Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 4:6
So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
6. So built we ] R.V. So we built. No emphasis on ‘we.’
unto the half thereof ] R.V. unto half the height thereof. ‘All the wall was joined together.’ The circumvallation was complete. There were no gaps or breaches. The wall had been raised to half its height all the way round. The most ancient wall, the foundations of which were discovered by Sir Charles Warren, must have had a height of 200 feet!
for the people had a mind to work ] The enthusiasm of the people explains the rapidity of the work. Nehemiah disclaims any credit to himself.
a mind ] literally, ‘heart.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Unto the half thereof – i. e. to half the intended height.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Neh 4:6
So we built the wall.
Fellowship in Christian service
1. They built it notwithstanding sneers. What do these feeble Jews? Sanballat said. All the Sanballats are not dead yet. Often, when you would attempt some new or difficult work for Christ, there are a good many modern Sanballats ready to stand about and say, You cant do anything; you are not strong enough; you are not experienced enough; you havent money enough; the idea of your attempting such a thing!
2. they built the wall, notwithstanding active opposition they kept right on steadily building. Said the great William Carey–who wrought such wonders, and against such opposition, in modern missions–to his son Eustace, Eustace, if they say I am a genius, it is not true; but if they say I can plod, that is true. Yes, I can plod, I can plod. And a plodding persistence, in the face of almost any opposition, is sure at last to triumph.
3. They built the wall, notwithstanding despairing friends. I have been reading how General Washington, only a little time before the battle of Yorktown, was in the very darkest time of the long, hard struggle. Friends on every side were despairingly saying, You cant do it; you might just as well give up. But the great Washington would not let himself despair. Whoever else might, he would not. He would keep at it; and, keeping at it, notwithstanding the despair of friends, a nations independence was achieved at Yorktown.
4. They built the wall by prayer. I asked Mr. Spurgeon once how he prayed. He answered, I go to the Bible and find a promise applicable to my need, then I reverently plead that promise before the Lord, asking Him to keep it for Jesus sake; and I believe God will, and He does. That is the prayer of faith–the prayer of great grip on the Divine promise.
5. They built the wall by working together. Did you notice that we? So we built the wail, our Scripture says. Even one is worth something, but two are worth more, and many striving together are worth immeasurably more. Associate others with yourself, or yourself with others. It was because the Rough Riders rushed up the heights of San Juan together, and because the coloured regiments rushed up together, and together with them they were enabled to plant Old Glory on the summit. Fellow ship is better than individualism in all noble service.
6. They built the wall by willingness on the part of each to do whatever he could. Sometimes they bore burdens; sometimes they grasped swords and spears; sometimes they stood sentinel. There was no selfish picking and choosing. There was no mean declaring I will do this, but I wont do that. Each one was ready to do anything; the thing which seemed just then the thing best to be done. It is no wonder that the wall went steadily and triumphantly up.
7. They built the wall by courageous trust in God. Said Nehemiah, Be not afraid of them; remember the Lord. (W. Hoyt, D. D.)
For the people had a mind to work–
Conditions of success in Christian work
The chief characteristics displayed by Nehemiah and his fellow-citizens in prosecuting their work were–
1. Earnestness. Earnestness is an important factor in all Christian work and consists–
(1) In a thorough persuasion of the truth of the message we make known–the efficacy of the remedy we convey to men.
(2) A deep sense of the value of those we seek to save.
(3) An intense conviction that it is Gods work and not our own we are seeking to do.
2. Persistency.
3. Union.
4. Courage.
5. Prayerfulness.
Summing up these characteristics, we may say to the Christian worker, Add to your work earnestness, and to earnestness persistency, and to persistency union, and to union wisdom, and to wisdom courage, and to courage prayer; for if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2Pe 1:8). (W. P. Lockhart.)
A mind to work
This implies—
I. A recognition of the duty of work.
II. A recognition of the privilege of work.
III. An earnest sympathy with, and longing for, the results of work. (The Church.)
A mind to work
I. The work. Circumstances have changed, and the methods are altered, but the work is the same. You are entitled to ask me, What are we to do?
1. Bear the insignia of your religion before the world. Let all men know that you are the followers of Christ.
2. Maintain His public worship.
3. Christianise the world.
II. The mind. This implies–
1. Readiness.
2. Heartiness.
3. Cheerfulness.
4. Thoroughness amid discouragement and opposition. (T. Davies, M. A.)
A mind to work
I. The work the Jews had to perform. The work they had undertaken was one in which it was natural to suppose they felt the deepest possible interest. It will be admitted that the work they had undertaken was a great work. Then as to the magnitude of the work, it is indescribable–it is, in a word, to seek the present and eternal salvation of a guilty, ruined, and perishing world. Nor must good men lose sight of the fact, that this glorious work is to be accomplished, not by miracle, nor by a Divine power or agency in the abstract, but by the feeble, and of itself powerless, instrumentality of Christian men, as accompanied with the sanctifying and saving influences of the Holy Spirit of God.
II. The obstacles which, in the prosecution of their work, the Jews had to encounter. The Church, then, must never forget that her adversaries are both numerous and powerful. But have not the Churchs greatest difficulties often proved her greatest blessings? It has led the Lords people both to see and to feel more of their dependence upon Him.
III. The spirit in which the jews carried on their work. They had their minds, that is to say, their souls, in it, and they were determined to accomplish it. They loved their Master, their work, and each other.
IV. The success of which their labour was productive.
1. Are there any of us who are engaged in the Lords service, but whose hearts are not in it?
2. Are there any who have no disposition to labour for the Lord Jesus Christ? (Essex Remembrancer.)
A mind to work
We have here–
I. co-operation. The people had a mind to work. Nehemiah was, of course, the ruling spirit. He was only one man, but he was one of those men who count for thousands. He was one of those men who not only embody but create the spirit of an age and lead it on to victory. He was only one man, but in this world men have not to be counted but weighed; and it is when men are weighed–weighed as to their intellect, their convictions, their courage, their principles, their self-denial–that it is seen that one man is not as good as another. All the great epochs of the world have gathered around one man, just as the restoration gathered around Nehemiah, and so filled his soul that the electric power of his patriotic purpose enkindled the hearts of the people with a flame that never expired till the work was done. Then as ever, it was seen that the worlds work must be done by a combination of men who toil with the brain and who toil with the hands. Nehemiah was architect, clerk of the works, diplomatist, general, all in one. But he could have done nothing unless he had been able to secure the co-operation of the people. There is here a lesson on the value and the necessity of co-operation in work for Christ. Success in war is due to two principles–the one is divide your enemy, and the other is unite yourselves. On these two conditions success is certain. Real and vital co-operation in Church work will be equally successful. There may be a Church and no co-operation. It may be a mass, but not a body. Many individual men do far more than a society, because the individual men work, and the society does not, but thinks that it has fulfilled all its duty when it has appointed a committee, with its usual complement of officers. You would think that an army had strangely misconceived its mission if because it saw its staff-officers it lay down and left the fortunes of battle to be settled by them. But this is just what is done by societies which devolve on committees the whole work.
II. Cheerful resolution. There is a great deal of work done in our world, and has always been, in which there has been no mind at all, either in the shape of intelligence or goodwill. I suppose that some of the greatest structures of the world were so built–the Pyramids, the great aqueducts of Rome and the Coliseum. The slaves had not a mind to work, but had an eye to the rod of the taskmaster. You will search this book in vain for the trace of a taskmaster. They had a mind to work, and not to criticise or cavil. This is a suggestive warning to all such characters in our day. Many have a mind only to think, and not to work. You ask them to come and set their shoulder to the wheel, but they prefer to spend their time in solving, so far as they can, sundry theological or religious fiddles. H by their thinking they accomplished anything, then they might think on, but they are like a corn-mill, the stones of which are perpetually revolving, but there is no corn between them, and so they only grind themselves. More doubts are removed and more difficulties are solved by working than by thinking. If any man will do the will of God, etc. Some people have a mind to speak, but not to work. Speech is good enough in its place. The end of all talk should be action. As a rule most work is done where there is least noise. When a machine goes noiselessly, it means that the friction is reduced to the smallest possible quantity, and that the force is not wasted on the process, but comes out in the accomplished work. At the building of Babel there was far more noise than at the building of the temple, but the temple was the successful work. Their heart was in their work, and by their heart we mean chiefly their purpose and their cheerfulness. He that works without a will is nothing better than a machine, and may be worse. When people have a mind to work there will be no unseemly ambitions, no quarrels for posts of honour. The man who can lighten labour with a song is likely to be a good worker. He will be like a soldier, who marches best to the rhythmic throb of the drum, and to the sounds of inspiring music. As to Christian work, none can be entitled to such a name unless it be cheerful. God loveth, we are told, not a giver, but a cheerful giver. If we show mercy we are to show it cheerfully. We are to serve the Lord with gladness. We are to come into His presence with songs. Saints are to be joyful in the Lord.
III. Work crowned with success. (Enoch Mellor, D. D.)
The secret of success in the work of the Lord
I. That we have a great and an important work devolving upon us: to aid in raising the world from the ruins of the fall, and restoring it to something of its former order and beauty, that the Lord may dwell among us. This work has been committed to the Church. It is her high corn, mission. This work must commence with our own hearts.
II. That this work must re engaged in with consecrated zeal and activity.
III. The diligent use of all appointed means. Nehemiah having set his heart upon his work, judiciously employed every means calculated to promote it.
1. Let us stimulate each other to engage vigorously and unitedly in this work. Generally speaking, there is only a small fraction of every Church that engages actively in the great purposes of religion.
2. Having brought all the truly pious up to a proper point, we should then address ourselves, every one to his proper sphere of labour.
IV. That in the use of means the work must be followed up with fortitude and perseverance. Such was the perseverance of the Jews in rebuilding the walls, that they never pulled off their clothes, except for the means of cleanliness, during the whole of the work; but continued night and day working. There was no time for delay or indulgence.
V. That to insure the successful issue of the work, there must be an entire dependence on the blessing of god. Here was the grand secret of Nehemiahs success. He first sought Divine direction, then employed the means, and then implored the Divine blessing. In no other way can we account for the rapid progress of the work, and its successful issue in so short a time. (G. Richards.)
Rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem
Consider–
I. The persons by whom the work was mainly performed.
II. The spirit in which it was accomplished. In a great multitude of instances the work of conversion or reform is begun too near the surface. You ask the hand to work, and what is wanting is the mind to work. What we want is, not a new power but a new disposition, to have the mind newly cast in the image and character of God. It is in vain to change the hand of the watch if the mainspring is defective; it is in vain to heal the muscle or the sinew if there is no lifes blood in the heart; it is in vain to mould the mere image of a man if the spirit of life is not communicated. All these typify the man without the mind, without the will. (J. W. Cunningham, A. M.)
Advance in solid column to Christian work
When General Grant was in front of Richmond, and his army had been repulsed in the Wilderness, he called together his co-commanders and held a council, and asked them what they thought he had better do. There were General Sherman and General Howard, now leading generals, and all thought he had better retreat. He heard them through, and then broke up the council of war and sent them back to their headquarters; but before morning an orderly came round with a despatch from the General directing an advance in solid column on the enemy at daylight. That was what took Richmond and broke down the rebellion in our country. Christians, let us advance in solid column against the enemy; let us lift high the standard, and in the name of our God let us lift up our voice, and let us work together, shoulder to shoulder, and keep our eye single to the honour and glory of Christ. (D. L. Moody.)
Absorbing work is successful
A gentleman who recently visited Mr. Edisons great laboratory, at Menlo Park, and whose son was about to enter upon business life, asked the Professor to give him a motto for his boy, so that he might remember it as a guide and stimulus in after-life. Mr. Edison laughed a little at the novel request, and then said, Well, Ill give him this–tell him never to look at the clock! Which means this–that the man who succeeds to-day is not the man who does just what he has contracted to do and no more, but the man who throws his heart into his work, feels a genuine interest in it, and does not grumble if he has to work ten minutes after office hours.
Putting heart into work
An employer, pointing to two men working side by side in his shop, said, Though I pay them the same wages, one of them is worth twice as much to me as the other, because he puts his heart into everything that he does. He is interested. He is always anxious to do his best. His neighbour, on the contrary, thinks only of his wages. He will shirk whenever he thinks that he can do so and not be found out. I cannot trust him. I have to watch him closely, or he will send out work that is imperfect, and will injure the reputation of the shop. Well, what does the man you commend gain by putting his heart in it, if you pay the same wages? Nothing at present except the satisfaction one feels in trying to do his duty.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. For the people had a mind to work.] The original is very emphatic: vayehi leb leam laasoth, “For the people had a heart to work.” Their hearts were engaged in it; and where the heart is engaged, the work of God goes on well. The whole of this 6th verse is omitted by the Septuagint.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Unto the half thereof; either,
1. In length; or rather,
2. In height; for the whole circumference of the wall was distributed among the builders, who also had carried on the work, beginning at the sheep-gate, and ending there also, as appears from Neh 3:1,32; and the walls of Jerusalem are said to be made up, here, Neh 4:7.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. all the wall was joined togetherunto the half thereofThe whole circuit of the wall had beendistributed in sections to various companies of the people, and wascompleted to the half of the intended height.
Ne4:7-23. HE SETSA WATCH.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
So built we the wall,…. Went on in building it, notwithstanding their scoffs and threats:
and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof; it was carried all round the city to half the height of it:
for the people had a mind to work; their heart was in it, they had a good will to it, and they made haste to finish it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(3:38; 4:1-2)
The Jews continued to build without heeding the ridicule of their enemies, ”and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof,” i.e., the wall was so far repaired throughout its whole circumference, that no breach or gap was left up to half its height; “and the people had a heart to work,” i.e., the restoration went on so quickly because the people had a mind to work.
The attempts of the enemies to hinder the work by force, and Nehemiah’s precautions against them. – When the enemies learnt that the restoration of the wall was evidently getting on, they conspired together to fight against Jerusalem (Neh 4:1 and Neh 4:2). The Jews then prayed to God, and set a watch (Neh 4:3). When the courage of the people began to fail, and their enemies spread a report of sudden attack being imminent, Nehemiah furnished the people on the wall with weapons, and encouraged the nobles and rulers to fight boldly for their brethren, their children, and their possessions (vv. 4-8). The Arabians, Ammonites, and Ashdodites are here enumerated as enemies, besides Sanballat and Tobiah (vv. 2, 10, 19). The Arabians were incited to hostilities against the Jews by Geshem (vv. 11, 19), and the Ammonites by Tobiah; the Ashdodites, the inhabitants of the city and territory of Ashdod, in the coast district of Philistia, were perhaps encouraged to renew their old hatred of Judah by Sanballat the Horonite. When these enemies heard that the walls of Jerusalem were bandaged, i.e., that the breaches and damages in the wall were repaired, they were filled with wrath. The biblical expression, to lay on a bandage, here and 2Ch 24:13; Jer 8:22; Jer 30:17; Jer 33:6, is derived from the healing of wounds by means of a bandage, and is explained by the sentence following: that the breaches began to be closed or stopped. The enemies conspired together to march against Jerusalem and injure it. , because the people of the town are meant. occurs but once more, viz., in Isa 32:6, in the sense of error; here it signifies calamities, for, as Aben Ezra well remarks, qui in angustiis constitutus est, est velut errans, qui nescit quid agat quove se vertat .
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
A MIND TO WORK
Inaugural Sermon delivered on the beginning of the pastorate, first Sunday in March, 1897.
Neh 4:6
THE Book of Nehemiah is one not universally studied. It opens in an unpretentious way; it runs through a catalogue of most difficult names; it relates only hard facts in a plain way, and it is lacking in some of those characteristics which the novel-loving minds of men are ever seeking. And yet, to one who believes in fact versus fiction, who takes interest in the larger affairs of nations and religions rather than localities and individuals, and who is interested in noble purposes and daring deeds, this much neglected prophet has related history most important. I would advise the readers of Gods Word not to skip it; not to read the first verse and pass adverse judgment upon what follows; not to weary ere the characters are all named, because beyond all this laying of plans and this extended preface there comes a tale of activities most intense, and a record of deeds brave, daring, noble and mighty in their ultimate effects.
We might expect it to be so when we remember the times in which Nehemiah lived. For a name of that day to be sufficiently great to survive the death of him who wore it, and escape the oblivion of forgetfulness which has swallowed up the vast majority of personal histories, was the surest evidence of its superiority. The four score years through which Nehemiahs life ran, and in which he made a history as nearly immortal as is Time, was one of those wonderful periods of development in human greatness. On every side, in almost every advanced nation, some mighty brain was working, some wondrous quill was writing, some eloquent tongue was speaking. Dr. Joseph Parker has called attention to the splendid galaxy of men, among whom Nehemiah shone as a central star. In Athens then Aeschylus was living and writing his tragedies; Democritus was philosophizing about matter and atoms very much as the latest scientist of our day is wont to do; Aristophanes was bringing out of his brain and into the world comedies that should survive the centuries; whilst Herodotus and Thucydides were breathing upon the air the first breath of profane history. Plato was living then, and Socrates was studying men and things for philosophys sake and his own amusement. Oh, that was a great day in which to live, a dangerous day out of which to die, since the positive lustre of the true remaining light might easily dispense with all weaker candles, and the world be ignorant that the feeble flickering things had failed. But Nehemiah was a luminary destined to cast some rays through the ages. In this text we may catch one, and like the student of light, break it up into prismatic colors and find a lesson in each special hue.
The first one which I get from it when looking closely into its meaning is this: The Prophet has here given us
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS
He first relates the success and then explains how it came about in the language of the text, The people had a mind to work.
I am fully persuaded that most of the failures in this world are the direct result of the lack of such a mind. I think that beggar was correct in his views who was too indolent to work, and yet walked the streets of Athens begging his bread upon the pretense of having a secret disease consuming his bones. Truly indolence is a consuming disease! It eats the whole life of a man or woman out, bones and blood and brain, and I have sometimes thought that when these were consumed, it turned then to gnawing upon the immortals. Young man, if you want to build a home, if you would like to restore the ruins of your fathers estate, if you would raise up the walls of holiness about your own life and introduce happiness into it, you must have a mind to work.
If today I went with a stranger through the streets of this city and passed a dozen ragged, haggard, dissolute and perchance devilish looking men hanging about the door of some secret drinking place, or standing on the corner of some thoroughfare, or lounging about the court house yard, and he should ask why these men looked so, and why they so lived, I should answer, Because they have no mind for work.
If a visitor from some holier world should come to earth, and, learning of its greater crimes, ask, Why do men forge names, rob banks, embezzle public funds? I should feel disposed to answer, Because they have no mind for work! I know there are many people who complain that Gods ways are not equal, that they were not endowed as some of their fellows; that their fate was dark from the first, and that they were goaded into baser habits and driven to dirty deeds. But as for them, their may is not equal. When the righteous turn eth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby (Eze 33:17 b, Eze 33:18). No, it is not a more auspicious God that man needs to insure his success; it is not better opportunities for the gaining a livelihood, for the growth of a healthy ambition; it is not the lack of superior genius for thinking great thoughts, and doing valiant deeds; it is the want of a mind to work, more often. That is the spirit that God delights to bless; that is the power that creates its own advantages; that is the faculty of the soul, far better than genius.
Visitors to the museum of Rotterdam have seen hanging there the first effort at painting by the renowned Rembrandt. It is an unshapely thing, such as any unskilled boy might be expected to produce. There is no mark of genius in all its lines, no indication of skill in any feature. But when placed beside his masterpiece, it gets itself a tongue and speaks to the onlooker the words of encouragement and the lessons of labor. Between the efforts, how many years of patient, plodding toil, and how marked the progress! Those two pieces from the same hand are the sufficient demonstration that a mind to work is better far than a precocious mind.
And yet, allow me to advance a single step to say that it is not enough that men should prefer labor to rags or hunger or disgrace. The world has in it too many who work only that they may escape the poorhouse, who are goaded to toil by their bodily appetites alone. No loftier ambition seems to have stirred their breast than the animal disposition to save themselves from the suffering consequent upon idleness. No holy zeal to live nobly, cut a wide swath in life and influence ones fellows and effect ones times for good, has ever possessed them. Duty with them is a compulsory thing, and a time of leisure the coveted hour. Such men may attain to the mediocre; they will rarely surpass it. Eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep, eight hours for play, is the life-philosophy of not a few today, a philosophy false in that idleness has too large a place in it, and the flood-gates of temptation and the doors of vice are set too widely ajar by it. The world has long since learned that an idle brain is the devils workshop, an idle heart his probable possession, an idle hand the agent of his darkest deeds. Action is natures first law, and only he who follows it with joy, making his duty his meat and drink, is apt to accomplish most in this life. The reading world gaped in astonishment when suddenly Motley appeared the leader among historians. But the mystery was solved in its entirety when men learned that he had wrought with patient study, yet fired by an unquenched zeal among the libraries of the old and new worlds for years. Men questioned often the genius of Dore, the great artist, but to learn that it was born not of flesh and blood, but of years of ardent study in the hospitals and practice in the studio. Have a mind to work and your hope of success is the most reasonable of human dreams!
But the success of which our text speaks was a religious success. The walls rebuilded were those of the sacred city and the work done brought honor to the prophets God. Oh, that the text might again become true of the spiritual Israel. How Zions walls might be hastened and all her courts made glorious, her towers multiplied, if only Gods people (not a few, but all of us), had a mind to work. We pray for its enlargement; we wish it really, but we forget too often to work for it. Let the example of that Roman general be ours, who said of his victory that the gods had favored him because he begged for success with his drawn sword in hand, and fought, while he cried to Heaven for help. The one great need of the church militant today, if it would become triumphant, is a mind to work. Oh, God! give it to us and make us to use it!
Again I find in this text an evidence of
THE STRENGTH OF COOPERATION
Nehemiah had first conceived this plan of rebuilding Jerusalem. He it was who had secured the kings consent that it should be undertaken, and the kings aid in reaching the place of his fathers and beginning its timely resurrection. And yet Nehemiah worked not alone. He was the foreman, but the walls went up mainly by the hands of the workmen. He was the general, but if his orders were executed the army must be relied upon. He gave the commands, but the men, with trowels and swords, made his hope a reality. Without him the work would never have been begun; without them it could never have been completed. In their cooperation was their efficiency, in their union, their strength. There is a principle of life here, not sufficiently thought upon. Too many leaders in thought and action arrogate to themselves all honors, when often their grandest achievements were utterly impossible, but for the assistance of inferiors. Does the master builder erect the house? He often says he does, but let a strike in the building trades occur and he will learn how tardily bricks come together, or boards conjoin, or paints mix and apply themselves. Does the general win the battle? History gives him the honor and he receives it without a protest, often without a thought of overstatement; but how defeat might have, yea, would have, been recorded against him for that self-same hour, if only his men, his hosts, had fallen back, broken up in disorder, and ingloriously retreated in the critical moment. He is a wise leader who knows his dependence upon his forces, recognizes their right to share the honors with him and shrinks not from applauding their valiant deeds!
I know of no sphere in which this principle ought to have a more positive recognition than in that of church life. That leaders are an essential to its highest success seems to have been the judgment of Him whose actions and words knew no mistakes. Christ Himself gave to His Church the men of authority, and I believe that most will be required at their handspastors, teachers, deacons, and so forth. But no one of these can afford to forget his dependence upon that division of the army of the Lord with which he is associated. Every man of them ought to be marshalled into line if possible, and every hand grasp a sword to meet the foe, and every heart grow stout. What would the pastor do without the counsel and sympathy of the deacons, the fellowship and aid of superintendent, the help and cooperation of teachers, and the willingness to work on the part of trustees and committees and societies? He might wish to build Zion as Nehemiah did; he might get permission from all civil authority to undertake it; he might be sure of Heavens approval, and yet all plans must fall flat without the cooperation of these his brethren. And even as the leader of the church is dependent upon those who hold official station under him, so all Heaven-appointed officers are in need of the assistance of the great company of the Church. Unless the people have a mind to work the ruins of righteousness must lie still in awful debris.
Again, I learn from this text that
IN DIVERSITY OF DUTIES THERE MAY BE UNITY OF PURPOSE
Sit down before this Book and read yourself into its spirit; look back to the time of its birth; allow your imagination to seize the facts of its history, and, like a stereopticon, throw them upon a living, breathing, mental canvas, and you may feel afresh this truth. I hear Nehemiah giving orders as he walks about the walls; I hear his under-generals repeating and emphasizing his words; I see the mason laying the stone, the carpenter building the gates, the soldier walking his beat and the watchman peering from some tower to detect any approach of an enemy and cry down the alarm. How the work is divided, and yet how surely it is one work, and every man a factor essential to its success. When will the world learn that there is wisdom in the different abilities and tastes of men? Some are leaders born and leaders bred; some are hewers of wood and drawers of water by natural law, physical and mental constitution; some are soldiers from fitness and preference, and all are needful to the ways of this present world. It is a mistake for the workman to imagine that a blind fate has set masters over him; that his freedom would be complete if only he could kill the millionaires and destroy the corporations. His bondage, if he has any, is a deeper thing, and his chains are wrought into the muscle and brain. The only way to get rid of it is to prove to himself and the world that his is a broader life, and his talents worthy of a loftier station. I think he is wise indeed who learns what he can best do, who inquires of the Lord, consults his own talents, regards his own tastes and chooses that station among his fellows where he can best help on and help up the walls of society, the walls of righteousness, the temples of religion. We honor the man who, though he can do but one thing, yet does that thing well. The most of us are specialists of necessity, and in that fact I find an evidence of Gods direction in the affairs of men. No mere chance, no senseless creative force would put one man to the plow and another in the senate chamber; would have inclined one to the carpenter shop and another to jurisprudence; would have placed me in the pulpit and you in the pew. There is wisdom in all this, and the most of us are happy, I trust, with the provision of Providence in our life work. God pity the man who is not. God show him the change he ought to make and God give him the courage to make it. For his labor must be most effective who treads that mill his feet best fit.
It is told of Audubon, the celebrated American ornithologist, that even in the wonderful city of Paris he found nothing that interested him save the stock pigeon, blackbirds, rocks, magpies, common sparrows and the mountain finch. In London he was only pleased when some wild fowl was to be seen flying over the city. In a paper read before the Natural Historical Society upon the habits of the wild pigeon he said, So absorbed was my whole soul and spirit in the work, that I felt as if I were in the woods of America among the pigeons, and my ears were filled with the sounds of their rustling wings. What is true in the economics of physical and mental labor, in the stimulus of professions and pursuits, ought to be even more true of the church. We cannot all fill the same or even equal stations, but we can, every one, feel that a part of the work is his, and build from ones own place upward and outward. Spurgeon, when referring to Audubons interest in his specialty, said, We would all write, speak and preach our Lord Jesus far more powerfully if our love to the Lord were a passion so dominant as to make the great realities of eternity vividly real and supremely commanding in our minds. Oh, that God would give us such conceptions that each of us might have a mind to work!
Finally, I learn from this text
THE ONLY SUFFICIENT INSPIRATION FOR GREAT UNDERTAKINGS
It is the inspiration of love. The Jew loved his sacred city, the Jew loved his kindred, the Jew loved his God. To our way of thinking, there is scarce a fact of Old Testament history at once so interesting and beautiful, so characteristic and yet so worthy of our imitation, as this devotion of Israel to their home, their nation and their Divinity.
There was a time when the Eternal City of the seven hills was so glorious that every Roman citizen looked toward it with inexpressible delight and thrilling pride. Even the great Apostle, an heir of God and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ, said on one occasion with enviable speech, I am a Roman citizen. When Athens was in her glory, Greeks were loyal to her interests and partakers in the honor of her intellectual and military prowess. But the Romans pride in the city of the seven hills, and the Grecians glory in the city by the sea, never equalled, I am sure, the Jews larger love for Judahs capital. It was sacred as the gift from God; its streets and walls and towers whispered softly of the toils of the noblest ancestry; its synagogues and above all its holy temple, were fragrant with a breath from Heaven, and the sky which made its horizon was only the bright right hand of Infinity in mercy overspread. If you would know a Jews pride in it, read the history of Solomons work for it; if you would know a Jews love for it, hear Davids lamentations when it is despoiled; if you would know a Jews devotion to it, read Nehemiahs words; if you would see the Jew in Christ blending harmoniously with his Divinity in compassion, see Him on the hill overlooking the sacred spot a few days before His earth-life ends. There are tears in His eye, there is a tremor in His voice, there is anguish in His heart, there is a love-flood in His soul as He cries: O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not (Mat 23:37)!
But they loved their people and every foot of land which God had given with a love only excelled by their devotion to the more sacred spot. When I think of it as written into this Word, I am reminded of the speech attributed to a Lacedamonian mother. Her five sons had been in a battle near Sparta. Meeting a soldier fresh from the scene of conflict, she inquired of him how the battle had terminated. In dejected speech he answered: All your five sons are slain. Unhappy wretch, replied the mother, I ask thee not of what concerns my children, but of what concerns my country. As to that, all is well, answered the soldier. Then said she, Let them mourn that are miserable, my country is prosperous and I am happy. That patriotism did not surpass the patriotism of the mothers of Judah.
But best of all, Israel loved her God. Oh, I remember their idolatry; I do not forget their sins against Heaven; I am not ignorant of their back-slidings and their awful, and at times almost ruinous, iniquities. But for all that, I say Israel loved her God. Other gods were sometimes favored by the homage of a Jew, but how quickly that false shrine was deserted and on penitent knees he pled for Jehovahs pardon.
I know that the Lord of Heaven was driven to jealousy and wrath by their sins, but how surely the nation swung back to their old loyalty again and again, and leaders plead and people prayed for Divine forgiveness, and promised allegiance and holiness afresh. No wonder men had a mind to work who labored because they loved! If we but loved the spiritual Zion more, we might labor more. If we loved the souls of our kindred and friends with a larger interest, our work would be as willing as our efforts in their behalf were great. If we but loved God as we ought, our more effectual work in His Name would bring Him greater glory.
Henry Ward Beecher said, Looking over the dead on a field of battle, it was easy to see why that young man, and he a recruit, had fought so valiantly. Hidden under his vest was a sweet face, encased in gold; and so by loves heroism, he fought with double strokes, through dangers mounting higher, till he found honor in death. So, if you carry the talisman of Christ in your heart, it will give you strength and courage in every conflict and at death open to you the gates of glory.
Brethren and sisters, we begin today our mutual labor of love for Zion in this church. Allow me to include myself as one of the number to be engaged henceforth in this work, and say that second to Gods blessing upon our efforts, I hope for most from the efforts themselves, and if the splendid past is to be equaled in the days to come, then we must have a mind to work.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
(6) Unto the half.Up to half the height the wall was now continuous.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Unto the half thereof That is, until it was half completed. Some understand this of half way around the city, others of half the height of the wall. The latter seems to be the true meaning, inasmuch as the work was going on at all points in the city at the same time, so that the workmen were greatly scattered. Neh 4:19. So, also, the previous chapter shows that the different families or classes of the people had each a distinct portion of the work, so that the rebuilding of the wall would be prosecuted on all sides at the same time.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 440
THE EFFICACY OF ZEAL AND DILIGENCE
Neh 4:6. The people had a mind to work.
GREAT and useful undertakings are often declined, from an idea that we are not able to carry them into effect, when, in fact, nothing is wanting to ensure success in them, but zeal and diligence. The history before us strongly exemplifies this remark. The walls of Jerusalem still continued in their desolate condition, notwithstanding the Jews had returned thither about ninety years: but, at the instigation of one single man, the people combined; and engaging heartily in the work, they effected in a short space of time what had appeared utterly impracticable: Nehemiah says, So built we the wall; for the people had a mind to work.
Let us consider,
I.
The reason assigned for their success
The work which the people had to perform was attended with many difficulties
[The removal of the rubbish [Note: ver. 2.] was of itself no inconsiderable labour, considering how few hands there were to engage in it. But beside this, the enemies of the Jews exerted themselves by ridicule, by menaces, and by various other devices [Note: Neh 2:10; Neh 2:19 and Neh 4:1; Neh 4:3; Neh 4:7-8 and Neh 6:8-9.], to discourage the undertaking, and to prevent the execution of it. The treachery and supineness of some among the Jews themselves [Note: ver. 10, 12 and Neh 6:18-19.] formed also a very formidable obstacle in the way of those who desired to accomplish the work.]
But by zeal and diligence they were enabled to accomplish it with incredible despatch
[Arduous as the work was, it was all finished in two and fifty days [Note: Neh 6:15.]. But how was it effected so soon? We are told, in the text; The people had a mind to the work: every one engaged in it with his whole heart: they regarded neither fatigue nor danger: they would not so much as take off their clothes during the whole time, except for the sake of cleanliness [Note: ver. 23.]; and they wore their swords by their side while they wrought with their hands [Note: ver. 1618.], that they might be ready to resist their enemies in case of an attack. By this union of courageous zeal and unremitting diligence they effected their purpose, to the astonishment and confusion of all their enemies [Note: Neh 6:16.].]
To shew that this subject is capable of very useful improvement, we shall notice,
II.
The instruction we may gather from it
There are two truths that may justly be deduced from this history;
1.
In every thing we have to do for God, zeal and diligence are necessary
[The Jews at that time were actuated by a religious zeal, and exerted themselves for God [Note: Neh 2:17-18.]. And the work which we have to do for God is by no means dissimilar, if only we consider what a typical aspect there was in the whole of their captivity and restoration [Note: See Isa 40:2; Isa 52:9-10; Isa 65:18.]. We may at least be permitted to accommodate this subject to the reparation of the soul for God, after the desolations it has suffered through the incursions of sin. We see that year after year the souls of men lie in ruins; that the generality have no heart to seek their restoration to their primitive grandeur; and that the greater part of those who begin to labour in this work, make little progress. But to what is this owing? The truth is, they have no mind to the work: they do not love their work: repentance is a burthen: prayer is a task: self-denial is a drudgery: they would rather be excused from every part of their duty: they would not think of communion with God, or of conformity to his image, if they were not driven to it by an imperious necessity, a fear of everlasting torments. Hence their exertions are weak and intermitted; and their enemies are suffered to pull down their work, as fast as they build it up: so that, after an interval of months and years, little, if any, progress is made in their work. Ah! think of this, ye who are complaining of the low state of your souls! It would have been thus with respect to the walls of Jerusalem, if the people had been as lukewarm as you: but they had a mind to work; and so must you, if you would do any thing with effect: Whatever your hand findeth to do, you must do it with your might [Note: Ecc 9:10.].]
2.
In every thing we have to do for God, zeal and diligence will ensure success
[In the work of our souls we have to encounter difficulties not unlike to those which the Jews had to cope with; we have much rubbish to be removed, many reproaches and menaces to withstand, and many discouragements from weak or false brethren to surmount. But we need not fear: if we engage heartily in our work, we shall assuredly succeed. Nothing shall be able to obstruct our progress: yea, the opposition we meet with shall but inflame our ardour, and increase our energy; and we shall proceed triumphantly, in spite of the assaults either of men or devils. We do not mean to say, that our own arm can effect these things: we know full well that it cannot; and that, of ourselves, we cannot do any thing that is good: but if we go forth with zeal and diligence in a humble dependence upon God, he will enable us to fulfil his will; yea, through His strength we shall be able to do all things [Note: Php 4:13.]. He is pledged to assit those who trust in him [Note: Psa 125:1.]; and the weakest that relies on him shall be more than conqueror: yea, the weaker we are in ourselves, the more shall his strength be perfected in our weakness [Note: 2Co 12:9.]. Let us but trust in him, and the wall shall be built, though in troublous times [Note: Dan 9:25.]; and what has been begun in grace shall soon be perfected in glory [Note: Php 1:6.].]
Address,
1.
Those who make excuses for not engaging in the work of their souls
[The generality are saying, The time for the Lords work is not yet come [Note: Hag 1:2.]. But whatever excuses men urge for their delay, the true and only reason of it is, They have no mind to the work. Be assured, my Brethren, that when God shall call you into judgment, the veil with which you cover your hypocrisy will be found thinner than the spiders web. Rest not then any longer in such dangerous delusions; but arise, and set yourselves to the work without delay.]
2.
To those who have entered on the Lords work
[To exert yourselves with effect, there is need not only of individual zeal, but also of general and cordial co-operation. The builders all had their proper work assigned them: and of some it is said, They built before their own houses [Note: Neh 3:28-30.]: and though the work seemed but ill adapted for females, some wrought in concert with their daughters [Note: Neh 3:12.]. How prosperous would our exertions be, if we would imitate them in these respects! See, Beloved, what work you have to do near your own houses. If all who profess to be engaged in this good work would attend diligently to their children, their servants, their dependents; if they would visit their sick neighbours, and labour to instruct those to whom they can gain easy and familiar access; methinks the wall would soon be built, to the admiration of men, and the confusion of devils. Let there then be a general zeal amongst you, and a determination to co-operate in every labour of love. It is mentioned to the disgrace of the nobles, that they put not their necks to the work of the Lord [Note: Neh 3:5.]. O let there not be any such amongst you! Rather, let the example of Nehemiah and his followers animate us all: then shall the work proceed rapidly around us, and our Jerusalem shall soon become a praise in the earth [Note: Isa 62:7.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
(6) So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
This good will in the people to the work, and the prosperity of the work itself, were sure answers of prayer.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Neh 4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
Ver. 6. So built we the wall ] This followed upon his prayer, as a gracious answer to it; the people were encouraged, and the wall finished. Faithful prayer is never ineffectual. Reproaching is a heart breaking, Psa 66:20 , but so long as a Christian can pray he is not without his cordial. “I came for thy prayer,” Dan 10:12 .
And all the wall was joined together
Unto the half thereof
For the people had a mind to work
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Neh 4:6
6So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
Neh 4:6 to half its height The accusation of Tobiah the Ammonite in Neh 4:3 that the walls were of poor quality has been shown to be inaccurate by Kathleen Kenyon’s excavation, which shows Nehemiah’s wall to have been nine feet thick. However, this verse is somewhat ambiguous (i.e., joined together all the wall as far as half). It (BDB 345) could refer to the (1) height (most English translations); (2) length (cf. Peshitta; Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible, p. 482); (3) width; or (4) simply a metaphor for an unfinished work.
the people had a mind to work This is literally a heart. See Special Topic following.
SPECIAL TOPIC: The Heart
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
unto the half. The circuit complete to half the height.
mind = heart.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
and all the wall: That is, the whole circuit of the wall was completed unto half the intended height.
for the people: The original is very emphatic, wyhee laiv leam laasoth, “for the people had a heart to work.” Their heart was engaged in it, and they went about it cheerfully and vigorously.
had a mind: Neh 6:15, 1Ch 29:3, 1Ch 29:14, 1Ch 29:17, 1Ch 29:18, 2Ch 29:36, Psa 110:3, 2Co 8:16, 2Co 8:17, Phi 2:13, Heb 13:21
Reciprocal: Psa 102:14 – General Ecc 9:10 – thy hand Mic 7:11 – the day Hag 1:14 – and they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Neh 4:6. All the wall was joined unto the half thereof That is, the wall was built round the whole city, there being no space unbuilt, and it was carried up to half the height that it was intended to be. For the people had a mind to work Were very much set upon it, and went about it cheerfully, notwithstanding the jeers and scoffs of their enemies.