh 12:47.)

set up the doors ] This was the final act. See 1Ki 16:34, where ‘gates’ is kept by the R.V. as the rendering of the same word.

unto the tower of Meah ] R.V. unto the tower of Hammeah. Marg., unto the tower of ‘The hundred.’ What is intended by ‘the tower of Hammeah,’ we have no means of determining. The alternative rendering ‘the tower of The hundred,’ supposes either that the tower was approached by 100 steps, or that it required 100 men to defend it. It is possible that there has been some early defect in the reading.

they sanctified it ] The repetition of these words shows that the wall running from the sheep gate to the tower is here intended. But the omission of the object to the verb creates a difficulty.

unto the tower of Hananeel ] R.V. Hananel. This was a well-known building, which is mentioned also in chap. Neh 12:39; Jer 31:38; Zec 14:10. From the first of these passages we gather that the tower stood midway between the sheep gate and the fish gate. From the two others, that it stood at the N.E. corner of the city. Probably from this point the wall, which had run N.W., now turned due W. It may have owed its name to its builder.

The way in which it is mentioned here occasions some difficulty. If it is the same as the tower of Hammeah, there seems no reason why the writer should first of all have designated the well-known tower of Hananel by the name of Hammeah. If it is a different tower, how does it happen that two towers are mentioned as the limit of the priests’ restoration of the wall?

Supposing the text to be correct, the tower of Hammeah may have been the Eastern tower of the same stronghold which is also called Hananel. From the emphatic way in which it is mentioned this fortress probably represented an important strategic point. Now ‘the castle (or brah) which appertaineth to the house’ may have stood on high ground near this point. And the conjecture is plausible that the tower of Hananel was the name given to an outwork of the great fortress at the point where the city wall ran into it.

According to this theory, Eliashib and the priests restored the city wall between the sheep gate and a portion of the great fortress which commanded the Temple. It does not appear from this chapter that these towers had been pulled down. They had possibly been left to receive a garrison or were not so easily dismantled as the walls.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Eliashib (compare the marginal reference) was the grandson of Joshua, the high priest contemporary with Zerubbabel.

The sheep gate – This was a gate in the eastern wall, not far from the pool of Bethesda, marginal reference, which was perhaps originally a sheep-pool.

The exact line which the writer follows in describing the circuit of the wall will probably be always a matter of dispute. According to the view here taken, the line described commences near the pool of Bethesda, on the east of the city, and is traced thence, first, northward, then westward, then southward, and finally eastward, as far as the pool of Siloam Neh 3:15. From this point, it seems to the writer of this note that the line of the outer wall is not followed, but, instead of this, the inner wall of the city of David, which included the temple, is traced. This wall is followed northward from the pool of Siloam, past the sepulchres of David and Hezekiahs pool to the armoury Neh 3:19 at its northwest corner; it is then followed eastward to the tower which lieth out from the kings house Neh 3:25; from this it is carried southward, along the western edge of the Kidron valley to the great tower which lieth out Neh 3:27, and then southwestward to the point at which it commenced near Siloam Neh 3:27. The special wall of the city of David being thus completed, the writer finishes his entire account by filling up the small interval between the northeast angle of this fortification and the sheep-gate Neh 3:28-32, from which he started.

They sanctified it – The priests commenced the work with a formal ceremony of consecration. When the work was completed, there was a solemn dedication of the entire circuit (see Neh. 12:27-43).

The tower of Hananeel is often mentioned; that of Meah, or rather Hammeah, or the Hundred, in Nehemiah only. Both towers must have been situated toward the northeastern corner of the city.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Neh 3:1-32

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren.

The builders at work

Unity in diversity seems to be the principle on which God works both in the natural and spiritual world–a truth which is capable of almost endless illustration.

I. We see it, for instance, in an individual church. What a variety of mental constitution and habits of thought; what difference in training, in education, and, consequently, in apprehension of spiritual things, and also in time, opportunity and social influence, among individual members. Yet where there is the quickening breath of the Spirit of God, there will be unity in the work while there is diversity in the operations. Thus one man is called to preach, another to take charge of the finances; while each takes his own part and seeks by Gods help to discharge his individual responsibility, there must be a chord of sympathy between all the workers, for they are members one of another.

II. The same is true of the different sections into which the Church of Christ is still unhappily divided.

III. We may go farther and apply this truth to the many efforts that are now being put forth all over the world. Among the nations of Europe there are zealous workers, and we must bear them up before God in believing prayer. They are working on the same wall, though on different parts of it. And there are indirect workers, too, whom we must not fail to recognise. The philanthropist, the temperance reformer, those engaged in educational, charitable, and other movements which tend to benefit the masses of the people–they also are engaged in building the wall. We must enlarge our sympathies and rejoice in every man who seeks to do honest work for God. We must not forget, however, that while there was oneness in the work, there was individuality in its different parts. The work being great, it was subdivided, and each man had a special portion allotted to him, generally that which lay nearest to his own dwelling. There is work there if he will only look for it under the guidance of Gods Spirit. About twenty years ago a youth in whose heart lay the fervent desire to preach to the heathen, stood in a crowded assembly listening to a popular preacher. You think, said the speaker, of a group of blacks gathered under the wide-spreading banian tree, and you imagine how you could discourse to them of the wondrous love of Christ. Ah I my brother, begin at home; try it in the streets of London first. It was a word in season; the young man began to build over against his house; God blessed him to the conversion of hundreds of souls, and He is blessing him still. In Christian work, too, we may see that the selfish instinct is recognised–not the selfishness which robs God and glorifies self, but that which leads a worker to be interested in his own department of work as he can be in no other. In this sense there is a selfishness which is not sinful, and which we may almost say is not selfish. If kept in due subordination to thoughts of the oneness of the work, it is commendable and ought to be cultivated. How often in conversation with a brother worker have we failed to gain his close attention while we spoke to him of our work or the work of other brethren! But when we asked about his congregation, his mission-room, or his Sunday or ragged school, what a change! His tongue was loosed, and his whole face glowed with animation as he told us how the Lord was helping and blessing him. It is both natural and right that it should be so. He is building before his own door, and while not ignoring others, he thinks of the work over against his house as he can of no other part of the wall. His heart is specially there. From the portions of work allotted to the individual citizens, we may learn also the importance of concentration in Christian effort. Had a man put a brick here, and a daub of mortar there, and laid a beam yonder, the wall would have made but slow progress; but as one man built before his own door, and another before his, and so on all round the city, the attention and energy of each were concentrated upon his special portion, and the wall rapidly approached completion. Now, concentration is an important principle in Christian work as well as in the building of a Wall, and if we look back on the history of the Church, we shall find that the greatest results have been achieved by men who have continuously bent their energies towards a given point. It is the fashion in our day rather to decry men of one idea. This fashion is much promoted by men of no idea, who are jealous of brethren more fortunate than themselves. This principle is important in reference not only to the object of life, but to the sphere of labour. It is of greater consequence to do one thing well than many things indifferently. Diffusion seems to be the aim of many workers in this restless age, and breadth rather than depth is characteristic of their efforts. (W. P. Lockhart.)

The repairer of the breach

I. The builders. The patriots have expressed their purpose to build the wall, and they proceed immediately to carry this good resolution into effect. We know nothing in all history like the scene here portrayed. We have read, indeed, of ancient Rome, when burned by fire, being rebuilt by her citizens; but these were still rich and powerful. We have heard, too, of ancient Carthage, when almost razed to the ground by foreign invaders, being repaired and fortified by the patriots of the nation; but these were yet numerous and wealthy. We know nothing, however, like this in the annals of the world, where the small remnant of the captives of Judah, with simple trust in God, set themselves to rebuild their fallen capital, while they were few in numbers, poor in resources, and surrounded with hosts of enemies frowning on their enterprise.

1. They were all Israelites in the land of Judah. In the book of Ezra we learn that aliens from the commonwealth of Israel were not permitted to join in rebuilding the temple, even though for sinister ends they proffered their services. They could not enter with spirit into the undertaking, and the labour of the hand was not accepted when unaccompanied with the love of the heart. And it is the spiritual Israel still who can labour in promoting Christs cause and truth in the earth. They alone can effectually advance religion who love and exemplify it. They alone can truly know the truth so as to speak it and spread it. It is a profound observation of Pascal, that natural things must be known to be loved, but Divine things must be loved in order to be known. Saving truth is not discerned by the mere power of natural reason, or through the acquirements of human learning; it can be perceived only through the illumination of the Holy Ghost. Believers of the word of salvation can alone declare that word with living power. It is a feeble, as well as a heartless thing, for a man to speak truth for the faith of others, that he does not believe in his own soul. It is in vain to expect earnest effort for the conversion of souls from those who have no mercy on themselves, and who have never repented of their own sins.

2. They were of diversified stations and gifts. It deserves remark, that those mentioned here not only gave contributions in money, that the work might advance, but they laboured by personal effort in the building of the wall. This is worthy of high praise, as showing a heart for the good cause, and wisdom in advancing it. Money can, no doubt, do much to procure or sustain effort in promoting the work of God; but there is a power in living activity, in the warm sympathy, in the personal influence, of the present believer helping forward a religious enterprise, that donations of gold can never secure. It is, hence, to the honour of those saints of Judah that they not merely gave their money, but they gave themselves, in life, in love, to labour with their hands in this work of God for building their city walls. In the narrative of these diversified personal efforts we observe–

(1) The priests and Levites joined in the work. Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate (verse 1). And after him repaired the Levites (verse 17). But the lowliest act done for the cause of God receives glory from its connection with Him; and the ministers of the sanctuary should be foremost in effort to build up the cause of truth in the earth.

(2) The governor and nobles laboured at the wall. There is, indeed, one notable exception to this patrician work. Respecting the nobles of the Takoites it is said, But their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord (verse 5).

(3) The daughters of Judah shared this honourable toil. Shallum, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters (verse 12).

(4) The young united in this sacred employment. And Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another piece (verse 30). Youth are often tempted to think religion a gloomy thing, and that to embrace it in their early years would be to lose all the pleasures of life.

3. The builders here belonged to different parts of the Holy Land. They were there from Jericho, and Gibeon, and Keilah, and Mizpah, and Tekoa. These were not men of Jerusalem, but they loved the public interests of religion connected with the city of God, and, as true Israelites, they laboured for its restoration. The extension, the purity, the revival of the Church in every part of the world, is the common cause of all who name the name of Christ. Christians, then, should never be so absorbed with their own party interests as to forget the great cause of His glory, and the good of man. If they really love the Lord Jesus their regard for His honour must be tested by their active effort to overthrow the reign of sin, and advance the empire of righteousness.

II. The prgress of the work. In the call of Divine judgment for the overthrow of the city God commanded, Begin at My sanctuary; and so we remark, this work of restoration commences beside the temple, proceeds north, and westward, till it completes the circuit of the wall. The priests built the sheep gate, and they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it. Through it the sacrifices were brought into the holy place, and the patriots first repaired it, that they might defend the house of God from all assaults or danger. They were the ministers of religion that performed this part of the work, and they thus teach their brethren that everything connected with Divine worship is to be guarded with religious care. From them, too, we learn that our first concern in all reform, as well as in the activities of life, should be for the safety and prosperity of the Church of God. But if the Church of Christ is dear to the hearts of her members, and is prosperous through their works of faith, the cause of humanity and of truth is secure in the earth. The work here was carried on by the labourers where each of them was most deeply interested. It is recorded of several of the householders of Jerusalem that he repaired over against his house (verse 23), and respecting one who seems to have been only a lodger, it is said, he repaired over against his chamber (verse 30). Labour near their respective dwellings was most convenient for the persons engaged, and it was necessary for their own safety that the wall there should not be broken down. Religion ever appeals to the instinct of self-love, and the strength of domestic affection in the human heart, to animate zeal for its advancement. Christian parent! your own children are dear to you, and you are appointed to labour and pray for their salvation. Christian philanthropist I your own country is the object of your love, and you are required to give your foremost endeavours for the religious welfare of your brethren, your kinsmen according to the flesh. This work, moreover, was prosecuted with varied zeal. The enterprise required co-operation of effort; and we find sometimes two persons united in setting up one gate. There was need, too, for diversity of zeal, for while one part had only to be repaired, another had to be entirely rebuilt; but the diversity of grace demanded was perseveringly displayed. To the honour of one we read, Baruch earnestly repaired (verse 20), as if his diligence was such as to be manifest to all beholders. To the praise of others, we are given to understand that when they had raised up one part they proceeded to restore another. Meremoth, and the Tekoites (verses 21, 27), after finishing the work first allotted to them, undertook a second portion of labour, as if they felt there should be no remission from toil so long as any part of Jerusalem remained broken down.

III. The opposition of enemies. It is not good that the spiritual life should flow on without trial, or that a great work should progress without admonition of its constant dependence on God. Long seasons of repose or prosperity are apt to produce self-complacency in the heart; God therefore subjects His servants to humbling reverses, and pours them from vessel to vessel, lest they should be settled on their lees. In the performance of s good work the encounter of difficulties is salutary, and it is permitted in profound wisdom. He that sits in the seat of the scornful seldom needs to sit long there alone. Here we observe the leading mocker is soon joined by a humble imitator, in the same strain of ridicule at the works of earnest piety. Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. And so it has been in all ages. The most solemn scenes and venerable characters, the greatest actions and the grandest enterprises, have encountered the derision of bad men, sitting in the seat of the scorner. The leading infidel of the Continent in the close of last century vented his malicious jests at the sublime verities of the Christian faith, and sneered at the redemption of the world by the blood of Gods Son. Thus, too, the profane wits of the time laughed to scorn the commencement of the great enterprise of modern missions to the heathen, and derided the proposal to convert the world to the Christian faith, while only a few pounds were as yet in the treasury, and some illiterate artizans were consecrated the apostles of the gospel to India. All such mockers overlook this one thing, that the cause of truth has God for its author, and therefore faith in effort for its advancement rests on Omnipotence for success. It requires but little talent to raise a laugh against the affections and works of piety.

IV. The devotion of Judah under Nehemiah. In narrating the zeal of the builders, Nehemiah makes no mention of his own great service in the common cause. He was the soul of the whole undertaking–planning, animating, and sustaining it, at every, point; yet he never once refers to himself among those whose names are recorded with honour. In the outset of the enterprise, while it still prospers, this truly great man narrates the progress of the work in the third person, as if he had had no share in the honourable toil. But so soon as difficulties occur, the style of the history is changed, and he takes his place under the term we, among the sufferers for the cause of truth. It is a beautiful example of modesty and humility to all the servants of God. Nehemiah in this hour of trial displays great forbearance under wrong. The proud scorn he encountered might have provoked his resentment to inflict punishment on its despicable authors. He was high in favour with the king, and it would probably have been easy for him to obtain power to chastise these adversaries of his country; but he is as distinguished for patience as for courage. There is not a Christian that suffers reproach in serving Christ, but the Lord feels it as done to Himself; and unless mercy is asked to pardon the affront, it will be visited with the wrath of the Lamb for evermore.

V. The zeal of the people for the completion of the work. Derision and discouragement drive multitudes from the support of a good cause. Many have begun to run well in their religious course. How many, too, are frightened away from a good work by the sneers and opposition directed against those who are zealous in its promotion. They believe the enterprise to be right in itself, they are persuaded it is fraught with blessings to men; but they cannot bear the jests or banter which open adherence to it entails. (W. Ritchie.)

Honourable mention

It was natural that the Pasha should thus make honourable mention of those who came to the front, and threw their energies into this patriotic work. Nehemiah was doubtless anxious to hand down to posterity the names of all who were leaders in the movement; he did not wish to take to himself the whole credit of the work; we may be sure that he wrote down this register of names with both pleasure and pride. We find that priests, rulers, merchants, and tradesmen all took a share in this enterprise; and, where the work of the Lord is concerned, it is only becoming that there should be this unity of spirit and division of labour. Often, in our modern Christian Churches, too much is left to the ministers of religion; and sometimes one man is expected to do a work which ought to be shared by a whole congregation. The merchant and tradesman will sometimes plead the engrossing claims of business or the pressure of bad times as a reason for holding aloof from the varied efforts of Christian benevolence; and it is to be feared also that some of our modern aristocrats are prevented by the haughty and foolish pride of rank from throwing their energies and influence into the activities of the Christian Church. (T. C. Finlayson.)

A godly ancestry

To us Nehemiahs catalogue of the builders may now seem to be little more than a dry register of names. But it is not difficult to imagine how interesting it may have been for generations after it was written. As Jerusalem began to grow again in power and splendour, men would scan with eager interest the list of those who had engaged in such a brave and self-denying work. We can imagine how, centuries later, the eye of some young boy might kindle with pride and enthusiasm when he read here, in one of the sacred books, the name of some ancestor of his own, who had nobly borne his part in building up the walls of Jerusalem. It is a grand thing to come of a patriotic or godly lineage. (T. C. Finlayson.)

At work

Words have given place to deeds.

I. In looking over this list of workers we are struck with the fact that they are drawn from all classes of society.

1. The priests took a prominent part in this work. Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep-gate. We fear that, as respects the high priest, what he did in this way was not a work of love. Some years afterwards, much to Nehemiahs regret, this same Eliashib acted a very unworthy and unpatriotic part: and we suspect it was more for the sake of appearances than from any real wish to promote the success of the enterprise that he was found among the builders mentioned in this chapter. Again, it was quite right the priest should be active on this occasion, for it was owing in a great measure to their unfaithfulness–to the unfaithfulness, that is, of the priesthood prior to the time of the Babylonian captivity, that the city was laid in ruins. In Jeremiah we read, The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew Me not; the pastors also transgressed against Me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

2. The rulers, too, or princes of the house of Israel, took a leading part in repairing the wall, and, as in the case of the priests, it was proper they should; for their misconduct, their evil practices, had contributed greatly to bring about the downfall of the city (Mic 3:9; Mic 3:12). The advantages of co-operation were thus secured. By means of this combination the work was done quickly, simultaneously, and economically. Here, certainly, was a remarkable spectacle: all classes of the community concentrating their energies on a common object. Difference of opinion and rivalries might exist among them, but for the nonce these were sunk in the achievement of a purpose dear to every patriotic heart.

II. That the work referred to was under-taken by parties from various localities, and not by the citizens of the capital alone. Thus we read, And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. The Tekoites are also named, and the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, and the inhabitants of Zanoah, and the rulers of Bethhaccerem–these and others from places round about are represented as co-operating with the residents of the city in repairing the wall. It was a work of national importance, and as such it was regarded by those just named.

III. On further examining this register we find incidental references in it that should not be overlooked.

1. The first of these I will name relates to the aristocracy of Tekoah, and is evidently not intended to be complimentary to them. The Tekoites, as a people, were not backward, but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. They dishonoured themselves by standing aloof as they did at this crisis. Their conduct, it is true, might have been worse. If they were not active in it, we cannot say of them that they were active in their opposition to it. You have known persons not content with a passive attitude towards what is good. What restless–yea, raging opponents Christianity in its early days had to encounter!

2. In striking contrast to the supineness of the nobles of Tekoah was the conduct of Baruch the son of Zabbai. Nehemiah says of him that he earnestly repaired his section of the wall. He specially commends the zeal of Baruch. Luther, Wesley, Whitfield, these also are names with which, among other high qualities, will ever be associated an unflagging zeal, as attested by their more abundant labours. Did the keen glance of Nehemiah note the zeal of Baruch? and shall the eye of God pass over unnoticed one earnest worker for Him anywhere, or at any time?

3. The third and last incidental reference to which I shall call your attention informs us that there were those engaged in this wall-building whom we should hardly have expected to find thus employed. At verse 12 we read, And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. All honour to them. We think of others of their sex who have toiled right worthily, and in some instances heroically, in the service of Christ. The case of Sister Dora of the Walsall Cottage Hospital occurs to us. We think too of some who are thus labouring to-day; ladies by birth and education who have consecrated their property and their lives to the Lord, for whose dear sake they shrink not from menial tasks, and repulsive ministries, and risks and dangers, to face which requires a loftier courage than nerves the soldier for the battlefield. (T. Rowson.)

Individual labours

The workman is always the worlds true nobleman. To pay others to do some portion of our work for us does not absolve us from the duty of personal labour. Every merchant knows that for him to pay a manager and a staff of clerks to conduct his business, while he himself goes away into the country to live and enjoy himself, means, in nine cases out of ten, the decline of his receipts, the breaking up of his trade connection, and presently, the ruin of his business. Every lady knows that to engage servants is not sufficient to secure the order and wholesomeness of her rooms, the regularity of meals in the house, nor the comfort of her husband, herself, and her children. The master, the mistress, must themselves think, and plan, and labour. In Church-work the same law is in force to its utmost jot and tittle. (A. G. Griffith.)

Lifes masonry

More than one figure in Scripture represents the work of life as a building (1Pe 2:4-5; Mat 16:18; 1Co 3:10-15).

I. Every one to contribute his life-toil to the building up of the city of God.

II. Every man has his own appointed sphere and kind of work.

1. Every one must find his own task.

2. Every one must be content with his own task.

III. Every man contributes but a fragment to the great whole.

IV. Every man to work in harmonious aim with his fellow-builders.

V. The united work is superintended by the great architect.

1. He only understands the whole of the great intricate plan of life.

2. He is near us with directions.

3. Let the thought, Thou God seest me, animate us at our toil. (Homiletic Commentary.)

A suggestive Church record

I. The potency of personal influence. Nehemiah created a spirit of enthusiasm which set all this train of exertion in motion.

II. The force of example. The priests took the lead in the common labour.

III. Advantages of systematic organisation. Each volunteer made responsible for some limited portion of work.

IV. The gigantic result achievable by individual action. Like coral insects at work, the multitude of builders each did his part of the whole.

V. The diversity of disposition revealed by the great emergency.

1. Enthusiastic work.

2. Refusal to put the neck to the yoke.

VI. The consentaneity of purpose and effort which a great emergency demands and is calculated to bring about. VII. The diversity of gifts which a great emergency calls into requisition. (Homiletic Commentary.)

Associated labour

A single bee, with all its industry, energy, and innumerable journeys it has to perform, will not collect more than a teaspoonful of honey in a single season, and yet the total weight of honey taken from a single hive is often from sixty to one hundred pounds. A very profitable lesson to mankind of what may arise from associated labour. (Scientific Illustrations, etc.)

The building of the wall

Learn–

I. That while God grants success to earnest effort, that very success will often arouse opposition.

II. Opposition to earnest work generally comes from the mixed multitude who hover round the true people of God.

III. What one man dare not do alone, he is emboldened to do by association with others; and often men of diverse opinions and tastes are banded together to oppose Gods work, their only bond of union being a desire to have it stopped.

IV. Timid and fearful ones there are in every community whose hearts readily fail them, and who often think that the good cause is about to be worsted.

V. In almost every christian church the ardour of the few is more or less damped by the apathy of the many.

VI. We must watch as well as pray. A Russian proverb says, When in a storm, pray to God and row to the shore.

VII. The oneness of the workers, and that they should encourage each other when beset by friend or foe.

VIII. Steady and persistent work tells best in the long run.

IX. That even in the midst of arduous labour for the Lord, the decencies and proprieties of life are in no wise overlooked. (W. P. Lockhart.)

Ministers should be leaders

The ministers of Christ must not only give good exhortation to their flocks, but also put their own shoulder to the work. Example is mightier than precept. The roads in the Ban de la Roche were soon levelled and put in order when the good pastor Oberlin set the example of manual toil to his parishioners. (J. M. Randall.)

Merchant workers

In our own country, the names of Henry Thornton, Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Sir Francis Crossley, and Samuel Budget, will occur to many. Our merchants and tradesmen have indeed glorious opportunities for extending the Redeemers name, if they had but a mind to the work. (J. M. Randall.)

And next unto him builded the men of Jericho.

System and detail in work

A great work–

I. Can only be planned by a great mind.

II. Can only be carried out by a division of labour.

III. Can only be accomplished by attention to details. Bars and locks.

IV. Brings out special adaptations.

V. Must have regard to practical utility. The fish-gate as necessary as the repairing of temple wall.

VI. Must be inspired by a lofty purpose.

VII. Must look on to the future. It must have in it the element of permanence. (Homiletic Commentary.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER III

The names of those who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem; and the

part assigned to each person, 1-32.

NOTES ON CHAP. III

Verse 1. Eliashib the high priest] It was right that the priests should be first in this holy work; and perhaps the sheep gate which is mentioned here is that by which the offerings or sacrifices were brought into the temple.

They sanctified it] As they began with the sacred offering as soon as they got an altar built, it was proper that the gate by which these sacrifices entered should be consecrated for this purpose, i. e., set apart, so that it should be for this use only.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Eliashib the high priest; grandchild of Joshua, the first high priest after their return from Babylon.

Rose up; began the work.

They builded the sheep-gate; which was next to the temple; so called, either from the sheep-market, or the sheep-pool of Bethesda, Joh 5:2, where the sheep were washed, and then brought to the temple to be sacrificed.

They sanctified it; or, they prepared or repaired it; for so the word sometimes signifies. But our translation seems best, both because that use of the word is most common, and because this is spoken only of this gate, which being built by the priests, and nighest to the temple, and with a special eye to the service of the temple, for which both men and things were most commonly brought in this way, and being also the first part of the building, might be in a peculiar manner sanctified by solemn prayer and sacrifice, whereby it was dedicated to Gods service; and this either as it was considered in itself, or with respect to the rest of the building, of which this was the beginning, and in a manner the first-fruits, and therefore in the sanctification of it the whole lump and building was sanctified. And seeing the whole city is oft called the holy city, it is not strange if the walls and gates of it be also holy, and said to be sanctified, and especially this gate. Compare Deu 20:5.

The tower of Meah, or, of a hundred; so called, either because it was a hundred cubits high, or so far distant from the sheep-gate.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1. Then Eliashib the high priestthegrandson of Jeshua, and the first high priest after the return fromBabylon.

rose up with his brethren theprieststhat is, set an example by commencing the work, theirlabors being confined to the sacred localities.

and they builded the sheepgateclose to the temple. Its name arose either from the sheepmarket, or from the pool of Bethesda, which was there (Joh5:2). There the sheep were washed and then taken to the templefor sacrifice.

they sanctified it, and setup the doorsBeing the common entrance into the temple, and thefirst part of the building repaired, it is probable that somereligious ceremonies were observed in gratitude for its completion.”It was the first-fruits, and therefore, in the sanctificationof it, the whole lump and building was sanctified” [POOLE].

the tower of MeahThisword is improperly considered, in our version, as the name of atower; it is the Hebrew word for “a hundred,” sothat the meaning is: they not only rebuilt the sheep gate, but also ahundred cubits of the wall, which extended as far as the tower ofHananeel.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests,…. This was the grandson of Jeshua or Joshua the high priest, his father’s name was Joiakim, Ne 12:10, being high priest, and rising first, he set a good example both to the priests and to the people, and served no doubt greatly to animate and encourage them:

and they built the sheep gate; so called, because the sheep were led through it to the temple, and near it was the sheep market, where they were sold, and the sheep pool, where the sacrifices were washed; and this being near the temple, and for the service of it, the priests undertook that; not that they laboured with their hands at it, though it is possible some of them might; but they were at the expense of it, employed labourers, and paid them, and directed them, and had the oversight of them: this gate was to the south of the city; and Rauwolff u says, it was still standing by Moriah, the mountain of the temple, which the Turks have taken to themselves, and built on it a Turkish mosque or temple. Near the gate you see still, he says, the sheep pond, which is large and deep, wherein the Nethinims used to wash the beasts, and then gave them to the priests; it is said w to lead to the mount of Olives, to Bethany, to Jericho, the desert, and all the east country to Jordan:

they sanctified it; this being for sacred use, and they sacred persons; and this the first part of the building, they prayed for a blessing on it, and in it on the whole work undertaken, of which this was the firstfruits:

and set up the doors of it; and so finished it:

even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel; so far they built, and what they built they sanctified. The tower of Meah, or a “hundred”, as the word signifies, might be so called, either because it was one hundred cubits from the sheep gate on one side, and as many from the tower of Hananeel on the other side, standing between both; or because it was one hundred cubits high: these two towers, perhaps, were firm and strong, and needed no repair, since no mention is made of any; though they seem to me to be one and the same tower; see Jer 31:38.

u Travels, par. 3. c. 3. p. 226, 228. w Vid. Quistorp. in loc.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The narrative of the building is connected with what precedes by , which alludes to the carrying out of the resolve, , Neh 2:18. The enumeration begins with Eliashib the high priest and his brethren, i.e., the ordinary priests. These built the sheep-gate, rightly sought by modern topographers in the eastern wall north of Haram, the site of the ancient temple, i.e., in the position or neighbourhood of the present St. Stephen’s gate, through which the Bedouins to this day drive sheep into the town for sale (Tobler, Topogr. i. p. 149). “Although,” as Bertheau remarks, “we are not generally justified, after the lapse of so many centuries, during which great changes have been made in the positions of the gates and walls, and in face of the fact that the present walls and gates were not erected till the years 1536, 1537, and 1539, in determining the direction and extent of the walls between the several gates, and the locality of the gates in this description, by the direction and extent of the wall and the locality of the gates in modern Jerusalem (Tobl. Topogr. Dritte Wanderung, p. 265), yet in the present instance valid arguments exist in favour of this view. The very neighbourhood of the temple and the nature of the soil bear witness that from ancient times a gate was placed here which took its name from the circumstance that sheep were driven in by it, whether for sale in the market or for sacrificial purposes.”

(Note: In the neighbourhood of this gate was the pool of Bethesda (Joh 5:2), i.e., either the present Birket Israel or Birket es Serain, south of St. Stephen’s gate (Tobler, Denkbltter, p. 53f., and Dritte Wanderung, p. 221), or the Struthion pool mentioned by Josephus, bell. Jud. v. 11. 4, ; Krafft, Topographie von Jerusalem, p. 127f.)

They sanctified it and set up its doors: and to the tower Hammeah they sanctified it unto the tower Hananeel. , to sanctify, to dedicate (comp. 1Ki 8:64), can here only mean that the priests dedicated that portion of building on which they were engaged, as soon as they had finished it, for the purpose of sanctifying the whole work by this preliminary consecration; the solemn dedication of the whole wall not taking place till afterwards, and being related Neh 12:27. The setting up of the doors in the gates did not, according to Neh 6:1, take place till after all the breaches in the wall had been repaired, i.e., till the building of the wall was completed. It is, however, mentioned here, and in Neh 3:3, Neh 3:6, etc., contemporaneously with the wall-building; because the builders of the several gates, undertaking also the construction and setting up of the doors, the intention is to give a summary of the work executed by the respective building parties. is still dependent on , that is to say, this verb must be mentally repeated before the words: they built to the tower Hammeah, they sanctified it (the suffix in can only relate to ). must also be repeated before : and they built further, unto the tower Hananeel. The tower (the hundred) is only mentioned here and Neh 12:39, but the tower Hananeel is likewise spoken of Jer 31:38 and Zec 14:10. From these passages it appears that the two towers were so situated, that any one going from west to east along the north wall of the city, and thence southward, would first come to the tower Hananeel, and afterwards to the tower Hammeah, and that both were between the fish-gate and the sheep-gate. From the passages in Jeremiah and Zechariah especially, it is evident that the tower Hananeel stood at the north-east corner of the wall. Hence the statement in this verse, that the portion of wall built by the priests extended to the north-east corner of the wall; and the tower Hammeah must be sought between the sheep-gate and the north-east corner of the wall. Whence the names of these towers were derived is unknown.

Neh 3:2

Next to him built the men of Jericho (comp. Ezr 2:24); and next to them built Zaccur the son of Imri. The suffix of the first , though in the singular number, refers to Eliashib and the priests (Neh 3:1), and that of the second to the men of Jericho, while in Neh 3:4 and Neh 3:9, on the contrary, a singular noun is followed by ; both and expressing merely the notion beside, next to, and builders of the respective portions being at one time regarded as in a plural, at another in a singular sense (as a company). The portion built by the men of Jericho and Zaccur the son of Imri, the head of a family, not mentioned elsewhere, let between the tower Hananeel and the fish-gate in the north wall. When individuals are, like Zaccur, mentioned in the following description, e.g., Neh 3:4, Neh 3:6, as builders or repairers of portions of wall, they are heads of houses who engaged in the work of building at the head of the fathers of families and individuals who were dependent on them.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

The Rebuilding of the Wall.

B. C. 445.

      1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.   2 And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.   3 But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.   4 And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana.   5 And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.   6 Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.   7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river.   8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.   9 And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem.   10 And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.   11 Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces.   12 And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.   13 The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate.   14 But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.   15 But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king’s garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David.   16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Beth-zur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty.   17 After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part.   18 After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah.   19 And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against the going up to the armoury at the turning of the wall.   20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.   21 After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.   22 And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain.   23 After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house.   24 After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner.   25 Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house, that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.   26 Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.   27 After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel.   28 From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house.   29 After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate.   30 After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber.   31 After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith’s son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner.   32 And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.

      The best way to know how to divide this chapter is to observe how the work was divided among the undertakers, that every one might know what he had to do, and mind it accordingly with a holy emulation, and desire to excel, yet without any contention, animosity, or separate interest. No strife appears among them but which should do most for the public good. Several things are observable in the account here given of the building of the wall about Jerusalem:–

      I. That Eliashib the high priest, with his brethren the priests, led the van in this troop of builders, v. 1. Ministers should be foremost in every good work; for their office obliges them to teach and quicken by their example, as well as by their doctrine. If there be labour in it, who so fit as they to work? if danger, who so fit as they to venture? The dignity of the high priest was very great, and obliged him to signalize himself in this service. The priests repaired the sheep-gate, so called because through it were brought the sheep that were to be sacrificed in the temple; and therefore the priests undertook the repair of it because the offerings of the Lord made by fire were their inheritance. And of this gate only it is said that they sanctified it with the word and prayer, and perhaps with sacrifices perhaps, 1. Because it led to the temple; or, 2. Because with this the building of the wall began, and it is probable (though they were at work in all parts of the wall at the same time) that this was first finished, and therefore at this gate they solemnly committed their city and the walls of it to the divine protection; or, 3. Because the priests were the builders of it; and it becomes ministers above others, being themselves in a peculiar manner sanctified to God, to sanctify to him all their performances, and to do even their common actions after a godly sort.

      II. That the undertakers were very many, who each took his share, some more and some less, in this work, according as their ability was. Note, What is to be done for the public good every one should assist in, and further, to the utmost of his place and power. United force will conquer that which no individual dares venture on. Many hands will make light work.

      III. That many were active in this work who were not themselves inhabitants of Jerusalem, and therefore consulted purely the public welfare and not any private interest or advantage of their own. Here are the men of Jericho with the first (v. 2), the men of Gibeon and Mizpah (v. 7), and Zanoah, v. 13. Every Israelite should lend a hand towards the building up of Jerusalem.

      IV. That several rulers, both of Jerusalem and of other cities, were active in this work, thinking themselves bound in honour to do the utmost that their wealth and power enabled them to do for the furtherance of this good work. But it is observable that they are called rulers of part, or the half part, of their respective cities. One was ruler of the half part of Jerusalem (v. 12), another of part of Beth-haccerem (v. 14), another of part of Mizpah (v. 15), another of the half part of Beth-zur (v. 16), one was ruler of one half part, and another of the other half part, of Keilah,Neh 3:17; Neh 3:18. Perhaps the Persian government would not entrust any one with a strong city, but appointed two to be a watch upon each other. Rome had two consuls.

      V. Here is a just reproach fastened upon the nobles of Tekoa, that they put not their necks to the work of their Lord (v. 5), that is, they would not come under the yoke of an obligation to this service; as if the dignity and liberty of their peerage were their discharge from serving God and doing good, which are indeed the highest honour and the truest freedom. Let not nobles think any thing below them by which they may advance the interests of their country; for what else is their nobility good for but that it puts them in a higher and larger sphere of usefulness than that in which inferior persons move?

      VI. Two persons joined in repairing the old gate (v. 6), and so were co-founders, and shared the honour of it between them. The good work which we cannot compass ourselves we must be thankful to those that will go partners with us in. Some think that this is called the old gate because it belonged to the ancient Salem, which was said to be first built by Melchizedek.

      VII. Several good honest tradesmen, as well as priests and rulers, were active in this work–goldsmiths, apothecaries, merchants,Neh 3:8; Neh 3:32. They did not think their callings excused them, nor plead that they could not leave their shops to attend the public business, knowing that what they lost would certainly be made up to them by the blessing of God upon their callings.

      VIII. Some ladies are spoken of as helping forward this work–Shallum and his daughters (v. 12), who, though not capable of personal service, yet having their portions in their own hands, or being rich widows, contributed money for buying materials and paying workmen. St. Paul speaks of some good women that laboured with him in the gospel, Phil. iv. 3.

      IX. Of some it is said that they repaired over against their houses (Neh 3:10; Neh 3:23; Neh 3:28; Neh 3:29), and of one (who, it is likely, was only a lodger) that he repaired over against his chamber, v. 30. When a general good work is to be done each should apply himself to that part of it that falls nearest to him and is within his reach. If every one will sweep before his own door, the street will be clean; if every one will mend one, we shall be all mended. If he that has but a chamber will repair before that, he does his part.

      X. Of one it is said that he earnestly repaired that which fell to his share (v. 20)– he did it with an inflamed zeal; not that others were cold or indifferent, but he was the most vigorous of any of them and consequently made himself remarkable. It is good to be thus zealously affected in a good thin; and it is probable that this good man’s zeal provoked very many to take the more pains and make the more haste.

      XI. Of one of these builders it is observed that he was the sixth son of his father, v. 30. His five elder brethren, it seems, laid not their hand to this work, but he did. In doing that which is good we need not stay to see our elders go before us; if they decline it, it does not therefore follow that we must. Thus the younger brother, if he be the better man, and does God and his generation better service, is indeed the better gentleman; those are most honourable that are most useful.

      XII. Some of those that had first done helped their fellows, and undertook another share where they saw there was most need. Meremoth repaired, v. 4 and again, v. 21. And the Tekoites, besides the piece they repaired (v. 5), undertook another piece (v. 27), which is the more remarkable because their nobles set them a bad example by withdrawing from the service, which, instead of serving them for an excuse to sit still, perhaps made them the more forward to do double work, that by their zeal they might either shame or atone for the covetousness and carelessness of their nobles.

      Lastly, Here is no mention of any particular share that Nehemiah himself had in this work. A name-sake of his is mentioned, v. 16. But did he do nothing? Yes, though he undertook not any particular piece of the wall, yet he did more than any of them, for he had the oversight of them all; half of his servants worked where there was most need, and the other half stood sentinel, as we find afterwards (ch. iv. 16), while he himself in his own person walked the rounds, directed and encouraged the builders, set his hand to the work where he saw occasion, and kept a watchful eye upon the motions of the enemy, as we shall find in the next chapter. The pilot needs not haul at a rope: it is enough for him to steer.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Nehemiah – Chapter 3

Wall-Builders, Verses 1-32

Nehemiah’s construction of the walls around the city of Jerusalem

is one of the best lessons in co-operation to be found in all the Scriptures. The builders comprised a continuous chain of workmen all the way around the wall. Beginning with the sheep gate, adjacent to the temple on the northeast side of the city, the builders and their sections of construction are followed counter-clockwise around the walls until the return to the sheep gate (verses 1,32). Not a single section was omitted from the building, but all the wall rose simultaneously.

A number of persons are named, and families, who built sections of the wall. Perhaps it is fitting that Eliashib the high priest, and the other priests took the first section, which was the sheep gate. Not only did people living in the city itself actively engage in the building, but a number of outlying towns and villages were involved. These included the men of Jericho (v. 2), the Tekoites (v. 5), men of Gibeon and Mizpah (v. 7), inhabitants of Zanoah (v. 13), Beth-haccerem (v. 14), Beth-zur (v. 16), Keilah (vv. 17,18), men of the plain (v. 22). Some of these were not Israelites by birth (v. 7), some were merchants (vs. 31,32) and tradesmen (v. 8). The rulers of the city and of the towns and villages were represented (vv. 5,9,14-16, etc.), but the nobles of Tekoa did not put their necks into the work (v. 5). Some men built sections with the aid of their family (vv. 10,30), and one was aided by his daughters (v. 12). Beside the chief priests other representatives of the temple ministry were the Levites (v. 17), the common priests (vv. 22,28), the Nethinim (v. 26), and the porters (v. 29).

There is a very important lesson to be learned from this. It takes all God’s people, of all walks of life, men and women, filling every place of service, to accomplish the greatest good in the cause of Christ (2Co 6:1).

It is well to note the kinds of construction necessary to make the city strong and secure. The sheep gate is thought to have been the place where the temple sacrifices were brought in; the fish gate, in the north wall, where the fishermen brought in their catch to the market (v. 3); the old gate (v. 6) is not identifiable today, but coming where it does in the context, suggests it may have been the same as the corner gate, in the northwest corner of the wall, where a later section of wall has its confluence with the older section; the valley gate (v. 13) was at the low southwest corner, overlooking the valley of Hinnom; the dung gate, in the south wall, was used to remove garbage and offal from the city and temple (v. 13); the fountain gate (v. 15) was on the southeast corner of the wall, looking out to the juncture of the valleys of Hinnom and the brook Kidron; the water gate (v. 26) was about midway of the eastern wall, and was probably the access of those who brought in water for the purification rites of the temple; the horse gate (v. 27) was formerly used to bring in the horses used in pagan practices of some of the kings, and was located between the water gate and the sheep gate on the northeast. The east gate is mentioned (v. 29). It gave access to the temple area of the city and led outside to the potter’s field.

Other structures in the wall building included many towers, lookout stations (v. 1 and others); special fortifications around the governor’s house to afford him extra protection (vv. 7-8); tower of the furnaces (v. 11), located adjacent to the corner gate and the baker’s street, from whose ovens it probably received its designation; special construction alongside the tomb of David (v. 16), the armory (v. 19), the outlying tower, king’s house, and prison (v. 25). The wall was completely constructed, all the way around, not one section being omitted.

Every gate was constructed of heavy timbers of upright beams on strong foundations, with parallel bars of the same sturdy timber. Each was equipped with heavy locks to secure it. Each had doors of access for those who went in and out after the gates were closed for the night, or during siege (vv. 3,6,13,14,15). It seemed that everything necessary was done to provide the city’s security. Compare Christ’s accomplishment for the believer (2Co 5:18-21).

These important lessons may be learned: 1) the Lord expects cooperation of His people as they work for Him; 2) the members of the family, the community, the occupational group, whatever, should alike be interested in the work of Christ; 3) access and exit in the Lord’s churches should be strong and well guarded; 4) no area of worship in the service of the Lord should be neglected.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

THE DIFFICULTIES OF REBUILDING

The opening chapter acquaints us with Nehemiahs very soul. The heart of the man is here exposed and the reader is permitted his deepest thought. He inquires after the remnant left in Jerusalem and learns that they are in great affliction and reproach, the walls of the city broken down, the gates burned, and he not only sits him down to weep, but mourns for days and fasts and prays before the God of Heaven, and his prayer as reported in chapter 1, Neh 1:5-11, is a model of intercession, while chapters 2 to 7 record the result of that petition before God.

These seven chapters suggest three things:

First, the strain of prayer and the exercise of patience. Chapters 1 and 2,

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven,

And said, I beseech Thee, O Lord God of Heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love Him and observe His commandments:

Let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest hear the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee now, day and night, for the Children of Israel Thy servants, and confess the sins of the Children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee: both I and my fathers house have sinned.

We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses.

Remember, I beseech Thee, the word that Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

But if ye turn unto Me, and keep My commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the Heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My name there.

Now these are Thy servants and Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy great power, and by Thy strong hand.

O Lord, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant, and to the prayer of Thy servants, who desire to fear Thy Name: and prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the kings cupbearer (Neh 1:1-11).

Neh 2:1-20.

And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.

Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,

And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers sepulchres, lieth waste and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of Heaven.

And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers sepulchres, that I may build it.

And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;

And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the kings forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the kings letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.

When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the Children of Israel.

So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.

And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.

Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the kings pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.

And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the kings words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said. What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of Heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem (Neh 2:1-20).

I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven (Neh 1:4). There are people who make easy work of prayer. They either repeat what their mothers taught them in infancy, Now I lay me down to sleep, or else they think over what they would like to have and lightly tell God about it at night or in the morning; or else they remember the famous story of the saint who was heard to say, Well, Lord, Pm glad we are on the same good terms! Good-night! and the whole exercise is finished. Or perhaps, as possibly the greater multitude, forget to pray before retiring, awake in the night and remember it, and while formulating the phrases, fall to sleep again.

There are people who never pray without agonizing. They hold a conviction that any appeal addressed to God must be voiced in sobs if heard in Heaven, and they take on prayer tones and assume sorrow, contrition, agony of soul, and such are wont to think that no one prays who does not cry aloud; but while such patented prayers produce strange and almost revolting feelings on the part of the discerning, it remains a fairly well established fact that true praying is no easy or lackadaisical task.

The prayer of Jacob at Peniel was no slight mental exercise. It consisted not in framing a few petitions. It is described in the Book as a wrestling with God all the night through, a clinging that would not let Him go without a blessing. Abraham in praying for Sodom, continued his petition; advanced his requests and did not let God go until the best possible proffer was secured. Moses in agony for Israel reached the point where he begged that if God would not bless them, He should blot his name out of the Book of remembrance. In Gethsemane, Jesus remained on knees and wrestled with the Father and not only cried in agony, If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me, but sweat great drops of blood.

Prayer is no mere passing of time in talk; prayer is no mere opportunity of literary expression or homiletical arrangement; prayer, at its best, is an agony; prayer, at its best, utterly exhausts; prayer consumes!

Christ, Himself, in teaching us how to pray, employed the illustration of the importunate widow who would not be turned aside but, prostrate before the unjust judge, kept her petitions going until he was wearied with her. Many times I have heard Dwight L: Moody pray and the memory of it will never pass from my mind. I am perfectly confident that a five-minute prayer passing Moodys lips exhausted him more than five hours of hard physical labor would have done; more than the hour sermon that followed, for while Moody assumed no agonizing tones, prayer with him was indeed a soul exercise. He went trembling into the presence of God, as Esther approached the king. He ordered his cause before Him as one who felt that the highest human interests and holiest were at stake. He came not back until he was conscious that he had been heard and his hearts request was fully before God.

Listen to the language of Nehemiahs prayer; I beseech Thee, O Lord God of Heaven * * Let Thine ear now be attentive and Thine eyes open. I pray before Thee now, day and night (Neh 1:3; Neh 1:6). Hear his confession of sin, Both I and my fathers house have sinned, Remember, I beseech Thee, and again, O Lord, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant. Grant him mercy in the sight of this man, for he was the kings cupbearer.

But if prayer is exhausting, to wait for the answer is equally if not more so; for the man who truly prays is impatient. He yearns; he longs! Nehemiahs prayer seems to have been made in the month Chisleu, or December, and he waited until Nisan or April, before he had a chance with the king. Four months is a long time to wait when every moment is freighted with anxiety. The reports that had come to him of the condition of his loved city and its sacred temple, and of these blood relatives to whom he was bound as only a Jew is bound to his own, made every day of waiting seem like an eternity.

John Knox was heard, in a secret place behind the hedge-row, to pray, O God, give me Scotland or I die. Three times the passer-by heard this petition, wrung from his soul, and yet even Knoxs agony never exceeded that of Nehemiahthe waiting, weeping man!

Think what it would mean to you if the temple that we are now demolishing at Tenth Street had been in such state for years, and the place to which we were once wont to go and gladly worship God, and in which we once waited with such delightful songs and profitable exercise of soul, was never to rise again, and we knew that only God could call back its towers and make possible the completion of its auditorium and breathe His own Spirit, like a soul, into the same!

Joseph Parker said, Can we hear of sacred places burning without a single tear? Could we hear of St. Pauls cathedral being burned down without feeling we had sustained an irreparable loss, and if anything happened to that grand old Abbey at Westminster, we should feel as if a sacred place was gone, a sanctuary indeed, and as if it were every Englishmans duty to help put it up again.

When the cathedral at Rheims was destroyed, the entire Christian world revolted and grieved, and justly so; but that was a matter of pride rather than of passion. We may be moved with the report that the mansion on the boulevard has burned, but the souls deeps are smitten when one stands before the smoldering ashes of his own home, the place where he has thought and wrought, hoped and helped, planned and prayed. In a great sense, such a place is an essential part of life itself, and to smite it is to smite the soul of man.

To wait for the new building to come, to abide patiently until the walls rise again, and to look unto God who alone can bring order out of chaos, victory out of defeat, restoration out of despair; that is the strain for which few men are sufficient, but under which Nehemiah stood steadfastly.

But the whole of exhausting is not in waiting. Nehemiah proved sufficient for a second thing, namely, the exhausting stimulus of seeing plans perfected.

There are people who imagine that all weariness is over when once a work is well begun, clearly under way, with every prospect of completion. On the contrary, the opposite is true. That is when and where the truest exhaustion takes place. Its exhilaration we grant; its stimulus is often mistaken for strength; but it is none the less consuming.

Some years ago Mrs. Riley and myself sat down to think through plans for a home. Weeks we spent upon those plans, and they were weeks of pleasure. Anticipation played conspicuous part and the enthusiasm of new thought for this convenience and that cheered and encouraged, but when the building time came, the constant watch and care-taking concern was exhausting.

The members of the building committee of the First Baptist Church would bear kindred testimony. I doubt if any building the city of Minneapolis holds, had more time expended in thinking through plans than the two buildings upon the plans of which we have been engaged for years. They have been drawn three times, and the utmost endeavor was put into every detail, and yet the actual construction itself, while stimulating, has proven also exhausting. It may be difficult for racers to wait the word Go, and it is; and when once the race is commenced, the very stimulus of prospective victory leads one to forget self and muscles are not conscious of the strain, but with joy yield themselves to their task. The goal, however, never fails to find an exhausted runner.

But the greatest difficulty of this rebuilding is found in a third circumstance, namely, the increasing load of every conceivable opposition.

This opposition took varied forms; in fact, almost every form possible to Satanic suggestion.

Its first form was scorn. Sanballat and Tobiah laughed, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? wilt they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

Then, with a great guffaw they continued, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall (Neh 4:2-3).

What so hard to endure as scorn; what so difficult to bear as a laugh? It stings like a hornet! It is one of the things against which it is hard to go. The Professor who teaches evolution also teaches his students that ridicule is an insult to science. They know its power and they also know that that subject deserves it; and on that account they wince at the very suggestion. But, on any subject, ridicule is hard to bear. However the true builder, a leader like Nehemiah and his co-laborers go on joining wall to wall and will not be laughed out of court on a great and needful enterprise.

Seeing this, Sanballat and Tobiah changed voices, and, joining with Arabians, Ammonites and Ashdodites, they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder if (Neh 4:7-8). The man who makes fun of you, when he finds his laughter ineffective, and your success assured, comes to hate, and if possible, to hurt. Human nature does not change through the coming and going of the centuries. All our enemies are of a kind; mockery at first, murder afterward. But, Gods man can commonly meet the true adversaries, Satans servants.

A far more difficult opposition is that recorded in the fifth chapter, the opposition of ones own. The Jews now join their complaints with the others, and the great cry of the people and their wives against their brethren was this:

We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live.

Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.

There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the kings tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards.

Yet now our flesh is the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards (Neh 5:2-5).

For the moment they forgot that no man among them had sacrificed as Nehemiah had sacrificed, and, in reckoning their losses, they overlooked the circumstance that he had shaken his lap out, leaving himself nothing. That was a harder opposition than was created by Sanballat and Tobiah.

The disappointment of Christs life was not in the fact that He faced the Cross; He came to do that. It was not in the cruelty of the nails that crushed His tender flesh; from all eternity that had been anticipated! But, His agony was in the lifting up a heel against Him by one out of the little circle, dear to Him. Never was sarcasm reduced to such keen edge and more deeply felt than in the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ, looking into the face of Judas, said, FRIEND, wherefore art thou come?

FRIENDwhat that must have meant to Judas! If he knew the Scriptures, like a flash, Psa 41:9 filled his thought. My own familiar FRIEND, in whom I trusted, which did eat of My bread, hath lifted up his heel against Me (Psa 41:9).

And yet again how he would recall the words of the great Zechariah (Zec 13:6), And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in Thine hands? Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My FRIENDS.

Blessed is the man, the members of whose house join with him in his enterprises; and cursed indeed is he who endures their opposition.

But Satan has other methods of opposition than scorn, warfare and domestic rebellion. In the sixth chapter Sanballat tried to effect a companionship and consequent compromise with Nehemiah. Four times over he sends requesting that they meet together for a conference and adjust their differences. The recent Convention of Baptists is now heralded as a triumph of brotherly love. The whole session has gone by and only a single protest characterized it, and only one man voiced that complaint and the newspapers have been filled with jubilation of the reports of peace. The fundamentalists have subsided and the path of the future is smooth! Such is the glared acclaim; and that in the face of the fact that in the last twelve months the most flagrant denials of the faith that ever passed the lips of Baptist men, or dribbled from the pens of Baptist writers, have gone brazenly into print. The peace that comes by a compromise of principle, a conference that results to the satisfaction of Gods enemies, a conference that follows a fellowship of Satanic plans; these are, after all, the most effective hindrances to the truth of God. And it is written to the eternal credit of Nehemiah that he fell into no such trap, but declined the conference, resented the approach, rejoicing that he had escaped the pit digged for him, and recorded the fact that the wall was finished on the twentieth and fifth day of the month, being completed in fifty-two days.

And this same man who had led in the building now organized to hold what he had gained, and the result was a revival.

Mark

THE STABLE FEATURES OF THIS REVIVAL

It commenced in a careful canvass of returned captives. The seventh chapter of the Book of Nehemiah would amaze the modernist, should he read the same. That individual imagines that the social surveys of the last few years constitute a twentieth century novelty, but here three thousand years ago Nehemiah orders a census taken with a view to knowing the strength of Israel and sounding out his possible resources, the fuller carrying out of which has seldom been equalled and never surpassed. The report rendered by the commissioned workers was perfect. He took count of the last man and of his possessions, and when it was finished, Nehemiah knew how many people he had upon whom he could dependforty-two thousand three hundred sixty, besides seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven servants and two hundred forty-five singing men and singing women.

There is a suggestion there for modernists; better count rather than estimate! My candid judgment is that the one sin that characterizes more ministers than any other is estimating versus counting. I went into a church where the preacher had claimed a congregation of forty-four hundred, and counted exactly twenty-two hundred seats, including the choir gallery; and in another church largely over-estimated, reporting six thousand, and counted exactly thirty-two hundred including the choir. Better count than estimate. One might greatly reduce his crowd but would increase his reputation for veracity and increase his self-respect. The man who goes to battle had best not count on soldiers he does not have, and the church of God is militant and cannot win its victories with congregations that are estimated, but never existed.

The relation, however, to such a careful reckoning of ones resources to a revival is intimate and logical. I am inclined to think that of the years of my pastorate in this church, no single meeting held in it has accomplished more for it than the two years campaign that commenced with a most careful canvass of the membership. A canvass itself suffices to bring a conviction of responsibility to the individual, and to waken interest in the task to be undertaken by the entire people. Nehemiah knew the principles of a revival thirty centuries ago as well as the evangelist knows them today.

The second feature of this revival is significant in the last degree: The Word of God was produced and read to all the people.

It was no brief reading; it went on for hours, from morning until midday, .before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the Book of the Law (Neh 8:3).

There will never be a revival of religion without a revival of Bible reading. We are publishing more Bibles than ever before in human history, but the individual is not reading the Bible as much as his father did, and the whole church of God feels the relapse. When the Christian takes his Book in hand and abides with it by the hour, when the family begins the day by reading a chapter from the Book, when the, preacher turns from textual sermons and revives expository preaching, when the Sunday School ceases from lesson helps and pores over the text itself, the revival will be well on the way.

There never will be strength in the church until we feed on the Bread from Heaven and on the meat of Gods Word; until we hold the milk bottle of that same Word to the lips of babes. If we would have a revival we must bring the Bible from its shelf of neglect; if we would have a revival we must exalt it against the charges of infidelity; if we would have a revival we must rescue the people themselves from indifference to this Book. We are novel readers now; we are readers of the daily newspapers; some few of the more industrious, are magazine readers; a smaller company still, are book-readers, but the Church of God waits Bible reading; and if the day of Bible study should suddenly break in upon usand there are some signs of it then as sure as day follows night, an unspeakable blessing immeasurable in extent, infinitely desirable in character, will fall on the sons of man.

But note again, Repentance, fasting, and a fresh covenant follows (Neh 8:9 to Neh 12:39). Impenitent people will never become Bible students. The gormandizing crowd will never give itself to Gods Word; the pleasure-seeking will never enter into covenant with the Lord.

However, if, in the wisdom of His grace, the present Bible movement voices itself in the fundamentals association, and the thousands of Bible conferences that have been held, in the Bible Unions of China and England, and America, shall result in earnest and sincere and increasing study of the Scriptures, we may well expect repentance to follow. Men will break with sin and will no longer make a god of their bellies, but will fast; and out of this conviction self-control will come and a fresh covenant, made in sincerity, and destined to be kept in the power of the Holy Spirit.

So much for the stable features of revival, let us conclude our Book study with

THE STUBBORN FACTS OF RE-OCCUPATION

These are recorded in chapters 11 to 13, and the first one that we face is this: The Jerusalem dwellers were recorded as especially favored. The rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city (Neh 11:1).

It is a significant suggestion: Jerusalem, the city of the king; Jerusalem, the captial city of the land; Jerusalem, the subject of every Jews love, and the choice of every Jews living.

It does make a difference where one lives. A Minneapolis minister, returning from the Orient, a few years since, in an address before the Baptist ministers, said, I spent some days in Jerusalem; it is a bum town!

But only the readers of the Old Testament know what the ancient Jerusalem was and what it meant to every living Jew. It was more than the capitol; it was more than the city of the king: it was more than beautiful; it was, to them, Divine! They believed that God Himself was there; and in a sense they were correct, for He had made every pledge of His Presence in the Temple, and He performed His promise. Ones life, in no small measure, is the result of ones location.

I think I may be pardoned in passing, if I pay tribute to this city. I declare it my conviction that life has meant more to me, that the burdens have pressed less heavily upon my shoulders, that the joy of living has itself been increased, and that I hold a confidence against decrepitude and old age that would be impossible, if I lived in a city less charming than this beautiful metropolis. Life is profoundly affected by location. In the northern woods of Minnesota I stumbled suddenly and unexpectedly upon a small house. I was hungry and supposed myself beyond the pale of civilization. Going in I was met at the door by a charming looking woman to whom I said, I am hungry and have a party of four friends with me; would it be possible for you to give us a dinner? She graciously answered, It would be a delight to give you a dinner; bring your friends in. When the dinner was over and I tried to pay her, she declined to receive anything, and it was only by leaving the money on the table that I could force it upon her. She said, I have not seen a living face, except that of my little son, for three months; you cannot imagine the pleasure this dinner has been to me, for it has meant companionship. I asked, Will you tell me why you live here away from all civilization and friends?

Yes, sir, I live here with pleasure and with joy. In Southern Illinois I dragged a miserable existence; in these north woods my health is recovered and living is a joy.

Who will say that location has nothing to do with living. Jerusalem! Ah, that was the city coveted by every Jew, and the tenth man permitted to dwell there dwelt not only nigh to the Temple but nigh to God; and whatever else may be said of the Jew, it was the acme of his existence that he believed God and sought to live near God.

You will find again that in this city special provision was made for the priests and Levites. God never forgets those He calls to be His special servants !

There are special promises made to all Gods people! In fact, Dean Frost, our former great-souled co-laborer, used to say that there were thousands of promises in the Bible, and that with a solitary exception, they were all made to Gods own, and that exception was salvation proffered to the sinner. But while all Gods people are the subject of promises, the servant whose entire time is devoted to Gods work is the subject of His special promise, and the object of His constant care. The Levite was never forgotten; the priest was never overlooked. By law the provisions made for them both were adequate.

I meet a good many ministers who tell me they feel it incumbent upon them to look out for themselves, and judging by their conduct, they are keen on the job. They hunt for positions; they seek compensation; they corral opportunities. It all raises a serious question, whether one has much to do with the subject of caring for himself if he be the true servant of God, or whether it is sufficient for him to devote himself to that service and leave the whole question of his care to Him who careth and never faileth.

Finally, by the Law of the Lord certain were excluded from the city. Chapter 13.

Mark who they were: Ammonites and Moabites were not to come into the congregation of God forever, and note the reason, They met not the Children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them that he should curse them (Neh 13:2).

It is a grievous thing to refuse help to Gods people in the hour of their need. It is more grievous, a thousand-fold, than the average man imagines. It is not a rejection of the people onlyit is a rejection of Him. The twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew is a further presentation of this subject. The great day of Judgment has come; men are separated to the right and to the left, after the manner of sheep and goats, and the King is saying to them on His right hand,

Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in:

Naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.

Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink?

When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee?

Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.

Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink:

I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not.

Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?

Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal (Mat 25:34-46).

And yet this is not the only sin that excludes. After all, it is not sin that does exclude, save the sin of having rejected Jesus. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (Joh 3:36).

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

EXPLANATORY NOTES.]

Neh. 3:1. Eliashib] The grandson of Jeshua, and the first high priest after the return from Babylon. No reason to doubt that the same Eliashib is referred to in Ezr. 10:6. The sheep gate] In regard to the gates of ancient Jerusalem much uncertainty prevails. The sheep gate probably the of Joh. 5:2, translated in E. V. sheep market. Modern topographers seek it near the present St. Stephens gate, through which the Bedouins to this day drive sheep into the town for sale. Near the temple area. Sanctified] Consecrated it by special ceremonies. It was the first-fruits, and therefore, in the sanctification of it, the whole lump and building was sanctified.Poole. The tower of Meah, the tower of Hananeel] Meah is the Hebrew word for a hundred. Fuerst translates it the giant tower. Whence the names of these towers were derived is unknown.

Neh. 3:2. And next unto him] Lit. And at his hand. The wall was divided into portions, one of which was assigned to each of the great families.

Neh. 3:3. The sons of Hassenaah] Rather, the sons of Senaah (see Ezr. 2:35). Senaah was a city or perhaps a district.

Neh. 3:6. The old gate] Keil reads, gate of the old wall, as referring to the old wall in distinction from the broad wall, which was newer.

Neh. 3:8. The broad wall] or double wall, formerly broken down by Joash, afterwards rebuilt by Uzziah, who made it so strong Chaldeans left it standing.Jamieson.

Neh. 3:9. The ruler of the half part] A half district; the district being divided into two that it might be managed more easily (comp. Neh. 3:12; Neh. 3:14-18).

Neh. 3:13. Zanoah] The name of two towns in the territory of Judah.

Neh. 3:14. Beth-haccerem] From Jer. 6:1 we find that it was used as a beacon-station, and that it was near Tekoa. Supposed to be now occupied by Bethulia on the hill called by Europeans The Frank Mountain.

Neh. 3:16. The sepulchres of David, &c.] i. e. along the precipitous cliffs of Zion.Barclay.

Neh. 3:19. At the turning of the wall] i. e. the wall across the Tyropon being a continuation of the first wall, connecting Mount Zion with the temple wall.Barclay.

Neh. 3:25. The tower which lieth out from the kings high house] Solomons palace doubtless occupied the south-east corner of the present Haram.

Neh. 3:26. The Nethinims] The Nethinim were a servile and subject caste. Not only the priests and the Levites, but the meanest persons that belonged to the house of God contributed to the work.Bishop Patrick.

HOMILETIC CONTENTS OF CHAPTER 3

Neh. 3:1-32. The Moral Significance of Names.

Neh. 3:1-32. Lifes Masonry.

Neh. 3:1-32. A Suggestive Church Record.

Neh. 3:1. Priesthood.

Neh. 3:1. Ministerial Adaptability.

Neh. 3:2-3. System and Detail in Work.

Neh. 3:5. Rival Classes.

Neh. 3:6. The Old Gate.

Neh. 3:8. The Broad Wall.

Neh. 3:12. Family Zeal.

Neh. 3:13-19. High Men at Lowly Tasks.

Neh. 3:15-16. David, the National Hero.

Neh. 3:20-32. The Workmens Day-Book.

THE MORAL SIGNIFICANCE OF NAMES

A CHAPTER of names. To be passed over by the bulk of Bible readers. But the names are biblical. The chapters of names are a noticeable part of the Book of Nehemiah, as they are of the Bible.

I. The meaning of individual names. The origin of language is mysterious. But in earliest times amongst all nationsour own not exceptednames meant things. Specially true of the Jewish nation. Names were not given from caprice or because others bore them. They shadowed forth the character, or commemorated a circumstance, or prophesied a future.

Abel signified breath, vapoura sign of the transitoriness of his life. David meant dearly-beloved. Enoch, disciplined. Elijah, God the Lord, or the strong Lord. Elisha, to whom God is salvation. Abraham, the father of a multitude, and Moses, drawn out of the water, were commemorative. Sometimes the name was a protest. Amittai, a veracious man living in a time of laxity.

Eliashibs name (Neh. 3:1) perpetually reminded him that God was in heaven, and governed the world he created. Nehemiah could not have borne a name better adapted for a work so arduous as his. Nehemiah means, whom God comforts. Meremoth (Neh. 3:4), if true to his name, should be a firm man. Jehoiada (Neh. 3:6) needed no priest to remind him that he was known of God. Uzziel (Neh. 3:8) might work fearlessly, for, said his name, God is my strength. Malchijah (Neh. 3:11) would hardly be afraid of Sanballats anger or Tobiahs scorn. Am not I Malchijah, he would say, and does not that tell me that God is my king? The Nethinims (Neh. 3:26) were the dedicated ones.

In other languages the same law prevailed. A man bearing the name of Andrew was courageous, and an Augusta majestic. Arthur was a strong man. She who was honoured with the name Agnes was chaste. An Alice was noble, and a Louisa modest.
In more artificial times names lost their meaning. When the mother of John Baptist declared that he should be called John, her friends said, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. Names were losing their meaning. Here was a man born into the world filled with the grace of Godwhat shall his name be? Zacharias, they say; that is his fathers name. They ask the dumb father, and he writes John. Now-a-days a man may have the name of John and be graceless enough. We have no proof that Charles will be noble. We give our children fancy names. Family names are reasonable; fancy names are foolish. Except that they are given thoughtlessly, their morality would be doubtful. Our true name is our Christian name.

II. The solemn significance of names. A name is a key to the nature or history of the thing which bears it. In the history of the creation we read that God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And so it has been well said by Carlyle that not only all common speech, but science, poetry itself, is no other than a right naming. Some languages have the same expression for WORD and THING. Jesus Christ said, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh (Mat. 12:34). As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he (Pro. 23:7). Lie not one to anothernot because you will not be trusted, but becauseye have put off the old man with his deeds (Coloss. Neh. 3:9). Wise men say that you can tell the character of any nation by its language. There was a time in the history of Europe when the controversy about what a name represents involved issues so grave that men were burnt for taking what was considered the heretical side of this controversy.R. W. Dale. Our general terms, man, tree, insect, flower, are the names of particular or single specimens extended, on the ground of a perceived similarity, to kinds or species. They come in this manner to stand for millions of particular men, trees, insects, flowers that we do not and never can know. They are, to just this extent, WORDS OF IGNORANCE; only we are able, in the use, to hold right judgments of innumerable particulars we do not know, and have the words so far as WORDS OF WISDOM.Horace Bushnell. Reality is a cardinal virtue. Speech is not given us to hide our thoughts. What is truth but the correspondence of words with things, of life with speech? By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (Mat. 12:37).

III. The relation of the individual to the race. Names perpetuate memories. William is named to-day after a William of sixty years ago. Of this latter there is only a name. One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh (Ecc. 1:4). THE DAY OF JUDGMENT will harmonize names and things. Then shall the King say, &c. (Mat. 25:34-46).

ILLUSTRATIONS

Hebrew names. The Hebrew names were nearly all significant. Sometimes commemoration was in a name. Sometimes it uttered a testimony. Sometimes a prophecy stirred in it. The very name of a man sometimes shone like a burning lamp in the darkness of an evil time. When need was, a new name was taken or given, in addition to, or in place of, the original one, and borne as men bear a banner or speak a watchword.Alexander Raleigh, D.D.

Names and periods in Hebrew history. What signifies a name? In these days, when names are only epithets, it signifies nothing. Jehovah. Jove, or Lord, as the Universal Prayer insinuates, are all the same. Now, to assert that it matters not whether God be called Jehovah, Jove, or Lord is true, if it mean this, that a devout and earnest heart is accepted by God, let the name be what it will by which he is addressed. But if it mean that Jove and Jehovah express the same Beingthat the character of him whom the pagan worshipped was the same as the character of him whom Israel adored under the name of Jehovahthat they refer to the same group of ideasor that ALWAYS names are but names, then we must look much deeper.

In the Hebrew history are discernible three periods distinctly marked, in which names and words bore very different characters. These three, it has been observed by acute philologists, correspond to the periods in which the nation bore the three different appellations of Hebrews, Israelites, Jews.
In the first of these periods names meant truths, and words were the symbols of realities. The characteristics of the names given then were simplicity and sincerity. They were drawn from a few simple sources: cither from some characteristic of the individual, as Jacob, the supplanter; or Moses, drawn from the water; or from the idea of family, as Ben-jamin, the son of my right hand; or from the conception of the tribe or nation, then gradually consolidating itself; or, lastly, from the religious idea of God. But in this case not the highest notion of God; not Jah, or Jehovah, but simply the earlier and simpler idea of Deity: ElIsrael, the prince of El; Peniel, the face of El. In these days names were real, but the conceptions they contained were not the loftiest.
The second period begins about the time of the departure from Egypt, and it is characterized by unabated simplicity, with the addition of sublimer thought and feeling more intensely religious. The heart of the nation was big with mighty and new religious truth, and the feelings with which the national heart was swelling found vent in the names which were given abundantly. God, under his name Jah, the noblest assemblage of spiritual truths yet conceived, became the adjunct to names of places and persons. Osheas name is changed into Je-hoshua.
Observe, moreover, that in this period there was no fastidious, over-refined chariness in the use of that name. Men conscious of deep and real reverence are not fearful of the appearance of irreverence. The word became a common word, as it always may, so long as it is FELT, and awe is REAL. A mighty cedar was called a cedar of Jehovah; a lofty mountain, a mountain of Jehovah. Human beauty even was praised by such an epithet. Moses was divinely fair, beautiful to God. The eternal name became an adjunct. No beauty, no greatness, no goodness was conceivable except as emanating from him: therefore his name was freely but most devoutly used.
Like the earlier period, in this too words meant realities; but, unlike the earlier period, they are impregnated with deeper religious thought.
The third period was at its zenith in the time of Christ: words had lost their meaning, and shared the hollow, unreal state of all things. A mans name might be Judas, and still he might be a traitor. A man might be called Pharisee, exclusively religious, and yet the name might only cover the hollowness of hypocrisy; or he might be called most noble Festus, and be the meanest tyrant that ever sat upon a pro-consular chair. This is the period in which every keen and wise observer knows that the decay of national religious feeling has begun. That decay in the meaning of words, that lowering of the standard of the ideas for which they stand, is a certain mark of this. The debasement of a language is a sure mark of the debasement of a nation. The insincerity of a language is a proof of the insincerity of a nation: for a time comes in the history of a nation when words no longer stand for things; when names are given for the sake of an euphonious sound; and when titles are but the epithets of unmeaning courtesy; a time when Majesty, Defender of the Faith, Most Noble, Worshipful, and Honourable not only mean nothing, but do not flush the check with the shame of convicted falsehood when they are worn as empty ornaments.F. W. Robertson.

Origin of language. The opinions about the origin of language may be divided into three classes, as follows:

(a) The belief that man at his creation was endowed with a full, perfect, and copious language, and that as his faculties were called forth by observation and experience, this language supplied him at every step with names for the various objects he encountered. In this view, which has found many able advocates, speech is separated from and precedes thought; for as there must have been a variety of phenomena, both outward and in his mind, to which the first man was a stranger, until long experience gradually unfolded them, their names must have been intrusted to him long before the thoughts or images which they were destined ultimately to represent were excited in his mind.

(b) The belief that the different families of men, impelled by necessity, invented and settled by agreement the names that should represent the ideas they possessed. In this view language is a human invention, grounded on convenience. But to say that man has invented language would be no better than to assert that he has invented law. To make laws, there must be a law obliging all to keep them; to form a compact to observe certain institutes, there must be already a government protecting this compact. To invent language presupposes language already, for how could men agree to name different objects without communicating by words their designs? In proof of this opinion, appeal is made to the great diversity of languages. Here it is supposed again that thought and language were separate, and that the former had made some progress before the latter was annexed to k.

(c) The third view is, that as the Divine Being did not give man at his creation actual knowledge, but the power to learn and to know, so he did not confer a language, but the power to name and describe. The gift of reason, once conveyed to man, was the common root from which both thought and speech proceeded, like the pith and the rind of the tree, to be developed in inseparable union. With the first inspection of each natural object the first imposition of a name took place (Gen. 2:19). In the fullest sense language is a Divine gift; but the power, and not the results of its exercise, the germ, and not the tree, was imparted. A man can teach names to another man, but nothing less than Divine power can plant in anothers mind the far higher gift, the faculty of naming. From the first we have reason to believe that the functions of thought and language went together. A conception received a name; a name recalled a conception; and every accession to the knowledge of things expanded the treasures of expression. And we are entangled in absurdities by any theory which assumes that either element existed in a separate state antecedently to the other.Archbishop of York.

We do not make words; they are given to us by One higher than ourselves. Wise men say that you can tell the character of any nation by its language, by watching the words they use, the names they give to things; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. It is God, and Christ, the Word of God, who gives words to men, who puts it into the hearts of men to call certain things by certain names; and according to a nations godliness, and wisdom, and purity of heart will be its power of using words discreetly and reverently. That miracle of the gift of tongues, of which we read in the New Testament, would have been still most precious and full of meaning if it had had no other use than thisto teach men from whom words come. When men found themselves all of a sudden inspired to talk in foreign languages which they had never learnt, to utter words of which they themselves did not know the meaning, do you not see how it must have made them feel that all language is Gods making and Gods giving? Do you not see how it must have made them feel what awful, mysterious things words were, like those cloven tongues of fire which fell on the apostles? The tongues of fire signified the difficult foreign languages which they suddenly began to speak as the Spirit gave them utterance. And where did the tongues of fire come from? Not out of themselves, not out of the earth beneath, but down from the heaven above, to signify that it is not from mans flesh or brain, or the earthly part of him, that words are bred, but that they come down from Christ, the Word of God, and are breathed into the minds of men by the Spirit of God.Charles Kingsley.

LIFES MASONRY

INTRODUCTION.The Scriptural figures of lifes work as a building. St. Peters description of God as building up a fabric of lively stones (1Pe. 2:4-5). It is his remembrance of the Saviours own use of the figure in Mat. 16:18 : Upon this rock I will build my Church. St. Pauls description of his own apostolic life as that of a wise master-buildera spiritual Nehemiah (1Co. 3:10-15).

I. Every one to contribute his life-toil to the building up of the city of God.

1. True of the individual characterthe fallen, ruined city of Mansoul. Not what we rake together of earthly things, but what we rear in the edifice of our personal character, our true work.

2. True of society. The history of the world a history of the restless reconstructions of society. The reformers and teachers of every age, scanning the desolations of their time, have said, Let us arise and build! and with none of Babels profanity have said in hope, Go to, let us build a tower whose top shall reach to heaven! That is what the piled-up fruit of generations of toil shall be.

II. Every man has his own appointed sphere and kind of work.

1. The manifold division of labour in the erection of a great edifice may become to us a parable of the various uses of human character and ability. To some the strong workthe foundations and buttressesplain, practical usefulness. To others there is given work at the gates of knowledge and intercourse. To some it is the task to beautify and embellish life and its surroundings, to sculpture bright things and thoughts. To the sagacity of others is committed the towers of outlook and defence for human society.

2. Every man to find his own task. Providential circumstances and the bent of wise inclination point us to our share of the wall. The ruin lying nearest our feet, the weak place nearest our own home, is our taskwork.

3. Every man to be content with his own task. Who does not at times sigh in envy of his brothers portion in lifes great enterprise! We think we could work with less moiling, and get the lines truer, if we were working on some other piece of ground. Its better as it is. To every man his work (Mar. 13:34).

III. Every man contributes but a fragment to the great whole. All each builder does is to contribute so many feet of the great girdle of masonry; but it is the multiplication of these small piles which completes the circumference.

1. Individual life. Do not judge of experiences singly and alone. Life is a complex and mingled process, and that which seems to have no uses of edification may be one of many powers which uplift the character. Our life is a great whole. WE walk to-day and to-morrow, and the THIRD day WE are perfected.

If sad thy present, fancy not

The whole of life is in to-day;

To past and future look away;

Thy life is not thy present lot.

2. Socially. Do not judge a life with regard to society in its mere isolation or as a disconnected unit; it is a length of fabric to join on with some one elses work.

Moses bursts out of Egypt; Joshua leads through Jordan into Canaan; David prepares for a consolidated nation; Solomon ushers in the rest and magnificence of peace: each builds his own layer and length of the history.
One man toils to feed the people; another gives them garments; another settles their quarrels; another tells them the story of the days life; another teaches them knowledge; another pleads with them for God; another heals their sickness; another goes out to sea for their merchandise; another gives them a book of cheering song; and each contributes to the walls and gates and towers of mans life below.
EACH is but a small length, but ALL make the mighty ring.

IV. Every man to work in harmonious aim with his fellow builders.

1. Recognizing the one reigning purposethe edification of a city of God; to make Jerusalem a praise in the earth and a city of the great King.

2. Recognizing the, worth of his brothers work. He has his own task, and has not to work by our piece of the plan.

3. Eccentric people who will pile their stones in other peoples way, and blind other people with their chippings and the bespatterings of their mortar. Do not hinder your brother mason.

V. The united work is superintended by the great Architect.

1. He only understands the whole of the great intricate plan of life. He has surveyed the whole field, and has appointed each one his place. To understand our own section and task, and to trust to the great unifying power above, is all we can do. These broken, incomplete piles rising in their fragmentariness will, under his direction, circle into the order of his great will. The full plan of life is only seen and understood in heaven, but it is understood THERE.

2. He is near us with directions. In their straits these amateur masons must have often summoned Nehemiah as he rode round among the workers. In all perplexities we can call in Divine direction. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God (Jas. 1:5).

3. Let the thought THOU GOD SEEST ME animate us at our toil. (a) It is a cheering thought. No eye can look so indulgently as his. He knoweth our frame, &c. (Psa. 103:14). (b) It is an admonitory thought. He WILL have true work; and all the wrong that we pile up he will push down.

As ever in my great Taskmasters eye.

CONCLUSION.What this finished work shall be we read in the closing chapters of the Bible. The New Jerusalem is mans work transfigured by the glory of God.
The rude foundations we have put in with weariness and toil shall show themselves garnished with all manner of precious stones. The gates so clumsily made will shine every several gate of one pearl. The building of the wall shall be as jasper, and the shapeless, disjointed masses shall be all joined and balanced: the length of it, and the breadth of it, and the height of it equal.
And the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. And there shall be no night there; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Sacredness of labour. Two men I honour, and no third. First, the toil-worn craftsman that with earth-made implement laboriously conquers the earth, and makes her mans. Venerable to me is the hard handcrooked, coarse; wherein notwithstanding lies a cunning virtue, indefeasibly royal, as of the sceptre of this planet. Venerable too is the rugged face, all weather-tanned, besoiled, with its rude intelligence; for it is the face of a man living man-like. O, but the more venerable for thy rudeness, and even because we must pity as well, as love thee! Hardly entreated brother! for us was thy back so bent, for us were thy straight limbs and fingers so deformed: thou wert our conscript, on whom the lot fell, and fighting our battles wert so marred. For in thee too lay a God-created form, but it was not to be unfolded; encrusted must it stand with the thick adhesions and defacements of labour; and thy body, like thy soul, was not to know freedom. Yet toil on, toil on: THOU art in thy duty, be out of it who may; thou toilest for the altogether indispensable, for daily bread.

A second man I honour, and still more highly: him who is seen toiling for the spiritually indispensable; not daily bread, but the bread of life. Is not he too in his duty; endeavouring towards inward harmony; revealing this, by act or by word, through all his outward endeavours, be they high or low? Highest of all when his outward and inward endeavours are one; when we can name him artist; not earthly craftsman only, but inspired thinker, who with heaven-made implement conquers heaven for us! If the poor and humble toil that we have food, must not the high and glorious toil for him in return, that he have light, have guidance, freedom, immortality? These two, in all their degrees, I honour: all else is chaff and dust, which let the wind blow whither it listeth.
Unspeakably touching is it, however, when I find both dignities united, and he that must toil outwardly for the lowest of mans wants is also toiling inwardly for the highest. Sublimer in this world know I nothing than a peasant saint, could such now anywhere be met with. Such a one will take thee back to Nazareth itself; thou wilt sec the splendour of heaven spring forth from the humblest depths of earth, like a light shining in great darkness.Carlyle.

Work is the common duty of all. It would be very strange if it were not so. The first thing we read of God doing for man when he made him was to assign him work. Before he gave him a right to eat of the fruit of the trees, he put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it (Gen. 2:15). When man is translated to the heavenly Eden it is not to idleness: they serve him day and night in his temple. The wise man when he looked abroad on the world made this deep reflection: All things are full of labour. The calm stars are in ceaseless motion, and every leaf is a world with its busy inhabitants, and the sap coursing through its veins as the life-blood through our own. He who made all worlds has said, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.John Ker, D.D.

All the workers shall be rewarded. Each shall find that he has a share in the completed results, where the labours of all are represented. What does it matter in which stage of the great process our co-operation has been enlisted? Every man that has had a part in the building shall have a share in the glory. What does it matter whether we have been set to dig out the foundation, working amongst mud and wet, or have laid the lowermost courses, which are all covered up and forgotten, or happen to have been amongst those who bring forth the head-stone with shoutings? We are all builders all the same. The main thing is that we have some work there. Never mind whereabouts it is. Never mind whether it be visible or no. Never mind whether your name is associated with it. You may never see the issues of your toils. If you can see them they will generally not be worth looking at. We work for eternity. We may well wait for the scaffolding to be taken away. Then we shall find that preparatory work is all represented in the final issue; even as the first film of alluvium, deposited in its delta by some mighty stream, is the real foundation for the last, which, long ages after, rise above the surface and bear waving corn and the homes of men.Alexander Maclaren, D.D.

A SUGGESTIVE CHURCH RECORD

I. The potency of personal influence. Nehemiah created a spirit of enthusiasm which set all this train of exertion in motion.

II. The force of example. The priests took the lead in the common labour.

III. Advantages of systematic organization. Each volunteer made responsible for some limited portion of work.

IV. The gigantic results achievable by individual action. Like coral insects at work, the multitude of builders each did his part of the whole.

V. The diversity of disposition revealed by a great emergency.

1. Enthusiastic work.
2. Refusal to put the neck to the yoke.

VI. The consentaneity of purpose and effort which a great emergency demands and is calculated to bring about. All rivalries forgotten in the great aimto again rebuild Jerusalem.

VII. The diversity of gifts which a great emergency calls into requisition.

Illustrations:

No life is waste in the great Workers hand.
The gem too poor to polish in itself
Is ground to brighten others.P. J. Bailey.

Do your work, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself.Emerson.

The body is not one member, but many (1Co. 12:4-27).

Clouds when full pour down, and the presses overflow, and the aromatical trees sweat out their precious and sovereign oils; and every learned scribe must bring out his treasure for the Churchs behoof and benefit.John Trapp.

PRIESTHOOD

Neh. 3:1. Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel

INTRODUCTION.Priest and king amongst the most terrible words in language. War, oppression, rapine have come at their call.

1. Elevation is dangerous. Separateness from sympathies and ways of common men a misfortune. Men easily enslave those whom they see to be lower than themselves.

2. Privilege and responsibility are co-extensive. Shepherd feeds and guards flock. King lives for subjects. Priest must think, speak, and act for his follows. Noblesse oblige. What is true priesthood?

I. A true priest identifies himself with men. Institution and consecration (Exodus 28, 29). Interpretation (Heb.).

1. Called from amongst men (Heb. 5:1).

2. Offers gifts and sacrifices (Neh. 3:1).

3. Compassionates weakness and ignorance (Neh. 3:2).

4. Comes between men and God. (a) To present intercessions. (b) To reveal Gods will.

A priesthood is necessary. You tell me, my seeptical friend, that religion is the contrivance of the priest. How came the priest into being? What gave him his power?Channing. [See illustration below, Christian worship.]

Priests dress, robes, &c. stand for a NEEDED and SUPPOSED sanctity. If not sacred, all the worse for the priest. Must come to his work from a higher ground. Of the people, but above the people. More thoughtful, not less saintly. MANHOOD first, PRIESTHOOD afterwards.

II. A true priest identifies thought with life. The wall-building was Nehemiahs THOUGHT. Eliashib and his brothers helped to make it REALITY.

Priest makes Gods thoughts mans life. Be ye holy (Lev. 11:44; 1Pe. 1:15), Gods thought. How to become holy, priests life-work. A sinless and sorrowless world, Gods thought. How to approximate to this a priests work. Obedience to Divine laws, Gods purpose; enunciations of these and incitements to keep them, priests work.

1. Harmonizes ideal and actual.

2. Harmonizes thought and practice.

3. Harmonizes inclination and conscience.

III. A true priest identifies the lower with the higher, the common with the sacred, earth with heaven. Priests sanctified the wall; built near the temple. Gods house and city wall both SACRED. Sanctity is relative or real. The temple; the temple utensils. Churches (e. g. Corinth) with unholy members in them are sanctified or holy relatively. Only individual believers really sanctified. Broad distinctions between sacred and secular not well. Sabbath sacred; make all days. Gods house is sacred; so is your own. Bible sacred; read nothing impure.

Illustrations:Christian worship. There have been those who have sought to disparage worship by representing it as an arbitrary, unnatural service, a human contrivance, an invention for selfish ends. I will meet the objection by a few remarks drawn from history. There have been, indeed, periods of history in which the influence of the religious principle seems to have been overwhelmed; but in this it agrees with other great principles of our nature, which in certain stages of the race disappear. There are certain conditions of society in which the desire of knowledge seems almost extinct among men, and they abandon themselves for centuries to brutish ignorance. There are communities in which the natural desire of reaching a better lot gives not a sign of its existence, and society remains stationary for ages. There are some in which even the parental affection is so far dead that the new-born child is cast into the stream or exposed to the storm. So the religious principle is in some periods hardly to be discerned; but it is never lost. No principle is more universally manifested. In the darkest ages there are some recognitions of a superior Power. Man feels that there is a Being above himself, and he clothes that Being in what to his rude conceptions is great and venerable. In countries where architecture was unknown men chose the solemn wood or the mountain-top for worship; and when this art appeared its monuments were temples to God. Before the invention of letters hymns were composed to the Divinity, and music, we have reason to think, was the offspring of religion. Music in its infancy was the breathing of mans fears, wants, hopes, thanks, praises to an unseen power. You tell me, my sceptical friend, that religion is the contrivance of the priest. How came the priest into being? What gave him his power? Why was it that the ancient legislator professed to receive his laws from the gods? The fact is a striking one, that the earliest guides and leaders of the human race looked to the heavens for security and strength to earthly institutions, that they were compelled to speak to men in a higher name than mans. Religion was an earlier bond and a deeper foundation of society than government. It was the root of civilization. It bus founded the mightiest empires; and yet men question whether religion be an element, a principle of human nature!

In the earliest ages, before the dawn of science, man recognized an immediate interference of the Divinity in whatever powerfully struck his senses. Every unusual event was a miracle, a prodigv, a promise of good or a menace of evil from heaven. The heavens, the earth, the plant, the human frame, now that they are explored by science, speak of God as they never did before. His handwriting is brought out where former ages saw but a blank. The profoundest of all human wants is the want of God. Mind, spirit must tend to its source. It cannot find happiness but in the perfect Mind, the infinite Spirit. Worship has survived all revolutions. Corrupted dishonoured, opposed, it yet lives. It is immortal as its object, immortal as the soul from which it ascends.W. E. Channing, D.D.

The origin of the Christian clergy. Amongst the gifts which our blessed Lord gave to mankind during his life on earth, the Christian ministry as we now possess it was not one of them. The twelve apostles whom he chose had no successors like them. The seventy disciples also, who went forth at the Lords command to preach the gospel, they, too, were soon buried in their graves, but no order of the same kind, or of the same number, came in their stead.

Yet there was another sense in which the Christian ministry was the gift of their Divine Master, and it was that which St. Paul so well expresses: When he ascended up on high he gave gifts unto men. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers. Now what was it that was meant by this statementthis very pointed statementthat it was only after his ascension, after his withdrawal from earth, that he gave those gifts to men, and amongst those gifts were the various offices, of which the two last named contained the germ of all the future clergy of Christendom? What was meant was surely this, that not in his earthly life, not in his direct communication with man, not as a part of the original manifestation of Christianity, but as the result of the complex influences which were showered down to the earth after its Founder had left, as part of the vast machinery of Christian civilization, created by the spirit of Christ for filling up the void of his absence, were the various gifts and professions of Christian forms, and amongst these were the great vocation, the sacred profession of the Christian ministry. Look at the gradual growth of the Christian ministry. In no single instance did the order of clergy now resemble what it was in the first century or even the second. The deacons of every existing Church were very different from the seven deacons of the apostolic age. The presbyters of every Church were either in themselves or in their relations to their brethren very different to the presbyters of the first or second century. Take the bishops; in many important respects they differed essentially from those who bore that title seventeen hundred years ago. They all varied in each age and country, according to the varieties of the age and country; according to the civil constitutions under which they lived; according to the geographical area; according to the climates and customs of cast, west, north, and south; in regard to their election, whether by breathing, by popular election, by internal election, by ministerial election, by ordination, by sacred relics, by the elevation of hands, by the imposition of hands; spheres more or less limited, a humble country village, a vast town population, or a province as large as a kingdom. These variations were not a condemnation, but a justification rather, of their existence. They showed that the order of the Christian clergy, instead of remaining a stiff and useless relic of the past, had grown with the growth and varied with the variations of Christian society. This, therefore, was at once the Divine and the human origin of the Christian ministry; Divine, because it belonged to and formed an important link in the inevitable growth of all Christian communities, of Christian aspirations, and of Christian sympathies; human, because it arose out of and was subject to the necessities and vicissitudes of human passions and human infirmities, and in so far as it was of a permanent and Divine character, having a pledge of an immortal existence so long as Christian society exists; in so far as it was of human character, needing to accommodate itself to the want of each successive age, and needing the support, the sympathy, and the favour of all the other elements of social intercourse by which it was surrounded.Dean Stanley.

MINISTERIAL ADAPTABILITY

Neh. 3:1. Then Eliashib the high priest rose up, &c.

I. The priests sharing the interests and toils of common manhood. A ministers power lies not in that in which he differs from others, but in that in which he is like thembrotherhood. He shares their weaknesses. He knows headache and heartache, weariness and worry, trouble and temptation; and just in proportion as he is a man will his ministry be sometimes powerful and sometimes powerless. At times he will wish himself in the most distant seat in the Church; at other times speech will be like the upliftings of angels, and the declaration of the gospel as admission into the paradise of God. A white tie, a black coat, and conventional manners do not make a minister; let him come and say, Brethren, I am as ye are.

II. The priests an example to the people. The high priest and his subordinates were the first to build. Then common people tied on their aprons and took trowel in hand.

There must be leaders; then there will be followers. Simon Peter said, I go a fishing. The rest say unto him, We also go with thee (John 21). The rank and file will ride into any valley of death if the officers say, Comrades, come on. When he putteth forth his own sheep he goeth before them (Joh. 10:4).

III. Sacredness of work depends not on its nature, but on its purpose and spirit. They sanctified a common wall. They were toiling for hearth and home, for the city of their fathers and the temple of their God. Our work in the world not important; the spirit in which we do it the main consideration. A mother who represents Christ to her children, who becomes to them their idea of what God must be, is as sacredly engaged as some woman of genius whose fame fills a hemisphere. The blood and bones of the man who digs out the foundation are as necessary as the architects skill. In building Solomons temple the noise and dust of cutting and polishing the stones were confined to the quarry; in the temple all was calm.

In this world of striving and unattainment, of sin and sorrow, we do not see the plan. That is in the mind of the great Architect. Out of confusion he will educe order. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it (Ecc. 9:10).

Illustration:Man, it is not thy works, which are all mortal, infinitely little, and the greatest no greater than the least, but only the spirit thou workest in, that can have worth or continuance.Carlyle.

SYSTEM AND DETAIL IN WORK

Neh. 3:2-3. And next unto Eliashib builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zuccar the son of Imri. But the fish gate did the sons of Hassennah build, who also laid, the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

We live not to ourselves, our work is life;
In bright and ceaseless labour as a star
Which shineth unto all worlds but itself.

Then life is A VOCATION. I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called (Eph. 4:1). Your calling (Eph. 4:4). Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called (1Co. 7:20). In modern phrase, a mans trade or profession is his calling. This gives work dignity. Labourer, carpenter, mason, sailor, surgeon, preacher, schoolmaster, newspaper editor, thou art called. A hand not thine own placed thee where thou art. Every mans work should have a Pentecost. Manual labour is honourable. It must be redeemed from a spurious disregard. Indolence is degrading; dishonesty is ruinous; honest toil need fear no shame.

None of us liveth to himself (Rom. 14:7). Then life is A MINISTRY. This redeems it from selfishness. My servants (Joh. 18:36). Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God (1Co. 4:1). Not Paul, Peter, and Apollos only. Judgment-day decisions turn on thisInasmuch as ye have done, or, Inasmuch as ye did not to the brethren (Matthew 25). Ban or blessing each man carries in himself. Influence is conscious, direct, and intentional; then it is occasional, and often fails. Influence is unconscious, indirect, and streams on, like light from the heavens; then it is constant and all-pervasive. Life is more solemn than death. A mans daily work is not only religious, it is his religion. There he fights and conquers, or fights and falls. Well for him if he

be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labour and to wait.

On the work of life let Nehemiah and his noble band teach us somewhat.

I. A great work can only be planned by a great mind. Many saw the desolations of the city; some wept over them. Nehemiah only had a vocation and talents to build the old wastes and repair the desolations of many generations (Isa. 61:4). An equality is impossible. In any circle of twelve there will be a Peter to lead. These are Kings by Divine right. The laureates wreath is only green on the brows of him who utters nothing base. Nehemiahs have comprehensive minds, like some insects that put out feelers on all sides. Insight is a dangerous gift, hence granted only to the elect ones. Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem; Augustine governs a period; Wesley organizes a society; Shakespeare Shakespearizes a language:they are born to command.

II. A great work can only be carried out by division of labour. Nehemiahs organizing brain needed the hands of the men of Jericho. Farmer requires ploughman, horsekeeper, diggers, and delvers. Architect, clerk of works, mason, carpenter, stone-cutter, hod-man. Writer, an amanuensis, a printer, binder, bookseller. How long it would take one man to make a pin; by dividing the work they are counted by millions. Miner, sailor, soldier hazard their lives for the general good. One goes abroad, another stays at home; this man works with the hand, that with the brain; the husband rules without, the wife rules within; all obeying the same law, the needs be that into the worlds mill each one casts some corn.

III. A great work can only be accomplished by attention to details. Bars and locks. Gates and doors without bars and locks useless. There must be detail in every great work. It is an element of effectiveness which no reach of plan, no enthusiasm of purpose, can dispense with. Thus, if a man conceives the idea of becoming eminent in learning, but cannot toil through the million of little drudgeries necessary to carry him on, his learning will be soon told. Or, if a man undertakes to become rich, but despises the small and gradual advances by which wealth is ordinarily accumulated, his expectations will, of course, be the sum of his riches. Accurate and careful detail, the minding of common occasions and small things, combined with general scope and vigour, is the secret of all the efficiency and success in the world.Bushnell.

1. Young man carving out his fortunes. By little and little. Take care of the pence, &c. Trifling delinquencies; white lies are the unlocked gates through which seven spirits worse than these enter. Regard to minor courtesies, use of spare moments, buying up opportunities, lead on to honour always, to fortune sometimes.

2. Church work. Sunday schools, mission bands, tract distributors, missionary collectors are needed. Churchwardens, sidesmen, deacons, stewards, let each fill his place and attend to the duty specially allotted him. Hast thou a contracted sphere? Thou mayest fill it better. Is thy work humble? It is not of necessity mean.

Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go,
My daily labour to pursue;
Thee, only thee, resolved to know
In all I think, or speak, or do.

IV. A great work brings out special adaptations. The men of Jericho built the wall. But the fish gate with its locks and bars did the sons of Hassenaah build.

The disciples of Christ. Prophecy-reading Philip finds prophecy-reading Nathaniel (Joh. 1:43-51). Peter speaks and acts impetuously, and dies courageously (John 21). John, with a piercing insight, writes the angelic Gospel, and waits to see and war against rising error (John 21; Epistles of John; Revelation).

Does the hero mould the age, or the age mould the hero? Partly both.

In the Church every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that (1Co. 7:7). The eloquent Apollos expounds the Scriptures; the deft-handed Dorcas clothes the naked; the man of wealth sustains the charities; the strong minister to weakness; the wise enlighten the ignorant. There is a different colour of beauty in different stones that are all of them precious. One man may be burnishing to the sparkle of the diamond, while another is deepening to the glow of the ruby. For this reason there are such different temperaments in Christian character and varying circumstances in Christian life, that the foundations of the wall of the city may be garnished with all manner of precious stones. Each Christian has his own place and lustre in that temple, and therefore there is no ground to disparage our neighbour, and none to despair of ourselves, if we are both in the hand of Christ.Ker.

V. A great work must have regard to practical utility. The fish gate as necessary as the repairing of temple wall. Began at the temple, but did not stop there. What is it for? to be asked of every mans work. Does it begin and end in itself. True work should brighten somebodys dark life, cast out the stones from the rugged road along which some brothers stumbling feet must go, expel some one of the legion of demons that possess men.

VI. A great work must be inspired by a lofty purpose. Nehemiah and his fellows were rebuilding the city of David (Neh. 3:15). Milton chose Paradise Lost, and aimed to justify the ways of God to men. The painters find the sufferings of Christ an inexhaustible subject. A great religious reformer desired to spread holiness throughout the land. Man, art thou moved by a lofty motive inspired by Gods good Spirit to take unto thee thy office in the world and Church?

VII. A great work must look on to the future. It must have in it the element of permanence. They were rebuilding the chosen citythe city of the future, as they fondly hoped.

CONCLUSION.In heaven they have no rest day nor night (Rev. 4:8). Two worlds, but only one law. Here from grace to grace, there from glory to glory. Here faithful in that which is least (Luk. 16:10), there ruler over many things (Mat. 25:23). The first word is, Be faithful; and the second, Be faithful; and the third, Be faithful.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Neh. 3:3. If a man would stand on figures and allegories, this gate may well signify Christ, who made his apostles and preachers fishers of men, who by him brought and daily bring them into this spiritual Jerusalem; for he is only the door whereby all must enter into the Lords city. These men, like good builders, leave nothing undone that might fortify that gate; for they set on not only the doors, but also bolts and locks. So must Gods Church be made strong by laws, discipline, and authority, that ravening lions and filthy-swine rush not in and disquiet or devour Gods people; and the wholesome doctrine must be confirmed with strong arguments and reasons against false teachers.Pilkington.

Working for the unknown future. An old tattered volume found among his fathers books, Bunnys Resolutions, aroused Richard Baxter to concern; and Sibbs Braised Reed led him to the Saviour. From Baxters pen proceeded The Call to the Unconverted, which, in addition to its most extensive circulation elsewhere, was given by a beggar at the door where Philip Doddridge lived. It was the voice of God to the youthful reader, who became the author of The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soula book which gave the first impression to William Wilberforce. He became the author of A Practical View of Christianity, which was blessed to the conversion of Leigh Richmond, a successful minister, and author of The Dairymans Daughter and Young Cottager, little works that have had many seals in souls won to God. The Practical View was also instrumental in the saving change of Dr. Chalmers, whose works are world-wide, and whose labours were so eminently owned for the revival of religion in the ministry and people of Scotland.Dr. Steel.

RIVAL CLASSES

Neh. 3:5. And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord

The rivalry of classes in all history.

1. Use of this ricalry. The mutual suspicion and watchfulness of classes serves to put all on their best behaviour; one is as a goad to the other for exertion in industry and excellence.

2. Abuse of this rivalry. All the hatreds and bigotries and wars of mankind.

I. Rival classes.

1. A noble peasantry. The Tekoites.

(1) Simplicity. Lowly life is favourable to simplicity of aim and endeavour. Among the poor you find the most faithful servants; among the poor the Church finds her most diligent workers. Men who have been grinding at the tread-mill of hard labour all the week are the men who work the wheels of Christian service on a Sunday. Among the better people of religious communions the labourers are few.
(2) Devotion. Steady adherence to great principles is more often found amongst the poor. There is something in the saying about ignorance being the mother of devotion. Not in the cynical sense. But those who see only the hard realities of life are often capable of deep attachment to friends and to God and to a great cause, while the dilettante feels no interest in anything human or Divine. Enthusiasm is a popular quality.

2. An effeminate aristocracy.

(1) Selfishness. Not confined to one class, but in its hardest manifestations to be found among the gay and worldly, who have multiplied their natural wants by a thousand artificial needs. To expect a burst of noble-hearted, generous enthusiasm from the frozen circle of worldly society is to look for grapes on thorns and figs from the thistle-stalk. [Of course in all this contrast we are only keeping in mind the really worldly circle, and are not forgetting the fact that in Jerusalems rebuilding and in the reconstructions of English history the noble have nobly stood to the front.]
(2) Pride. Beautiful is the way in which modern society is returning in many respects to humility in regard to practical things. A Prince of Wales sends his boys to the routine of a sailor apprenticeship; a Duke of Argyle sends his son to a house of business; a gentlemans son doffs his neat coat and stoops down, hammer in hand, in the engineers yard. In this there is a more hopeful sight than when the proud nobles of Jerusalem disdained the rough work which the God-inspired Nehemiah designed.

II. Rival views.

1. Popular desire for reform.

(1) Politically. Trace course of national history. Instance the case of the Corn Laws, with its mechanic poet Ebenezer Elliott.

(2) Ecclesiastically. Nothing is so fatal to a Church as for the people to let Church government alone and leave it to professional men. The sheep are for the sake of the shepherd in farming; but Christs shepherds are for the sake of the flock. In our Lords time the common people heard him gladly (Mar. 12:37); but it was asked as an incredible thing, Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? (Joh. 7:48). The Reformation was a reply to the people, who groaned by reason of the afflictions wherewith the taskmasters afflicted them.

(3) Theologically. The popular sentiment is the curb of theological opinion. What men, as men, think and feel are the governor-halls of the great logic-engine of systematic theology. The mothers heart in the theologian adjusts his harsh, cold views of God.

2. Reform cried down by the nobles. The doctrine of standing still is only preached by the few who find the place comfortable; the noble discontent which spurs on the needy and oppressed is the animation of all reform in State or Church.

Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey.
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay:
Princes and lords may flourish or may fade;
A breath can make them, as a breath has made;
But a bold peasantry, their countrys pride,
When once destroyed, can never be supplied.

Goldsmiths Deserted Village.

Application.

1. Beware of luxurious aspirations. Think not merely of the pleasures of greatness, but of its enervating perils.

2. Remember that the duties of individual manhood and the sources of happiness in the individual character remain the same under all changes of costume and title. A man is never more or less than a servant of the great Taskmaster, and a fellow-labourer with others in the ruined city of Mansoul.

3. Beware of indolence and pride, and do thy task for God and man.

ILLUSTRATIONS

A life of idleness. And who art thou that braggest of thy life of idleness; complacently showest thy bright gilt equipages, sumptuous cushions, appliances for folding of the hands to mere sleep? Looking up, looking down, around, behind, or before, discernest thou, if it be not in May-fair alone, any idle hero, saint, god, or even devil? Not a vestige of one. In the heavens, in the earth, in the waters under the earth is none like unto thee. Thou art an original figure in this creation, a denizen in Mayfair alone, in this extraordinary century or half-century alone! One monster there is in the worldthe idle man.Carlyle.

Rich and poor. Let not the rich misread the signs of the times, or mistake their brethren; they have less and less respect for titles and riches, for vestments and ecclesiastical pretensions; but they have a real respect for superior knowledge and superior goodness; they listen like children to those whom they believe to know a subject better than themselves. Let those who know it say whether there is not something inexpressibly touching and even humbling in the large, hearty, manly English reverence and love which the working-men show towards those who love and serve them truly, and save them from themselves and from doing wrong. Alas! we have been very ready to preach submission. For three long centuries we have taught submission to the powers that be, as if that were the only text in Scripture bearing on the relations between the ruler and the ruled. Rarely have we dared to demand of the powers that be Justice; of the wealthy man and the titled duties. We have produced folios of slavish flattery upon the Divine right of power. Shame on us! we have not denounced the wrongs done to weakness, and yet for one text in the Bible which requires submission and patience from the poor, you will find a hundred which denounce the vices of the rich; in the writings of the noble old Jewish prophets, that, and almost that only; that in the Old Testament, with a deep roll of words that sound like Sinai thunders; and that in the New Testament in words less impassioned and more calmly terrible from the apostles and their Master; and woe to us, in the great day of God, if we have been the sycophants of the rich instead of the redressers of the poor mans wrongs.F. W. Robertson.

What the poor have done. Thomas Cranfield, a tailor, established a prayer-meeting among the brickmakers in Kingsland, which was held every morning at five oclock. He established schools at Rotherhithe, Tottenham, Kent Street, Southwark, the Mint, Garden Row, St. Georges, Rosemary Lane, and Kennington. John pounds, a Portsmouth cobbler, was the founder of ragged schools. Harlan Page consecrated letter-writing to the highest endthe salvation of souls.Dr. Steel.

Handicraft. It is not a mean thing to labour with the hand. There is a dignity in every duty, and especially in this. Since the Carpenter of Nazareth toiled at his bench and made tools for Galilean peasants, labour has had a dignity, and artisans an elevation, and workshops a consecration. After this, the lantern-making of King ropus, the ship-building of the Czar Peter, or the watch making of the Emperor Charles V., could do little to exalt it.Dr. Steel.

Let not ambition mock their useful toil,
Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;
Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile
The short and simple annals of the poor.

Grays Elegy.

THE OLD GATE

Neh. 3:6. Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada, &c.

Memory needs to be awakened. Forgetting may be impossible, but we cannot always recollect.

Illustration:I am convinced that the dread book of account which the Scriptures speak of is, in fact, the mind itself of each individual. Of this at least I feel assured, that there is no such thing as forgetting possible to the mind; a thousand accidents may and will interpose a veil between our present consciousness and the secret inscriptions on the mind; accidents of the same sort will also rend away this veil; but alike, whether veiled or unveiled, the inscription remains for ever, just as the stars seem to withdraw before the common light of day, whereas, in fact, we all know that it is the light which is drawn over them as a veil, and that they are waiting to be revealed when the obscuring daylight shall have withdrawn.De Quincey.

I. The old gate brought up memories of the PAST. The past is valuable. God does not work instantaneously. Instance the seasons. Jewish law that the land should rest (Leviticus 25). Our fathers made the roads, built the churches, founded schools, started commerce. Art, science, mechanical inventions are improvements. We build upon the past as on a bed of rock. Custom passes into law from precedent to precedent. Civilization does not grow up in a night, like Jonahs gourd. Eight and wrong are as old as the creation.

Illustration:Every master has found his materials collected. What an economy of power! and what a compensation for the shortness of life! All is done to his hand. The world has brought him thus far on his way. The human race has gone out before him, sunk the hills, filled the hollows, and bridged the rivers. Men, nations, poets, artisans, women, all have worked for him, and he enters into their labours.Emerson.

II. The old gate was an incentive to exertion in the PRESENT. Our fathers gate. Patriotism fired their blood.

III. The old gate was a dumb prophet of the FUTURE. The builders were gone, but their work abode. So would theirs. So will ours.

Application.

1. Work, for Heaven so wills.

2. Work, under the recollection that you are treading in the steps of the true nobility of the past.

3. Work, because the day is passing.

4. Work, and eternity shall reward you.

THE BROAD WALL

Neh. 3:8. The broad wall

Around Jerusalem in her days of splendour there was a broad wall, her defence and glory. Jerusalem is a type of the Church.

A broad wall suggests SEPARATION, SECURITY, and ENJOYMENT.

I. Separation.

1. Every Christian should be more scrupulous than other men in his dealings.

2. By his pleasures the Christian should be distinguished.

3. In everything that affects the Christian; e. g. home business; going in and coming out; staying a night in a friends house.

4. Most conspicuously in the spirit of his mind.

The wall should be VERY BROAD.

1. There should be a broad distinction between you Christians and unconverted people.

2. Our Lord Christ had a broad wall between him and the ungodly.

3. A broad wall is abundantly good for yourselves.

4. You will do more good to the world thereby.

II. Safety.

1. The Christian is surrounded by the broad wall of Gods power.

2. By the broad wall of Gods love.

3. By the broad wall of Gods law and justice.

4. By the broad wall of Gods immutability.

5. By the broad wall of Gods electing love.

6. By the broad wall of Gods redeeming love.

7. The work of the Holy Spirit is a broad wall.

8. Every doctrine of grace is a broad wall.

9. The honour of Christ is a broad wall.

III. Enjoyment. On the walls of Nineveh and Babylon men drove, walked, chatted at sunset. Broad walls at York.

1. Rest.

2. Communion,

3. Prospects and outlook. The godless!Spurgeon, abridged.

FAMILY ZEAL

Neh. 3:12. Shallum repairedhe and his daughters

Women building stone walls. Perhaps they were heiresses or rich widows, who undertook to defray the expense of a portion of the wall. Perhaps! perhaps not. In crises women have donned armourwhy may not these have wrought at the wall? When men have shown the white feather, women have turned bold. Womens rights. The story of womens wrongs has not yet been told. Womans influence a practical, ever-pressing question.

I. Notable women.

1. Within the circle of Biblical story. In redemptions history we have Sarahs faith, Ruths devotion, Abigails humility, Shunammites hospitality, Esthers patriotism, penitence of her anointing Christ, Canaanites importunity, Mary of Bethanys love, Lydias confidence, Dorcas benevolence, Phoebes kindness, Priscillas courage, Tryphena and Tryphosas diligence, and Persis affectionhonoured of God.Van Doren.

Most books of the Bible canonize women. Genesis, Eve, Rebekah, Rachel. Exodus, Miriam. Judges, Jephthahs daughter and the poetess Deborah. Solomon sings the praises of a good woman; and the Gospels of Jesus contain Marys, Martha, and the unnamed who ministered to him. The Epistles teach women their duties, and reveal the depth of their influence and the width of their power.

2. In history. The mother of the Gracchi; the mother of the Wesleys; the mother of St. Augustine; the mother of George Washington. Martyred women; songstresses. Elizabeth Fry, who never forgot the mother in the philanthropist. Madame Guyon, whose faith she thus expressed:

To me remains nor place nor time,
My country is in every clime;
I can be calm and free from care
On any shore, since God is there.

Countess of Huntingdon; Lady Mary Wortley Montagu; and time would fail us to tell of the nameless, whose records are on high.

II. Womans influence.

1. For evil. Jezebel; Solomons wives; devotees of fashion; women who spend their all at the gin-palace, and leave their children in dirt and destitution. A man must toil without; a woman must guard within.

2. For good.

Application.

1. Influence is not measurable by its circumference. May be no larger than a house, no wider than a workshop.

2. Every mother should be a missionary to her children. She may save her husband (1Co. 7:16). She has her children before teachers and ministers can influence them. To them she should represent Gods care and Christs mind, not by her words only, but in her life. Nothing can supersede the religion of the hearth.

Illustrations:One third more females church-members than males.Edwards.

The commonest and the least remembered of all great-little heroisms is the heroism of an average mother. Ah, when I think of that last broad fact I gather hope again for poor humanity, and this dark world looks bright, this diseased world looks wholesome to me once more, because, whatever it is or is not full of, it is at least full of mothers. Charles Kingsley.

Be good, sweet maid, and let who can be clever;

Do lovely things, not dream them, all day long;

And so make life, death, and that vast for ever

One grand, sweet song.

Charles Kingsley to his niece.

HIGH MEN AT LOWLY TASKS

Neh. 3:13-19. The valley gate repaired Hanun, &c.

The fusion of classes. Ordinarily society builds a broad wall betwixt class and class. But in the presence of a common danger, or under the inspiration of a common resolve, men break down all barriers, and stand side by side. Too often the kings of the earth and the rulers take counsel together against the cause of the Lord (Psalms 2); but the word of God standeth for ever. Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship. Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers (Isaiah 49).

I. The differences and unities of the race. We make too much of distinctions; e. g. rich and poor, learned and ignorant, toilers and thinkers, manufacturers and hands, up-town and down town, West-end and East-end. One God created us, one cross redeems us, one Spirit inspires us; the same book teaches us, similar demons tempt us, similar sorrows confront us, a common grave awaits us, the same heaven is open to us. Society rings itself round. The aristocracy of birth says of the aristocracy of money, Only a merchant. Better that emperors wife who often said to her husband, Remember what you were, and what you now are, and then you will be always thankful to God.

II. Historical illustrations. The Romans called rulers fathers of their country. The Greeks styled them shepherds of their people. Most revolutions in Church and State have ranged high and low side by side. Paul was aided by Erastus, the city chamberlain (Rom. 16:23), and they of Csars household (Php. 4:22). The Reformation was indebted to the Elector Frederick. Lord Cobhams castle afforded shelter to Lollard preachers. England owes a debt of gratitude to Albert the Good for his devotion to science and art, and whatever would ameliorate the peoples conditions.

III. Practical purport.

1. With honour comes responsibility. May I not do what I will with mine own? No; thou art only a steward. Hast thou wealth? The poor shall never cease out of the land; they are lawful claimants on thy sympathy. Hast thou wisdom? Teach the ignorant, guide the perplexed. Art thou elevated? Stoop to those who are low, lift down a helping hand to those who have stumbled and fallen.

Heaven does with us as we with torches do;
Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues
Did not go forth of us, twere all alike
As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touchd
But to fine issues; nor Nature never lends
The smallest scruple of her excellence,
But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines
Herself the glory of a creditor
Both thanks and use.

2. Be not deceived by appearances. Not what a man hath, but what a man is, determines his worth. It is the cause, not the suffering, makes the martyr. The motive decides the action. Pierce beneath the surface, plant thy foot on the rock of reality.

3. Gather courage and patience from the thought of the future. Look unto Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him endured, &c. (Heb. 12:2). Remember Moses (Heb. 11:26). Whose names were in the foundations of the city of vision? Not the leaders only (Peter, James, and John), but the twelve apostles (Rev. 21:14). The Holy Ghost hath registered unto us the names and diligence of the builders of this earthly city Jerusalem, by the pen of his faithful servant Nehemiah, for our comfort; and to teach us that much more he hath registered the names of the builders of the spiritual Jerusalem in the book of life, where no devil can scrape them out, but shall be the dear children of the Lord God, defended by him from all ill. Let us therefore cast away this slothful sluggishness wherein we have lain so long, rise up quickly, work lustily, spit on our hands and take good hold, that we fall not back again from our Lord God. It is more honour to be a workman in this house than to live the easiest life that the world can give.Pilkington.

DAVID THE NATIONAL HERO

Neh. 3:15. The city of David. Neh. 3:16. The sepulchres of David

They were working on sacred ground. Hence their enthusiasm. Effort must have inspiration. This city David conquered; he beautified it; here he reigned; here he sleeps. They did not stay to shape such thoughts as these. They were instincts. Patriotism lives not by bread only, but by sentiments, by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of good king and wise teacher in the ages past. Theme, DAVIDS LIFE-WORK the basis of national hero-worship.

I. Preparing for a throne. He that is born is listed; life is war. The foundation of Davids character is a firm, unshaken trust in Jehovah, a bright and most spiritual view of creation and the government of the world, a sensitive awe of the Holy One of Israel, a striving ever to be true to him, and a strong desire to return after errors and transgressions.Ewald. Psa. 78:70 tells how David was Gods elected king. The prophet Samuel shaped the character of the period. His work was long developing. Takes months for common seed to grow. Samuel cast seed into Gods world-field; David and Solomon put in the sickle and reaped. What of that? Sower and reaper equally indispensable (Joh. 4:36-38). David had a creative facultyhe was the poet of song. We have the book of the chronicles of King David; we have, too, the books of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs he sang and wrote. Sauls FATAL DAY not the day of the battle of Gilboa, but the day of the battle with Amalek; not the day when Saul died, but the day when Saul disobeyed, led to Davids election and anointing. The story is told in the Book of Samuel (1Sa. 1:16). Eliab is rejected. The height of a mans stature and the beauty of his countenance shall not henceforth be signs infallible that God has endowed that man with kingly qualities. God-elected shall be God-endowed. That day David anointed, but Gods hand had been upon him in the pastures of Bethlehem. There he thought out, if he did not write, Psalms 23. There he discerned a presence which beset him behind and before (Psalms 139). To him the heavens declared God. How perfect Gods law was, and what Gods fear meant, he was being taught by the order of God in nature; how guilty and feeble he was, he was being taught by the voice of God in his own conscience (Psalms 19). Davids God was a living, ever-present, helping God (Psalms 27). From the sheepfolds David came to encounter Goliath. From the sheepfolds he was summoned to be harp-player to King Saul. He was anointed, but not enthroned. He must learn to wait. God never extemporizes. Soon ripe, soon rot. Moses eighty years of preparation. Elijah a full-grown man before he appears in sacred history. Jesus Christ eighteen quiet, uneventful years after seeing the holy city, and afterwards forty days in wilderness. The harvest of God in human souls ripens slowly. As David thought of his great work, and felt himself a child with a giants task, he said, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength (Psalms 8). He recollected the storms he had witnessed as he watched the sheep when he wrote Psalms 29. But after the longest night the morning breaks. David was called to the court as harp-player to King Saul. Sauls servants described David to the king as a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing (1Sa. 16:18). David was an artist, as we now speak. In Eastern lands shepherd-life and songs have always gone together. The elected king is harpist to the enthroned king. How slowly David ascended the steps to the throne. We, who look back, see some reasons why ascent was gradual. In the pastures he had time to think; in the court he had opportunity to observe. Davids harp quieted Sauls excitement (1Sa. 16:23); Davids harp helped him to compose his Psalms for the song-life of the Church universal. His chequered life fore-shadowed in Sauls court. To-day the kings bosom friend, to-morrow the butt for the kings javelin. The love of David and Jonathan the one bright and beautiful thing. Purer and more constant friendship was never known. With his escape from Sauls court began

II. The work and warfare of Davids life.

1. As a freebooter.
2. As king.
1. As a freebooter. Cave of Adullam (1Sa. 22:1-2). Wild wilderness life. Hunted by Saul (1Sa. 23:25-29; 1Sa. 24:8-22). Sauls hope failed him in the hour of need, and he fell on Gilboas fatal field.

2. David was king. First over Judah, then over all Israel. Davids reign was one of creation; Solomons was one of consolidation. A brilliant reign of a great and good man; but, like all things human, not without fault (2 Samuel 11; 1 Chronicles 21). The fifty-first Psalm the cry of this kingly penitent. But did the free spirit ever come back again as in the earlier days? However, Carlyles words are both wise and charitable. Who is called the man after Gods own heart? David, the Hebrew king, had fallen into sins enoughblackest crimesthere was no want of sin; and therefore the unbelievers sneer, and ask, Is this your man according to Gods heart? The sneer, I must say, seems to me but a shallow one. What are faults, what are the outward details of a life, if the inner secret of it, the remorse, temptations, the often-baffled, never-ended struggle of it be forgotten? Davids life and history, as written for us in those Psalms of his, I consider to be the truest emblem ever given us of a mans moral progress and warfare here below. All earnest souls will ever discern in it the faithful struggle of an earnest human soul towards what is good and best. Struggle often baffled, sore baffled, driven as into entire wreck; yet a struggle never ended, ever with tears, repentance, true, unconquerable purpose begun anew. He died full of age and honours, and his sepulchre Nehemiah looked upon with reverence, Peter the apostle spoke of with exultation, and to it the feet of countless thousands of weary pilgrims have been directed.

ILLUSTRATIONS

A true man.Every true man is a cause, a country, and an age; requires infinite spaces and numbers and time fully to accomplish his design; and posterity seem to follow his steps as a train of clients. A man Csar is born, and for ages after we have a Roman empire. An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man: as monachism of the hermit Antony; the Reformation, of Luther; Quakerism, of Fox; Methodism, of Wesley; Abolition, of Clarkson. Scipio, Milton called the height of Rome; and all history resolves itself very easily into the biography of a few stout and earnest persons.Emerson.

Sepulchres.Next to the wells of Syria, the most authentic memorials of past times are the sepulchres, and partly for the same reason. The tombs of ancient Greece and Rome lined the public roads with funeral pillars or towers. Grassy graves and marble monuments fill the church-yards and churches of Christian Europe. But the sepulchres of Palestine were like the habitations of its earliest inhabitants, hewn out of the living limestone rock, and therefore indestructible as the rock itself. In this respect they resembled, though on a smaller scale, the tombs of Upper Egypt; and as there the traveller of the nineteenth century is confronted with the names and records of men who lived thousands of years ago, so also in the excavations of the valleys which surround or approach Shiloh, Shechem, Bethel, and Jerusalem he knows that he sees what were the last resting-places of the generations contemporary with Joshua, Samuel, and David. And the example of Egypt shows that the identification of these sepulchres even with their individual occupants is not so improbable as might be otherwise supposed. If the graves of Rameses and Osirei can still be ascertained, there is nothing improbable in the thought that the tombs of the patriarchs may have survived the lapse of twenty or thirty centuries. The rocky cave on Mount Hor must be at least the spot believed by Josephus to mark the grave of Aaron. The tomb of Joseph must be near one of the two monuments pointed out as such in the opening of the vale of Shechem. The sepulchre which is called the tomb of Rachel exactly agrees with the spot described as a little way from Bethlehem. The tomb of David, which was known with certainty at the time of the Christian era, may perhaps still be found under the mosque which bears his name in the modern Zion. Above all, the cave of Machpelah is concealed, beyond all reasonable doubt, by the mosque at Hebron. But, with these exceptions, we must rest satisfied rather with the general than the particular interest of the tombs of Palestine.Stanleys Sinai and Palestine.

THE WORKMENS DAY-BOOK

Neh. 3:20-32. After him Baruch the son of Zabbai, &c.

I. Every man is carefully credited with his own tasks and achievements. Rulers, priests, slaves (Nethinims), men, women (Neh. 3:12). Nobody is forgotten. The humblest not passed by in contemptuous silence.

II. Special honour is accorded special work. Levites and priests began at the temple, but did not stop there (Neh. 3:22; Neh. 3:28). Zabbai, who earnestly repaired a second piece, having completed his task did not fold his arms, but went with open eyes and willing hands to seek another task. The goldsmiths and the temple traders came down to the wall not to inspect, but labour (Neh. 3:31-32).

III. Regard is had to the men of practical wisdom. Benjamin and others built over against their house (Neh. 3:23; Neh. 3:28-29). Meshullam built over against his chamber (Neh. 3:30). Perhaps he was a lodger, (a) They were men of practical sense. Work was near at hand; why go abroad? There are many Christians who can never find a place large enough to do their duty. Some Churches seem to feel that if anything is to be done some great operation must be started. They cannot even repent without concert and a general ado.Bushnell. (b) These men found here an inspiration for effortthe defence of home. With practical enthusiasm, Hananiah and others built another piece. All cannot keep the same pace, but all can build.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. The Son of man shall come and then he shall reward every man according to his works (Mat. 16:27). Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life (Rev. 2:10).

ADDENDA TO CHAPTER 3
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH

THE only description of the ancient city of Jerusalem which exists in the Nehemiah, and although it is hardly sufficiently distinct to enable us to settle Bible so extensive in form as to enable us to follow it as a topographical description is that found in the Book of all the moot points, it contains such valuable indications that it is well worthy of the most attentive examination. The easiest way to arrive at any correct conclusion regarding it, is to take first the description of the dedication of the walls in ch. 12 (3140), and, drawing such a diagram as this, we easily get at the main features of the old wall at least.
The order of procession was that the princes of Judah went up upon the wall at some point as nearly as possible opposite to the temple, and one half of them turning to the right went towards the dung gate, and at the fountain gate, which was over against them (or, in other words, on the opposite or temple side of the city), went up by the stairs of the city of David at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward. The water gate, therefore, was one of the southern gates of the temple, and the stairs that led up to it are here identified with those of the city of David, and consequently with Zion.

The other party turned to the left, or northwards, and passed from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall, and passing the gate of Ephraim, the old gate, the fish gate, the towers of Hananeel and Meah, to the sheep gate, stood still in the prison gate, as the other party had in the water gate. So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God.

If from this we turn to the third chapter, which gives a description of the repairs of the wall, we have no difficulty in identifying all the places mentioned in the first sixteen verses with those enumerated in the twelfth chapter. The repairs began at the sheep gate on the north side, and in immediate proximity with the temple, and all the places named in the dedication are again named, but in the reverse order, till we come to the tower of the furnaces, which, if not identical with the tower in the citadel, so often mistaken for the Hippicus, must at least have stood very near to it. Mention is then made, but now in the direct order of the dedication, of the valley gate, the dung gate, the fountain gate; and lastly, the stairs that go down from the city of David. Between these last two places we find mention made of the pool of Siloah and the kings garden, so that we have long passed the so-called sepulchre of David on the modern Zion, and are in the immediate proximity of the temple; most probably in the valley between the city of David and the city of Jerusalem. What follows is most important (Neh. 3:16): After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty. This passage, when taken with the context, seems in itself quite sufficient to set at rest the question of the position of the city of David, of the sepulchres of the kings, and consequently of Zion, all which could not be mentioned after Siloah if placed where modern tradition has located them.

If the chapter ended with the sixteenth verse there would be no difficulty in determining the sites mentioned above, but unfortunately we have, according to this view, retraced our steps very nearly to the point from which we started, and have got through only half the places enumerated. Two hypotheses may be suggested to account for this difficulty: the one, that there was then, as in the time of Josephus, a second wall, and that the remaining names refer to it; the other, that the first sixteen verses refer to the walls of Jerusalem, and the remaining sixteen to those of the city of David. An attentive consideration of the subject renders it almost certain that the latter is the true explanation of the case. In the enumeration of the places repaired, in the last part of the chapter, we have two which we know, from the description of the dedication, really belonged to the temple. The prison court (Neh. 3:25), which must have been connected with the prison gate, and, as shown by the order of the dedication, to have been on the north side of the temple, is here also connected with the kings high house; all this clearly referring, as shown above, to the castle of David, which originally occupied the site of the Turris Antonia. We have on the opposite side the water gate, mentioned in the next verse to Ophel, and consequently as clearly identified with the southern gate of the temple. We have also the horse gate, that by which Athaliah was taken out of the temple (2Ki. 11:16; 2Ch. 23:15), which Josephus states led to the Kedron, and which is here mentioned as connected with the priests houses, and probably, therefore, a part of the temple. Mention is also made of the house of Eliashib the high priest, and of the eastern gate, probably that of the temple. In fact, no place is mentioned in these last verses which cannot be more or less directly identified with the localities on the temple hill, and not one which can be located in Jerusalem. The whole of the city of David, however, was so completely rebuilt and remodelled by Herod that there are no local indications to assist us in ascertaining whether the order of description of the places mentioned after Neh. 3:16 proceeds along the northern face, and round by Ophel, and up behind the temple back to the sheep gate; or whether, after crossing the causeway to the armoury and prison, it does not proceed along the western face of the temple to Ophel in the south, and then, along the eastern face, back along the northern, to the place from which the description started. The latter seems the more probable hypothesis, but the determination of the point is not of very great consequence. It is enough to know that the description in the first sixteen verses applies to Jerusalem, and in the last sixteen to Zion, or the city of David, as this is sufficient to explain almost all the difficult passages in the Old Testament which refer to the ancient topography of the city.Fergusson in Smiths Bible Dictionary.

MODERN JERUSALEM

The first sight of Jerusalem as seen from the south, the first moment when from the ridge of hills which divide the valley of Rephaim from the valley of Bethlehem one sees the white line crowning the horizon, and knows that it is Jerusalem, is a moment never to be forgotten. But there is nothing in the view itself to excite your feelings. Nor is there even when the Mount of Olives heaves in sight, nor when the horses hoofs ring on the stones of the streets of Jerusalem. Nor is there in the surrounding outline of hills on the distant horizon. Nebi-Samuel is indeed a high and distinguished point, and Ramah and Gibeah both stand out, but they and all the rest in some degree partake of that featureless character which belongs to all the hills of Juda.
In one respect no one need quarrel with this first aspect of Jerusalem. So far as localities have any concern with religion, it is well to feel that Christianity, even in its first origin, was nurtured in no romantic scenery; that the discourses in the walks to and from Bethany, and in earlier times the psalms and prophecies of David and Isaiah, were not, as in Greece, the offspring of oracular cliffs and grottos, but the simple outpouring of souls which thought of nothing but God and man. It is not, however, inconsistent with this view to add, that though not romantic, though at first sight bare and prosaic in the extreme, there does at last grow up about Jerusalem a beauty as poetical as that which hangs over Athens and Rome. First, it is in the highest degree venerable. Modern houses it is true there are; the interiors of the streets are modern. The old city itself (and I felt a constant satisfaction in the thought) lies buried twenty, thirty, forty feet below these wretched shops and receptacles for Anglo-Oriental conveniences. But still, as you look at it from any commanding point, within or without the walls, you are struck by the gray ruinous masses of which it is made up; it is the ruin, in fact, of the old Jerusalem on which you lookthe stones, the columns; the very soil on which you tread is the accumulation of nearly three thousand years. And as with the city, so it is with the view of the country round it. There is, as I have said, no beauty of form or outline, but there is nothing to disturb the thought of the hoary age of those ancient hills; and the interest of the past, even to the hardest mind, will in spite of themselves invest them with a glory of their own.

The view of the Moab mountains is constantly intermingled with the views of Jerusalem itself. From almost every point there was visible that long purple wall, rising out of its unfathomable depths, to us even more interesting than to the old Jebusites or Israelites. They knew the tribes who lived there; they had once dwelt there themselves. But to the inhabitants of modern Jerusalem, of whom comparatively few have ever visited the other side of the Jordan, it is the end of the world; and to them, to us, these mountains have almost the effect of a distant view of the sea; the hues constantly changing, this or that precipitous rock coming out clear in the morning or evening shadethere the form of what may possibly be Pisgah, dimly shadowed out by surrounding valleys; here the point of Kerak, the capital of Moab and fortress of the Crusadersand then at times all wrapt in deep haze, the mountains overhanging the valley of the shadow of death, and all the more striking from their contrast with the gray or green colours of the hills, and streets, and walls through which you catch the glimpse of them. Next there are the ravines of the city. This is its great charm. The Dean of St. Pauls once observed to me that he thought Luxembourg must be like Jerusalem in situation. And so to a certain extent it is. I do not mean that the ravines of Jerusalem are so deep and abrupt as those of Luxembourg, but there is the same contrast between the baldness of the level approach, the walls of the city appearing on the edge of the table-land, and then the two great ravines of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat opening between you and the city; and again the two lesser ravines, rival claimants to the name of Tyropon, intersecting the city itself. In this respect I never saw a town so situated, for here it is not merely the fortress, but the city, which is thus surrounded and entangled with natural fosses; and this when seen from the walls, especially from the walls on the northern side, and when combined with the light and shade of evening, gives the whole place a variety of colour and of level fully sufficient to relieve the monotony which else it would share with other Eastern cities. And, thirdly, it must be remembered that there is one approach which is really grand, namely, from Jericho and Bethany. It is the approach by which the army of Pompey advanced,the first European army that ever confronted it,and it is the approach of the triumphal entry of the gospels. Probably the first impression of every one coming from the north, the west, and the south may be summed up in the simple expression used by one of the modern travellers, I am strangely affected, but greatly disappointed. But no human being could be disappointed who first saw Jerusalem from the east. The beauty consists in this, that you then burst at once on the two great ravines which cut the city off from the surrounding table-land, and that then only you have a complete view of the mosque of Omar. The other buildings of Jerusalem which emerge from the mass of gray ruin and white stones are few, and for the most part unattractive. The white mass of the Armenian convent on the south, and the dome of the mosque of David; the castle, with Herods tower on the south-west corner; the two domes, black and white, which surmount the Holy Sepulchre and the Basilica of Constantine; the green corn-field which covers the ruins of the palace of the Knights of St. John; the long yellow mass of the Latin convent at the northwest corner, and the gray tower of the mosque of the Dervishes on the traditional site of the palace of Herod Antipas, in the north-east corner; these are the only objects which break from various points the sloping or level lines of the city of the Crusaders and Saracens. But none of these is enough to elevate its character. What, however, these fail to effect is in one instant effected by a glance at the mosque of Omar. From whatever point that graceful dome with its beautiful precinct emerges to view, it at once dignifies the whole city. And when from Olivet, or from the governors house, or from the north-east wall, you see the platform on which it stands, it is a scene hardly to be surpassed. A dome graceful as that of St. Peters, though of course on a far smaller scale, rising from an elaborately-finished circular edifice; this edifice raised on a square marble platform rising on the highest ridge of a green slope, which descends from it north, south, and east to the walls surrounding the whole enclosure; platform and enclosure diversified by lesser domes and fountains, by cypresses, and olives, and planes, and palms; the whole as secluded and quiet as the interior of some college or cathedral garden, only enlivened by the white figures of veiled women stealing like ghosts up and down the green slope, or by the turbaned heads bowed low in the various niches for prayer.this is the mosque of Omar, the Haram es-Sherf, the noble sanctuary; the second most sacred spot in the Mahometan worldthat is, the next after Mecca; the second most beautiful mosquethat is, the next after Cordova. I, for one, felt almost disposed to console myself for the exclusion by the additional interest which the sight derives from the knowledge that no European foot, except by stealth or favour, had ever trodden within these precincts since the Crusaders were driven out, and that their deep seclusion was as real as it appeared. It needed no sight of the daggers of the black Dervishes who stand at the gates to tell you that the mosque was undisturbed and inviolably sacred.Dean Stanley.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

TEXT AND VERSE-BY-VERSE COMMENT

TEXT, Neh. 3:1-32

1

Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.

2

And next to him the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

3

Now the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars.

4

And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to him Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs. And next to him Zadok the son of Baana also made repairs.

5

Moreover, next to him the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their masters,

6

And Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors, with its bolts and its bars.

7

Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, also made repairs for the official seat of the governor of the province beyond the River.

8

Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

9

And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs.

10

Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs.

11

Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahathmoab repaired another section and the Tower of Furnaces.

12

And next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.

13

Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall to the Refuse Gate.

14

And Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem repaired the Refuse Gate. He built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.

15

Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He built it, covered it, and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at the Kings Garden as far as the steps that descend from the city of David.

16

After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, official of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs as far as a point opposite the tombs of David, and as far as the Artificial Pool and the House of the Mighty Men.

17

After him the Levites carried out repairs under Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the official of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district.

18

After him their brothers carried out repairs under Bavvai the son of Henadad, official of the other half of the district of Keilah.

19

And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the official of Mizpah, repaired another section, in front of the ascent of the armory at the Angle.

20

After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

21

After him Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the doorway of Eliashibs house even as far as the end of his house.

22

And after him the priests, the men of the valley, carried out repairs.

23

After them Benjamin and Hasshub carried out repairs in front of their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah carried out repairs beside his house.

24

After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah as far as the Angle and as far as the corner.

25

Palal the son of Uzai made repairs in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs.

26

And the temple servants living in Ophel made repairs as far as the front of the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower.

27

After him the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.

28

Above the Horse Gate the priests carried out repairs, each in front of his house.

29

After them Zadok the son of Immer carried out repairs in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, carried out repairs.

30

After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah carried out repairs in front of his own quarters.

31

After him Malchijah one of the goldsmiths, carried out repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner.

32

And between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out repairs.

COMMENT

The construction of the entire wall is described here, as though it was all completed immediately. More details of the work, and the hazards they overcame, occupy the next three chapters; at Neh. 6:15 we are told of the completion of the work.

In this chapter the arrangement of materials is not necessarily chronological, but geographic, moving from the Sheep Gate on the north side of the city counterclockwise section by section in order till we are brought back again to the Sheep Gate. For this reason this chapter furnishes the most extensive description of the city of Jerusalem that appears anywhere in the Bible.

Much of the material needed would be lying all about them: the stones from the old wall. Nehemiah had gotten permission to bring other material from the kings forest (Neh. 2:8). Labor would be the largest item: digging, discarding debris, shaping, moving, lifting, fitting. What money was needed may have been contributed by each group.

1. The builders were from many backgrounds.

(1) There were men whose profession was religion. The chapter begins (Neh. 3:1) with a mention of the high priest Eliashib and his brothers the priests. Nehemiah, a government official, does them the honor of placing them first. It is probable also that they were the first to begin the project. Meremoth, in Neh. 3:4, was identified with the priesthood by Ezra (Ezr. 8:33); other priests appear in Neh. 3:22; Neh. 3:28, possibly indicating residence in other quarters of the city.

We may ask if it is necessary to. understand that they actually handled rocks and timbers. Perhaps they only supervised, or financed certain parts of the construction. But this is not stated; they had as much at stake in the citys future as any others, and it need not be a surprise if they were toiling side by side with their fellow-citizens. This is especially suggested by the phrase, arose and built.

Levites are also mentioned (Neh. 3:17), and temple servants (Neh. 3:26) who lived in Ophel, the part of the city where the Temple was located.

(2) There were government officials located not only at Jerusalem (Neh. 3:9; Neh. 3:12), but in nearby cities as well (Neh. 3:14-19). Besides their families, they would have at their disposal many persons under their pay or authority. One who is also mentioned, who was of a lower rank than these, was the keeper of the East Gate (Neh. 3:29). The entire function of government could be improved by good walls, so these men helped.

(3) Then there were businessmen. The goldsmiths (Neh. 3:8; Neh. 3:13; Neh. 3:32) would compare with our jewelers. The perfumers (Neh. 3:8) would be similar to our druggists. The merchants (Neh. 3:32) would be our grocers, taylors, hardware dealers, storekeepers in general. Walls of security would be vital to them, and they were willing to expend the necessary energy and effort to provide them.

(4) There were people who came from other districts and cities: Jericho (Neh. 3:2), Tekoa (Neh. 3:5; Neh. 3:27), Gibeon and Mizpah (Neh. 3:7), and many others (Neh. 3:13-19). Their survival would be more likely with a strongly fortified city close by.

(5) Even women were included (Neh. 3:12). It is nothing new for ladies to work in field or factory, office or classroom, militia or commerce, when they are needed.

2. They built in many different environs,

Because some of the locations are especially appropriate to the people who made the repairs (close to their own homes, Levites at Ophel, priests at the gate where sheep were brought in, close to the Temple), we would guess that they had some choice of where they would work. It is also true that persons work the best at things they are interested in; while the wall would be monotonously the same all around the city, the surroundings would be exceedingly varied and would furnish a point of interest. Perhaps, then, we can try to guess why they repaired at these particular sites; perhaps those who give of their effort to the church today have a similar range of interests.

(1) Most prominently mentioned are the gates. There are ten of them: Sheep (Neh. 3:1; Neh. 3:32), Fish (Neh. 3:3), Old (Neh. 3:6), Valley (Neh. 3:13), Refuse (Neh. 3:14), Fountain (Neh. 3:15), Water (Neh. 3:26), Horse (Neh. 3:28), Inspection (Neh. 3:31), and the keeper of the East Gate appears, though the gate itself is not mentioned in the locations.

Two other gates are mentioned later on in the book: the Gate of Ephraim, and of the Guard (Neh. 12:39). So the city had twelve gates in Nehemiahs time; this may show how fitting it was for John to speak of the twelve gates of the city in time to come (Rev. 21:12 ff).

Gates were often more than entrance ways. They could be large rooms, with walls subdividing them and with benches where elders could sit to hear disputes between neighbors. Note in Neh. 3:15 that one gate was provided with a cover, or roof. Here the merchants came each evening to make their goods available to the inhabitants (Neh. 13:19-21). So the gate would be important for commerce or for justice. We do see a goldsmith (jeweler) by the Inspection Gate (Neh. 3:31), which is also close to the house of the merchants; and other goldsmiths and merchants by the Sheep Gate (Neh. 3:32). So today there are those who serve the church because they see benefits in it for their business, or they see its value in upholding justice, social or otherwise.

(2) Others worked close to the official seat of the governor (of the entire province, when he visited the city on business, Neh. 3:7); by the kings garden (Neh. 3:15), or by the upper house of the king and the court of the guard, i.e., prison (Neh. 3:25). The church commends itself today to some because it fosters general subservience to the government, and makes the governments job easier.

(3) But the kings garden (Neh. 3:15) would also be a place of great beauty, and an excellent environment for the one interested in esthetics. So music and art and even a vase of flowers have their place in the churchs service.

(4) Half a dozen of the builders looked after the wall close to their own houses (Neh. 3:10; Neh. 3:23; Neh. 3:28-30). The home is an important institution today, and many are appreciative of the role of the church in laying down patterns for enduring homes.

(5) Business interests, or industry, were represented; some labored by the Tower of Furnaces (Neh. 3:11). The word is descriptive of baking ovens rather than smelting furnaces; it appears also in Hos. 7:4 ff. Some industrialists have expressed a preference for hiring church members. Thus the church today attracts support from this kind of people who built Jerusalems walls.

(6) The tombs of David, the cemetery section, came in for attention. It was this particularly that Nehemiah had used to catch the interest of the king of Persia (Neh. 2:3). All of the traditions of the past, respect for ones elders, respect for the bravery of the forefathers (the House of the Mighty Men, Neh. 3:16, was close by), all of these are involved here; and the church reaches many because of its identification with the traditions of the past.

(7) The ascent of the armory (Neh. 3:19), the military training and supply center, drew notice also. While some see our military forces as our first line of defense, they may also see the church and our trust in God as our last line of defense.

(8) Religion was also at stake. Some repaired to the high priests doorway (Neh. 3:20), and to the residence of the temple servants (Neh. 3:31). It is certain that some would have seen the need of strong walls then to protect their religious institutions; there are people today who need no other reason than the need of religion, for their support of the church.

Even this does not exhaust the list. There is still the Artificial Pool (Neh. 3:16) and the steps that descend from the City of David (Neh. 3:15), the southern section of Jerusalem.

What shall we do about the persons who are drawn to the church by such a variety of motives? Criticize them for their inadequate motives? Or welcome them for the variety of contributions they make to the church all of which are necessary that the total wall, so to speak, can be built? And meanwhile, we seek to educate and improve and clarify their motives.

3. There were differences in how they built.

(1) When the priests launched the project by building a section of the wall, they held a service of consecration. They also included a stretch adjacent to where they had built. This would be characteristic of them; apparently no other part of the wall received that kind of treatment at that time. Perhaps it was because they were priests (although such actions dont follow in Neh. 3:22; Neh. 3:28); or perhaps it was to mark the beginning with dedication ceremonies to ask Gods favor on the remainder of the project.

(2) One man, and only one, is remembered for building zealously (Neh. 3:20).

(3) The Tekoites built in spite of lack of co-operation from their nobles (Neh. 3:8; see Word Studies). They were not dissuaded by the apathy of their leaders, but recognized their obligation to their higher officials of state.

(4) Two of them repaired another section after finishing a first (Neh. 3:21, cf. 4; 27, cf. 5). It seems that some must always carry double the ordinary load, if the Lords work is done; it is especially noteworthy that the Tekoites, faced with the unconcern of their most capable, still went ahead with a second portion. (5) Differences in the condition of the walls can be distinguished. In some places they must be totally rebuilt (Neh. 3:2); in others they could simply be repaired (Neh. 3:4); in others, they needed only to be restored: the KJV has fortified. The sense of this word is vague; literally it means freed, cut loose, or left (Neh. 3:8).

The one thing apparent, from first to last, is the careful organization, the willingness of each group to do its small part, to contribute to the whole. A city wall with one gap is useless. An undertaking this large was impossible, except by an extra large amount of co-operation. For a hundred years and more the wall had been in ruins; now, because one man was sufficiently interested, the community was organized to pull together and do the work.
The next three chapters take us back a step and trace the achievement through some of its more difficult hours.

WORD STUDIES

SUPPORT (Neh. 3:5): put necks to. On the neck or shoulders are placed burdens (yoke: Gen. 27:40). When an ox braces itself to pull, it thrusts its neck or shoulders forward against the yoke. The Tekoite nobles were not doing this; they hadnt knuckled down to shoulder their part of the burden.

WALL (Neh. 3:8 : Chomah): the word emphasizes what is brought together, rather than what is kept out. The verb form means to join together, join in affinity; surround with a wall; keep or hold together things conjoined.

A kindred word from the same base means to bring together, congregate, conjoin. Another from the same base means, become thick, curdle, coagulate (like milk). Also from the same base are the words meaning people, kinsman, collect, and the preposition with.
This is an entirely different word from that which appears in the Word Studies for Ezra nine.

SUMMARY

It is difficult or useless to try to summarize a chapter with so many small details. It has been shown that those who worked on the wall were from very divergent professions and social levels: priests, jewelers, druggists, government officials, women, Levites, temple servants, merchants, and citizens of neighboring towns. They worked in a variety of environments: the gates, government headquarters, their own houses, down by the bakery, over at the cemetery, alongside the armory, close to the priests house and the dormitories for the temple servants. They showed a variety of temperaments: reverence, zeal, stubbornness in the face of apathy, doggedly helping with a second section after finishing their first assignment; building anew, repairing, or just cleaning up and passing along.
The church can use all these types, for all these situations, and can watch as its members serve with their humanity showing through the chinks in their armor.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(1) Then Eliashib.The account begins with due honour to the high priest and the priesthood.

The sheep gate was in the neighbourhood of the priests quarter. Through it the victims passed for sacrifice, first being washed in the neighbouring pool of Bethesda. This being built, they sanctified it, as an earnest of the subsequent consecration of the entire wall. Their work and the sanctification of it extended to two towns near each other at the north-east corner.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

1. Eliashib the high priest He must now have been an old man. Compare Ezr 10:6, note. The priests seem to have built the gates and walls nearest to the temple.

Sheep gate This we understand from Joh 5:2 (where see note) to have been near the pool of Bethesda, called the “king’s pool” in Neh 2:14, and now known as the “Fountain of the Virgin,” in the Kedron valley, near the southeastern corner of the city. The gate was probably so called because the sheep used in the sacrifices were brought through it into Jerusalem.

They sanctified it By some dedicatory service.

And set up the doors Raised them and hung them on their hinges, or set them in sockets or upon pivots, in which they were to turn. One gate might have several doors.

Even unto Here in thought we may supply the words, they builded the walls. They not only builded the sheep gate, but also the city wall on the eastern side as far as to the towers here mentioned. The tower of Meah and that of Hananeel must have been located in the eastern wall, but their places can only be designated by conjecture. See the plan of Jerusalem on opposite page.

They sanctified it Not only the tower of Meah, but their entire work.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they rebuilt the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up its doors; even to the tower of Hammeah they sanctified it, to the tower of Hananel.’

Even the greatest were involved in the project. Eliashib the High Priest (the grandson of Jeshua – Neh 12:10-11), together with his brother priests, set to work with a will on the portion allotted to them. And as each part was built they sanctified it (set it apart to God as holy). The priests were genuinely grateful to God for the fact that the wall was being built, as well they might be, for it protected their Temple. ‘They rose up — and built.’ Thus we see them fulfilling what had been decided on earlier, ‘we will arise and build’ (Neh 2:20). The narrative deliberately begins with the activity of the priests, (it does not commence at the north east corner, see Neh 3:32). Central to the whole description is that the house of God is being protected, along with the city that it made holy.

The priests apparently commenced work at the Sheep Gate (near the north east corner), but the work would no doubt also continue on at the same time along the whole of their section on the northern wall, as far as the Tower of Hammeah (The Hundred) and the Tower of Hananel. These may well have been the Towers of the great fortress protecting the northern approach.

‘They rebuilt the Sheep Gate and sanctified it.’ This sanctifying of it is prior to the setting up of its doors, which would have occurred some time later (after Neh 6:1). It would be second nature to the priests to sanctify their work as they went along in view of its proximity to the Temple. The Sheep Gate was probably the gate through which sacrificial sheep were brought to the Temple. It was in the north-east corner of the city wall. Compare Joh 5:2.

They also worked from there westward and rebuilt the Tower of The Hundred, and sanctified it, and as far as the Tower of Hananel. The Tower of The Hundred is not mentioned anywhere else (except in Neh 12:39), but was clearly seen as of importance in relation to the Temple as it was specifically sanctified. (The ‘it’ cannot refer to the wall as it is the wrong gender). The Tower of Hananel is mentioned in Neh 12:39, and is referred to as an identifying feature in Jer 31:38 and Zec 14:10. It was possibly the northernmost point of Jerusalem.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Rebuilding Of The Walls Of Jerusalem ( Neh 3:1-32 ).

It is difficult to overemphasise the huge impact of what was about to be accomplished. A city which was largely uninhabited, lay partially in ruins, had no means of protection, and was making little impact on the surrounding area (apart from its significance to the returnees themselves as the site of the Temple), was about to arise from the ashes and become a powerful influence throughout the area. And it would all begin with the rebuilding of its walls.

That this was clearly seen by all comes out both in the ferocity of the opposition that was provoked, and in the dedication of God’s people to the task in hand. On the one hand were those who strove to prevent it by any means possible, including propaganda, threats and violence (Neh 2:19; Neh 4:1-3; Neh 4:7-8), and on the other were those who were prepared, as depicted in this chapter, to set aside personal interests, and work together in spite of their differences, in order to ensure the completion of the work. It is a picture in microcosm of the work of God’s people in the world today, divided by differences of viewpoint, but each with their appointed portion of the wall to complete. Nor would the building work continue without cost. Many of those who were involved in the building would consequently find themselves in debt (Neh 5:3-5), all would have to be on constant alert against the dangers of threatened violence (Neh 4:17-18), and their families would meanwhile have to struggle on alone in the face of adversity.

This chapter, which might at first appear simply to be a list of names, brings out the intensity of what was involved. For in it we have described to us details of those who were involved in the building of the wall, both in their unity and in their diversity, and how they worked together as one in their fulfilment of their God-given task. Each group was given its task to do and were left to get on with it. What is only a name to us represented a gang of dedicated builders. This mention of them individually can be seen as an indication that they were all observed by God. Divinely speaking it reminds us that God has a place for all of us so that we can participate in His purposes, and that He is individually interested in what each of us is doing. Humanly speaking it is the record of a great achievement in which many disparate elements united to achieve a common purpose. It was probably written by the leaders of those involved as they indicated their pride in their achievement (note the use of the third person and the lack of Nehemiah’s usual pithy comments), while being later incorporated by Nehemiah into his memoirs.

That it was a great achievement cannot be doubted. The necessary material had to be obtained and shaped, no doubt including making use of the stones from the old wall; there had to be full cooperation where one piece of wall connected with the next; and food and drink had to be continually supplied to the workers, no doubt by interested womenfolk. It was a combined operation on a large scale carried out voluntarily by all involved.

It also provides interesting information about where the returnees dwelt in the land round about. It is a reminder that they were not just in a little cluster around Jerusalem. At least five administrative areas have been detected on the basis of the words ‘ruler of’; Jerusalem (Neh 3:9), Beth-hakkerrem (Neh 3:14 – 5 kilometres (3 miles) north of Bethlehem), Mizpah (Neh 3:15 – 7 kilometres (4 miles) south of Bethel), Beth-zur (Neh 3:16 – 6 kilometres (4 miles) north of Hebron), and Keilah (Neh 3:17 – in the Shephelah, 16 kilometres (10 miles) north east of Lachish). We also have mention of the men of Jericho (Neh 3:2), Gibeon and Mizpah (Neh 3:7), and the men of Tekoa (Neh 3:5; Neh 3:27). Tekoa was 10 kilometres (6 miles) south of Bethlehem.

We must not underestimate the enormity of the task achieved. Furthermore, it was achieved in a remarkably short space of time such that it took even their enemies by surprise. They probably worked in shifts continually day and night. The chapter certainly bears testimony to Nehemiah’s organisational capabilities and his ability to enthuse disparate elements to join together in a common task, although, having said that, there can be no doubt that the allocation of the work was determined in consultation with interested parties, for it displays knowledge that Nehemiah could not have gained in so short a time without such consultation. We will note, for example, how work was allocated in accordance with people’s interests, whilst responsibility for many sections appears to have been in the hands of those directly involved with those areas, and the way in which the work progressed confirms their capability. They were wisely chosen.

The change to the third person in the narrative suggests that the record is based, not on Nehemiah’s memory of events, but on a contemporary record made by those involved. They wanted it recording as a reminder of the work done, and the participation of all involved. And this is confirmed by the fact that it describes the bolts, bars and doors of the gate as being put in place, whereas in Neh 6:1 Nehemiah states that he had not yet hung the doors. This was therefore clearly a later record, incorporated by Nehemiah into a contemporary record of his own. But that it was made an essential part of Nehemiah’s own record is quite clear from the fact that otherwise we would have no record of the building of the wall which was a main purpose for which he had come. Also from the fact that it fits so neatly into the narrative.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Neh 3:1-32 The Repairs of the Walls of Jerusalem Neh 3:1-32 records the repairs of the walls of Jerusalem. This passage makes a complete circle around the wall of Jerusalem, beginning and ending at the sheep gate on the north.

This passage of Scripture records by way of eternal remembrance the names of those individuals who participated in the rebuilding of the wall, an act of faith in God that angered Sanballat the governor of this province, but esteemed them as heroes in the eyes of the Jews. Other Jews feared partaking of this task, such as the nobles of the Tekoites (Neh 3:5), perhaps because they had more at stake to loose in their elevated positions of nobility. There are a number of times the Holy Scriptures record the names of certain individuals as a way of honouring them for their faith. For example, the Scriptures give us a list of thirty-seven men of renown who fought with King David and wrought mighty victories for Israel (2Sa 23:8-39). The Gospels list the twelve apostles of the Lamb by name.

Neh 3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

Neh 3:1 Comments Eliashib the high priest began the building of the wall, appearing to be the most enthusiastic among the Jews; yet, he will soon shift his alliance to Tobiah the Ammonite and give him a chamber in the temple for his personal use (Neh 13:4-5). This reveals the extent to which Nehemiah had to guard himself in order to complete this task.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Walls of the Lower City

v. 1. Then Eliashib, the high priest, the grandson of Jeshua, who had returned with Zerubbabel, rose up with his brethren, the priests, and they builded the Sheep Gate, close to the Temple, probably on the northeastern side of the city, where the sheep for the sacrifices were driven in. They sanctified it, with certain religious ceremonies, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, which, apparently, was a hundred cubits from the gate, unto the tower of Hananeel, the next tower over toward the Fish Gate.

v. 2. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur, the son of Imri, who may, according to the Hebrew, have been the leader of the men of Jericho.

v. 3. But the Fish Gate, east of the present Damascus Gate in the north wall, did the sons of Hassenaah build, rather the sons, that is, the inhabitants of Senaah, apparently a city near Jericho, who also laid the beams thereof, the crosspieces over the entrance, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, either sockets or clamps, and the bars thereof, which were fitted into the sockets to secure the gate on the inside.

v. 4. And next unto them repaired Meremoth, the son of Urijah, the son of Koz, rather, of the family of Hakkoz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok, the son of Baana.

v. 5. And next unto them the Tekoites, from the little town of Tekoa, near Bethlehem, repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord, they refused to take part in the rebuilding of the wall.

v. 6. Moreover, the old gate repaired Jehoiada, the son of Paseah, and Meshullam, the son of Besodeiah, this gate being apparently in the center of the north wall; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof and the locks thereof and the bars thereof.

v. 7. And next unto them repaired Meletiah the Gibeonite, that is, of Gibea, and Jadon the Meronothite, probably hailing from a suburb of Mizpah, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river, Mizpah apparently being the seat of the Persian governor west of Jordan.

v. 8. Next unto him repaired Uzziel, the son of Hathaiah, of the goldsmiths, for the tradespeople had organizations of their own and worked together. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah, the son of one of the apothecaries, makers of spices, ointments, and perfumes, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall, the double wall extending from the Gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, the one that had been broken down by Joash of Israel, but afterward rebuilt by Uzziah of Judah.

v. 9. And next unto them repaired Rephaiah, the son of Hur, the ruler of the half-part of Jerusalem, of half its circuit, which was a governmental term.

v. 10. And next unto them repaired Iedaiah, the son ‘of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush, the son of Hashabniah.

v. 11. Malchijah, the son of Harim, and Hashub, the son of Pahath-moab, repaired the other piece, a second section assigned to them in addition to that mentioned in verse 23, and the tower of the furnaces, the extreme northeastern tower of the citadel, near the Jaffa Gate.

v. 12. And next unto him repaired Shallum, the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half-part of Jerusalem, of the second circuit, he and his daughters, the zeal of these women being mentioned as a commendable example.

v. 13. The Valley Gate repaired Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the Dung Gate, at the southern extremity of Zion, where the rubbish was taken out to be burned outside the walls.

v. 14. But the Dung Gate repaired Malchiah, the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem, of the circuit of Bethulia, near Tekoa; he built it and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

v. 15. But the Gate of the Fountain, near the Pool of Siloam, repaired Shallum, the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah, of the circuit of Mizpah; for this was under the jurisdiction of a different man than the city itself; he built it and covered it, laying the cross-beams as in the case of the other gates, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the Pool of Siloah by the king’s garden, the royal park being watered from this pool, which received its water through a subterranean channel tunneled from the west side of the Kidron Valley, under the lower ridge of Ophel, which ran south of the Temple area, and unto the stairs that go down from the City of David, an inclined road leading down from the upper city.

v. 16. After him repaired Nehemiah, the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half-part of Beth-zur, of this circuit, which was north of Hebron, unto the place over against the sepulchers of David, the tombs of the kings, and to the pool that was made, presumably the present Fountain of the Virgin, and unto the house of the mighty, where the cliffs of Zion arose.

v. 17. After him repaired the Levites, Rehum, the son of Ban. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half-part of Keilah, over the half-circuit of this name, in his part.

v. 18. After him repaired their brethren, Bavai, the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half-part of Keilah, the second circuit named after this town.

v. 19. And next to him repaired Ezer, the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece, in addition to that mentioned in verse 7, over against the going up to the armory at the turning of the wall, an angle where the Temple wall connected with the city wall. In the building of the Church of Christ all believers, young and old, men and women, each one according to his gifts and strength, should place himself in the service of the Lord.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

COMMENCEMENT OF THE WORK, AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE WORKING PARTIES, WITH THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO SUPERINTENDED THE BUILDING (Neh 3:1-32. ). The especial object of this chapter seems to be the rendering of honour where honour was duethe putting on record of the names of the men who boldly came to the front on this occasion, sacrificed their ease to their duty, and exposed themselves to a threatened hostile attack (Neh 4:8-20). Though Nehemiah’s eloquence had carried over to him the bulk of the nation (Neh 2:18), it had not carried the whole. There were those who refused to take any part in the workeven though it was “the work of their Lord” (Neh 3:5)and these laggards were of the “noble” class. The more credit was therefore due to the head men who chose the better part, supported Nehemiah with zeal, and, sword in hand (Neh 4:17), either worked themselves or superintended the workers. Nehemiah records the names of thirty-eight such persons, and in thirty cases adds to the name of the individual that of his father. Where this designation is wanting, he for the most part supplies its place by some other, so as definitely to mark out the person intended. With this general purpose of doing honour to the deserving is combined the wish graphically to place the whole scene before the reader. This is done by means of a profusion of topographical details. Nehemiah takes us along the entire circuit of the wallshows us “the tower of Meah,” “the tower of Hananeel,” “the fish gate,” “the old gate,” “the throne of the governor,” “the broad wall,” “the tower of the furnaces,” “the valley gate,” “the dung gate,” “the gate of the fountain, …. the pool of Siloam,” “the king’s garden,” “the stairs, …. the sepulchres of David,” “the pool that was made,” “the armoury,” “the tower that lay out,” “Ophel,” “the horse gate,” “the gate Miphkad,” “the sheep gate,” and “the ascent of the corner”exhibits to us the party at work in each place, repairing a portion of the wall, or rebuilding a gatewaynotes the zeal of those who, completing the piece first assigned to them rapidly, then undertook a second piece (verses 11, 19, 21, 24, etc.), and altogether gives us a description which is full of life and activity. The passage is invaluable to the topographer, and though not resolving all the difficulties with which he meets in his attempts to reproduce the plan of the ancient city, furnishes more effectual help than all other existing notices on the subject put together.

Neh 3:1

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up. It is satisfactory to find Eliashib the high priest taking the part which befitted him on this occasion. Subsequently we find him “allied by marriage to Tobiah (Neh 13:4), and guilty of a profanation of the temple (ibid. Neh 3:5). By the line of high priests given in Neh 12:10, Neh 12:11, it appears that Eliashib was the son of Joiakim, and the grandson of the Jeshua who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:2; Ezr 3:2). With his brethren. The priests generally. Compare Neh 12:28, which shows that the priests undertook a portion of the eastern wall, besides the work here mentioned. Builded the sheep gate. The “sheep gate” appears to have been a gate in the eastern wall, the of St. John (Joh 5:2), which was close to the pool of Bethesda. By this gate were brought in the sheep needed for sacrifice, which were then washed in the adjoining pool, and conveyed from it into the temple area, whereon the pool abuts. The priests dwelt principally in this portion of the city. They sanctified it. This appears to have been a dedication quite distinct from that which is described in Neh 12:27-43. The priests, having completed the rebuilding of the sheep gate, and of the wall extending from it northwards as far as the tower of Hananeel, anticipated the general dedication by a special one, which “sanctified,” or consecrated, their own portion of the wall Thus a sacred character was impressed on the work at the earliest possible moment, and it was placed under the protection of the Almighty. The tower of Meah (or rather Hammeah, i.e. “the Hundred”) and the tower of Hananeel appear to have been situated almost at the same point of the wall. Perhaps they were opposite each other, like the towers in the walls of Babylon (Herod; 1:179).

Neh 3:2

Next to Eliashib builded the men of Jericho, who were assigned the northeastern corner of the wall, as the part nearest to their own town. The inclusion of Jericho in the restored Judea had appeared from Ezr 2:34.

Neh 3:3

It is strange that the sons of Hassenaah, who built the fourth piece of wall, are not mentioned by name. There is no other similar omission. The fish gate, which they built, was in the northern wall, towards its eastern extremity, and not far from the modern “Damascus gate.” It is thought to be so called from being the gate through which fish were brought in from the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee. The locks thereof should rather be “the bars thereof”; and the bars, “the sockets,” or “catches,” which held the bars. The gates of towns in ancient times were almost always secured in this way.

Neh 3:4

The son of Koz. Rather “the son of Hakkoz.” Meshullam the son of Berechiah is mentioned again in Neh 6:18.

Neh 3:5

The Tekoites are the people of Tekoah, whence came the “wise woman” whom Joab sent to incline David to fetch home Absalom (2Ki 14:2, 2Ki 14:3). It was a small place, and does not appear, either in the catalogue of those who returned with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:20-35; Neh 7:25-38), or in the census list of Nehemiah (Neh 11:25-35). Their nobles put not their necks to the work. This imputation of blame has been thought out of harmony with the general narrative contained in the chapter, and various emendations have been proposed to remove the so-called difficulty. But it has really first to be shown that a difficulty exists. Surely it would have been more strange if there had been no opposition to Nehemiah’s wishesno withdrawal from the work, than if there were the amount of opposition that is recorded. And supposing opposition to be made, why should Nehemiah not notice it? In music, the force and value of harmonious notes is brought out by an occasional discord. A desire to do honour to those who deserved it would be quite compatible with a determination to brand with disgrace the undeserving. And the contrast would enhance the value of the praise. Thus, there is no reason for disturbing the existing text, nor for questioning its plain meaning. The upper classes at Tekoah, the adirim or “exalted, withdrew from the work, like oxen withdrawing their necks from the yoke, and stood aloof, leaving it to the common people to engage in it, or not, as they pleased. The common people were perhaps moved to the greater zeal by the defection of their natural leaders. They were among those who accomplished a double task, repairing a second portion of the wall (verse 27) after having finished their first.

Neh 3:6

The old gate must either have corresponded to the modern “Damascus gate” or have been in its near neighbourhood. It is not mentioned elsewhere.

Neh 3:7

Gibeon and Mispah lay due north of Jerusalem, at the distance respectively of about 5.5 and 4.5 miles The inhabitants were set to repair the middle part of the north wall. Unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. So the Septuagint; and, among moderns, Michaelis, Pool, and A. Clarke. Others translate”the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who belonged to the jurisdiction of the governor across the river.” But this can scarcely have been the fact, since Gibeon is mentioned among the re-occupied cities in Neh 7:25, and if Bethel was Jewish, as we know that it was from Neh 11:31, Gibeon and Mizpah, which were nearer Jerusalem, cannot have remained Syrian. Altogether, there is no reason to dispute the commonly received rendering, since Nehemiah again uses for in verse 32, and the governor of Syria may well have had a “throne,” or tribunal, at Jerusalem, which was usually under his jurisdiction, though exempted from his authority under the existing regime.

Neh 3:8

Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries. Or “the son of Harak-kashim.” They fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. The Septuagint has , “they left,” and the Vulgate dimiserunt in the same sense, which is given also as an alternative rendering by our translators, in the margin. And no doubt the verb has this for one of its meanings. But the clause has thus no satisfactory sense. That is used for “to fortify” by Nehemiah is plain from Neh 4:2, and we may therefore well understand it in this sense here. Why he uses here and in every other place is difficult to explain, unless we suppose, with Pool, that the wall did not need regular repairs in this part, but only a little strengthening.

Neh 3:9

The ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. Compare Neh 3:11. The city itself does not seem to be intended, but rather the territory outside which was considered to belong to the city. This was divided into two portions, under two “princes” or “rulers,” Rephaiah and Shallum.

Neh 3:11

Malchijah and Hashub, who are here said to have repaired, not the other piece, but “a second piece”of the wall, have not been previously mentioned in our present text; whence it has been concluded with reason (Bertheau) that the text is defective, some whole verses having fallen out (comp. Neh 3:20). The tower of the furnaces is mentioned again in Neh 12:38. Its exact position cannot be fixed.

Neh 3:12

He and his daughters. It seems to be almost impossible that women were pressed into the service, especially when it was one of so much danger (Neh 4:13-21). By “daughters” we must therefore understand the villages contained in Shallum’s district, which is agreeable to the use of the term in Neh 11:25, Neh 11:27, Neh 11:28.

Neh 3:13

The valley gate. A gate in the western wall (See the comment on Neh 2:13.) Zanoah was situated to the west of Jerusalem at the distance of some nine or ten miles. It is mentioned in Jos 15:34 as a city of Judah, but was not a place of much importance. We can scarcely suppose that the inhabitants had as much as a thousand cubits of the wall assigned to them, since that is more than a quarter of a mile, and the entire circuit was under four miles. Bertheau suggests that Nehemiah merely means to note that the distance between the two gates, the Valley and the Dung gate, was a thousand cubits, and that he says nothing of the repairs because no repairs were needed.

Neh 3:14

The dung gate. See the comment on Neh 2:13. The ruler of part of Beth-haccerem. Rather “ruler of the district of Beth-haccerem,” or head man of the region within which Beth-haccerem, was situated. This was a district in the neighbourhood of Tekoah (Jer 6:1).

Neh 3:15

The gate of the fountain. See the comment on Neh 2:14. The ruler of part of Mizpah. Rather, “ruler of the district of Mizpah,“ which is distinguished from the town of Mizpah (Neh 2:7, Neh 2:19), and shown to have furnished a distinct working party. The wall of the pool of Siloah was probably an outwork designed to protect those who at a time of siege frequented this fountain. The pool must always have been outside of the main wall of the city. It furnished water to the royal garden, which was at the junction of the Kidron and Hinnora valleys (Joseph. ‘Ant. Jud.,’ 7.11; 2Ki 25:4). The stairs that go down from the city of David may well be the flight of stone steps cut in the rock which is still to be seen on the western flank of Ophel, leading from the valley of the Tyropeeon in the direction of the temple.

Neh 3:16

Nehemiah the son of Azbuk. Not the writer, who was “the son of Hachaliah” (Neh 1:1), but another person of the same name. It was the frequent bearing of the same name by two or more contemporaries which made it necessary to designate men generally by their own names and the names of their fathers. Bethzur (“House of the Rock”) is now Beit-Sur, and lies on the ordinary route from Jerusalem to Hebron, about fifteen miles south of Jerusalem. It is mentioned in Jos 15:58 among the cities of Judah, and appears to have become a place of considerable importance under the Maccabees (1 Maccabees 4:29; 6:31-50; 14:7; etc.). The sepulchres of David and the kings, his descendants, to the time of Hezekiah, were excavated in the rock upon which the temple stood (Eze 43:7-9), apparently on its western side. They have not hitherto been discovered. Here too was the pool that was made by Hezekiah when he was about to be besieged by Sennacherib (2Ch 32:30; Isa 22:9-11). The house of the mightythe Gibborim, or “mighty men of David (2Sa 23:8; 1Ch 11:10)is not elsewhere mentioned. It was no doubt the barrack where, according to tradition, David had quartered his best troops.

Neh 3:17

The ruler of the half part of Keilah. Rather, “ruler of one-half of the region of K.” The district within which Keilah stood was divided into two parts, one of which was under Hashabiah and the other under Bavai (Neh 3:18). Both took part in the work of restoration, and the two working-parties were assigned adjacent portions of the wall In his part; Rather, “for his part”pro tractu suo, as Rambach renders.

Neh 3:18

Keilah is probably the modern Kila, which is situated about twelve miles S.S.W. of Jerusalem, in the Shephelah, or low plain of the Philistines (1Sa 23:1-3). It was assigned to Judah by Joshua (Jos 15:44), threatened with capture, but “saved” by David (1Sa 23:5), and apparently reoccupied on the return from the captivity.

Neh 3:19

Another piece. Ezer has not been previously mentioned as repairing any portion of the wall; but “the men of Mizpah” have been mentioned as so doing (Neh 3:7). Ezer had apparently succeeded to “Jadon the Meronothita, as the superintendant of the Mizpah working-party. The going up to the armoury at the turning of the wall. Literally, “the ascent to the armoury of the corner.” There were probably several armouries in Jerusalem (see Isa 22:8). This one was called “the armoury of the corner,” being situated at the north-western angle of the special wall of the city of David. There was an “ascent” to it, either by steps, or by a steep pathway, from the Tyropoeon valley.

Neh 3:20

Earnestly repaired. So Gesenius, Pool, and Bertheau. The construction is not free from difficulty, and the reading is somewhat doubtful (the Vulgate “in monte” showing a different one); but on the whole the translation of the A. V. may stand. Baruch has the high honour of being singled out for special praise, as having shown a burning zeal which deserved this recompense. He rapidly accomplished the task first set him, the mention of which must have accidentally fallen out (see the comment on verse 11), and now undertook a “second piece,” which extended from the north-western angle of the inner wall to the door of the high priest’s house. It would seem that this door was in the wall, upon which the house must have abutted (see the next verse).

Neh 3:21

Meremoth’s first piece is mentioned in Neh 3:4. The second piece cannot have been very long, since it only extended along a portion of the high priest’s house.

Neh 3:22

The priests who had lands in the Jordan valley seem to be intended by the men of the plain, hak-kikkar, “the plain,” without further addition, having always that meaning in Scripture. We have already heard that the men of Jericho were engaged in the work (Neh 3:2).

Neh 3:24

After him repaired Binnui the men of Henadad another piece. The name, Binnui, has not occurred previously, but probably ought to be substituted for Bavai ( for ) in Neh 3:18. He was a Levite (Neh 10:9), of the important Levitical family of Henadad, mentioned in Ezr 3:9. Unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner. As far as the northeast angle of the special wall of the city of David, which here adjoined the main wall of Jerusalem. A tower here stood out (verse 25), and the wall turned at a right angle, both northward and southward.

Neh 3:25

The tower which lieth out from the king’s high house. In the original it is uncertain whether the word translated “high” belongs to “tower” or “house.” Most commentators attach it to “tower.” The “king’s house” of this place can be nothing but the old palace of David, which was in this quarter, while Solomon’s was on the opposite, or western, hill This palace, like Solomon s (Jer 32:2), would naturally have its prison, which would stand in its own court. From this prison, the “prison gate” of Neh 12:39 took its name.

Neh 3:26

The Nethinims dwelt in Ophel. Ophel was “the long, narrowish, rounded spur or promontory which intervenes between the central valley of Jerusalem (the Tyropoeon) and the Kidron, or Valley of Jehoshaphat” (Grove). The Nethinims, who had their dwellings on this spur, were set to fortify a portion of the eastern circuit, but apparently restored not so much their own wall as that which lay north of it, at the edge of the present Haram area. Here must have been the water gate, which carried off the superfluous water from the temple reservoirs; and here was the great tower that lieth out, whose foundations have been recently discovered. It stood at the southeastern angle of the great platform on which the temple was built.

Neh 3:27

The Tekoites repaired another piece. Compare Neh 3:5. Their “second piece” appears to have extended from the “great tower” to the wall built by Shallum on the western side of the spur which reached as far as the pool of Siloam (Neh 3:15). This is here called “the wall of Ophel.”

Neh 3:28

From above the horse gate. This was a gate in the eastern wall (Jer 31:40) through which horses could enter the city. It probably adjoined the old palace, being at or near the “turning of the wall” mentioned in Neh 3:24, Neh 3:25. Nehemiah seems here to return to the point quitted in verse 26, and to proceed thence northwards in order to complete the entire circuit.

Neh 3:29

Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah is very possibly the descendant of David mentioned in 1Ch 3:22. He must have been an old man, as his son, Hattush, had returned to Jerusalem with Ezra (Ezr 8:2, Ezr 8:3); but still he may have taken part in the work. That he was keeper of the east gate does not militate against this hypothesis, for that post was an honourable one, and it is not to be supposed that all the descendants of David were in flourishing circumstances. By “the east gate”we are perhaps to understand “the water gate towards the east” of verse 26.

Neh 3:30

After him. The traditional text gives “after me;” and it has been supposed that Nehemiah assigned himself a certain portion of the wall and repaired it, but suppressed his own name through modesty. But, as general superintendent of the whole (Neh 4:13-23), he could scarcely take any special work; and the argument that might have been founded upon a single occurrence of the expression “after me” is deprived of all force by its double occurrence, here and in verse 31. Another piece. A Hanun has been mentioned (verse 13) among the leaders of the working parties, and also a Hananiah (verse 8); but they were not coupled together; and it may well be questioned whether either is identical with his namesake of this verse. Probably we have here another instance of the incompleteness of our present text of this chapter (see the comment on verse 11).

Neh 3:31

Malchiah the goldsmith’s son. Or “the son of Hazzorephi.” But the mention of goldsmiths (zorephim) in Neh 3:32 lends support to the rendering of the A. V; which is accepted by most critics. Unto the place of the Nethinims. Rather, “the house.” The exact position cannot be fixed; but the gate Miphkad must have been situated in the east wall, a little to the south of the sheep gate. The going up of the corner may have been an “ascent,” like Solomon’s (2Ch 9:4), which was probably a flight of steps; or the word translated “going up” may mean “an upper chamber” ()a chamber situated over the gate.

Neh 3:32

Unto the sheep gate. Compare Neh 3:1. The circuit is completed, and the point reached from which the commencement was made. The goldsmiths and the merchants were required to repair the piece of wall immediately to the south of the sheep gate, for which no individual had volunteered. Probably they had houses in the neighbourhood. They consented; and thus the entire wall was taken in hand, and the great work, which Nehemiah had conceived in his heart while still in Susa, was inaugurated.

HOMILETICS

Neh 3:1-32

An honourable record.

In the preceding chapter the good resolutions of the people are recorded; here, what is more satisfactory, their performances. It is a record of those who united to restore the wall of Jerusalem, and the part which each principal person, or group of persons, took in the work. The account may appear of little interest for us; but it would be of much to the Jews, especially the descendants of those whose names are so honourably recorded, as long as they preserved their genealogies. To us also it need not be barren of interest or profit.

I. THE WORKERS AND THEIR WORK. A very great undertaking carried through rapidly (Neh 6:15) and successfully; because

1. A voluntary work. All animated with zeal, and labouring heartily, not of compulsion. What is especially reported of one (Neh 3:20) was doubtless true, in good measure, of all: they “earnestly repaired.”

2. By a united people. With a few exceptions (Neh 3:5), all appear to have done their part. Priests, nobles, merchants, tradesmen, working-men; dwellers in the city and dwellers in the country (for the welfare of the metropolis, with its temple, etc; was felt to be of common concern), all combined their energies.

3. By a people acting in orderly co-operation. Without this, their number and zeal would have availed little. The work was distributed into many parts, and each individual and group took the part assigned them by those at the head of affairs. Each band of men repaired that part of the wall which fell to its lot; and of each band the various classes did what they were best fitted for; some finding means, some superintending, some clearing away rubbish and picking out serviceable stones, others doing the masonry. Hence confusion was avoided, and the time and labour of none wasted. Many a good undertaking is rendered abortive, or much hindered, for the want of such willing order and subordination, which cannot be secured because of the pride, self-will, jealousy, etc. of those who should co-operate.

4. With religious services (Neh 3:1) The high priest and his fellow-priests led the way and “sanctified” (dedicated) their work to God; most likely having regard, in this solemn act of piety, to the whole work. The account is instructive, as showing how much may be done by even a feeble people when united, zealous, and willing each to do the part allotted to him, and offering all to God in dependence on his aid and blessing.

II. THE RECORD. May be of use as

1. An example. The names and works of those who have done good service to the nation, the city, or the Church should be commemorated

(1) For the glory of God, whose product and gift good and useful men are.

(2) For the honour of the workers.

(3) As an illustration of great principles. Their nature, operation, worth (comp. Heb 11:1-40.).

(4) As a stimulus and encouragement to others. The young should be familiarised with the names and deeds of the noblest men and women, and the principles which formed their character, that they may imbibe their spirit and imitate their nobleness. Hence the value of history and biography, whether sacred or ordinary.

2. A reminder. There is a record of good men and good deeds in another bookthe memory of God (Heb 6:10), a record which is

(1) Exact. Excluding many who receive honour from men, but including all who have served God and their brethren with sincere piety and love. Only the few can be mentioned by name in human records; but all are “in the book of life” (Php 4:3). Many who are of little account here stand high there. And small services as well as great find a place in that record (Mat 10:42).

(2) Indelible. No names or deeds registered there drop out, or are erased, or fade away.

(3) To be published. At the great day, when many who are now obscure and thinking little of themselves will become famous.

(4) To be the guide in conferring rewards.

Every man according to his works (comp. Luk 19:15-19; 2Co 9:6). The thought of this record should

(1) Incite us to active and devoted service, leading us to do our part, and do it well, aspiring to “honourable mention” in the Divine record and at the last day.

(2) Encourage us under undeserved neglect, misrepresentation, or censure. So Nehemiah again and again beseeches God to remember his good deeds, as if despairing of due estimation or recompense from men.

(3) Nourish joyful expectation. Another record is kept, of evil-doers and their works, and all hypocritical pretenders to Christian zeal and faithfulness. This also will be published. Hence “some will rise to shame and everlasting contempt”.

Neh 3:5

Indifference in high places.

“But their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. Nehemiah, or other human ruler, is supposed by some to be meant by “their Lord.” Better, as our translators evidently understood it, “God.” The word translated “work” means the work of a servant == “service.”

I. THE WORK OF THE CHURCH IS THE LORD‘S SERVICE. All work is to be so regarded, and cannot be done rightly otherwise. But the work of the Church is emphatically the service of God; whether the directly spiritual (evangelisation, instruction of Christians and their children), or the provision and maintenance of whatever is needful for it (ministers, teachers, buildings, etc.), or charitable aid to the poor.

1. God has redeemed and constituted his Church for these very ends. “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price,” etc. (1Co 6:20).

2. He has committed the work to his people.

3. He has given them directions for its fulfilment.

4. Hence loyalty to him requires them to do it. And only those who have faith and love towards him can do it truly and acceptably. We may judge of any work by this test: Can it be described as “the service of the Lord”? Much which goes by that name is misnamed, either because it is not of his appointment, or is not done in the spirit of love and obedience to him.

II. This service CALLS FOR STRENUOUS EXERTION. Like that of draught-oxen “putting their necks” to their work. The Christian’s work is worthy of earnest effort, and cannot be well done without it. His “Lord” has a right to expect it.

III. SOME WHO PROFESS TO BE SERVANTS OF GOD DECLINE THIS PART OF HIS SERVICE. Even amid general enthusiasm they remain unmoved.

1. The causes of their refusal. May be a total want of the piety they profess; or the dominance of indifference, selfishness, indolence, or pride (towards God, or those who would be their fellow-labourers).

2. Its guilt. To refuse to take part in a common work is

(1) injustice to others, who have thus an undue burden east upon them; and

(2) rebellion against God.

3. Its consequences. Loss of great honour and blessing, now and hereafter. Punishment for unfaithfulness (Mat 25:26-30).

IV. SUCH NEGLECT IS OFTEN FOUND AMONGST THOSE WHO SHOULD BE LEADERS OF OTHERS. “The nobles.” The higher and richer classes have special gifts for the service of the Lord; but also special temptations to neglect it, from their position, education, habits of luxury and self-indulgence, sense of superiority, etc.; and too often they succumb to such temptations. They are reminded here that, however exalted they may be above their fellow-men, God is “their Lord,” their Owner and Master, and has a right to their service equally with that of their social inferiors. The example of these should stimulate them. And great as their earthly dignity may be, it is not comparable to the honour of being humble and devoted servants of God.

V. PIOUS ZEAL AND LABOUR ON THE PART OF THE COMMON PEOPLE IS THE MORE COMMENDABLE WHEN THEY ARE DEPRIVED OF THE CO–OPERATION OF THEIR NATURAL LEADERS. “The Tekoites,” instead of imitating their nobles, repaired two lengths of the wall (see verse 27). The middle and lower classes not unfrequently outstrip in godly and benevolent works the great of the earth, and make up in a measure for their indifference. It is not well, however, to waste time in reflecting upon others. Let each consider whether he is taking his own part in works of piety and charity, according to the measure of his ability and opportunities. “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Neh 3:12

Family zeal in good work.

“He and his daughters.” Some take “daughters” here in the sense which it bears in Neh 11:25, Neh 11:27, viz; “villages (regarded as the daughters of the town or district to which they belong), and would read, “it” (i.e. the half-part, or district, of Jerusalem) “and its villages.” If, however, we take the word “daughters” in the sense of women, they present us an instance of a father and his daughters uniting in a good work. Probably the daughters had independent means. They remind us of the numerous instances in which piety and public spirit animate familiesparents and their sons and daughters uniting in works of Christian usefulness. Such families are the strength of congregations. Union of a family in Christian work

I. INDICATES GOOD AND EFFECTUAL EDUCATION. It shows that the parents have trained their children in piety and zeal, taught them to take an interest in the work of the Lord: and set them the example; and that the children have yielded to the influence thus exerted, imbibing the spirit of their parents, and imitating their deeds. Parents should early associate their children with them in good works, teaching and enabling them to give to the cause of Christ and to the poor, etc. Young people, who have if only a small income of their own, should devote part of it to the good of others, and should employ part of their time in doing good.

II. FORMS A SACRED FAMILY BOND. Sanctifies the natural ties; binds parents and children in a holy fellowship.

III. ELEVATES FAMILY LIFE. Supplying objects of common interest, topics for conversation, subjects for prayer, employments, occasions of mutual encourage-merit and help, all tending to uplift the thought% affections, motives, and aims above the region of self-interest, worldliness, and vanity: and thus form noble characters.

IV. INCREASES AND EXALTS FAMILY HAPPINESS. NO other pursuits in common, however innocent or laudable, can supply pleasures equal to those which spring from common consecration to the service of God and man.

V. PREPARES YOUNG PEOPLE FOR HIGHER AND LARGER SERVICE. Thus supplying the Church with a succession of well-qualified workers. Such families are the best nurseries, not only for the Church, but for the ministry and the missionary work.

VI. AIDS IN INSURING AND PREPARING FOR FAMILY REUNION IN THE HEAVENLY HOME. Let parents then resolve with Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Let sons and daughters heartily co-operate with fathers and mothers in executing this resolution.

Neh 3:20

Earnest work.

“Baruch the son of Zabbal earnestly repaired another piece.” It is singular that this word “earnestly” should be used of Baruch and of none else. Perhaps it is a mis-reading. Or quite as likely it alludes to circumstances unknown to us. The word signifies “burning,” and is commonly used of anger; here, however, of zeal, or perhaps emulation. Baruch is set before us as “an earnest worker.” Such should all Christians be. It is one of the marks of the “peculiar people” of Christ whom he has redeemed by giving himself for them, that they are “zealous of good works” (Tit 2:14). The subject then isearnestness in Christian work.

I. WHAT IT IS. Not zeal without knowledge, nor zeal fed by worldly motives, nor the ardour of a bigoted sectarianism, nor yet the warmth of transitory emotion, excited by speech or sermon or passing incident; but a steady flame of pious zeal, springing from Christian knowledge, faith, and love, and sustaining resolute purpose and endeavour. It is the life of God in the soul, in a state of vigour and animation, directed to practical service.

II. ITS CAUSES.

1. Ardent gratitude for blessings received. It does not spring from a desire or expectation of earning or deserving salvation by diligent works, but from the experience and hope of salvation freely bestowed, and realisation of the manifold benefits included in it. Its language is, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me?”

2. Love to God and Christ and men. It islove in action; love to God and the Saviour, inciting to obedience and making service a delight; love to men, impelling to the effort to do them good.

3. Contemplation of the condition and prospects of mankind.

4. Faith in the Divine remedies for human sin and misery.

5. The example of others. Of such men as St. Paul. Preeminently of the Lord Jesus Christ, “who went about doing good,” and could say, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” The example of known living Christians eminent for zeal has a mighty influence in producing like characters. Earnestness of men in other pursuits.

6. The very indifference and neglect of which some are guilty. Stirring the heart to excusable, if not holy indignation; fear lest the work should suffer in consequence, and determination that it shall not.

7. Anticipation of the final account.

8. Fervent prayer. For pure Christian earnestness, by whatever means excited, is a gift of the Holy Ghost.

III. ITS SIGNS AND EFFECTS.

1. Generosity of gift and labour. Not meting these out according to a careful calculation of our share, or of what is “necessary” in order to retain a hope of eternal life, but delighting to do all that is possible.

2. Ready self-denial.

3. Courage in facing difficulty and opposition. Earnestness is slow to believe in impossibility.

4. Thoroughness of work. Doing our best as alone in any sense worthy of the Lord and his work.

5. Constancy and perseverance. Superiority to the influence of bad examples, and all other temptations to remissness in, or abandonment of, the service.

IV. ITS BLESSEDNESS.

1. As clear and abiding evidence of true faith and love. Giving “assurance of hope,” which without practical and benevolent earnestness is unfounded, if it exist. No strictness of orthodoxy, or raptures of religious emotion, are sufficient without it.

2. As making the Christian’s work happy.

3. As securing the Divine approval and blessing.

4. As insuring success.

5. As anticipating abundant recompense.

Neh 3:28

Doing good near home.

“Every one over against his house.” The priests and others (Neh 3:10, Neh 3:23, Neh 3:29, Neh 3:30), whose houses were near the wall, repaired that part of the wall which was opposite each of their dwellings. This suggests an important rule for Christian workers.

I. THE ORDER TO BE OBSERVED IN SEEKING THE GOOD OF OTHERS. Let every one do the work which lies nearest to him. Let him begin with his own family. No amount of good work elsewhere will compensate for neglect there. Christian parents can do most good to the community by training well their children. Then, as ability and opportunity permit, let each seek the good of his dependents, friends, neighbours, the congregation with which he worships, the city or town, the country, the Church at large, the world.

II. REASONS FOR ADOPTING THIS ORDER.

1. That which is nearest is usually best known. Its needs can be best perceived, and how to meet them.

2. It appeals most powerfully to our hearts. Partly because best known. The eye affects the heart (Lam 3:51). Partly because of the natural affections which belong to the closer relationships. Now the emotions of the heart are both a call to duty and a qualification for its efficient performance. Words spoken, gifts bestowed, with feeling, are most powerful for good.

3. It has the first claim upon us. God has placed men in close relationships and proximity in order that they may be mutually helpful as occasion arises. We violate the Divine order when we care for the distant to the neglect of the near.

4. We can most easily reach it.

5. We may hope for more success in dealing with it. Because our work will be with more knowledge and more heart, and less waste of resources; and will carry with it the weight of known character, of personal sympathy, and the thousand influences which spring from family life, friendship, neighbourhood, etc. A man can nowhere work with so much effect as “over against his house.”

6. In caring for it we may be most effectually protecting our houses. As those priests and others who built up the piece of wall nearest them. There are perils to us and our families which may be averted by doing our duty to those nearest to us; perils from the sullen enmity which indifference and neglect may generate in them; perils from their ignorance, grossness, or vice; perils from their diseases, etc.

7. When each does the work nearest to him, the whole work will be most surely and rapidly done. Christians have yet thoroughly to follow this order. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that there is much to be done which cannot thus be reached. There were many parts of the wall at Jerusalem which were opposite the house of no one, or of none able to repair them; and there were many able and willing to assist in the work whose dwellings were not in Jerusalem, or, if in the city, not near the wall. And so they had to labour at a distance from their houses. In like manner, there is much Christian work to be done where no Christians exist, or none capable of doing it; and so there is ample room for those organisations which enable the benevolent to do good at a distance, and even in far-off lands.

HOMILIES BY J.S. EXELL

Neh 3:1-32

The Church engaged in a work of moral repair.

I. THAT THE CHURCH IS ENGAGED IN REPAIRING MORAL RUIN. “And next unto them repaired Meremoth” (Neh 3:4). Jerusalem was once a strong and beautiful city; now it is in ruins. Society has not always been a ruin. Man has not always been a wreck.

1. The desolation was extensive. The entire city was waste; not a wall or gate remained intact. And man’s entire intellectual and moral nature is laid waste by sin; he has no unfallen faculty.

2. The desolation was varied. The sheep gate, the doors, the beams, the locks had all been destroyed; and so all the manifold capabilities of man have been injured by sin.

3. The desolation was pitiable. It was sad to see Jerusalem in ruins; but much more so to see the ruin of the human soul.

4. The desolation was visible. Travellers saw the ruined city; the fallen condition of man is evident to all.

II. THE METHOD WHICH THE CHURCH SHOULD PURSUE IN ITS WORK OF MORAL REPARATION.

1. There must be good official leadership. “Then Eliashib the high priest rose up” (Neh 3:1).

2. There must be a wise use of individual talent. “Goldsmiths,” “apothecaries” (Neh 3:8).

3. There must be pursued a common purpose through a variety of tasks.

4. There must be a recognition of the power of the domestic affections (Neh 3:29).

5. There must be a strict attention to the minute detail of the work. “And set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof” (Neh 3:6).

6. There are always those in the Church who refuse to aid in its enterprise.E.

HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON

Neh 3:1-32

Doing God’s work.

Under Nehemiah’s direction, and inspired with his own earnestness, the children of Israel gave themselves to the good work of encircling the city of God with walls. The account of their building in this chapter reminds us

I. THAT ALL WORK WE DO FOR GOD IS CONSIDERED IMPORTANT AND IS RECORDED BY HIM. We should hardly have expected, judging antecedently, that all these names would have appeared in the sacred Scriptures with the posts assigned them. We should have thought that the space thus taken would have been better occupied with more of the miracles or parables of our Lord, or of the acts of the apostles. The fact that these names are inserted in this book, which is to go over all the world and down all the ages, is evidence that God counts of importance all work done for him, and that he records it. Other books of remembrance he has (Mal 3:16. Cf. Psa 40:7; Psa 56:8; Psa 139:16; Rev 20:12) in which the endurances and the actions of his people are written. All is recorded therethe work in building the city wall, the offering the cup of cold water, the kind word of encouragement or sympathy. Our record is on high. The notable and famous deeds of wickedness will be forgotten when humblest actions of devout usefulness are immortalised in one or other of the books of God.

II. THAT IF DONE RAPIDLY, GOD‘S WORK SHOULD BE DONE REGULARLY AND DISCERNINGLY. They proceeded with all speed, losing no time, but everything was done in order. There was no hurry. Every man had his proper post, and took it without interrupting his neighbour. The priests “builded the sheep gate” (verse 1). “Next came the men of Jericho” (verse 2);… “but the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build” (verse 3), etc. Certain priests and other individual workmen had assigned to them the wall “over against their house” (verses 10, 23, 28-30), where they would least interfere with others, and in which they would naturally take the greatest interest. So also the Levites had for their share the part nearest the temple (verse 17), where they would work with the greatest zeal.

III. THAT IT SHOULD BE DONE RELIGIOUSLY. It is only too possible and too common to do religious work in an unreligious, if not positively irreligious, spiritmechanically and thoughtlessly, if not sullenly and selfishly. Three things in this record point to religious earnestness.

(a) The ministers of God took the lead. “The high priest rose up with his brethren the priests” (verse 1). When the leaders of religion take the front posts of danger, difficulty, and toil, there is a guarantee of some spiritual zest in the work.

(b) They stopped to dedicate the work they had done. “They sanctified it” (verse 1).

(c) Of one of them we read, that “Baruch earnestly repaired,” etc. He was conspicuous for the zest with which he laboured, outstripping and inciting the others. Workmen in the vineyard of Christ should often remind themselves why it is they labour, what it is they aim to do, for whom they are employed.

IV. THAT THE CO–OPERATION OF ALL WHO WILL HEARTILY HELP SHOULD BE CHEERFULLY ACCEPTED. Here we have in united labour

(1) priests (verses 1, 22),

(2) Levites (verse 17),

(3) Nethinims (verse 26),

(4) outsiders (verses 2, 5, 7),

(5) rulers (verses 16, 17, 19),

(6) tradesmen (verses 31, 32),

(7) women”he and his daughters” (verse 12).

All can lend service; what one cannot do another may. No sincere helper is to be despised. In crises, especially such as this, when great things depend on the success of a few days’ labour, all distinctions should be laid aside. By those who have the kingdom of Christ at heart they will be laid aside, and all will join hands, not only consentingly, but enthusiastically.

V. THAT NEGLIGENCE IS NOTED AND RECORDED BY THE DIVINE MASTER. “Their nobles (of Tekoah) put not their necks to the work of their Lord.” Whether it was from indolence or pride, whether they were unwilling to task themselves with unusual labour, or whether they shrank from associating with their social inferiors, we cannot tell. We know, however, that both indolence and pride do keep many from the work of the Lord, and we know that such refusal of help is both unwise and guilty. It is to withhold the hand from that which is worthiest and most enduring; it is to stand outside the blessing of those whom God most honours. It is to invite the curse of Meroz (Jdg 5:23), the condemnation of the Son of man at the day of judgment (Mat 5:45).C.

HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD

Neh 3:1-32

Church work.

Notice several points in this record of the labours and the distribution of their work.

I. Devotion and effort in the cause of God are worthy of DISTINCTION AND REMEMBRANCE. Names have great power, both among contemporaries and successors. We are stimulated by individual examples.

1. The priests are mentioned first; and God’s ministers should be first and foremost in every good work, especially that which is most closely connected with his house.

2. Not only individuals are honoured in thin record, but families. Our household life should be intimately bound up with our Church life. The best family title is that which is won in the field of holy enterprise.

3. While all were invited, some refused. The “nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.” But over against that disgraceful idleness we can place the superabundant zeal of others, who not only did their own work, but the work of others as well.

II. Even THE WOMEN WERE READY TO DO THEIR PART, and, understanding “daughters” in the sense of women, the daughters of Shallum, “ruler of the half part of Jerusalem,” not too high or too weak to unite in such a cause. In the building of the spiritual Jerusalem the “daughters” contribute no mean portion.

III. SOME UNDERTOOK THE WORK “OVER AGAINST THEIR OWN HOUSE.” We may find the opportunity close at hand. No greater honour can we attach to our own house than to connect it with the praise and glory of Jerusalem.

IV. The EFFECT of this general and contemporaneous effort of all the Lord’s people to repair the ruins of their city in uniting them, effacing wrong distinctions, developing great qualities, lifting up their faith to a higher platform. Reformation both effect and cause of revival.R.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Neh 3:1. Then Eliasbib the high priest Eliashib was the grandson of Jeshua the high-priest; and he, with his brethren the priests, set a noble example, in being the first to rebuild the walls of the holy city, which the Babylonians had burned when they took it. The sheep-gate was on the south side of the city, in that part of the valley which looked toward mount Zion and the temple. It had its name from the sheep intended for sacrifice being brought through it to the temple. See Joh 5:2.

REFLECTIONS.The work being resolved upon, we have here the distribution of it. Holy emulation warmed their hearts, and zeal for the public welfare quickened their labour.

1. The high-priest, with his brethren, led the way; and when they had finished their portion, they sanctified it by prayer and thanksgiving for the assistance that God had given them. Note; (1.) Ministers of God should shew, among the foremost, zeal for his glory, and diligence in his service. (2.) Our common employments should be sanctified by prayer and thanksgiving. (3.) They who look up to God for help will be enabled to finish the work that he has given them to do.

2. The rest zealously followed so good an example; and not the inhabitants of Jerusalem only, but those of the neighbouring cities and villages, cheerfully lent their hand to the work. Rulers, and people of all trades and occupations, assisted. None were so great as to think themselves debased by labouring; none so little, but they could contribute something to the general good. The nobles of Tekoa alone refused their assistance; and therefore a just brand of infamy stands for ever on their memory. Note; (1.) Unanimity in a good cause is the surest token of success. (2.) Every man has something to do for God, according to his station and abilities: none are so little as to be useless; none so great, as to be above the work of the Lord.

3. Shallum’s daughters are honourably mentioned, as assisting in this good work. Though they could not themselves handle the trowel, they could hire assistance, and provide materials. Good women, in every age, have been great helpers in the cause of God.
4. One of the builders is noted for his zeal, Neh 3:20 another, though the sixth son, is remarked as more honourable than his brethren, who seem not to have, like him, engaged in the service. Note; (1.) When the work is God’s, we cannot be too zealously affected. (2.) The blessing of God does not always follow the birthright: the younger son is often the better man.

5. Some, who had finished their first portion, having done sooner than their brethren, undertook a second. When we affect the service, we shall not merely consider how much we must do to save our credit; but shall do all we can, because we love the cause.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Neh 3:1-32

1Then Eliashib, the high-priest, rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep-gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. 2And next unto him [lit. at his hand] builded the men of Jericho. And next to them [rather, next 3to him, i.e., next to Eliashib] builded Zaccur the son of Imri. But [and] the fish-gate did the sons of Hassenaah [sons of Senaah] build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks [sockets] thereof, and the bars thereof. 4And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz [Hakkoz], and next unto them repaired Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. 5And next unto them repaired Zadok, the son of Baana. And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the 6work of their Lord. Moreover [and] the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks [sockets] thereof, and the bars thereof. 7And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah [the Mizpah which belonged] unto the throne of the governor on this side the river 9Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries [the son of Shelemiah of the apothecaries (?)], and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. 9And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part [half the circuit] of Jerusalem. 10And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah. 11Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahath-moab, repaired the other piece 12[a second piece], and the tower of the furnaces. And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part [half the circuit] of Jerusalem. 13The valley-gate repaired Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks [sockets] thereof, and the bars thereof, and a 14thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung-gate [rubbish gate]. But [and] the dung-gate [rubbish gate] repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part [the circuit] of Beth-haccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks 15thereof and the bars thereof. But [and] the gate of the fountain repaired Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part [the circuit] of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks [sockets] thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah [Shelah] by [that appertained to] the kings garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David. 16After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk the ruler of the half part [half the circuit] of Beth-zur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the part that was made, and unto the house of the mighty. 17After him repaired the Levites, [under] Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah the ruler of the half part [half the circuit] of Keilah in his part. 18After him repaired their brethren, [under] Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part [half the circuit] of Keilah. 19And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece [a second piece] over against the going up to the armory at the turning of the wall [armory of the corner]. 20After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece [a second piece], from the turning of the wall [from the corner] unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high-priest. 21After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz [Hakkoz] another piece [a second piece] from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house 22of Eliashib. And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain. After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. 23After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house. 24After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece [a second piece] from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall [unto the corner], even unto the corner [and unto the turret]. 25Palal the son of Uzai [repaired] over against the turning of the wall over against the corner], and the tower which lieth out from the kings high house, that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh [repaired.] 26Moreover [and] the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel unto the place over against 27the water-gate towards the east, and the tower that lieth out. After them [him] the Tekoites repaired another piece [a second piece], over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel. 28From above the horse-gate repaired the priests, over against his house. After them (him, i.e., the last one of these 29priests] repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate. 30After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece [a second piece]. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber. 31After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmiths son unto the place [house] of the Nethinim and of the merchants over against the gate Miphkad [gate of the visitation] and to the going up of the corner [turret]. 32And between the going up of the corner [turret] unto the sheep-gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL

9. . In this sense of circuit the word is Chaldee. See Targum on Jos 17:11. In Heb. it means staff, or distaff. See 2Sa 3:29; Pro 31:19.

13. . The omission of the is to be noted as comp. with Neh 3:14. Gesenius considers the as prosthetic, and makes the root , but it is as likely to be .

30. , a lapsus for ,. here and in Neh 12:44 and Neh 13:1, seems to be a varied form of .

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

The Wall-Building

Neh 3:1. Eliashib the high-priest.This man was afterwards closely allied to Jerusalems enemies, one of his grandsons having married Sanballats daughter (Neh 13:28). His alliance with Tobiah became so close that he prepared a room for Tobiah in the temple (Neh 13:4; Neh 13:7). Eliashib may have excused this desecration on the ground that Tobiah was a Jew by birth. (See on Neh 2:10.) Eliashib was grandson of Jeshua, who, with Zerubbabel, led the original return. Notwithstanding the unworthiness of this high-priest and his probable want of sympathy with Nehemiahs piety and patriotism, he could not refuse to take the lead in the wall-building. Public opinion was too strong under the appeals of Nehemiah.

The sheep-gate,Shaar hatz–tzon, must have been by the temple, or else the priests would not have been selected to build it. It is probably the of Joh 5:2, translated in E. V. sheep-market. It seems to have been at the north-eastern corner of the temple-area, in the neighborhood of the present St. Stephens gate. It might derive its name from the fact that through this gate the sheep and goats (for the word refers to all small cattle) destined for the sacrifices were driven. (See Excursus.)

They sanctified it and set up the doors of it.This gate is the only one which is said to be sanctified (kidshuhu), and we cannot tell whether it was done at once, so soon as it was built by the priests, or afterwards when the doors were set up (Neh 6:1). The other gates were purified (another verb, taher) after the completion of the wall (Neh 12:30). This seems to indicate a special connection with the temple. It probably opened into the temple-area. The setting up of the doors was not done until afterwards, but is here anticipated.1 (See Neh 6:1.)

The tower of Mean,migdol ham–meah, the tower of Hananeel,migdol hananeel.These two towers were between the sheep-gate and the fish-gate. They are have occupied the north-eastern corner of the temple-enclosure, and the corner west of that, where the city-wall from the north joined the wall of the temple-enclosure. Hence they would (like the sheep-gate) be both connected with the temple, and hence they were sanctified. (See Excursus.) (They sanctified it in the second occurrence seems to refer to the wall including the two towers. )The tower of Meah may have been the place where the nobles and rulers collected their hundredth (Neh 5:11), Meah being the Heb. for the hundredth: but?

Neh 3:2. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.This should read literally: And at his hand builded the men of Jericho, and at his hand builded Zaccur the son of Imri.Zaccur may have been leader of the men of Jericho. The English version misleads.

Neh 3:3. The fish-gate,Shaar had–dagim, was east of the present Damascus-gate in the north wall. It is mentioned 2Ch 33:14 and Zep 1:10. (See Excursus.)

The sons of Hassenaah.Rather: the sons of Senaah. (See Ezr 2:35.) Senaah was a city, or more likely a large territory (if we are to judge from the large numbers in Ezra, l. c.), near Jericho. In the Onomasticon we find a Senna, seven miles north of Jericho.The locks thereof were probably the sockets into which the bars fitted.

Neh 3:4. Meremoth, the son of Urijah, is the same who is called in Ezr 8:33 Mere-moth, the son of Uriah the priest. (See Neh 10:5.) He was of the family of Hakkoz, written wrongly in E. V. in this place Koz. See 1Ch 24:10.

Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel.This Meshullam was allied to Tobiah, for Tobiahs son Johanan had married Meshullams daughter (Neh 6:18). Nehemiah made the Jews, allied to the enemies of Judah, to commit themselves to the welfare of the city, as against their chosen intimates of the heathen. The Meshezabeel may be the same mentioned in Neh 10:21; Neh 11:24.Zadok, the son of Baana, seems to be the same as the Zadok of Neh 10:21. Both Meshullam and Zadok were probably of the tribe of Judah.

Neh 3:5. The Tekoites.Tekoa (still bearing its old name) is nine miles due south of Jerusalem, and about two miles south-west of the conspicuous Frank Mountain.Their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.Nehemiahs task was an immense one, to unite a people, in many of whom there was no sympathy with the cause, for a rapid and successful movement. The fashionable part of Jerusalem was in virtual league with the enemies of God. Some of these were constrained (as Eliashib) by circumstances to take part in the work of rebuilding the Holy City, but others (as these Tekoite nobles) resolutely kept aloof.

Neh 3:6. The old gate must have been in the north wall, east of the present Damascusgate. Keil reads: gate of the old wall with Arnold and Hupfeld, as referring to the old wall in distinction from the broad wall, which was newer. If we are to read Jeshanah as a genitive, it is possible that the gate was the gate of Jeshanah as leading to that town (2Ch 13:19). (See Excursus.)

Neh 3:7. Meronothite.Here and in 1Ch 27:30 only. Meronoth may have been a dependent village of Mizpah.Unto the throne of the governor on this side the river.They did not repair unto (i.e. as far as) the throne, etc. Then the preposition would have been ad, but it is l (i.e. el). It connects the description with Mizpah, and describes this Mizpah as belonging to the throne (or sway) of the governor beyond the river (i.e. beyond the river from Susa and the empires centre), or as our version has it the governor on this side the river. Perhaps this was to distinguish it from the Gilead Mizpah, which was under another governor (Jdg 10:17, etc.). In this case the river would be the Jordan. Some place Mizpah at Neby Samwil, some at Scopus.

Neh 3:8. The son of one of the apothecaries.Probably the name Shelemiah (Neh 3:30) has dropped out here. The goldsmiths and apothecaries (makers of spices, ointments and perfumes) worked under these leaders. These apothecaries are supposed by some to have been priests (1Ch 9:30).

Fortified Jerusalem.Here and at Neh 4:2, the Heb. word azab is translated in E. V. fortify. Frst derives it from an original meaning of knot or bind; hence fasten or repair. Ewald gives it the meaning of shelter. But in Exo 23:5 it seems to mean help, though Frst there gives it the meaning of loosen. A common meaning of the word is to forsake as in Deu 31:16. This last meaning Frst and Gesenius retain in Neh 4:2 by translating: will they (the governors) forsake the matter to them? or will they allow them? May not this general notion be intended here: they loosened (i. e freed from exposure and peril) Jerusalem? Keil retains the common meaning of azab, and reads: they (the builders, or else the Chaldeans) left Jerusalem untouched as far as the broad wall.

The broad wall,hahomah harehavah (Neh 12:38) seems to have been a special fortification at the north-west corner of the city. Keil would identify it with the four hundred cubits destroyed by Joash, and afterward rebuilt by Uzziah. (See Excursus.)

Neh 3:9. Ruler of the half part of Jerusalem.Compare Neh 3:12; Neh 3:14-18. Pelek means a circuit, and is a governmental term. Rephaiah was ruler of half the circuit of Jerusalem, and Shallum (Neh 3:12) was ruler of the other half. The circuits of Beth-zur and Keilah had each two rulers also (see Neh 3:16-18). These circuits were probably districts deriving their names from their chief towns.

Neh 3:11. The other piece,middah shenith, a second piece, as in Neh 3:19; Neh 3:21; Neh 3:27; Neh 3:30. The first piece (first, perhaps, because first assigned to them) which they repaired is mentioned in Neh 3:23, where Malchijah is called Benjamin. The Harim and the Pahath-moab, who are mentioned as the fathers of Malchijah and Hashub, who repaired this second piece, were probably remote ancestors, Harim being the third of the twenty-four who in Davids time gave name to the priestly divisions or courses (1Ch 24:8), and Pahath-moab being one of the chiefs of families who came back with Zerubbabel a century before (see Neh 7:11). The name Pahath-moab (governor of Moab) is one of the evidences of a close connection with Moab on the part of some of the families of Israel. Elimelechs residence in Moab and Davids use of Moab as a place of safety for his family are other evidences. (See also 1Ch 4:22 for another allusion.)

The Tower of the Furnaces,Migdal hattannurim would naturally fall into the neighborhood of the Jaffa Gate, and may be represented by the north-eastern tower of the citadel, which Dr. Robinson identifies with Herods tower of Hippicus. (See Excursus.)

Neh 3:12. Shallum, the son of Halohesh. Halohesh, or Hallohesh, is another ancestral name, and not that of an immediate father. (See Neh 10:24.) He and his daughters not ruling, but building. The zeal of these women is emphasized.

Neh 3:13. The valley-gate. See on Neh 2:13. Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah.Hanun is called in Neh 3:30, the sixth son of Zalaph. Zanoah was about twelve miles west of Jerusalem.

The dung-gate. See on Neh 2:13.

Neh 3:14. The ruler of part of Beth-haccerem, or the ruler of the circuit of Beth-haccerem. Beth-haccerem was near Tekoa, and was a height where a beacon could be displayed (Jer 6:1). It is identified by modern travellers with Jebel Fureidis, or the Frank Mountain.

Neh 3:15. Gate of the Fountain.See Neh 2:14. Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, a Judahite (Neh 11:5). The ruler of part of Mizpah, or the ruler of the circuit of Mizpah. The circuit of Mizpah, and Mizpah itself, had different rulers. (See Neh 3:19.) Covered it. Probably equivalent to laid the beams thereof of Neh 3:3; Neh 3:6. The pool of Siloah, by the kings garden,Berchath hash Shelah, legan ham–melek. It is Shiloah in Isaiah, and Shelah here. The pool is the present Birket Silwan, and probably includes the Birket el-Hamra. It was outside the city, near the Tyropon valley, where it enters the valley of the Son of Hinnom. Just at this junction was the kings garden (see 2Ki 25:4, and Joseph., A. J. 7, 11), watered by this pool. It receives its water through a subterranean canal under the lower end of Ophel (the ridge running south from the temple-area) from the Fountain of the Virgin, on the west side of the Kidron valley. The old wall probably embraced all Zion, running along its southern brow, and stretched over to Ophel, in the neighborhood of the pool of Siloam, the fountain-gate being near by.

The stairs that go down from the city of David would then be an access to the Tyropon from Zion, ending in this neighborhood of the pool. (See Excursus.)

Neh 3:16. The ruler of the half part of Beth-zur, or the ruler of half the circuit of Beth-zur. Beth-zur is about four miles north of Hebron. Unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty.The sepulchres of David were probably the same as the sepulchres of the kings (2Ch 28:27, et al.), and we may place them somewhere on Zion (1Ki 2:10). The part of the wall here designated would be that on Ophel, opposite that portion of Zion where the sepulchres were, the valley of the Tyropon being between. The pool that was made may be the present fountain of the Virgin, which perhaps Hezekiah formed with its remarkable galleries (see Capt. Warrens account in the Recovery of Jerusalem) for the supply of Ophel (see 2Ki 20:20). The house of the mighty (beth–hag–geborim) we have no clue to.

Neh 3:17. The ruler of the half part of Keilah in his part, or the ruler of the half circuit of Keilah for his circuit. Those of the other half-circuit of Keilah are next mentioned.

Neh 3:19. The ruler of Mizpah another piece.The first piece is given in Neh 3:7. Over against the going up to the armory at the turning of the wall.Rather, from opposite the ascent of the armory of the corner. The armory of the corner was perhaps at an angle in the eastern Ophel wall.

Neh 3:20. Baruch the son of Zabbai is honorably mentioned for his distinguished zeal. He worked at a second piece from the corner mentioned above to the high-priests house, which seems to have been on Ophel. Perhaps this Baruchs first piece of work has slipped from the text. Zabbai may be the same mentioned in Ezr 10:28. Baruch may be the priest of Neh 10:6.

Neh 3:21. Meremoth, the son of Urijah, the son of Koz.See on Neh 3:4. As a conspicuous priest, it was appropriate that he should be connected with the work on the wall in front of the high-priests house.

Neh 3:22. The men of the plain.The word translated plain is kikkar, which is generally used for the Jordan valley, but in Neh 12:28 it is used of the environs of Jerusalem. It literally signifies a circuit. As no qualifying word or phrase is found here, this kikkar is probably the Jordan valley.

Neh 3:23. Benjamin (see on Neh 3:11) one of the descendants of Harim. (See Ezr 10:32.) Hashub was son (or descendant) of Pahathmoab. (See on Neh 3:11.) Their house may refer only to Benjamin, who was a priest (one of the Bene-Harim), Hashub, perhaps, being in some way allied to him.

Azariah may be the Levite mentioned in Neh 8:7.

Neh 3:24-25. Binnui is the Levite mentioned in chs. Neh 10:9 and Neh 12:8. Unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner.Or, unto the corner of the wall and unto the turret. By this seems to be intended the corner, where the tower which lieth out (Neh 3:25) formed a projection. Capt. Warren found about four hundred feet south-west of the south-east corner of the temple area the remains of an outlying tower to the wall, which he conjectures may be the tower which lieth out. This tower is described in the next verse as the tower which lieth out from the kings high house.Solomons palace, doubtless, occupied the south-east corner of the present Haram. It probably had a high fortified position extending south to the Ophel wall (see Capt. Warrens map). This part was perhaps built by Jotham (2Ch 27:3), or Hezekiah (2Ch 32:5), or Manasseh (2Ch 33:14). The height of Manassehs building is especially mentioned.

The court of the prison is spoken of in Jer 32:2 as appertaining to the kings house.

Neh 3:26. Moreover the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel. Some with the Syriac, insert the relative and read, the Nethinim who dwelt in Ophel, and then supply the verb repaired. This is not needed. We may count this an interjected statement, showing what an important site had been given to the Nethinim. See, moreover, the of Neh 3:27, referring to Pedaiah. The water-gate was, perhaps, a gate opening into the subterranean water galleries, lately discovered by Capt. Warren. If so, then the Nethinim dwelt in all Ophel from a point a little north of the Fountain of the Virgin to this tower which lieth without, that is, along a distance of about eight hundred feet. This position of the water-gate answers to the narrative in Neh 12:37. (See Excursus.)

The Nethinim (i.e., dedicated ones) were servants of the temple, who performed the menial duties of the precinct. In Josephus they are (temple-servants). They were appointed by David (Ezr 8:20), as another guild of service (Solomons servants, or Andh Shelomoh) was appointed by Solomon (Ezr 2:58). The Levites, as compared with the priests, were called Nethunim (Num 8:19), a word of the same signification as Nethinim. (Comp. the Ktib of Ezr 8:17.) Perhaps Davids Nethinim were the Gibeonites (hewers of wood and drawers of water) restored to their service in a regular manner, after a dispersion of their number in Sauls time. (See 2Sa 21:2.)

Neh 3:27. The Tekoites repaired their first piece near the old gate (Neh 3:5).

The great tower that lieth out is probably the same as the tower that lieth out of Neh 3:25.

The wall of Ophel would be the southern wall of the temple-area where it joined the district of Ophel.

Neh 3:28. The horse-gate was where Athaliah was slain. It was between the temple and the palace. This would put it about 200 feet north of the present S. E. corner of the Haram. (See 2Ch 23:15, and Jer 31:40). The part from the wall of Ophel to the horse-gate (Shaar Has-susim) was probably in good order, as it was the wall of the old royal palace, and had been occupied by the governors of the city. Hence it is not mentioned as rebuilt at this time, but the next builders to the Tekoites begin from above (i.e., up the Kidron) the horse-gate. (See Excursus).

Neh 3:29. The keeper of the east gate.This Shaar ham–mizrah is the shaar hak–kadmoni of Eze 11:1, one of the inner temple-gates, not a city gate. If this Shemaiah, the son of Shechaniah, is the same as the one mentioned in 1Ch 3:22, then he was a descendant of the kings, and his title may have been one of honor only. He may, however, have been another and a Levite.

Neh 3:30. Hananiah. See on Neh 3:8. Hanun another piece.See on Neh 3:13.Meshullam the son of Berechiah. See on Neh 3:4.

Neh 3:31. The place of the Nethinim and of the Merchants over against the gate Miphkad and to the going up of the corner. Lit. The house of the Nethinim and the traders opposite the gate of the visitation even to the ascent of the projecting turret. The house of the Nethinim and traders was not their dwelling-place, but, we suppose, the place where under the direction of the Nethinim the traders (see Mat 21:12) brought their doves, etc., for sale to worshippers. We may place it near the northeast angle of the Haram. For the gate Miphkad, see Excursus. The ascent of the turret would be the stairs at the north-east angle leading up to a corner-tower, not far from the sheep gate.

Neh 3:32. The goldsmiths may have been also connected with these matters of the Nethinim and traders.

For a plan of the walls of the city, see Excursus.
From this outline it will be seen that only those gates whose bars and locks and doors are mentioned do we consider as belonging to the city wall, to wit:

1. Sheep-gate, Neh 3:1.

2. Fish-gate, Neh 3:3.

3. Old-gate, Neh 3:6.

4. Valley-gate, Neh 3:13.

5. Dung-gate, Neh 3:14.

6. Fountain-gate, Neh 3:15.

The other gates are not spoken of as now constructed, and we take them to be inner gates belonging to the inner temple and palace divisions, to wit:

1. Water-gate, Neh 3:26.

2. Horse-gate, Neh 3:28.

3. East-gate, Neh 3:29.

4. Gate Miphkad, Neh 3:31.

We also consider the wall along the southern brow of Zion to have continued across the Tyropon to Ophel near the pool of Siloam.

HISTORICAL AND ETHICAL

1. Eliashibs connection with Sanballat and Tobiah (Neh 13:7; Neh 13:28) must have taken place at a later date, when Nehemiah had returned to Susa, and was not expected to revisit Jerusalem. If the high-priest had already made those scandalous alliances, Nehemiah certainly would have taken him to task, and the record of such reprimand would have been here given. With a heart disaffected, Eliashib nevertheless takes his place in the rebuilding of the wall. His prominence in the work was doubtless a great help to Nehemiah.

2. It is an interesting feature of this wall-building that those whose local interests were far off, as at Jericho, Tekoah, and Beth-zur, took such deep interest and such conspicuous part in the work. The old love for Zion and for the temple was still warm in the breasts of the returned Jews. They felt that the true life of the nation flowed from Jerusalem as the central heart. Their union in this work was a powerful means of renewing their patriotic affection and strengthening the interests of the commonwealth. Co-working for defence always brings souls together; and when the co-working is in defence of the citadel of religion and country, the strongest bond of union is formed. The wall-buildings formed a strong basis, on which Nehemiah could introduce his reforms.
3. However, there must have been many who refused the service, and were apathetic, if not hostile to the work. Otherwise we should not see some of them engaged doing a second piece of the wall, and perhaps a longer list of leaders in the service would be recorded. It is not to be believed that, if the high-priest himself was inclined to ally himself to Sanballat, there were not many others who had no hearty interest in the restoration of Jerusalems glory. The nobles of Tekoah (Neh 3:5) were but samples of a large number.

4. And yet, again, the thirty-four leaders whose names are given us cannot be considered as the only chief men engaged in the wall-building. Other prominent men whose names occur later in the book may have held office under them, and hence are here unmentioned.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Neh 3:1. The importance of Zions walls. 1) For uniting the congregation, the congregation must be able to shut itself off and secure itself to protect its peculiar goods. 2) For exclusion of the world,the world must be kept at a distance, so long as it only strives to rob the goods of the congregation.

Neh 3:1-2. The precedence of the high-priest in making the city of God secure. 1) He himself is the first to build. 2) By this he consecrates the work of the others. 3) He is a pledge for the success of the work.The duty of building the walls of Zion. 1) For those in authority (as Nehemiah), who have to incite and uphold the priests and people in their work. 2) For the priests who are not exalted above the common obligation.3) For the people whose members must not forget in their household and inferior cares, those which are higher and more universal.Bede: Qui portas et turres dificant, per quas vel cives ingrediantur vel arceantur inimici, ipsi sunt prophet, apoastoli, evangelist, per quos nobis forma et ordo fidei ac rect operations, per quam unitatem ecclesi sanct intrare debeamus, ministrata est, quorumque verbis, qualiter adversarios veritatis redarguamus ac repellamus, discimus. Qui vero reliquis verbis extruunt, ipsi sunt pastores et doctores.Starke: The clergy should set to work first in building the city of God, and precede others by a good example. The memory of those who have rendered services to the church and to the commonwealth remains, justly, blessed. Pro 10:7. The most powerful and richest people do, generally, the least in the temporal and spiritual edifice of the city of God. Happy he who willingly puts on the light and easy yoke of Christ at the building of the spiritual Jerusalem.

Neh 3:31. The honor of the mechanics and artists. 1) They may be, and shall be at the same time priests of God. 2) Their products can and shall serve for Gods honor. 3) Their doing has in itself worth and reward.

Nehemiah 3:3335. Why the world so easily pretends that our work will have no result. 1) Because in truth of ourselves we are not capable of great efforts: only the sacrifice and the power of Christ can make us willing and endow us with perseverance. 2) Because in truth the work is indeed altogether too lofty and glorious,only the Spirit of Christ can consecrate us to it. 3) Because the world only sees that which is before its eyes; there is, however, something higher.Starke: Fleshly-minded spirits consider the undertaking and the work of Gods children as contemptible and small, and measure it according to their standard. Wis 5:3; 2Ki 19:10. There are different degrees among the godless, in regard to their wickedness. The worst are those who not only do wickedly themselves, but also cannot bear to see others doing good, and express their rage in poisonous jeers. Joh 10:32; Psa 109:4.

Nehemiah 3:3638. Prayer is the most powerful weapon against the enemy. 1) It secures to us the best allies. 2) It makes us sure of the weakness of the enemy. If they are Gods enemies at the same time, they have Gods holiness opposed to them, before which nothing which is evil can endure. 3) It pledges the final victory to us. They can only escape by change of heart.Starke: When we are in the greatest straits, there God is our safety, our rock, our strength and refuge, and we must fly to Him in prayer. 2Ch 20:12; Pro 18:10; Nah 1:3.

Nehemiah 3:38. The blessing of the oppression which the scorn of the world exercises upon us. 1) We work the more steadily under it, we do not indeed know how long the evening will permit us to work. 2) The joy in the work increases as surely as it is elevating to bear the disgrace of Christ. 3) The work advances so much the better. Starke: In the work of the Lord we must confidently proceed, heedless of all opposition. 2Ti 4:3-5. At pleasures call all work seems small, therefore be not slothful in what you should do. Rom 12:11; Pro 6:6. If God has given us successful progress in our work, this should be an admonition to us that we should the more boldly persist in pursuing our calling.

Footnotes:

[1]This gate and the water-gate and horse-gate and gate Miphkad (Neh 3:26; Neh 3:28; Neh 3:31) all appear to have been within the temple-precinct or its neighborhood, and all appear to have been destitute of locks and bars; for these are spoken of with regard to all the other gates (Neh 3:3; Neh 3:6; Neh 3:13-14), but not with regard to these. These gates may have been kept constantly open, but guarded by an armed force.

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

This Chapter is chiefly directed to record the names of those who arose to build the walls, and the order in which they proceeded in the work.

Neh 3:1

(1) Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

It is no small commendation of the priesthood, that we find the high priest putting his hand first to the work of the Lord. The sheep-gate led to the temple, and hence here their office particularly called them. And was not this typical of the ever blessed Jesus? His almighty hand must be first with all spiritual builders; for except the Lord build the house, they labour but in vain that build it. Psa 127:1

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

XXIII

THE EXPEDITION OF NEHEMIAH AND HIS WORK OF REBUILDING

Nehemiah 1-7

The period of time between the books of Ezra and Nehemiah is about twelve years. The leader of this expedition was Nehemiah, who was in all probability a man of princely Jewish blood, brought up and trained in a foreign land, a man of fine presence and splendid ability. He was a favorite of the king, Artaxerxes, and he was a true Jewish patriot. He was the “cupbearer” of the king. This was a position of great responsibility, and yet of great authority. He was skilled in the diplomacy and trickery of the Oriental courts, a man who knew men and affairs.

He received word from his brother, Hanani, that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the people afflicted. This news produced a remarkable effect upon him, and he prayed to the God of heaven and fasted, confessing the sins of the people. He prayed that God would enable him to speak to Artaxerxes the king at the right time and that he might receive favors from him.

About two months Nehemiah continued to pray, waiting for his opportunity, though he dared not manifest that sadness in his face. Kings do not like for their servants to be sad in their presence. But the deep grief of Nehemiah could not be completely hid. The king noticed it, asking him why he looked so sad, stating that it could only be sadness of heart. He gave his reason for his sadness. Then the king asked him if he had any request to make,, and in that moment Nehemiah prayed to the God of ‘heaven for help. He had matured his plans and had come to a conclusion as to what he should ask of Artaxerxes. So he requested that he be sent to Jerusalem and that the king give him letters so that he might safely go on his way without being hindered by their enemies.

The date of this decree is 445 B.C. It gave to “Nehemiah the special commission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, including letters to Asaph, the keeper of ‘the king’s forest, which also caused much grief to the enemy. This is the first sign of opposition which grew more and more intense as the work went on. After some time Nehemiah with his bodyguard arrived safely. He was a man of great position in the empire, and must have had a strong guard with him. He makes no mention of his mission on his arrival. He preserves a very tactful silence. If his purpose had been known, his enemies would have at once set to work to defeat it. His practical turn of mind is shown in the fact that he chose the secret hours of the night to ascertain the condition of the walls of Jerusalem, thus being able to mature his plans, no one suspecting his purpose. When he had surveyed and noted the condition of the walls, and had seen just what had to be done, he summoned the leaders of the people, made his purpose known and organized his forces for the rebuilding. Then followed an appeal to the elders to consider their evil case and to arise and build and then he told them how the good hand of his God had been upon him. “So they strengthened their hands for the good work” but the opposition now is more manifest. They laughed them to scorn, but Nehemiah replied, “God will prosper us . . . you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

Nehemiah had organized his forces to perfection. The priest ly families began to build by the sheep gate which was the portion nearest to the Temple. They had a double incentive to work, viz: the protection of the city in which they dwelt, and the protection of that part of the city where their interests were. Nehemiah mentions many of the gates, e.g., the Fish Gate, which was probably at the northeastern entrance of the city. It was called the Fish Gate because the fish from the river Jordan and the Sea of Galilee were brought to the city from that side and through that gate. He mentions the old gate which was probably to the north of the city. The “tower of the furnace” probably refers to the potteries which existed in that day. The Valley Gate overlooking the valley of Ninnom opened west. The Dung Gate led out to the lower end of the valley of Hinnom on the southwest. The Fountain Gate probably led down to the Tyropean Valley on the south. The stairs led to the City of David. The next was the Horse Gate, but we do not know just where it was located. Thus he built the walls beginning at the east side and going around to the west and south. It is impossible to follow the construction exactly as Nehemiah built it. Only a small portion of this wall has been discovered, and that part is near Ophel. Hurlbut’s Bible Atlas is helpful here.

They built the walls in the face of opposition. No one knew that this would arise better than Nehemiah. He felt that the work must be rushed. The attitude of his enemies was characteristic. Anger in the first place gave place to scorn and contempt. Now Sanballat gathers his forces together to oppose Nehemiah. It was a trying time. The enemy mocked them (Neh 4:1-3 ), but Nehemiah set his prayers against the enemy and went forward.

Their third opposition was a conspiracy to fight, which was met on the part of Nehemiah by prayer and setting a watch against them, but just here a complaint came from Judah evidencing his lack of faith. It was threefold, viz: (1) The strength of the burden bearer is gone; (2) there is much rubbish; (3) the enemy is threatening. In view of this, Nehemiah made provisions for their safety, arming the people and setting them in battle array after their families and then he made a moat masterful plea: “Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” The effect of this plea is seen in their vigilance and diligence. Half of them worked while the other half held the arms; those that worked had on the sword and worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other. Nehemiah set trumpeters for signal purposes; they did not take off their clothes not lay down their weapons for water, but with sleepless vigilance they pressed the work to completion and were able to say, “And so we built the wall . . . for the people had a mind to work.”

Now we have followed Nehemiah’s work to the time that the walls were rebuilt. Almost as soon as this work had been completed there occurred great destitution. This is set forth in Neh 5 . Nehemiah had been devoting his energies to the fortification of the city; now he must give his attention to the matters in the city.

So we now take up the reforms of commercial and social abuses by Nehemiah. In this fifth chapter we come face to face with conditions that give us a painful surprise. One would think that they would be happy indeed, now, but instead, they were sorely downcast by serious circumstances, in that great wrongs were heaped upon them. Nehemiah was brought face to face with a serious condition of affairs. A great cry was raised by both men and women who were concerned. They said that they were in dire straits of poverty. They had no food, and were in danger of starvation. The suffering was intense. Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, and vineyards and houses.” The implication really is that some of these had been taken away from them. Then they were without fields and vineyards, also without corn and wheat, things necessary to life. Then again, others said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute upon our fields and vineyards.” They even had to borrow money to pay the king’s tribute. Now we see that they were in sore straits when they had to borrow money to pay their taxes. But their distress does not stop here. We are told that some of them had to sell their own children in order to get bread to eat. “Lo, we bring unto bondage our sons and our daughters . . . for other men have our fields and our vineyards.” This is the condition with which Nehemiah was brought face to face.

Nehemiah was angry and said, “Then I consulted with myself and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother.” He saw what had led to this state of affairs. It was just common greed and covetousness. Nehemiah was enraged. He called an assembly et the people, something like the old fashioned “Town Meeting” of New England. He says to them: “The thing ye do is not good: . . . I likewise, my brethren, and my servants, do lend them money and grain. I pray you, let us leave off this usury.” The interest was about 12 per cent. All such interest was forbidden by the law of Moses. So Nehemiah issued a command ordering them to restore all this property. He called the priests together and took an oath of them that they were to see that this thing was done. Now this shows that the priests were the leading men in national life. They were to enforce the law. In order to impress it he says, “I shook out my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house who does not do this.” Just as one would take an apron with articles in it and shake them out, so God would do to them, which meant excommunication. They were to restore the fields and the vineyards which the people sorely needed and ought to have. Then he cites his own example (Neh 5:14-19 ): “From the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah . . . I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor,” that is, he had not been collecting any salary. “But,” he says, “the former governors were chargeable unto the people, and took of them bread and wine, and forty shekels of silver, but instead of that I fed one hundred and fifty of them at my own expense.” Then in Neh 5:19 he says, “Remember unto me, O my God, for good, all that I have done for this people.”

During all this time, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem had been trying to entrap him. They sought some way to entangle Nehemiah and stop the work. But Nehemiah had been trained in an Oriental court. He was used to trickery and deception, common in the life of an Oriental palace. Sanballat and Tobiah invited him down to the plain of Ono for a conference. That sounds like they wanted to be friends with Nehemiah. But he says, “I cannot come down: why should the work cease while I leave it, and come down to you?” He saw through the plan. Four times they sent him that invitation, but each time he replied that he could not come down. In Neh 6:5 he says that they sent him an open letter in which Geshem says, “You think to rebel. You have appointed prophets to preach among the people that you are to be king in Judah.” That is a clever story. The letter informs Nehemiah that they were going to report to Artaxerxes that he was planning to be king; that prophets were preaching in Jerusalem that Nehemiah was to be king. That is the same threat that the Pharisees used on Pilate: “Pilate, if you let this man go you are not Caesar’s friend.” It would have frightened an ordinary man. That very thing drove Pilate to put Jesus to death, when he knew that he was innocent. They sought to stop the work in that way, but Nehemiah prayed: “Now, O God, strengthen thou my hands.” So the work went right on. In Neh 6:10 is the record of another attempt. They employed a certain prophet to help them. He was one of those men who made divinations and was secured to entice Nehemiah. Nehemiah went down to the house of this man, who had been shut up under a vow. Then the prophet said to him, “Let us meet together in the house of God; . . . let us shut the doors of the Temple: for they will come to slay thee.” That was a very subtle proposition. But Nehemiah was too wise even for this trap. He says, “Should such a man as I flee? I have no right to go into the Temple. Am I going to do wrong to save my life?” No wonder God cared for and used this man! Then he discovered that God had not sent the prophet, but he had been hired by Tobiah and Sanballat.

The work went right on, and the wall was completed on the fifty-second day. Now what was going on in the city? Neh 6:17 tells us that the nobles of Judah sent letters to Tobiah and he to them. Nehemiah says, “They spake of his good deeds before me and reported my words to him.” Now that was treachery, but Nehemiah paid no attention to that. He saw clearly through it all. They were simply trying to make him afraid.

Now when the wall had been built he set up the doors and appointed porters and singers and Levites. He appointed his own brother to be governor over the city. This brother was appointed because he was a God-fearing man. He gives instruction about the city gates, as to their opening and so on. Now we are told about the houses and the inhabitants. The record says, “Now the city was wide and large but the people were few therein.” Many Texas cities are like Jerusalem in that they are large and wide, but the houses are not yet built and the people few.

Now he had built the walls and set up the gates. Next he finds the book of the genealogy. That is the same as the list in Ezr 7 . The Apocryphal book, 1 Esdras, also contains a similar list. But why was it repeated here? It was taken from the same list from which Ezra’s was taken and is in accord with the great emphasis which the Jews put on their genealogies. This was necessary for the identification of all who had thus come to Jerusalem and confirms the account given by Ezra. There are no important differences no more than we might expect in two separate genealogical lists prepared by different persons. But there is a special advantage in having the two lists, viz: they enable us to make out a more complete catalogue of those who came at the first, though either list was sufficient for the purpose of identification.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the time period between the books of Ezra and Nehemiah?

2. How did Nehemiah come to know the condition of Jerusalem and according to this report what was the condition?

3. How did this affect Nehemiah and what did he do?

4. What of the providence of God in answer to his prayer and what was the lesson on the relation of prayer and works?

5. What date of this decree and what special commission did it give?

6. What effect of this decree on the enemy?

7. How did Nehemiah commence the work of Jerusalem?

8. What his appeal, what was the first opposition of the enemy and what was Nehemiah’s reply?

9. How did Nehemiah distribute the work and what was the lesson?

10. Locate as nearly as you can the parts of the wall which were assigned to the various companies to build.

11. What was the second opposition of the enemy and what was Nehemiah’s reply?

12. What was the third opposition of the enemy and how did Nehemiah meet it?

13. What was Judah’s complaint and what was the masterful plea made by Nehemiah in reply?

14. What indicates their great vigilance and diligence?

15. What complaint came to Nehemiah from the people?

16. How did this affect Nehemiah, what course did he take and what the result?

17. How does Nehemiah show his spirit of generosity and unselfishness?

18. After the wall was completed what artful proposition came from the enemy to Nehemiah, what was his course in the matter and what lesson for us?

19. How then did they try to entrap Nehemiah and what saved him from their scheme?

20. How long was the wall in building, what effect on the enemies, what embarrassing fact to Nehemiah here revealed, and what provision was made for the continued safety of Jerusalem?

21. Why should Zerubbabel’s register of names occur here also, are there any important differences between the two lists, and what the special advantage in having the two lists?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Neh 3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

Ver. 1. Then Eliashib the high priest rose up ] He was first, as fit he should, for example’s sake; ministers must be patterns of piety; they have many eyes upon them, and everything in their practice should be worthy imitation. This Eliashib was grandchild to Jeshua, Neh 12:10 .

With his brethren the priests ] Who were before fearful, or forgetful; till reminded and excited by Nehemiah; who, as a lion, became captain to this hosts of harts, and achieved great matters. So strong and so sweet an operation hath a seasonable exhortation, when it falleth on a prepared heart, and is set on by God.

And they built the sheep gate ] And reason it was, saith an interpreter (Bishop Pilkington), that as they were shepherds to the people, so they should build the sheep gate, which was at the east end of the city where the Temple was, where the sheep came in that were offered in sacrifice, and whereof they had their parts, according to the law. This gate may well be compared to Christ Jesus, who sought the lost sheep, and was sacrificed as a lamb, and is the gate whereby only we enter, and his shepherds must be the builders of it, and bring the people into the fold.

They sanctified it ] i.e., beautified it, and then consecrated it by their prayers and devotions. This was priest like; and probably hereupon followed that miracle of an angel’s descending, at their several solemn feasts, into the pool of Bethesda (which was near to this gate, and where they washed their sacrifices), and healing all diseases, Joh 5:4 .

Even unto the tower of Meah ] Or the centenary tower, so called for its hundred pinnacles, haply; or, because a hundred cubits high.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Nehemiah Chapter 3

But this is not all. This next chapter shows us the names and the work of those that took part in the building of the walls. “Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho” (Neh 3:1 ).

Let me call your attention to the grace of God here noticing the work of everyone; and, further, in showing the distinctive character, for this was an important thing to remember. There is not one of you, beloved friends, who has not a work to do for the Lord. Are you doing it? Further, there is a work that you can do better than any other.

It is a very great mistake to suppose that the work of God depends upon great powers. I do not deny that there is such a thing as God giving a man gift according to his ability, because the Lord Himself says so. And I do not mean that the same gift is to be in a man of small ability as in a man of large ability. Certainly not; but I still say that there is a work that is suitable even where the ability may be ever so small, and a work that can be done better by that man of small ability than by the man of larger; for that very fact shows him his own proper work, whereas another work can be done not only as well, but better, by another. In short, there is no place where the right person in the right place is more important than in the church of God, and the Holy Ghost fills and fits the servants. I do not mean, now, merely those that preach, and those that teach, for there is no greater blunder than to suppose that this, and this only is the work of the Lord.

Indeed, what is called “ministry” is distinguished from “preaching,” as you will find in Rom 12 . The apostle speaks about the teacher giving himself to his teaching, but he that ministereth to his ministry; now-a-days people call “ministry” – merely preaching or teaching. But that is not the language of the Holy Ghost. There is a great deal of serving – saints’ serving – that is done by persons who have no such power. And hence you find a phrase that is very common among us, that is, of people saying, “I was ministering such a day. I was ministering,” or something of that kind; or, “Some other person was ministering.” Well, now, this is only a mistake. The fact is, perhaps, that it would be no great loss if there was less ministering in that way, and more ministering in a real way.

In short, that which God calls us to is simply to do His will, but we are apt to prefer that which falls in with our own thoughts and our own feelings and our own notions, instead of finding that in which God blesses us most. Now, the caring for souls – the binding up of those that are broken in spirit – the interesting ourselves in the troubles and trials and difficulties of the saints of God – is of great price with Him, and there is that kind of ministering that, I am afraid, is very imperfectly performed amongst us. This is really the meaning of ministry – not so much speaking. I do not wish to depreciate what is said. It would not become me; it would not become anyone. But I affirm that Scripture distinguishes ministry from mere speaking, and that is what I refer to.

Ministry, properly, and according to the word of God, is a much more practical work of helping the saints of God. I do not mean merely with money. Here is another misapprehension. People think that the only way to help the saints of God is by giving them money. That is falling into the snare of the devil, because money is what governs the world, and it makes the saints of God to be the slaves of money. No, beloved friends, we have to raise our eyes to the Lord. We know the ruined state, or we ought to know the ruined state, of that which God has brought us into, and, truly, we should not have to correct such mistakes as these if there were not as true a ruin now as there was in Nehemiah’s time, as far as the object of his affections was concerned.

Well, then, God marks here His appreciation of the various services performed by the different saints of God – the different members, at any rate, of God’s people. I am only applying it now to the saints, of course. We find, then, that they come before us in their order. The fish gate builded some; and, again, others repaired, as we are told, this or that. The old gate repaired Jehoiada, but we are told further that, while the Tekoites repaired, their nobles put not their necks to the work of the Lord. Oh, what a solemn rebuke this is – that the men who ought to have been most of all at the head, most of all encouraging, the men who had the means to do it best – they attained the painful and unenviable notoriety, and the solemn rebuke in the word of God that they put not their necks to the work of their Lord. God is not indifferent. God notices, and no excuses will set aside His rebuke. “And next unto them,” we are told, “repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite.” But this is not all. “The son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem,” is found. If, therefore, there were those – and there were a few who held back – we find that there is noble service on the part of some, real devotedness.

Then. in the twelfth verse we read: “Next unto him repaired Shallum – the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.” This is an important thing, too. It is a very great mistake to suppose that women have not a seemly and a weighty place in the work of the Lord. Indeed they have, and the apostle Paul takes good care to show it. Let me refer to Philippians for a few moments, just to show where they can help and where not. The fourth chapter of Philippians gives us a beautiful picture, not without sorrow, but, nevertheless, full of profit. “I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.” The work of the Lord very often brings difficulties, and the reason is not that it ought not to be carried on with a pure mind, but, alas! that will so often mingles with it. These two women, both of them valued by the apostle, were at variance more or less. “And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow” – Epaphroditus, I suppose he refers to – “help those women” (referring to these very ones) “which laboured with me in the gospel.”

It would be wrong to suppose from this, that they had been preaching the gospel along with the apostle Paul: it does not mean that. I dare say many persons have drawn that inference from it – that Paul recognised them as fellow-preachers of the gospel with himself; but that is not the case. The meaning of the word, the proper and true meaning – and it is important to bring it out here – is this: that they shared the trials of the gospel when the gospel went there, and when it was in a time of trial. These noble-hearted women joined themselves in all the conflicts of the gospel. They bore the reproach of it. They were acting in every possible means – perhaps, in opening their houses – perhaps in hospitality to those that went there with the word, perhaps in seeking souls, praying with them, inviting them – a thousand things that women can do a great deal better than men. And accordingly, the apostle shows that he was very sensible of this. He tells Epaphroditus to help those women. It is very likely the brethren rather slighted them, and that Epaphroditus, being a person of much fellowship of mind with the apostle, would enter into his thought and feeling. “I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me – shared with me the trials of the gospel” – that is the thought. It is no question about preaching, but of sharing the trials of the gospel – “with Clement also, and with other my fellow-labourers, whose names are in the book of life.”

We do not find any such thing in Scripture as women preaching, any more than women teaching – in public. There are women that had a gift, even of prophecy. I am not in the least denying that, and if a gift is given it is meant to be used; but then it must be used according to the mind of God. We hear of four daughters of Philip that prophesied: no doubt they exercised the gift in a proper way. Women can help women. Women need not think that that is too slight a thing for their gift. It does not become women, surely, to despise women, and, therefore, to complain of labouring in that sphere would be uncomely, particularly in a woman; but there are proprieties that God never forgets in His work; and as even in the church of God it was forbidden for a woman to speak, so much more before the world. The fact is that to preach before the world would not have entered into a woman’s head in those days. It is in later times, and in these lands, where notions of liberty have spread very much, that women now almost forget that they are women – that is their danger – so much is the line broken down between men and women in the world now. And this thing is going on rapidly to the very greatest injury of both men and women. However that may be, God gives the blaze of true honour to the women doing the true work of the Lord that becomes them. We have it here, then, signalised.

Further, we are told of other persons that helped in the most interesting way in various parts, but this would clearly occupy me longer than I wish to-night, for I wish to take a survey of the book, so that I can only commend the matter to yourselves to look into various details of the chapter. You will see how carefully God registers the varied services of the different members of His people.

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Neh 3:1-2

1Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel. 2Next to him the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

Neh 3:1 Eliashib the high priest This is the grandson of Jeshua (cf. Ezr 2:2), who was the high priest under Zerubbabel. This shows that the priests and Levites were actively involved in the rebuilding of the wall, especially that portion close to the temple.

built This Hebrew term (BDB 124) can mean build or rebuild or even repair. It is probable that this was a symbolic act by the priestly leaders to show their personal and energetic support for the building project.

the Sheep Gate The Sheep Gate seems to be connected with the sacrificial cultus (cf. Joh 5:2). It was probably the gate closest to where the sacrificial sheep were brought into the temple from Bethlehem.

they consecrated it The VERB (BDB 872, 1073) is a Peel PERFECT. This was a separate consecration of this specific section of the wall done by the priests and Levites, and it is not connected to the general consecration of the whole wall found later in the book of Nehemiah (cf. Neh 12:27-43).

The word consecration occurs twice in this verse, but for stylistic (parallel structure) reasons.

the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel These may be connected with the fortifications of the north wall closest to the temple. The Tower of the Hundred probably refers to an elite military unit connected to this fortification. The Tower of Hananel is mentioned in a prophecy of restoration in Jer 31:38.

Neh 3:2 the men of Jericho There are several groups listed from different cities in Judah. These different groups seem to work on the section of the wall and gate closest to their home city. It is somewhat surprising that the cities of Nehemiah 3 differ from the ones mentioned in Neh 11:25-36. There is no easy explanation for this. We learn from Ezr 2:34 that Jericho was included in the province of Judah during this time.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Eliashib = God restores. The son of Joiakim, the son of Jeshua (Compare Neh 12:10). He was earnest in material work, but negligent of what was spiritual (See Neh 13:4, Neh 13:7).

the sheep gate. Near the present St. Stephen’s gate, at north-east corner of Temple area. So called because the sheep for sacrifice were brought in here. Compare Joh 5:2. This was the point of beginning and ending. See App-59.

doors. Hebrew. dal = a door or gate hanging on hinges; not the same word as Neh 3:20.

Hananeel. Compare Neh 12:39. The partial fulfillment of Jer 31:38, which stretches on to what is still future. Compare Zec 14:10. The two towers were on either side of the sheep gate.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Chapter 3

And in chapter 3, you have the names of all of the families and the section of the walls where they would be working. And because the names really are insignificant to us we’re not going to wade through chapter 3, but go on to chapter 4. “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Neh 3:1-2

Introduction

DETAILS OF HOW THEY ALL WORKED ON THE WALL

The skill and ability of Nehemiah appear dramatically in this chapter. Even the High Priest, of all people, was enlisted in the work. Nobody was exempt; the entire population of Judah, some twenty five or thirty thousand men, all went to work at one time on the city wall. No wonder it was finished in record time.

Eliashib the High Priest, like many of the nobles and a large number of priests, would oppose some of Nehemiah’s reforms; but this building of the city wall was a project that received the unanimous support of the whole population, a fact that clearly surfaces in this chapter.

Neh 3:1-2

THOSE WHO BUILT THE WALL AT THE SHEEP GATE

“Then Eliashib the High Priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Hammeah they sanctified it, even unto the tower of Hananel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.”

It was quite appropriate that the High Priest and his associate workers should have been assigned to build that section of the wall that included the sheep gate, because that was located at the northeastern corner of the city adjacent to the Temple area. We do not subscribe to the critical dictum that this chapter, in any manner, is some kind of an addition to Nehemiah’s account. Nehemiah was the one who planned and engineered every portion of this remarkable building project. Only Nehemiah had the ability to have done such a thing.

“There were approximately forty sections of the wall, in variable lengths and proportions; and, as they are listed here, they appear in a succession to the left, that is, counterclockwise, beginning here at the sheep gate and finally ending at this same sheep gate.”

E.M. Zerr:

Neh 3:1. In this great work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, all classes and ranks of men took part. The chapter recounts the order in which the different workmen were located on their jobs at the particular places on the wall. It was necessary to describe the separate parts one at a time, and in the order in which they were placed. But we should understand that all of the parts were built up at the same time (Neh 4:6). The description of the work started with the sheep gate. See my comments at Neh 2:13 on the importance of gates. Since this gate was where the description of the work began and ended, it must have been of special interest. I shall quote what Smith’s Bible Dictionary says about it: “Sheep-gate, The, one of the gates of Jerusalem as rebuilt by Nehemiah. Neh 3:1; Neh 3:32; Neh 12:39. It stood between the tower of Meah and the chamber of the corner, Neh 3:1; Neh 3:32, or the gate of the guardhouse, Neh 12:39; Authorized Version, ‘prison-gate.’ The latter seems to have been at the angle formed by the junction of the wall of the city of David with that of the city of Jerusalem proper, having the sheep-gate on the north of it. The position of the sheepgate may therefore have been on or near that of the Bal el Kattanin.” It is easy to understand why the sheep gate would be important. There were thousands of sheep driven into the city each year to be offered in sacrifice. It would be natural, then, that a place would be sanctified or devoted to such a sacred purpose. Tower of Meah . . Hananeel. Towers were fortified structures elevated on the walls of cities and other places requiring defense. They served also as lookouts against any approaching enemy. There were no less than 6 of these towers on the wall of Jerusalem, two of which are named in this verse. These towers were given individual names, but the origin of such names is not told us.

Neh 3:2. Citizens from various cities came in a body to the work. The men of Jericho were given the place next to that of the high priest.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

This chapter is supremely interesting in its revelation of method. That it is preserved for us at all shows how system characterized Nehemiah’s procedure. The description proceeds round the entire wall of the city. Beginning at the sheep gate near the Temple, through which the sacrifices passed, we pass the fish gate in the merchant quarter, on by the old gate in the ancient part of the city, and come, successively, to the valley gate, the dung gate, the gate of the fountain, the water gate, the horse gate, the east gate, the gate Miphkad, until we arrive again at the sheep gate, where the chapter ends.

It has been said that this is not a complete account. It is far more likely that where difficulties arise in the length of the wall covered by the section, the solution is in the fact that the wall was not everywhere in as bad repair as at some places. The arrangements indicated the necessity for speedy work, and were characterized by a sense of the importance of division of labor, and a fitting apportionment thereof in the matter of persons and neighborhoods.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

Chapter 3

The Gates Of Jerusalem

The work at once began, and it is to be noted what a thoroughly individual thing it was. Nehemiah is the servant used to stir up the rest; but they are stirred up, and To every man his work is the motto that might well describe the busy scene. This chapter is like a page from the books of Gods record of service, and will doubtless be opened at the judgment seat of Christ, when each will be rewarded for his own work-and some who shirked, alas, will then suffer loss. For both the workers, and the shirkers are here mentioned, and here their names shall stand till the Lord Himself has pronounced His judgment upon all. Such records are deeply instructive, and deserve to be pondered with care that they may stir up our minds by way of remembrance.

In the New Jerusalem there are to be twelve gates (Rev 21:12),8 and each several gate of one pearl; so that, look upon the city from which- ever standpoint one may, he will be reminded of the precious truth that Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it (Eph 5:25). He came from heaven as a merchantman seeking goodly pearls; and having found one pearl of great price, He bought it, at the cost of all that He had; though He was rich, for our sakes He became poor, that we might be rich. And that heavenly city, of which Christ is the centre and the lamp for the display of Gods glory, has a wall great and high, speaking, as did the wall of the earthly city, of security and exclusion.

Jerusalem in Nehemiahs day seems to have had twelve gates also, though only ten are mentioned in this chapter; but in chapter 8:16 we read of the gate of Ephraim, and in 12:39 of the prison gate. The ten mentioned in the present portion remind us of the number that, it has well been said, sets forth responsibility towards God and man, of which the ten words in the law were the measure; while the twelve of the heavenly city (and note how many twelves there are in Rev. 21), as some have suggested, would set forth perfect administration, or governmental completeness, only to be known in the day that the kings of the earth bring the glory and the honor of the nations unto it.

I have thought there might be divine lessons for us in the names and order of these gates. That there is danger always of being fanciful, I realize. An insubject imagination, is only evil continually (Gen 6:5), in the things of the Lord as well as in all else, and one would therefore seek to avoid it. But, in looking at these gates, it is not so much my thought to seek to give the interpretation of them as to make a practical application of truth which, I am convinced, is much needed in this Laodicean day. We shall therefore take them in their order, as we go through the chapter, noting likewise the interesting and instructive points brought out in connection with service as we go from port to port. We begin, then, with

The Sheep Gate

of which we read in the first verse: Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

This was priestly work indeed, for through this gate the beasts were led whose death and blood-shedding were to picture the one Offering of the ninth of Hebrews. They pointed on to the perfect sacrifice of that unnamed One of Isaiah 53, who was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He open-eth not His mouth.

Thankful we are that for us it is not necessary to ask, as did the eunuch, Of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? (Act 8:34). The other Man is well known indeed to those of us who have been brought to trust the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all. In Him we have beheld the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world (Joh 1:29).

The Sheep Gate clearly speaks to us, then, of the Cross. It was at the Sheep Gate the Lord met the palsied man and healed him, as recorded in John 5, as it is at the Cross the helpless sinner finds life and peace. Here the remnant of old began to build the wall, priestly hands piling stone upon stone, and setting up the beams and bars. And here everyone must begin who has really to do with God, other than in judgment. The wall, we have already seen, speaks of holiness, which must shut out evil; but what evil is, we can never rightly know until we have understood in some measure the meaning of the Cross. It was there that all the iniquity of mans heart was fully revealed; there too that the absolute holiness of Gods character was declared in an even more marked way than it will be made known in the lake of fire. In the Cross it was that mercy and truth met together, and that righteousness and peace kissed each other (Psa 85:10).

Tis in the cross of Christ we see

How God can save, yet righteous be.

The most important truth of Scripture is, that on the cross the judgment of a holy God against sin fell upon His spotless Son, when He suffered, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (1Pe 3:18). There is nothing like the apprehension of this to give peace to a troubled soul. I have been awakened to see myself a lost, guilty sinner. Perhaps for years I have been going about to establish my own righteousness, and trusting that all would surely be well with me because of fancied merit in myself. I have deluded myself with the notion that God, who is love, must therefore allow sin to pass unpunished, or that my sin was, at any rate, of weight so light it would never sink me down to the pit of woe. But now all is changed. I have learned that I am a lost man! My sins, which once seemed like trifles, insignificant as molehills, now rise before my terrified vision as dark, shapeless mountains, which I fear will bury me beneath their awful weight in the nethermost depths of the abyss of divine wrath. I look on my right hand, but I find no helper. Refuge fails me. In my despair I cry out, No man cares for my soul! (Psa 142:4); and in the hour of my deepest distress there comes to me One with feet beautiful upon the mountains, a messenger, one among a thousand, who tells me the good news that God, the God whom I have so grievously sinned against and so flagrantly dishonored, has found a ransom, and can thus deliver me from going down into the pit (Job 33:24). My sins and guilt have all been laid on JesusMy judgment has fallen upon His holy head, and thus I can go righteously free.

Well does such a message deserve the name of gospel! Good news indeed! more welcome than cold water to a thirsty soul!

As of old, when Noah took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings upon the altar (Gen 8:20), so now Jehovah has looked upon the work of His beloved Son and smelled a sweet savor, which is truly a savor of rest (margin); for sin is thus canceled, and God can be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Christ thus becomes the Door of the sheep, as He said: I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (Jno. 10:9).

Of all this, and more also, may the Sheep Gate remind us. A gate of judgment it is too; for of judgment, in Scripture, the gate often speaks. But here it is judgment falling, not upon the guilty, but upon the guiltless One who voluntarily stood in the place of the sinner. He was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification; therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 4:25; 5:1).

All thus justified are now the sheep of the good Shepherd who died, the great Shepherd who lives in glory, the chief Shepherd who is coming again. As His sheep, they have title to enter in through the gate into the city. It is saved souls, and they alone, who here on earth are gathered by the Spirit to the name of the Lord Jesus in separation from the world and its evil, and it is such alone who will be within that wall of jasper gathered around the Lamb in the glory.

Let me press it upon the reader-has all this been made good to your soul? Is your confidence for eternity based upon the work of Christ? Are you trusting alone in Jesus, who in those solemn hours of deeper than Egyptian darkness, fought the fight alone, vanquished Satans power in resurrection, and is now exalted at Gods right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour?

Oh, be persuaded! If you are resting on anything short of this, your soul is in peril most grave and fearful; for it is only the blood of Jesus Christ, Gods Son, that cleanses from all sin (1 Jno. 1:7). If, however, this is the ground of your confidence, if you are saved and know it, if the lesson of the Sheep Gate has been truly learned in the presence of God, I ask you to pass on with me now to

The Fish Gate

But on the way there is a small portion of the wall being built by the men of Jericho. Jericho was the city of the curse, but Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: as it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. So these happy Jericho men are now in the place of blessing, and serving in newness of spirit. Next to them builds, apparently alone, Zaccur the son of Imri, but Gods eye is upon him, and he shall find his name on the honor roll in the day of Christ. Then we read: But the Fish Gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof (ver. 3).

The name of this port at once brings to mind the word of the Lord addressed to Simon and Andrew when He found them casting a net into the sea. He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. Precious it is to learn that, without a word as to delay, they straightway left their nets and followed Him (Mat 4:17-20).

It is a weighty truth, often I fear forgotten in this pushing, restless age, that the great business of those already saved should be to bring others to Christ. Alas, alas, the indifference as to this among many of the people of God is most appalling! The Fish Gate is closed, or fallen in ruins, and there are no devoted sons of Hassenaah who are enough in earnest about the condition of the lost to build it up again. Is it not a shame, a crying shame, that it should ever be true of saints going to heaven, that they are unconcerned about sinners going to hell? And God has said, He that witholdeth corn, the people shall curse him.

Oh, the heartlessness of it! Souls perishing under ones very eyes, and no voice raised to proclaim Gods message of love to the lost! Brothers, sisters, be honest with God! Face the question in His presence, What are you doing for souls? Will friends, neighbors, relatives, rise up in that day and say: I lived beside him for years; he knew I was going to hell; he never warned me, nor told me of a way of escape. I beseech you, dont turn it aside with pious expressions as, So much fleshly energy, and the need of building up the saints. Words like these from men who lift not a finger to keep others from going down to eternal ruin, is disgusting indeed; yea, it is worse; it is actually wicked and abhorrent in the ears of Him who saith, He that is wise winneth souls (R.V.).

Build up the Fish Gate, brethren; go out after the lost, and bring them inside the wall, where, having been saved, they will be cared for and helped in the things of God.

I know all have not the same gift; all cannot preach to thousands. But surely it is not gift that is lacking so much as grace. It takes no special gift to distribute gospel tracts, or speak a loving word in season to needy souls. If you have gift enough to spend hours talking about the weather, or the various questions of domestic, business, or political life, you have all the gift that is needed to drop a tender, warning message in the ear of a careless one, or to point an anxious person to Christ.

Let none shirk this work, for the day of manifestation draws on apace. Then His eyes that are as a flame of fire will pierce into every hidden motive, every unworthy, selfish thought, and bring all to light. In verse 4 we read of three who repaired the stretch of wall adjoining the Fish Gate, and then we read of the Tekoites; and the Holy Ghost has noted that their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord (ver. 5). They will have to face this record at the judgment-seat of Christ; and I fear there are some God-made, and many self-made nobles among the people of the Lord to-day who manifest as gross indifference to the work of God.

That, on the other hand, mere fleshly zeal will not be owned of God, I quite admit; and this brings before us the need of enforcing the lessons suggested by the next five gates.

The Old Gate

Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshtillam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

One would not try to be too insistent on the special meaning of this gate. I had thought of it as the old used in the new, the place of nature in the economy of grace; for our bodies, with all their marvelous members, belong to the old creation still; but He who will glorify them by and by finds use for them in His own service even now in the day of their humiliation.

But the suggestion of another that the old gate would be the port of entry for the old path seems a clearer and higher thought. It is in Jer 6:16 that we read: Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest to your souls. And so the Old Gate might speak of subjection to the revealed will of God-abiding in that which was from the beginning. This still impresses upon us the great truth that we are called to recognize in all things the Lordship of Christ, and to hold every power we possess at His command, serving with grace in the heart.

Naught that I have mine own I call,

I hold it for the Giver;

My heart, my strength, my life, my all,

Are His and His forever.

Evil is not in natural things themselves, but is in the abuse of them. Every talent we have is to be used for His glory. Woe to the man who hides one of them away, under pretense that nature, in this sense, is opposed to grace!

This is what the Holy Spirit presses upon us when He says: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Rom 12:1). The child of God should remember that he has been bought with a price. His body is purchased with the blood of Christ. He is not called to consecrate himself, as people put it to-day, but to gladly own that he is already consecrated by the death of the Lord Jesus. The blood and the oil have been placed on the ear, the hand and the foot-he belongs to Christ. The ear, to listen for His commandment; the hand to do His bidding; the foot, to run in His ways.

Can any one truly enter into this, and yet be careless in regard to service? Impossible. You are not only saved from hell, but purchased to be the bondman of Jesus Christ.

There is a depth of meaning in that word present, as noted above. Your body is His already. He might simply demand His own; but in grace He says, I beseech you present your body. Have you done so? Have you, in other words, owned His claims upon you? If not, will you longer delay? O beloved, yield yourself unto Him, that thus you may bring forth fruit unto God. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit (Jno. 15:8).

I do not press it that the Old Gate was meant to teach this special truth, and I trust none will find fault over an application.

Whatever the meaning one more spiritually-minded may discern, the fact remains that Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price. It is this I seek to emphasize, for it is, with many, well-nigh forgotten. Vast numbers of Christians live as though their only thought was to enjoy the present scene, on the east of Jordan; pampering every whim of their blood-purchased bodies, and looking forward to going to heaven at last without having ever known the toil and conflict-yet the deep, hidden joy-of the servants path.

Especially is this often so of those in comfortable and easy circumstances. The willing workers of verse 8 might well rebuke such. Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the the son of one of the apothecaries. I question if goldsmiths and apothecaries sons had known much of downright hard labor, but here we see them hard at work helping to fortify Jerusalem. God has not forgotten that their soft white hands became hardened and sun-burned as they used trowel and mortar on the walls of the holy city.

Nor would I pass over the Gibeonites, Melatiah and the men of Gibeon (ver. 7) whether by these we are to understand descendants of the once wily deceivers who entrapped Joshua into disobedience, or Israelites indeed, dwelling in the ancient city. In either case, we may be reminded of what we once were, and what grace has made us.

After the goldsmiths and the apothecaries, repaired Rephaiah, the son of Hur, ruler of half of Jerusalem. He did not hire a servant to do the work for him, but though a man of wealth and power, he labored with his hands, and the Lord took note of his devotedness.

In verse 10 we read of a man whose sphere of labor was very circumscribed but very necessary. Jedaiah repaired over against his house. his is noteworthy. Many of Gods people can do little in a public way in His service, but they can each be concerned about maintaining the wall over against their own houses. And this is tremendously important. It is useless to talk of separation in the assembly, if there be not separation maintained at home. If the children are allowed to go into the world, or to bring the world into the home, depend upon it, the public testimony will avail for little. Godly words in the meeting and worldly ways in the house, will soon disgust neighbors and friends, and prove the undoing of the household.

Another edifying spectacle is afforded us in verse 12: Next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. It must have been a grand sight to behold this ruler and his daughters so zealously affected in a good thing. Our sisters have here a bright example of devotedness to the Lord. Would that it might be followed by thousands more!

Oft-times, one fears, where the truth is known that women are called upon to be in subjection, and not to lead in public work (after the fashion of the day), there is a settling down on the part of many sisters to a life of inaction and spiritual desuetude. But all work is not of a public character, as we have already had occasion to observe. There are many ways and abundant opportunities afforded godly women to labor, both in the gospel and in building up the wall of protection and exclusion of evil, without appearing on the platform and usurping authority over the man. Let there be but a willing mind, and it will not be necessary to bewail the lack of opportunities for womens service in a scriptural way.

But if any are to be used of God, there must be not only this recognizing of His claims upon us, but also that lowliness of spirit that ever commends a servant. So we pass on to

The Valley Gate

The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah (ver. 13).

This surety suggests humility-a willingness to take a lowly place that thus the Lord may be exalted. One fears it is a gate little used by many of us nowadays.

Pride is ever characteristic of fallen creatures, who have nothing to be proud of; for what hast thou that thou hast not received? Even in connection with service for the Lord, how this unholy thing creeps in, leading one servant to be jealous of another, instead of catching the Masters voice as He says, What is that to thee? Follow thou Me!

What Cowper says of sin in general may be predicated of pride in particular:

It twines itself about my thoughts,

And slides into my prayer.

It is indeed the root-sin of all. By it Satan himself fell, and one being lifted up with pride, falls into the condemnation of the devil.

God has said, To this man will I look; to him that is humble, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at My word. It is perhaps only a truism to write that only as one walks humbly before Him, is he in a condition of soul to be safely used in service. I do not mean that God cannot overrule all things, and in a sense use even the basest of men. The devil himself has to serve. God used Balaam, and others equally ungodly. But in such cases it is to the condemnation of the very one used.

To go on preaching, and handling the truth of God while the heart is lifted up and the eyes lofty is one of the most dang3erous courses one can take, and certain to end in ruin and disaster.

We have much cause, as we contemplate our coldness and indifference, and the appalling power of the world over us, to be on our faces before God, instead of walking in pride, only to learn eventually that He is able to abase us, as in the case of Babylons haughty king. If we humble not ourselves, He must humble us in His own way, for it is part of His purpose to hide pride from man.

Keeping this, then, before our minds, we pass on to the solemn and much-needed lesson of

The Dung Gate

But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem (ver. 14). Humbling work this, for a ruler, but necessary labor surely.

The Dung Gate was the port whence they carried forth the filth, that the city might not be defiled. And so we read, Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2Co 7:1).

Real blessing there cannot be if this is forgotten; but if we have truly learned the lesson of the Valley Gate, that of the Dung Gate will be no difficulty. As saints and servants we are called, not to uncleanness, but to holiness. We are to cleanse ourselves; that is, to judge, in the presence of God, and turn away from all filthiness-let its form be the grosser one of the flesh, or the less objectionable (in the eyes of men) of the spirit.

In the first three chapters of Romans we have sharply delineated the naked hideousness of the filthiness of the flesh. In the first three chapters of 1st Corinthians and in the 2nd of Colossians, we have unveiled the filthiness of the spirit: a mind exalting itself against God and His Christ-a wisdom that is earthly, sensual, devilish. So we read elsewhere of the desires of the flesh and of the mind, in which we once walked. (See Eph. 2.)

From all these things we are now called to cleanse ourselves. Body and mind alike are to be preserved free from impurity, for the glory of God.

Flee also youthful lusts is a much-needed word. In the world about us, men live to pander to the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life It should be otherwise with the Christian, and must be otherwise if he is to be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Masters use, and prepared unto every good work. Down with the bars of the Dung Gate, brethren; out with the filth! Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.

Thus we pass on our journey round the walls, and come next to

The Gate of the Fountain

The gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah (ver. 15).

To the woman at the well, the Lord Jesus spoke of a fountain (not merely a well) of living water. Again in John 7 He cried, He that believeth on Me out of his inward parts shall flow rivers of living water. The fountain of living water is a type, or symbol of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers.

It has been asserted by many that until the Christian surrenders himself fully to God, he does not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is a mistake. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His (Rom 8:9); After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise(Eph 1:13)-sealed, too, until the day of redemption (Eph 4:30); Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts (Gal 4:6).

But that there is often in the experience of many what looks, indeed, like a second blessing, no observant believer can deny. What is really meant by it? Simply this: that though the Holy Spirit indwells all children of God in this dispensation, yet, in many, worldliness and self-pleasing are so characteristic, that He who should control us for Christ, and fill us with freshness and power as He ministers Christ to our souls, is become like a fountain choked with stones and rubbish, and thus the life is barren and the testimony powerless. Awakened at last to see the folly of such a life of uselessness to God and reproach to Christ, the saint humbles himself in self-judgment, the filth is put away, and now the once choked fountain is running over, and the Spirit of God in power takes control of the believer to use him for the Lords glory, and to make him a vessel of refreshment to others. There is a fountain of living water within, and out of his inward parts flow rivers of living water for others (Jno. 7:38).

Be ye filled with the Spirit is a word the importance of which cannot be over-estimated. May every child of grace go on to know more of it in power as he walks in obedience to the word of God! For there are two things that in Scripture are practically inseparable-I refer to the Spirit and the Word. A Spirit-filled Christian will be a Scripture-filled Christian.

In verses 16 to 25 we read of many persons who repaired that portion of the wall extending from the fountain gate to the water gate. There are fine shades and significant expressions used in several instances that we do well to notice. Of one and another we only read that they repaired such and such a portion. In verse 20, of Baruch we are told that he earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall, etc. It is not for nothing God inserted that adverb. Three are mentioned in verse 23 who repaired over against their houses, and we can be sure every detail was precious to God. But passing on to verse 26 we reach

The Water Gate

Moreover the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.

The Nethinim were servants, and it is meet that they should have the care of this gate, for water is very generally a type of the word of God. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy word (Psa 119:9).

We do not read of any repairs being made here, only that the Nethinim dwelt over against the water gate. Possibly this port needed none. At any rate, we know that of which it speaks needs not to be repaired, for the word of God liveth and abideth forever. All vain mans assaults upon it have left it uninjured and unchanged. We are called upon to defend it, contending earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the people of God, but it would be impiety to attempt to patch or improve it.

The water of the Word it is that Christ uses to wash His disciples feet and to keep them free from defilement (Jno. 13:1-16; 15:3). It is written: Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the Word, etc. (Eph 5:25, 26).

It is remarkable that what in Ephesians is connected with the Spirit, is in Colossians linked with the Word. Compare Eph 5:18-20, with Col 3:16. Both alike are a source of joy and blessing. And we need not wonder at this similarity in effect, for of the Word it is said, Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

In chapter 8 of this book (Nehemiah) we see all the people gathered together as one man into the street that was before the water gate, there to the reading of the word of God. The result is joy and blessing.

O fellow-believer, I beseech you, meditate on these things, give thyself wholly to them, and thus shall your profiting appear to all, as you let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, for All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2Ti 3:16, 17). This, then, is the servants furnishing. He is to study to show himself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

And this means far more than reading books, however helpful, written on the Bible. It necessitates diligent, painstaking study of the sacred Word itself. Other books may help, often, to lead out the mind on certain broad lines, but the Book must supersede them all if there is to be real growth in the knowledge of God.

By this alone will you overcome the wicked one, if the word of God abideth in you (1 Jno. 2:14).

Another company of Tekoites repaired between the water gate and that which next claims our attention, namely:

The Horse Gate

From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house (v. 28).

The horse is used with striking frequency in Scripture as a figure of the warrior.

It is so described in Job 39:19-25, where, He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha! and he smelleth the battle afar off. In Zec 1:8, and in Rev. 6, we read of four symbolic horses, which speak of warrior powers; and when the eternal Word of God, clad in blood-dipped vesture, descends from heaven to the battle preceding the awful supper of the great God, at the beginning of the Millennium, He is seen in vision riding on a white horse, and the saints are seen similarly mounted.

The ass is the symbol of peace; the horse, of war. When the Prince of Peace rode into Jerusalem of old, it was on the ass. When He comes to judgment, it is on the horse.

The Horse Gate may speak, then, of soldier-service in a world opposed to God and His truth. It bids us earnestly contend for the .faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jud 1:3, R. V.)

The truth has been given to us at great cost, not only to the One who is Himself the Truth, but for its preservation, and recovery when lost at times, myriads of warrior-saints have suffered and died.

Alas that we, children of such glorious sires, should so lightly value what to them was dearer than life! We live in a day, not of open persecution, but of laxity and latitudinarianism. We are affected much by the spirit of the times; hence there are few among us who, like that mighty man of old, grasp the sword of the Spirit to defend the truth of God, and fight till the hand cleaves to the very weapon it holds. (See 2Sa 23:9, 10). But Gods Eleazars will have rich reward in the day when many will be saved, but so as by fire.

Let me quote here the words of another, which might well be written in letters of living fire: Renounce all the policy of the age. Trample upon Sauls armor. Grasp the Book of God. Trust the Spirit who wrote its pages. Fight with this weapon only and always. Cease to amuse, and seek to arouse. Shun the clap of a delighted audience, and listen for the sobs of a convicted one. Give up trying to please men who have only the thickness of their ribs between their souls and hell; and warn, and plead, and entreat, as those who feel the waters of eternity creeping upon them.9

And remember beloved, as you fight, that the day of testimony for God is fast passing away. It will soon be too late to stand for the truth, and too late to minister Christ to needy souls. The night cometh when no man can work(Jno. 9:4).

Of this we are reminded as we pass on to

The East Gate

After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate (v. 29).

The gate of the sunrising points on-does it not?-to the morning without clouds, when He shall come down upon the mown grass, and as clear shining after rain.

Having shone forth as the Bright and Morning Star, and as such gathered His redeemed to Himself in the clouds, He will be manifested to Israel and the nations that are spared as the all-glorious Sun of Righteousness, with healing in His wings. This is the special character in which He is presented to Israel and the earth, but the two are only different aspects of His one coming again.

For that glad morning weary saints all along have waited and longed, straining their eyes to catch the first glimpse of the Bright and Morning Star. Wicked servants have said, My Lord delayeth His coming; but He is not slack, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish (2Pe 3:9). The night is far spent, the day is at hand. It is high time to be aroused from our lethargy, for already the long-expected midnight cry is ringing through the world, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him! The shout of the Lord, the voice of the arch- angel, and the trump of God, will soon resound through the vaulted heavens, announcing the return of the long-absent One, and ushering in the morning. But for many it will be the beginning of the darkest night earth has ever known.

Oh, let us be up and doing while it is called to-day, that we may not be ashamed before Him at His coming. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Only a small part of the wall remains to be noticed, but among the workers upon it there is one we must not cursorily pass by. Meshullam, the son of Berechiah repaired, we learn, over against his chamber (ver. 30). Here was a man who probably had no house, no real home. He was but a lodger; but even so, he was faithful to Him who appointed him to glorify God in that narrow place. He went to work with energy and repaired over against his one little room. And thus he becomes a bright example for every one in like circumstances, bidding such remember that he that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.

The Gate Miphkad

is the last in order. After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmiths son unto the place of the Nethinim, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner (ver. 31).

The word Miphkad, according to the dictionaries, means review, or appointment (for judgment). It was doubtless the gate where controversies were tried, after the Eastern fashion. How solemn is this! For it is when the Lord comes that we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. That will be the gate Miphkad for the believer. There will be the last great review. Every detail of the saints life will come up for inspection. It may be then that

Deeds of merit, as we thought them,

He will show us were but sin;

Little acts we had forgotten,

He will tell us were for Him.

Oh, the unspeakable solemnity of it! All our ease-loving and self-seeking brought to light then! All our pride and vanity manifested! Everything put on its own proper level! All our works inspected by Him who seeth not as man seeth. How many of us will wish we had been more true and real in our work down here. Things we valued highly on earth, how lightly will they weigh up there!-as the very small dust of the balance; yea, lighter even than that-altogether, lighter than vanity!

And those things we have neglected and foolishly ignored in the days of our pilgrimage, how much more precious than gold will they appear in the light of that judgment-seat!

O beloved, shall we not seek to be now what we shall then wish we had been; let ns do now what we shall then wish we had done; turn now from what we shall then wish we had judged? The Lord grant that His people be awakened to the reality of these things, and the importance of living for eternity!

And thus we have traveled round the wall from one part to another, and have, I trust, been blessed in doing so. We might close our meditations here, only that God does not end in this way, for in the last verse we come back again, having made the circuit, to that with which we began-

The Sheep Gate

And between the going up of the corner unto the Sheep Gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.

It is as though God would not have us turn away without reminding us that the Cross with which we began will be before our souls for eternity. After all has been gone into at the judgment-seat, we shall turn from it to the Judge Himself, who is our Redeemer and Bridegroom. We shall see Him as a Lamb that had been slain. At His once-pierced feet we shall fall in adoration, and forever sing praises unto Him that loveth us, and hath washed us from our sins in His own blood.

We shall never get beyond the Cross. It will be the theme of our praises throughout all the ages to come. Oh, to ever live in the light of it now! It speaks of sins forever put away, and also of a world under judgment, for the, rejection of Gods Son. Our place, then, is outside of it all. Let us go forth therefore unto Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come (Heb 13:13, 14).

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Neh 3:28

I. The ruins which need repair. Most of us have got so familiarised with the evils that stare us in the face every time we go out upon the pavements, that we have come to think of them as being inseparable from our modern life, like the noise of a carriage wheel from its rotation. The beginning of Nehemiah’s work of repair was that sad midnight ride round the ruined walls. So there is a solemn obligation laid on Christian people to acquaint themselves with the awful facts, and then to meditate on them, till sacred, Christlike compassion, pressing against the floodgates of the heart, flings them open, and lets out a stream of helpful pity and saving deeds.

II. The ruin is to be repaired mainly by the old Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you get His love into a man’s heart, that will produce new tastes and new inclinations, which will reform, and sweeten, and purify faster than anything else does.

III. This remedy is to be applied by the individual action of Christian men and women on the people nearest them. (1) If you are a Christian man, you have in your possession the thing which will cure the world’s woe, and possession involves responsibility. (2) If we have found anything in Jesus Christ which has been peace and rest to ourselves, Christ has thereby called us to this work. (3) The possession of His love gives the commission; ay, and it gives the power. All can preach who can say, “We have found the Christ.”

A. Maclaren, A Year’s Ministry, 1st series, p. 111.

References: Neh 3:28.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 547. Neh 3:30.-Homiletic Magazine; vol. xi., p. 17.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

CHAPTER 3

1. The builders of the sheep gate (Neh 3:1-2)

2. The builders of the fish gate (Neh 3:3-5)

3. The repairers of the old gate (Neh 3:6-12)

4. The repairers of the valley gate (Neh 3:13)

5. The repairers of the dung gate (Neh 3:14)

6. The repairers of the gate of the fountain (Neh 3:15-25)

7. The repairers of the water gate (Neh 3:26-27)

8. The repairers of the horse gate (Neh 3:28)

9. The builders of the east gate and the Gate Miphkad (Neh 3:29-32)

Neh. 3:1-2. The work is begun at once. We shall not point out the location of these different gates, nor study the topography of Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah, as others have done. There are most helpful, spiritual lessons to be learned from the building of the wall and the repairing of the gates. A wall is for protection and to keep out what does not belong in the city. In Ezras work we saw the restoration of the true place of worship. The wall surrounding the place where the people gathered once more in the true worship of Jehovah typifies the guarding of that place of privilege and blessing. A wall of separation is needed to keep out that which is undesirable and which would hinder and mar the true worship. (Even in connection with the millennial temple a wall is mentioned, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place Eze 42:20.) Even so a church, an assembly, composed of true believers who gather together in that worthy Name, and unto that Name, must be protected from the world and all which dishonors Christ, or that which is contrary to sound doctrine, must be excluded. This is the true New Testament principle in connection with the true Church, foreshadowed in the building of the wall surrounding the place where the Lord had set His Name.

The third chapter is a remarkable one. We see the people of God at work building and repairing, every one doing the work in a certain place. Here is the record of the names, where and how they labored. God keeps such a record of all His servants and their labors. When all His people appear before the judgment seat of Christ this book will be opened and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor (1Co 3:8).

Ten gates are mentioned in this chapter. In chapter 8:16 we read of the gate of Ephraim and in chapter 12:39 of the prison gate. If we add these two to the ten mentioned in this chapter we have twelve gates (Rev 21:12). The first gate at which the work started is the sheep gate. Through this gate the sacrificial animals were led to the altar, the constant witness to the fact that without the shedding of blood there is no remission and the types of Him who was led as a lamb to the slaughter. The sheep gate at which the work started is typical of the blessed work of the Lamb of God, He who bore our sins in His body on the tree, the offering of His spotless, holy body by which we are sanctified. The lesson here is that the person and work of Christ is the starting point of a true restoration, and that the cross of Christ, the work of Gods Son has accomplished, must be guarded above everything else. At the close of this chapter this sheep-gate is mentioned once more. After making the circuit of all the gates, we are led back to this first gate. It is with this great truth, the gospel of Christ, that all repairing of the inroads of the world and the flesh, must start and terminate. This gate suggests Him who said, I am the door; by me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (Joh 10:9). There is no other gate which leads to life and into Gods presence.

Eliashib (God will restore) the high priest, with his brethren, builded the sheep gate, sanctified it and set it up. It was priestly work. The tower of Meah and the tower of Hananeel are mentioned. Meah means a hundred and it reminds us of the parable in which our Lord mentions the man who had a hundred sheep. Hananeel means to whom God is gracious. Significant names. There is no doubt that this sheep gate is the same one mentioned in Joh 5:2, which affords still another application. The men of Jericho, once under the curse, but now in the place of nearness and blessing, toiled next to the high priest. What grace this reveals! Zaccur (well remembered) the son of Imri (the towering one) also was there.

Neh. 3:3-5. Next was the fish gate. This was separated from the sheep gate by the portion of the wall which the men of Jericho and Zaccur repaired. Outside of that gate may have been a fish market, or it may have been the gate through which the fishermen passed to catch fish. It reminds us of the words of our Lord, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men (Mar 1:17). After we have passed through the sheep gate we must go through the fish gate, to catch fish, to be soul-winners. In this way, leading others to Christ, bringing sinners to a knowledge of the Saviour, the Church is built up. Hassenaah (lifted up) was the builder there. Then Meremoth (strong), Meshullam (repaying a friend) and Zadok (just) repaired next to the fish gate. And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles did not put their necks to the work of their Lord. The prophet Amos was a Tekoite who had prophesied many years before, a simple herdman and gatherer of sycamore figs. He was chosen of the Lord, and here other humble instruments of Tekoa, used in doing the work, are immortalized in this record. Their nobles were slackers. They had no interest in the work of their Lord. And so there are such who do not work for the Lord, and in that coming day will suffer loss, though they are saved.

Neh. 3:6-12. The next gate is the old gate. This gate was probably the same which elsewhere is called the corner gate (2Ki 14:13; Jer 31:38). Jehoiada (the Lord knows) and Meshullam repaired this gate. This gate may also remind us of Him whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, who is the cornerstone, upon whom all rests. Next repaired Melatiah, the Gibeonite, and Jadon, the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and Mizpah. The Gibeonites, on account of their deception by which they had obtained a covenant of peace with Israel in Joshuas day, had been made hewers of wood and drawers of water. Here we behold some of them participating in the great work. Of the others we mention Rephaiah, who was a wealthy man, who did not hire a substitute, but labored with his own hands, toiling with the rest. Shallum, the son of Halohesh, was another man of power and wealth; he and his daughters repaired like the rest. What a sight it must have been when these zealous men cleared away the debris and repaired the gates, and among them the daughters of Shallum!

Neh 3:13. The valley gate was repaired by Hanun (gracious) and the inhabitants of Zanoah (broken). The valley typifies the low place, humility. How needed this is in service for God, for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Neh 3:14. The dung gate was repaired by Malchiah, and he was the ruler of Beth-haccerem (the place of the vineyard). This gate was used to carry out the refuse and filth from the city. This gate reminds of the exhortations that Gods people must cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit for God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness (1Th 4:7).

Neh 3:15-25. The gate of the fountain was next to the dung gate. The fountain, ever flowing, is a blessed type of the Holy Spirit, who indwells the believer and is in him, the well of living water springing up, like a fountain, into everlasting life (Joh 4:14). It is suggestive that the fountain gate came after the dung gate. If a believer cleanses himself from that which defiles, the Spirit of God will be unhindered, filling the believer and using him as a vessel meet for the Masters use. Shallun (recompense) the son of Colhozeh (wholly seer) the ruler of Mizpah (watchtower) repaired and built that gate. And these names fit in beautifully with the Spirit of God as the fountain of life and power. We cannot mention all the names which follow. (A good concordance like Strongs or Youngs gives most of the Hebrew proper names in a reliable translation. We suggest the study of the names of those who repaired as interesting and helpful.) Nor do we know anything whatever of the individual history of those zealous Israelites, who reconstructed and restored the wall and gates of Jerusalem. God knows each one and has preserved their names, though unknown by the world, in His Word. Surely the memory of the just is blessed (Pro 10:7) and some day they, with us and all His servants, will receive the reward.

Neh 3:26-27. The water gate is mentioned and the Nethinim, who were servants and dwelt in Ophel (the high place) are connected with this gate. This gate suggests the Word of God so frequently spoken of under the symbol of water (Joh 3:5; Joh 13:1-16; Eph 5:26; Psa 119:136). It is very interesting to notice that while the servants are mentioned in connection with the water gate, it does not say that they repaired the gate. The Word of God needs no building up or improving; it builds up those who bow to its blessed authority.

Neh 3:28. The horse gate (2Ki 11:6; Jer 31:40) suggests warfare and victory. In a world of evil the people of God wage a warfare. We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with the wicked spirits. Paul speaks of the believer as a soldier of Christ. Victory is on our side, though the forces of evil may threaten on all sides.

Neh 3:29-32. The east gate was repaired and kept by Shemaiah, the son of Shechaniah. From Ezekiels prophecy we learn that the Shekina glory left from the east gate, and that when the glory returns to dwell once more in the temple, the great millennial temple of Ezekiels vision, the glory of the Lord will enter through the east gate. The east gate faces the rising sun. It suggests the coming of the Lord for His people. And here the two names fit in beautifully. Shemaiah means heard of the Lord; even so He will hear His people and some day will answer their prayer for His coming. Shechaniah means habitation of the Lord. We shall be with Him.

The Miphkad gate was repaired by Malchiah (the Lord is King) the goldsmiths son. Miphkad means the appointed place or a place of visitation. It was probably the gate in which the judges sat to settle disputes and controversies. It suggests the judgment seat of Christ.

Thus we learn that the wall surrounding and protecting the gathered people suggests the cross as the starting point; service; Christ as Lord; humility; cleansing from defilement; filling with the Spirit; the Word of God and its power; warfare and victory; the coming of the Lord and the judgment seat of Christ.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

sheep The sheep for sacrifice were brought in here. (See Scofield “Joh 5:2”).

tower The towers appear to have been on either side the sheep gate.

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

Eliashib: Neh 12:10, Neh 13:28

the sheep gate: This gate is supposed to have immediately communicated with the temple, and to have been called the sheep gate, because the sheep intended for sacrifice passed through it. But, after all which learned men have written on this subject, which is but of little interest, we scarcely know anything about these gates: what they were, why called by these names, or in what part of the wall they were situated, beyond what may be learned from the parallel passages. Neh 12:39, Joh 5:2

sanctified it: Neh 12:30, Deu 20:5, Psa 30:1, *title Pro 3:6, Pro 3:9

the tower: Neh 12:39, Jer 31:38, Zec 14:10

Reciprocal: Num 21:18 – princes Ezr 10:6 – Johanan Neh 2:8 – the wall Neh 3:20 – Eliashib Neh 3:32 – the sheep gate Neh 6:1 – at that time Neh 7:1 – the wall Psa 147:2 – build Psa 147:13 – he hath Ecc 9:10 – thy hand Isa 44:26 – and I will Jer 30:18 – the city Dan 9:25 – from Mic 7:11 – the day

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

CHAPTER 3 is occupied with details concerning the actual building of the wall, but in it are placed on record some things that are of interest to us today. We note first of all, that God has seen fit to occupy a whole chapter in recording the names of the leaders of families or town ships, who engaged in it. We might wonder that so much valuable space should be taken up with the names of men, who would otherwise be forgotten. We deduce from it however the fact that the humblest service for the will of God is not forgotten but put on record, especially when carried on in the face of ridicule and opposition.

The whole chapter appears to us as like a miniature forecast of the judgment-seat of Christ. This is specially so, when we read verses Neh 3:5, Neh 3:12, Neh 3:20, Neh 3:23; Neh 3:27. The Tekoites were very diligent, for they repaired ‘another piece’, as well as the first they undertook; yet it is recorded that ‘their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord’. All too often worldly elevation proves a hindrance when the work of the Lord is in question. Their ‘nobles’, no doubt liked to talk and direct, but did not like to soil their hands, nor bend their necks, to do the work.

On the other hand, there was Shallum, who was ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, putting his hand to the work, and not only he but his daughters also. This was indeed remarkable, for building operations do not fall within the sphere of women’s work. They were, however, sufficiently in earnest to take part in it, though what they did may have been of a lighter sort and not so conspicuous. These ‘daughters’ remind us of the two women who ‘laboured with Paul ‘in the Gospel’, according to Php 4:2, Php 4:3 What counts with God is not the apparent importance or unimportance of the work we do, but the devotion and earnestness that moves us to do it. So the work of these daughters, whatever it was, has a place in the record, and similar devotion and work in the present interests of the Lord, will find mention and reward at the judgment-seat of Christ.

This thought is reinforced by the case of Baruch the son of Zabbai, for it is recorded that he ‘earnestly repaired the other piece’. He was evidently marked by unusual zeal, and it is noted and placed on the record: just as it is recorded of some of the workers, including even some of the priests, that they repaired ‘against their house’, which of course meant that they concerned themselves with the section that was of most interest and convenience to themselves. To do this was not so praise-worthy as to work on some piece of no particular interest to the worker; or perhaps even repulsive, as for instance, the repairing of the ‘dung gate’, undertaken by a man who was a ruler of part of a township, as is recorded in verse 14.

So the reading of this chapter should remind us that today we are called to serve the Lord’s interests, either by building or maintaining the wall of separation, that surrounds God’s present ‘house’, which is the church of God, protecting it from the defilements of ‘this present evil world’. It should remind us also of the truth stated by the godly woman, Hannah, in her prayer, placed on record in 1Sa 2:1-36, that, ‘The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed’. When our actions, as we seek to serve the Lord, are weighed, how will they appear-weighty, or of little worth?

Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary

Neh 3:1. Then Eliashib the high-priest rose up The grandchild of Jeshua, the first high-priest after their return from Babylon. He, with his brethren, set a noble example, in being the first that began to rebuild the walls of the holy city, which the Babylonians had demolished. Ministers should be foremost in every good work, animating others by their example as well as doctrine. And they built the sheep-gate Which was on the south side of the city, in that part of the valley which looked toward mount Zion and the temple; called the sheep-gate, because the sheep were brought through it to be sacrificed. Thus he not only shows by whom, but in what order, the wall was built. They sanctified it Or they prepared, or repaired it; for so the word sometimes signifies. But our translation seems best, both because that use of the word is most common, and because this is spoken only of this gate, which, being built by the priests, and nearest to the temple, and with a special eye to the service of the temple, for which both men and things were most commonly brought in this way, and being also the first part of the building, might be in a peculiar manner sanctified by solemn prayer and sacrifice, whereby it was dedicated to Gods service. Even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it That is, they sanctified the rest of the wall which they built as far as the tower of Meah on one side, and the tower of Hananeel on the other.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Neh 3:1. Eliashib the highpriest. He was the son of Joachim, the son of Joshua, and the third highpriest after the first and greatest return of the people from Babylon.They sanctified it, by the exercises of devotion, it being a chamber of justice over the gate, as well as a tower of defence: David sanctified his palace. Psalms 30.

Neh 3:3. The fish gate, on the north side of the city, where fish from the sea of Galilee was sold.

Neh 3:6. The old gate, in the middle of the north wall; and so called because it was built by the Jebusites.The beams, for strong citadels over each gate.

Neh 3:7. The throne of the governor. His house and the hall of justice, which were on the wall.

Neh 3:12. Shallumruler of the half-part of Jerusalem. Four cities are mentioned as having double governors; this policy seems to have been peculiar to the Persian government. The frequent causes of jealousy which must arise from two officers of equal power in the greater cities were, of course, thought to contribute to the safety of the empire. The frequent plots, insurrections and revolts, in the conquered provinces, had no doubt occasioned the conquerors to adopt this curious and uneasy measure.

Neh 3:13. Zanoah, in the tribe of Judah.

Neh 3:14. The dung gate, on the east side of the city, where the sweepings were deposited, leading to the valley of Hinnom.

Neh 3:15. The gate of the fountain of the Gihon, a powerful spring above the city, which king Hezekiah had covered with arches that it might open within the city, lest a besieging enemy should find it.

Neh 3:26. The Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, a strong place outside the eastern wall. The Jews had now regained their liberty: but what remission did they give to these old inhabitants of Gibeon. See Joshua 9.

REFLECTIONS.

How great a blessing is a wise and good man to a nation. He dispels the gloom from the public mind, raises their hopes, unites their hearts, and directs their energies.

In public works, for the safety and happiness of a nation, all classes should cordially unite. The priests and the prince, the ladies by gifts; trades-men and Nethinims, dividing themselves into convenient companies, raised the extensive walls and lofty towers in the short space of fifty two days. The rich gave bread to the poor workmen, and a register of their work was their reward. When God sheds a willing spirit on a nation, what can resist their efforts; but when he blasts them with confusion of counsel, and weakness in design, how then can they stand? So it is in the church, when grace makes the members all of one heart and of one soul; and when the ministers and people do their utmost to build up the spiritual temple, or to raise an outward sanctuary for the comfort of public worship.

In this great work, no man was absolutely forced to put his hand to it, no punishment was inflicted on those odd and singular men who declined the work. The several companies who had done first, helped those whose task was harder, or who were in arrears of labour; all was a willing service; and so vigorous were their exertions, that they wrought till they had no more strength. How well would things go on and prosper, if on great occasions the christian church would do the same, and at all times travel on with a steady pace. Let us learn of these willing Jews to do all we can, according to our talents and means, in raising the walls of our spiritual Zion.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Neh 3:1-32. The Building of the Walls,This is an independent section which breaks the connexion between Neh 2:20 and Neh 4:1 ff.; it is an excerpt which commences with And Eliashib . . . (not then Eliashib . . . as RV), thus betraying a connexion with something which must originally have preceded it. As the text now stands, the contents of the section do not follow on logically after Neh 2:20. Further, the description here given, in itself incomplete, of the distribution of the work represents the different parts of the wall as having been repaired simultaneously, but this is contradicted by Neh 6:1.

Neh 3:1 Eliashib the high priest: cf. Ezr 3:2, Neh 12:10; Neh 13:4; in this last passage he is spoken of as the priest and as closely connected with Tobiah.the sheep-gate: cf. Neh 3:32; Neh 12:39, Joh 5:2; it lay to the north of the Temple, and probably received this name because the sacrificial animals were led through it to the Temple.set up the doors of it: but see Neh 6:1.the tower of Hammeah (see RVm.): cf. Neh 12:39, the only other place where it is mentioned; nothing is known of it otherwise.the tower of Hananel: see Jer 31:38, Zec 14:10; it was probably situated on the north east corner of the city.

Neh 3:3. the fish-gate: cf. Neh 12:39 and see 2Ch 33:14, Zep 1:10*.

Neh 3:5. the Tekoites: Tekoah (p. 31), which lay close to the Judan wilderness, was the home of the prophet Amos (cf. Amo 1:1).their nobles . . . lord: i.e. the elders of Tekoah did not join the humbler members of their community in the workof their lord: read lords, i.e. Nehemiah and the other leaders.

Neh 3:6. the old gate: read the gate of the old city (mg.).

Neh 3:7. which appertained . . . river: throne must be used here symbolically for rule; but the Heb. construction of the sentence is faulty, and the text is not in order.

Neh 3:8. apothecaries: better perfumers (mg.), or makers of ointment (cf. Exo 30:25; Exo 30:35, 2Ch 16:14).they fortified Jerusalem: the Heb. reads they abandoned J., but the text is, of course, corrupt. Perhaps we should read, on the basis of one of the emendations proposed, they girded (i.e. with a wall) Jerusalem.the broad wall: cf. Neh 12:38; the portion of the wall between the tower of the furnaces (see Neh 3:11) and the gate of Ephraim (see Stade, Geschichte, ii. pp. 167, 175).

Neh 3:9. ruler of half the district of J.: cf. Neh 3:12; the reference is to the surrounding country included within the citys jurisdiction (cf. the LXX rendering, the country round).

Neh 3:11. the tower of the furnaces: situated between the gate of Ephraim and the valley gate.

Neh 3:12. he and his daughters: read, it (i.e. half the district of Jerusalem) and its villages (see Neh 11:25 ff.).

Neh 3:15 Shelah: the same as Shiloah (cf. Isa 8:6*).the stairs . . .: cf. Neh 12:37.

Neh 3:22. the men of the Plain: i.e. the Plain of Jordan (see Gen 13:10*).

Neh 3:28. the horse-gate: cf. Jer 31:40, 2Ki 11:16.

Neh 3:32. Batten points out that at the beginning of this verse there is a Massoretic note, the middle of the book, which proves that Ezr.Neh. is a single book.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

THE BUILDING WELL BEGUN

(vv. 1-32)

Eliashib the high priest is mentioned first in the building, not because he was the most devoted builder, but because of his position, for chapter 13:4 tells us that he had been allied with Tobiah, and also (ch. 13:28) that one of his sons was married to the daughter of Sanballat. Besides this, though Eliashib and his brethren built the sheepgate, it was a different man, Meremoth, who repaired the wall “from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib” (v. 21). What a lesson is seen here! A man may be concerned to repair in measure the public character of Christianity, but have little concern for the wall of separation in his family life!

More than this, though it is said they “built the sheep gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors” (v. 1), yet no mention is made of including “its bolts and bars”, as is the case with others who built gates (vv. 3,6,13,14,15). Does this not indicate that Eliashib was not so careful about full separation from the world, but would allow some measure of laxity in this matter? When a leader is like this, how sadly this can affect the entire testimony of God! Nevertheless, scripture credits Eliashib with what good he actually did.

All those who labored in this good work are listed by name, just as in Romans l6 the Lord takes pleasure in recording the faith and labor of many individuals, such as Priscilla and Aquila who risked their own necks for Paul’s life (vv. 3-4), “Mary, who labored much” (v. 6), “Persis who labored much in the Lord” (v. 12). Thus, some stood out specially, others only recorded, but all recognized. The judgment seat of Christ will reveal the work of all believers, and some will be rewarded more than others.

In verse 5 the Tekoites are mentioned as making repairs, but “their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of the Lord.” Did they consider such work to be beneath their dignity? In contrast to this, one of the goldsmiths and one of the perfumers did this manual labor to which they were not accustomed. How good it is that the Lord takes full account of all these things! Verse 12 tells us that not only Shallum, a leader of the half district of Jerusalem, worked in repairing, but also his daughters. Does this not remind us of Paul’s words concerning “the women who labored with me in the Gospel” (Php 4:3)? The word of God too takes note of Baruch who “carefully” repaired another section. No doubt some were not as careful as others in the work, but the Lord values true diligence in whatever He give us to do, as is surely indicated in Col 3:23, “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” If the Lord Jesus is the Object in whatever work we are called upon to do, would we think of being anything less than wholehearted?

A number of the inhabitants of Jerusalem are said to have made repairs in front of their own houses (vv. 23,28,29,30). This is a reminder of 1Ti 3:5, “For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? It is true, on the other hand, that some Christians are concerned only for their personal and their family responsibilities, and ignore the proper welfare of the church of God. We have noticed, in contrast to this, that Eliashib repaired the sheep gate, but did not make repairs at his own house. How important it is for us to have a well balanced concern for the spiritual blessing of our own families and at the same time for the true prospering of the assembly of God!

In verse 31 we read again of a goldsmith working, and in verse 32 of both goldsmiths and merchants taking part in the work. Often it is the poor who engage in the work of the Lord (Jam 2:5), so that it is the more refreshing when those of means are willing to labor for the Lord.

Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible

THE PERFORMANCE OF THE WORK

Nehemiah 3

The servant has been prepared, his way made plain, and now we have the record of the work. This special work, as we have seen is to bring about a revival, in the midst of this returned remnant, by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and setting up the gates.

To rebuild the walls and set up the gates has its answer in our day in the maintenance of the holiness of God’s house through separation from iniquity and vessels to dishonour, and the godly care which gives free access to the privileges of God’s house to all the people of God who come with integrity. Such godly care may indeed, at times, involve disciplinary action of which the gate, in Old Testament days was often the symbol.

The details recorded of the work In Nehemiah’s day are rich with instruction for those who, in our day, desire to answer to God’s mind for His people as to separation from evil, and the maintenance of holiness.

First it is noticeable that, from the greatest to the least, all were united in this particular work. Priests, nobles, and common people, were of one mind to build the walls and set up the gates. Those engaged in the work may occupy very varied social positions, some are “nobles,” and some common people. Their daily callings may be very different – some are goldsmiths, some apothecaries, and others merchants (8, 31, 32).

Their individual work in the service of the Lord may be different, for some are priests and some Levites. But whatever their social position, their secular calling, or their special service for the Lord, all were of one mind and one purpose in building the walls and setting up the gates, and by this unanimity, as one has said, “they confessed their need of separation from the nations around and took measures to secure it.”

And for those to-day, who have been delivered from the corrupt systems of men in order to maintain the truth of the house of God, it will bring about a revival of blessing if, as led by the Spirit of God, and in obedience to the word of God, they are united in seeking to maintain separation from the religious corruption of Christendom, and take measures to secure it by means of the walls and the gates.

This unity of mind and activity for such an end are sure marks of a work of the Spirit of God. And being such, the Lord shows His special approval by recording the names, and families, engaged in a work that so greatly concerns the honour of His name and the blessing of His people.

But while all engaged in this work have honourable mention, yet it is to be noticed that some are distinguished in the work above others. Of Baruch we read that he not only repaired the wall but he did so “earnestly” (20).

Then some are distinguished for the quantity of their work. Of “Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah” we read that they not only set up “the valley gate” but they also built “a thousand cubits of the wall” (13). The Tekoites not only repaired a piece of wall, following Zadok’s work, but later we are told that they repaired “another piece” (5, 27). And of others we read that they “repaired a second piece” (11, 19, 30, N. Tr).

Moreover some are distinguished for the quality of their work, for God makes a difference between “quantity” and “quality.” The quantity of the work accomplished by Eliashib and his brethren exceeds that of the sons of Hassenaah, for whereas the priestly company built a gate and apparently a considerable portion of the wall, the sons of Hassenaah only set up a gate. Nevertheless the quality of the work of the sons of Hassenaah exceeds that of the high priest and his brethren, for they not only built the gate, but they laid the beams thereof, and secured it with locks and bars. Such details are not recorded of the high priest’s gate.

Again others are distinguished for their personal faithfulness in the work. They built over against their own houses (10, 23, 28, 29). God thus marks out for special approval those who are careful to maintain separation within the sphere of their own responsibility.

Furthermore one family is distinguished by the mention of the daughters. Shallum, a ruler, repaired the wall “he and his daughters.” This then was a work in which women could rightly engage, and receive honourable mention for so doing (12).

But if the Lord stamps with his approval the work of these different labourers, there are a few things of which the Lord disapproves, and they are recorded for our warning. Of the nobles of the Tekoites we read that they “put not their necks to the work of their Lord.” The stubborn neck that will not bow, speaks of the pride that governs the heart. They shrink from a path that makes nothing of man and his self-importance. It is ever thus, those who stand well in the religious world, are not careful to maintain the walls of separation.

Then we are told with careful detail that others built in front of the house of Eliashib, one man building to the door of his house, and another man continuing the work from his door (20, 21). The high priest was indifferent to his own house and put no locks and bars to secure the gate that he erected. As far as he was concerned he left his house and his gate exposed to the enemy.

And for all these distinctions – these approvals and disapprovals – there are causes and reasons in the lives of the approved and disapproved, not apparent at the moment but to be disclosed in the days to come, either now or hereafter. For whatever the goodness of God to the people, His government takes its sure and irrevocable course. There is ever a reason that lies behind men’s actions, though cause and effect may be widely sundered. There is a reason for the significant omission of the locks and bars from Eliashib’s gate, and in the near future of the story it is disclosed for our profit. We shall learn that Eliashib the priest is allied with Tobiah the Ammonite and Sanballat the Horonite. His own house not being in order he cannot build the wall over against it. Moreover he had prepared a great chamber for Tobiah in the house of the Lord, little wonder then that he put no locks or bars on his gate, for it is obvious that if he provides a chamber within for the enemy without, he must also leave the way free for the enemy to have access to the chamber. Thus it comes to pass that Eliashib, the one who should have walked with God in peace and equity is a cause of stumbling and corruption (Mal 2:16). He makes a profession of separation by building the gate and the wall, to keep in with a separate people, but he is careful to put no locks or bars on his gate, to keep in with the man of the corrupt and mixed religion of Samaria, and leave room for the access of such among the people of God.

Alas amongst those who have been set free from men’s systems in these last days, there have not been wanting leaders, who have made a fair profession of maintaining the walls and gates, and yet because of their links with the religious world, have been compelled to leave their gate unsecured. They may plead love and largeness of heart, and the desire to avoid sectarianism, but in result their course, if allowed to go on unchecked, leads to the further weakening of God’s people by gradually linking them up with the religious corruptions of Christendom.

Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible

3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they {a} sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

(a) In Hebrew they sanctified it, that is, they finished it, and so dedicated it to the Lord by prayer, in desiring him to maintain it.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

1. The workers and their work ch. 3

Eliashib (Neh 3:1) was evidently the grandson of Jeshua, the high priest (Neh 12:10; Ezr 3:2). Construction was an act of consecration because this was a project that God had ordained.

Archaeologists continue to study the exact location of the wall at many places, as well as that of towers and gates. There is debate among them regarding various sites, as well as the total extent of the wall. Those who hold to a smaller city are "minimalists," [Note: E.g., K. Kenyon, Jerusalem: Excavating 3000 Years of History, p. 107; Fensham, pp. 165-66, 171; David M. Howard Jr., Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books, p. 290; N. Avigad, Rediscovering Jerusalem, pp. 61-63; H. G. M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, p. 188; and idem, "Nehemiah’s Wall Revisited," Palestinian Exploration Quarterly 116 (1984):81-88.] and those who believe the walls extended farther out are "maximalists." [Note: Cf. R. Grafman, "Nehemiah’s Broad Wall," Israel Exploration Journal 24 (1974):50-51; and H. Geva, "The Western Boundary of Jerusalem at the End of the Monarchy," Israel Exploration Journal 29 (1979):84-91.]

"This chapter is one of the most important in the Old Testament for determining the topography of Jerusalem. Though some locations are clear, others are not. Opinions differ widely about whether the wall enclosed the southwest hill today called ’Mount Zion’ (the Maximalist view) or only the original settlement-including the temple area-of the southwest hill of Ophel (the Minimalist view)." [Note: Yamauchi, "Ezra-Nehemiah," p. 692.]

According to the maximalist view, the two and one-half-mile wall would have enclosed about 220 acres. According to the minimalist view the wall would have been two miles long and enclosed about 90 acres. I think there is better support for the minimalist position. The hill of Ophel (lit. swelling or bulge) was the site between the temple area and the City of David (cf. 2Ch 27:3; 2Ch 33:14).

"Nethinim [Neh 3:26] means given. Probably this is another name for the Gibeonites who were assigned by Joshua to be perpetual slaves as ’hewers of wood and drawers of water’ for the house of God (Jos 9:23). As drawers of water it is appropriate that they dwelt at the water gate. The Nethinim are mentioned: 1Ch 9:2; Ezr 2:43; Ezr 2:58; Ezr 2:70; Ezr 7:7; Ezr 7:24; Ezr 8:17; Ezr 8:20; Neh 3:31; Neh 7:46; Neh 7:60; Neh 7:73; Neh 10:28; Neh 11:3; Neh 11:21." [Note: The New Scofield Reference Bible, p. 548.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

B. The Rebuilding of the Walls 3:1-7:4

Nehemiah described the reconstruction of the walls, starting with the Sheep Gate near the city’s northeast corner, moving counterclockwise. This record honors those who-by building-helped reestablish Israel in the Promised Land, in harmony with God’s will (cf., e.g., Isa 52:11-12).

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

BUILDING THE WALLS

Neh 3:1-32

THE third chapter of the Book of Nehemiah supplies a striking illustration of the constructive character of the history of the Jews in the Persian period. Nor is that all. A mechanical, Chinese industry may be found side by side with indications of moral littleness. But the activity displayed in the restoration of the city walls is more than industrious, more than productive. We must be struck with the breadth of the picture. This characteristic was manifest in the earlier work of building the temple, and it pervades the subsequent religious movement of the shaping of Judaism and the development of The Law. Here it is apparent in the fact that the Jews unite in a great common work for the good of the whole community. It was right and necessary that they should rebuild their private houses, but though it would appear that some of these houses must have been in a very ruinous condition, for this was the case even with the governors residence, {Neh 2:8} the great scheme now set on foot was for the public advantage. There is something almost socialistic about the execution of it; at all events we meet with that comprehensiveness of view, that elevation of tone, that sinking of self in the interests of society, which we should look for in true citizenship.

This is the more noteworthy because the object of the Jews in the present undertaking was what is now called “secular.” The earlier public building operations carried out by their fathers had been confessedly and formally religious. Zerubbabel and Jeshua had led a band of pilgrims up to Jerusalem for the express purpose of rebuilding the temple, and at first the returned exiles had confined their attention to this work and its associated sacrificial rites, without revealing any political ambition, and apparently without even coveting any civic privileges. Subsequently some sense of citizenship had begun to appear in Ezras reformation, but every expression of it had been since checked by jealous and hostile influences from without. At length Nehemiah succeeded in rousing the spirit of citizenship by means of the inspiration of religious faith. The new enthusiasm was not directly concerned with the temple; it aimed at fortifying the city. Yet it sprang from prayer and faith. Thus the Jews were feeling their way to that sacredness of civic duties which we in the freer air of Christianity have been so slow to acknowledge.

The special form of this activity in the public interest is also significant. The process of drawing a line round Jerusalem by enclosing it within the definite circuit of a wall helped to mark the individuality and unity of the place as a city, which an amorphous congeries of houses could not be, according to the ancient estimate, because the chief distinction between a city and a village was just this, that the city was walled while the village was unwalled. The first privilege enjoyed by the city would be its security-its strength to withstand assaults. But the walls that shut out foes shut in the citizens-a fact which seems to have been present to the mind of the poet who wrote, –

“Our feet are standing

Within thy gates, O Jerusalem;

Jerusalem, that art builded

As a city that is compact together.” {Psa 122:2-3}

The city is “compact together.” City life is corporate life. It is not at all easy for us to appreciate this fact while our idea of a city is only represented by a crowd of men, women, and children crammed into a limited space, but with scarcely any sense of common life and aims, still less when we look behind the garish splendour of the streets to the misery and degradation, the disease and famine and vice, that make their nests under the very shadow of wealth and pleasure. Naturally we turn with loathing from such sights, and long for the fresh, quiet country life. But this accidental conglomerate of bricks and human beings is in no sense a city. The true city-such a city as Jerusalem, or Athens, or Rome in its best days-is a focus of the very highest development of life known to man. The word “civilisation” should remind us that it is the city which indicates the difference between the cultivated man and the savage. Originally it was the civis, the citizen, who marched in the van of the worlds progress. Nor is it difficult to account for his position. Inter-communication of ideas sharpening intelligence-“as iron sharpeneth iron,”-division of labour permitting the specialisation of industry, combination in work making it possible for great undertakings to be carried out, the necessity for mutual considerateness among the members of a community and the consequent development of the social sympathies, all tend to progress. And the sense of a common life realised in this way has weighty moral issues. The larger the social unit becomes, the more will people be freed from pettiness of thought and selfishness of aim. The first step in this direction is made when we regard the family rather than the individual as the true unit. If we pass beyond this in modern times, we commonly advance straight on to the whole nation for our notion of a compact community. But the stride is too great. Very few people are able to reach the patriotism that sinks self in the larger life of a nation. With a Mazzini, and even with smaller men who are magnetised by the passion of such an enthusiast in times of excitement, this may be possible. But with ordinary men in ordinary times it is not very attainable. How many Englishmen leave legacies for the payment of the National Debt? Still more difficult is it to become really cosmopolitan, and acquire a sense of the supreme duty of living for mankind. Our Lord has come to our aid here in giving us a new unit-the Church, so that to be a citizen of this “City of God” is to be called out of the circle of the narrow, selfish interests into the large place where great, common duties and an all-comprehensive good of the whole body are set before us as the chief aims to be pursued.

In rebuilding the city walls, then, Nehemiah was accomplishing two good objects; he was fortifying the place, and he was restoring its organic unity. The two advantages would be mutually helpful, because the weakness of Jerusalem was destroying the peculiar character of her life. The aristocracy, thinking it impossible to preserve the community in isolation, had encouraged and practised intermarriage with neighbouring people, no doubt from a politic regard to the advantage of foreign alliances. Although Nehemiah was not yet prepared to grapple with this great question, his fortification of Jerusalem would help the citizens to maintain their Jewish separateness, according to the principle that only the strong can be free.

The careful report which Nehemiah has preserved of the organisation of this work shows us how complete it was. The whole circuit of the walls was restored. Of course it was most necessary that nothing less should be attempted, because, like the strength of a chain, the strength of a fortress is limited to that of its weakest part. And yet-obvious as it is-probably most failures, not only in public works, but also in private lives, are directly attributable to the neglect of this elementary principle of defence. The difficulty always is to reach that kind of perfection which is suggested by the circle, rather than the pinnacle-the perfection of completeness. Now in the present instance the completion of the circuit of the walls of Jerusalem testifies to the admirable organising power of Nehemiah, his tact in putting the right men in the right places-the most important and difficult duty of a leader of men, and his perseverance in overcoming the obstacles and objections that must have been thrust in his path-all of them what people call secular qualities, yet all sustained and perfected by a noble zeal and by that transparent unselfishness which is the most powerful solvent of the selfishness of other people. There are more moral qualities involved in the art of organisation than they would suppose who regard it as a hard, mechanical contrivance in which human beings are treated like parts of a machine. The highest form of organisation is never attained in that brutal manner. Directly we approach men as persons endowed with rights, convictions, and feelings, an element of sympathy is called for which makes the organising process a much more delicate concern.

Another point calls for remark here. Nehemiahs description of his organisation of the people for the purpose of building the walls links the several groups of men who were responsible for the different parts with their several districts. The method of division shows a devolution of responsibility. Each gang had its own bit of wall or its own gate to see to. The rule regulating the assignment of districts was that, as far as practicable, every man should undertake the work opposite his own house. He was literally to “do the thing that lay nearest” to him in this business. It was in every way a wise arrangement. It would prevent the disorder and vexation that would be excited if people were running about to select favourite sites-choosing the easiest place, or the most prominent, or the safest, or any other desirable spot. Surely there is no principle of organisation so simple or so wise as that which directs us to work near home in the first instance. With the Jews this rule would commend itself to the instinct of self-interest. Nobody would wish the enemy to make a breach opposite his own door, of all places. Therefore the most selfish man would be likely to see to it that the wall near his house was solidly built. If, however, no other inducements had been felt in the end, the work would have failed of any great public good, as all purely selfish work must ultimately fail. There would have been gaps which it was nobodys interest in particular to fill.

Next it is to be observed that this building was done by “piece work,” and that with the names of the workmen attached to it, so that if any of them did their work ill the fact would be known and recorded to their lasting disgrace, but also so that if any put an extra amount of finish on their work this too should be known and remembered to their credit. The idle and negligent workman would willingly be lost in the crowd, but this escape was not to be permitted, he must be dragged out and set in the pillory of notoriety. On the other hand, the humble and devoted citizen would crave no recognition, doing his task lovingly for the sake of his God and his city, feeling that the work was everything-the worker nothing. For his own sake one who labours in this beautiful spirit seems to deserve to be sheltered from the blaze of admiration at the thought of which he shrinks back in dismay. And yet this is not always possible. St. Paul writes of the day when every mans work shall be made manifest. {1Co 3:13} If the honour is really offered to God, who inspires the work, the modesty which leads the human agent to seek the shade may be overstrained, for the servant need not blush to stand in the light when all eyes are directed to his Master. But when honour is offered to the servant also, this may not be without its advantages. Rightly taken it will humble him. He will feel that his unworthiness would not have permitted this if God had not been very gracious to him. Then he will feel also that he has a character to maintain. If it is ruinous to lose a reputation-“the better part of me,” as poor Cassio exclaims in his agony of remorse-it must be helpful to have one to guard from reproach. “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,” {Pro 22:1} not only because of the indirect advantages it brings from the consideration of the world-its mere purchasing power in the market of human favour; this is its least advantage. Its chief value is in the very possession of it by one whose honour is involved in living worthily of it.

From another point of view the record of the names of people who have rendered good service may be valuable. It will be a stimulus to their successors. The early church preserved the names of her confessors and martyrs in the diptychs which were expressly provided for use in public worship, that God might be praised for their noble lives, and that the living might be stimulated to follow their example. Here is one of the great uses of history. We cannot afford to forget the loyal service of the past, because out of it we draw inspiration for the present. The people with a great history have come into a rich heritage. To be a child of a really noble house, to spring from a family truly without reproach-a family all whose sons are pure and all whose daughters are brave-surely this is to receive a high commission to cherish the good name unsullied. As the later Jews gazed at the towers of Jerusalem and marked well her bulwarks, with the thought that this massive strength was the fruit of the toil and sacrifice of their own forefathers-so that the very names of individual ancestors were linked with exact spots on the grey walls-they would hear a call to loyal service worthy of their noble predecessors.

To proceed, we may observe further that the groups of builders fall into several classes. The first place is given to the priestly order-“the high-priest and his brethren the priests.” {Neh 3:1} This is quite in accordance with the sacerdotal spirit of the times, when the theocracy was emerging into power to take the place left vacant by the decay of the house of David. But the priests are not only named first. Nehemiah states that they were the first to respond to his appeal. “Then” – i.e., after he had addressed the assembled Jews-“Then Eliashib the high-priest rose up,” etc. This man-the grandson of Jeshua, from whom so much was expected by Zechariah-was the first to set his hand to the tremendous task. First in honour, he was first in service. The beauty of his action lies in its silence. Not a word is recorded as spoken by him. But he was not satisfied to sanction the work of humbler men. He led the people in the best possible way, by beginning the work himself, by directly taking upon him his share of it. In this noble simplicity of service Eliashib was followed by the priesthood generally. These men put forth no claims to immunity from the obligation of civic duties or secular occupations. It never occurred to them to object that such employments were in the least degree inconsistent with their high office. The priestly order was hampered by the strictest rules of artificial separation, but the quaint notion-so common in the East, and not quite unknown in the West-that there is something degrading in hard work did not enter into them.

There are two points to be noticed in the special work of the priests. First, its locality. These ministers of the temple set up the “Sheep Gate,” which was the gate nearest to the temple. Thus they made themselves responsible for their own quarters, guarding what was especially entrusted to their care. This was in accordance with the plan observed all round the city, that the inhabitants should work in the neighbourhood of their respective houses. The priests, who have the honour of special connection with the temple, feel that a special charge accompanies that honour, and rightly, for responsibility always follows privilege. Second, its consecration. The priests sanctified their work-i.e., they dedicated it to God. This was not in the sacred enclosure-the Haram, as it is now called. Nevertheless, their gate and wall, as well as their temple, were to be reckoned holy. They did not hold the strange modern notion that while the cemetery, the city of the dead, is to be consecrated, the city of the living requires no consecration. They saw that the very stones and timbers of Jerusalem belonged to God, and needed His presence to keep them safe and pure. They were wise, for is He not “the God of the living” and of all the concerns of life?

The next class of workmen is comprised of men who were taken according to their families. These would probably be all of them citizens of Jerusalem, some present by right of birth as descendants of former citizens, others perhaps sprung from the inhabitants of distant towns not yet restored to Israel who had made Jerusalem their home. Their duty to fortify their own city was indubitable.

But now, as in the earlier lists, there is another class among the laity, consisting of the inhabitants of neighbouring towns, who are arranged, not according to families, but according to their residence. Most likely these men were living in Jerusalem at the time, and yet it is probable that they retained their interest in their provincial localities. But Jerusalem was the capital, the centre of the nation, the Holy City. Therefore the inhabitants of other cities must care for her welfare. In a great scheme of religious centralisation at Jerusalem Josiah had found the best means of establishing unity of worship, and so of impressing upon the worshippers the idea of the unity of God. The same method was still pursued. People were not yet ripe for the larger thoughts of God and His worship which Jesus expressed by Jacobs well. Until that was reached, external unity with a visible centre was essential if a multiplex division of divinity was to be avoided. After these neighbours who thus helped the metropolis we have two other groups-the temple servants and the trade guilds of goldsmiths and merchants.

Now, while on all sides ready volunteers press forward to the work, just one painful exception is found to mar the harmony of the scene, or rather to lessen its volume-for this was found in abstention, not in active opposition. To their shame it is recorded that the nobles of Tekoa “put not their necks to the work of their Lord.” {Neh 3:5} The general body of citizens from this town took part. We are not told why the aristocracy held back. Did they consider the labour beneath their dignity? or was there a breach between them and the townsfolk? The people of Tekoa may have been especially democratic. Ages before, a herdsman from this same town, the rough prophet Amos, had shown little respect for the great ones of the earth. Possibly the Tekoites had vexed their princes by showing a similar spirit of independence. But if so, Nehemiah would regard their conduct as affording the princes no excuse. For it was the Lords work that these nobles refused to undertake, and there is no justification for letting Gods service suffer when a quarrel has broken out between His servants. Yet how common is this miserable result of divisions among men who should be united in the service of God. Whatever was the cause-whether it was some petty personal offence or some grave difference of opinion-these nobles go down the ages, like those unhappy men in the early days of the Judges who earned the “curse of Meroz,” disgraced eternally, for no positive offence, but simply because they left undone what they ought to have done. Nehemiah pronounces no curse. He chronicles the bare fact. But his ominous silence in regard to any explanation is severely condemnatory. The man who builds his house on the sand in hearing Christs words and doing them not, the servant who is beaten with many stripes because he knows his lords will and does not perform it, that other servant who buries his talent, the virgins who forget to fill their vessels with oil, the people represented by goats on the left hand whose sole ground of accusation is that they refused to exercise the common charities-all these illustrate the important but neglected truth that our Lords most frequent words of condemnation were expressed for what we call negative evil-the evil of harmless but useless lives.

Happily we may set exceptional devotion in another quarter over against the exceptional remissness of the nobles of Tekoa. Brief as is his summary of the division of the work, Nehemiah is careful to slip in a word of praise for one Baruch the son of Zabbai, saying that this man “earnestly repaired” his portion. {Neh 3:20} That one word “earnestly” is a truer stamp of worth than all the honours claimed by the abstaining nobles on grounds of rank or pedigree; it goes down the centuries as the patent of true nobility in the realm of industry.

“MARK YE WELL HER BULWARKS.”

Neh 3:1-32

THE book of Nehemiah is our principal authority for the ancient topography of Jerusalem. But, as we have been already reminded, the sieges from which the city has suffered, and the repeated destruction of its walls and buildings, have obliterated many of the old landmarks beyond recovery. In some places the ground is now found to be raised sixty feet above the original surface, and in one spot it was even necessary to dig down a hundred and twenty feet to reach the level of the old pavement. It is therefore not at all wonderful that the attempt to identify the sites here named should have occasioned not a little perplexity. Still the explorations of underground Jerusalem have brought some important facts to light, and others can be fairly divined from a consideration of the historical record in the light of the more general features of the country, which no wars or works of man can alter.

The first, because the most obvious, thing to be noted in considering the site of Jerusalem is its mountainous character. Jerusalem is a mountain city, as high as a Dartmoor tor, some two thousand feet above the Mediterranean, with a drop of nearly four thousand feet on the farther side, beyond the Mount of Olives, towards the deep pit where the Dead Sea steams in tropical heat. Looked at from the wilderness, through a gap in the hills round Bethlehem, she soars above us, with her white domes and towers clean-cut against the burning sky, like a city of clouds. In spite of the blazing southern sunshine, the air bites keenly on that fine altitude. It would be only reasonable to suppose that the vigour of the highlanders who dwelt in Jerusalem was braced by the very atmosphere of their home. And yet we have had to trace every impulse of zeal and energy after the restoration to the relaxing plains of the Euphrates and the Tigris! In all history the moral element counts for more than the material. Race is more than habitat, and religion is more than race.

Closely associated with this mountainous character of Jerusalem is a second feature. It is clear that the site for the city was chosen because of its singularly valuable ready-made defences. Jerusalem is a natural fortress. Protected on three sides by deep ravines, it would seem that she could be easily made impregnable. How awful, then, is the irony of her destiny! This city, so rarely favoured by nature for security against attack, has been more often assaulted and captured, and has suffered more of the horrors of war, than any other spot on earth.

The next fact to be noticed is the small size of Jerusalem. The dimensions of the city have varied in different ages. Under the Herods the buildings extended far beyond the ancient limits, and villas were dotted about on the outlying hills. But in Nehemiahs day the city was confined within a surprisingly contracted area. The discovery of the Siloam inscription, leading to the identification of the gorge known to the Romans as the Tyropaeon with the ancient “Valley of Hinnom” or “Tophet,” cuts off the whole of the modern Zion from the site of the ancient city, and points to the conclusion that the old Zion must have been nearer Moriah, and all Jerusalem crowded in the little space to the east of the chasm which was once thought to have run up through the middle of the city. No doubt the streets were narrow; the houses may have been high. Still the population was but slender, for after the walls had been built Nehemiah found the space he had enclosed too large for the inhabitants. {Neh 11:1} But our interest in Jerusalem is in no way determined by her size, or by the number of her citizens. A little town in a remote province, she was politically insignificant enough when viewed from the standpoint of Babylon, and in comparison with the many rich and populous cities of the vast Persian dominions. It is the more remarkable, then, that successive Persian sovereigns should have bestowed rare favours on her. From the day when Solomon built his temple, the unique glory of this city had begun to appear. Josiahs reformation in concentrating the national worship at Jerusalem advanced her peculiar privileges, which the rebuilding of the temple before the restoration of the city further promoted. Jerusalem is the religious metropolis of the world. To be first in religious honour it was not necessary that she should be spacious or populous. Size and numbers count for very little in religion. Its valuation is qualitative, not quantitative. Even the extent of its influence, even the size and mass of this, depends mainly on its character. Moreover, in Jerusalem, as a rule, the really effective religious life was confined to a small group of the “pious”; sometimes it was gathered up in a single individual-a Jeremiah, an Ezra, a Nehemiah. This is a fact replete with encouragement for faith. It is an instance of the way in which God chooses the weak things-weak as to this world-to confound the strong. If a small city could once take the unique position held by Jerusalem, then why should not a small Church now? And if a little knot of earnest men within the city could be the nucleus of her character and the source of her influence, why should not quite a small group of earnest people give a character to their church, and, through the church, work wonders in the world, as the grain of mustard seed could move a mountain? The secret of the miracle is, like the secret of nature, that God is in the city and the church, as God is in the seed. When once we have discovered this truth as a certain fact of life and history, our estimate of the relative greatness of things is revolutionised. The map and the census then cease to answer our most pressing questions. The excellence we look for must be spiritual-vigour of faith, self-abnegation of love, passion of zeal.

As we follow Nehemiah round the circuit of the walls the more special features of the city are brought under our notice. He begins with the “Sheep Gate,” which was evidently near the temple, and the construction of which was undertaken by the priests as the first piece of work in the great enterprise. The name of this gate agrees well with its situation. Opening on the Valley of the Kidron, and facing the Mount of Olives and the lonely pass over the hills towards Jericho, it would be the gate through which shepherds would bring in their flocks from the wide pasturage of the wilderness. Possibly there was a market at the open space just inside. The vicinity of the temple would make it easy to bring up the victims for the sacrifices by this way. As the Passover season approached, the whole neighbourhood would be alive with the bleating of thousands of lambs. Rich associations would thus cluster round the name of this gate. It would be suggestive of the pastoral life so much pursued by the men of Judah, whose favourite king had been a shepherd lad, and it would call up deeper thoughts of the mystery of sacrifice and the joy of the Paschal redemption of Israel. To us Christians the situation of the “Sheep Gate” has a far more touching significance. It seems to have stood near where the “St. Stephens Gate” now stands; here, then, would be the way most used by our Lord in coming to and fro between Jerusalem and Bethany, the way by which He went out to Gethsemane on the last night, and probably the way by which He was brought back “as a sheep” among her shearers, “as a lamb” led to the slaughter.

Going round from this spot northwards, we have the part of the wall built by the men of Jericho, which would still look east, towards their own city, so that they would always see their work when they got their first glimpse of Jerusalem as they passed over the ridge of the Mount of Olives on their pilgrimages up to the feasts. The task of the men of Jericho ended at one of the northern gates, the construction of which, together with the fitting of its ponderous bolts and bars, was considered enough for another group of builders. This was called the “Fish Gate.” Since it faced north, it would scarcely have been used by the traders who came up from the sea fisheries in the Mediterranean; it must have received the fish supply from the Jordan, and perhaps from as far as the Sea of Galilee. Still its name suggests a wider range of commerce than the “Sheep Gate,” which let in flocks chiefly from neighbouring hills. Jerusalem was in a singularly isolated spot for the capital of a country, one chosen expressly on account of its inaccessibility – the very opposite requisite from that of most capitals, which are planted by navigable rivers. Nevertheless she maintained communication, both political and commercial, with distant towns all along the ages of her chequered history.

After passing the work of one or two Jewish families and that of the Tekoites, memorable for the painful fact of the abstention of the nobles, we come to the “Old Gate.” That a gate should bear such a name would lead us to think that once gates had not been so numerous as they were at this time. Yet most probably the “Old Gate” was really new, because very little of the original city remained above ground. But men love to perpetuate memories of the past. Even what is new in fact may acquire a flavour of age by the force of association. The wise reformer will follow the example of Nehemiah in linking the new on to the old, and preserving the venerable associations of antiquity wherever these do not hinder present efficiency.

Next we come to the work of men from the northern Benjamite towns of Gibeon and Mizpah, {Neh 3:7} whose volunteer service was a mark of their own brotherly spirit. It should be remembered, however, that Jerusalem originally belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. Working at the northern wall, in accordance with the rule observed throughout that all the Jews from outlying places should build in the direction of their own cities, these Benjamites carried it on as far as the districts of the goldsmiths and apothecaries, {Neh 3:8} whose principal bazaars seem to have occupied the north quarter of the city-the quarter most suitable for trade, because first reached by most travellers. There, however-if we are to accept the generally received emendation of the text mentioned in the margin of the Revised Version-they found a bit of wall that had escaped destruction, and also probably the “Ephraim Gate,” which is not named here, although it existed in the days of Nehemiah. {Neh 8:16} Inasmuch as the invasions had come from the north, and the recent Samaritan raid had also proceeded from the same quarter, it seems likely that the city had been taken on this side. If so, the enemy, after having got in through a gate which they had burnt, or through a breach in the wall, did not think it necessary to waste time in the heavy labour of tearing down the wall in their rear. Perhaps, as this was the most exposed quarter, the wall was most solid here-it was known as “the broad wall.” The wealthy goldsmiths would have been anxious that their bazaars should not be the first parts of the city to entertain a marauding host through any weakness in the defences. The next bit of wall was in the hands of a man of some importance, known as “the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem,” {Neh 3:9} i.e., he had the management of half the land belonging to the city-either a sort of police supervision of private estates, or the direct control of land owned by the municipality, and possibly farmed for the time being on communal principles.

Still following the northern wall, we pass the work of several Jerusalem families, and so on to the potteries, as we may infer from the remark about “the tower of the furnaces.” {Neh 3:11} Here we must be at the “Corner Gate,” {2Ch 26:9, Jer 31:38} which, however, is not now named; “the tower of the furnaces” may have been part of its fortifications. Evidently this was an important position. The manager of the second half of the city estates and the villages on them-known as “his daughters”-had the charge of the work here. It was four hundred cubits from the “Ephraim Gate” to the corner. {2Ki 14:13} At this point the long north wall ends, and the fortifications take a sharp turn southwards. Following the new direction, we pass by the course of the Valley of Hinnom, leaving it on our right. The next gate we meet is named after this ravine of evil omen the “Valley Gate.” It would be here that the poor children, victims to the savage Moloch worship, had been led out to their fate. The name of the gate would be a perpetual reminder of the darkest passage in the old citys history of sin and shame. The gate would face west, and, in accordance with the arrangement throughout, the inhabitants of Zanoah, a town lying out from Jerusalem ten miles in that direction, undertook the erection of it. They also had charge of a thousand cubits of wall-an exceptionally long piece, but the gates were fewer on this side, and here possibly the steepness of the cliff rendered a slighter wall sufficient.

This long, unbroken stretch of wall ends at the “Dung Gate,” through which the refuse of the city was flung out to the now degraded valley which once had been so famous for its pleasure gardens. Sanitary regulations are of course most necessary. We admire the minuteness with which they are attended to in the Pentateuch, and we regard the filthy condition of modern eastern cities as a sign of neglect and decay. Still the adornment of a grand gateway by the temple, or the solid building of a noble approach to the city along the main route from the north, would be a more popular undertaking than this construction of a “Dung Gate.” It is to the credit of Nehemiahs admirable skill in organisation that no difficulty was found in filling up the less attractive parts of his programme, and it is even more to the credit of those who accepted the allotment of them that, as far as we know, they made no complaint. A common zeal for the public good overcame personal prejudices. The just and firm application of a universal rule is a great preventative of complaints in such a case. When the several bands of workers were to undertake the districts opposite their own houses if they were inhabitants of the city, or opposite their own towns if they were provincial Jews, it would be difficult for any of them to frame a complaint. The builders of the “Dung Gate” came, it would seem, from the most conspicuous eminence in the wilderness of Southern Judaea – that now known as the “Frank Mountain.” The people who would take to such an out-of-the-world place of abode would hardly be such as we should look to for work requiring fineness of finish. Perhaps they were more suited to the unpretentious task which fell to their lot. Still this consideration does not detract from the credit of their good-natured acquiescence, for self-seeking people are the last to admit that they are not fit for the best places.

The next gate was in a very interesting position at the southwest corner, where the Tyropaeon runs down to the Valley of the Kidron. It was called the “Fountain Gate,” perhaps after the one natural spring which Jerusalem possesses-that now known as the “Virgins Fountain,” and near to the Pool of Siloam, where the precious water from this spring was stored. The very name of the gate would call up thoughts of the value of its site in times of siege, when the fountain had to be “sealed” or covered over, to save it from being tampered with by the enemy. Close by is a flight of steps, still extant, that formerly led down to the kings garden. We are now near to Zion, in what was once the favourite and most aristocratic portion of the town. The lowering of the top of Zion in the time of the Maccabees, that it might not overlook the temple on Mount Moriah, and the filling up of the ravines, considerably detract from the once imposing height of this quarter of the city. Here ancient Jerusalem had looked superb-like an eagle perched on a rock. With such a fortress as Zion her short-sighted citizens had thought her impregnable, but Nehemiahs contemporaries were humbler and wiser men than the infatuated Jews who had rejected the warnings of Jeremiah.

The adjoining piece of wall brings us round to the tombs of the kings, which, according to the custom of antiquity, as we learn from a cuneiform inscription at Babylon, were within the city walls, although the tombs of less important people were outside-just as to this day we bury our illustrious dead in the heart of the metropolis. Nehemiah had been moved at the first report of the ruin of Jerusalem by the thought that his fathers sepulchres were there.

From this spot it is not so easy to trace the remainder of the wall. The mention of the Levites has given rise to the opinion that Nehemiah now takes us at once to the temple again, but this is hardly possible in view of his subsequent statements. We must first work round by Ophel, the “Water,” the “East,” and the “Horse” Gates-all of them apparently leading out towards the Valley of the Kidron. Levites and Priests, whose quarters we are gradually approaching, and other inhabitants of houses in this district, together with people from the Jordan Valley and the east country, carried out this last piece of work as far as a great tower standing out between Ophel and the corner of the temple wall, a tower so massive that some of its masonry can be seen still standing. But the narrative is here so obscure, and the sites have been so altered by the ravages of war and time, that the identification of most of them in this direction baffles inquiry. “Mark ye well her bulwarks.” Alas! they are buried in a desolation so huge that the utmost skill of engineering science fails to trace their course. The latest great discovery, which has simply revolutionised the map by identifying the Tyropaeon with the Old Testament “Valley of Hinnom” or “Tophet,” is the most striking sign of these topographical difficulties. The valley itself has been filled up with masses of rubbish, the sight of which today confirms the dreadful tragedy of the history of Jerusalem, the most tragic history on record. No city was ever more favoured by Heaven, and no city was ever more afflicted. Hers were the most magnificent endowments, the highest ideals, the fairest promises; hers too was the most miserable failure. Her beauty ravaged, her sanctity defiled, her light extinguished, her joy turned into bitterness, Heavens bride has been treated as the scum of the streets. And now, after being abused by her own children, shattered by the Babylonian, outraged by the Syrian, demolished by the Roman, the city which stoned her prophets and clamoured successfully for the death of her Saviour has again revived in poverty and misery-the pale ghost of her past, still the victim of the oppressor. The witchery of this wonderful city fascinates us today, and the very syllables of her name “JERUSALEM” sound strangely sweet and ineffably sad-

“Most musical, most melancholy.”

It was fitting that the tenderest, most mournful lament ever uttered should have been called forth by our Lords contemplation of such a city-a city which, deeming herself destined to be the joy of all the earth, became the plague-spot of history

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary