Nehemiah

Nehemiah 3: Every builder has a place

Begin in prayer

Before we hear the long list of builders, we ask God to open our hearts. Please ask Him to show us that the wall was His work, built by many hands, and that Christ is the one who builds them all together.

so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Romans 12:5

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us how the wall was Your work, built by many hands, and show us Christ the Builder. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Chapter 3 is a list of builders, and each name shows who repaired which part of the wall. The high priest Eliashib and his brothers the priests begin at the Sheep Gate, and they set it apart for God. Around the wall go rulers, priests, goldsmiths, perfumers, merchants and men from nearby towns, each with a stretch to repair. Many repair the wall across from their own houses. Shallum rules half a district, and he works with his daughters. The Tekoites repair two sections, but their nobles do not put their necks to the Lord's work.

As you read Nehemiah 3, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The wall was the Lord's work, built by many hands, and God wrote their names in His Word.

Chapter 2 ended with the call to build, and chapter 3 shows the building, stretch by stretch around the city. We do not need to learn every name. The list shows who they were, and God put it in His Word so that their work is remembered. The priests go first and set the Sheep Gate apart for God (verse 1), so the work of the wall begins as worship. Many repair across from their own houses (verses 10, 23, 28 and 29), so each one guards the part nearest home. Shallum rules half a district, and he works beside his daughters (verse 12). The Tekoites repair a second stretch (verse 27) while their nobles hold back (verse 5). Christ builds His church in the same way, giving each member a place (1 Corinthians 12 verse 18). He is the cornerstone of the whole building (Ephesians 2 verses 20 to 22).

How does Nehemiah 3 show us that the wall was the Lord's work, built by many hands, and that God wrote their names in His Word?

The priests build first, and they set the gate apart for God.

Eliashib the high priest and his brothers the priests rise up and build the Sheep Gate (verse 1). They set it apart for God, so the wall begins as worship. The high priest works with his hands beside everyone else. Jesus is the great High Priest who offered Himself once for all (Hebrews 7 verse 27).

Ordinary people repair the wall, from goldsmiths to a ruler's daughters.

Goldsmiths, perfumers and merchants join rulers and priests (verses 8, 31 and 32). Shallum rules half a district, and he works with his daughters (verse 12). Many repair across from their own houses. Each one takes a part, and every part is needed to close the wall.

Some hold back, and the Word records it.

The nobles of Tekoa “didn’t put their necks to the Lord’s work” (verse 5). The ordinary Tekoites still repair two stretches of the wall (verses 5 and 27). The Word records it, and the Lord’s work is not small. None of them built perfectly, and we need the one Builder who never failed.

Memorise

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the sheep gate. They sanctified it, and set up its doors.

Nehemiah 3:1

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, will I ask Jesus to forgive me when I refuse God's work?

The Tekoites show us two kinds of people. Ordinary families put their hands to the wall, but “their nobles didn’t put their necks to the Lord’s work.” All of us have held back from God and from one another.

Christ never held back. He gave Himself without sin, and on the cross He paid for the sins of His people, as the ransom for many. Death could not keep Him. He rose, and He sits at the Father's right hand, building His church with living stones (1 Peter 2 verse 5). The price is fully paid, and there is nothing missing.

So come to Him. Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus. He forgives everyone who trusts Him, and He will give that person a place and work in His house.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the wall was the Lord's work, built by many hands, and that Jesus builds His church. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He wrote the names of the builders in His Word, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so please give each one a turn.

in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:21-22

Father, thank You that You wrote the names of the builders in Your Word, and thank You for Jesus, who builds His church. Please forgive us when we hold back, and lead each of us to trust Him. Amen.