“When There’s Trouble in the Rubble”
(Nehemiah 4:15-23)
Series: REBUILD (Nehemiah)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
- Join me in the Book of Nehemiah, chapter 4.
We’re preaching through Nehemiah in our series REBUILD. God is rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and God is rebuilding the lives of God’s people. And the year is 444 BC and Nehemiah is leading the people of God to rebuild the broken down walls around the city.
Last time we were together we heard from these two critics Sanballat and Tobiah—and we nicknamed them Scut Farkus and Doby Gill—and these two guys represent the opposition of the enemy to the work of God.
One of our recurring points in Nehemiah is that God’s will often includes opposition. There will always be some who delight in construction and some who delight in destruction. One pastor asked another pastor, “How many active members do you have in your church?” He said, “They’re all active. Some are building, and some are tearing down, but they’re all active.” Don’t be the ones who are tearing down, but the ones who are building up, edifying, strengthening one another in the work of God.
Chapter 4 is about opposition and it is a study of prayer and perseverance when facing opposition. We noted last week that when we are criticized or discouraged, what are we to do? Well, from last time we noted three things Nehemiah did and we said: 1—Take it to the Lord, 2—Keep Your Eye on the Goal, and 3—Find Your Security in the Lord. Nehemiah rallied the people in verse 14—where we left off—he said, “Remember the Lord, great and awesome…” Now we pick up in the next verse as we continue.
- Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
15 And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
16 So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.
17 Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.
18 Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.
20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
21 So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared.
22 At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.”
23 So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.
- Let’s pray. “God, help us hear from You today. Keep us attentive to Your Word. Speak and cause us to listen, to hear and to heed Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.” Please be seated.
In South America in the country of Paraguay, in the outskirts of the city of Asunción, there is a place of extreme poverty in Cateura. In Cateura there is a slum built on a landfill where a number of people live. They make their home there at the landfill and spend their days hunting through the rubbish looking for food and daily necessities. Here is a picture of the landfill (pic 1) and you can see folks hunting through the trash. This is one of those unfortunate realities of worldwide poverty.
Some years ago a man there in Cateura was especially concerned for the younger people of Cateura who had not hope, it seemed, for the future. And he wondered what he could do about it. And he began to envision a way to turn some of that trash into treasure—specifically, turning garbage that had been thrown away into musical instruments that could be used to teach the young people of Cateura how to play beautiful music.
And over the ensuing months, this man and others began to search through the trash, finding old pipes and transforming them into saxophones; forks, knives, and spoons into musical keys for flutes and clarinets.
In time, enough junk was recycled into musical instruments to form an orchestra—an orchestra that would perform all over world—called, “The Recycled Orchestra of Cateura.” Here’s a picture of three young girls who learned to play classical music on their repurposed refuse turned into melodious violins (pic 2).
And they are good! You can Google this later, “The Recycled Orchestra of Cateura.” Here’s another picture of the whole ensemble (pic 3). There’s a video you can watch on YouTube about them. A short film entitled, “Landfill Harmonic.” Isn’t that a great title?! Landfill Harmonic. Watch that later and you’ll see a young Juan Manuel Chavez who plays his fellow made from an oil can and wood that had been thrown away in the garbage. The pegs of his cello were made from an old tool used for tenderizing beef. You can watch him playing Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suite Number 1 in G Major, that’s the one everybody watches Yo-Yo Ma play all over the world. Really good.
What’s the point? Listen: one man had a vision for how the rubble of the past could be reshaped and rebuilt into something beautiful in the present. That’s exactly what God does in our lives through the gospel. God takes the rubble of our past and works through it to rebuild us in the present, redeeming, reshaping, rebuilding us into a masterpiece of mercy. Through Jesus Christ the trash of our yesterdays is built into treasure for today, through the REBUILD God does in our lives. That’s one of the greatest takeaways from the Book of Nehemiah. No piece of rubble from the past is wasted. God redeems, reshapes, rebuilds us for our good and His glory.
Let’s see what happened when God’s people continued in prayer and perseverance. Sanballat and Tobiah and the bad guys are threatening to kill God’s people and stop the work. But Nehemiah rallies the people in verse 14 to “Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight…!” Verse 15:
15 And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
God brought their work to nothing. God’s people prevail. Remember Galatians 6:9,“Do not grow weary in well-doing for in due season we will reap, if we faint not.” Stick with it! Keep building. Keep working. Keep serving. Mixing mortar, laying stones. Don’t be defeated by discouragement and criticism. Hear Paul in:
1 Corinthians 15:58, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
So the threat is forestalled, but the bad guys are still around. So remember that Nehemiah “set a watch” against the enemy day and night. That’s back in verse 9: “Nevertheless we made our prayer to God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.”
16 So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.
“My servants” may refer to specially trained men who worked under Nehemiah. In any case, half their attention is given to building the wall and half to defending themselves.
17 Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.
So they are building with one hand and defending with the other. Have you heard the phrase, “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition?” American Big Band Leader Kay Kyser in the 1940s—no one listens to big band music of the 40s?! I know. My satellite radio default station is jazz music of the 1930s and 40s.
It was a song in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor, marking the US involvement in World War II, reached number one in the charts in 1943. “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition and we’ll all stay free.”
It harkens back to an earlier battle cry attributed to Oliver Cromwell who, addressing his troops during the invasion of Ireland said, “Trust God and keep your powder dry.” That’s what the people in Nehemiah are doing. They are building, trusting God, and also ready to defend against the enemy. They’ve got a sword in one hand a trowel in the other. A trowel is a small handheld tool used to apply mortar. There was one in the video introduction we saw earlier. Sword in one hand, trowel in the other. Some of you will know that Charles Spurgeon had a famous magazine by that name, The Sword & Trowel. It was a magazine, still being published today, but then a magazine dedicated to both teaching the truth and defending the truth from error.
18 Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.
20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
Nehemiah knew the truth of Psalm 127, “unless the Lord builds the house they labor in vain who build it.”
The trumpet sounded the call to arms. “Rally to us” there. In other words, Nehemiah doesn’t run from the problem. He’s a good leader. He positions himself front and center, right there in the midst of the battle. Rally to “us” there.
And that wonderful reminder there at the end of verse 20: “Our God will fight for us!”
This is Moses in Exodus 14 with the Israelites gathered there at the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s Army fast approaching. Moses said, “Fear not, stand firm…the Lord will fight for you…(Exodus 14:13-14).”
Or David as the young shepherd boy who stood before the Philistine Giant Goliath with nothing more than a sling and stones and said, “For the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands (1 Sam. 17:47).”
21 So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared.
22 At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.”
May have feared some of the people being swept away in the darkness so had everyone stay inside the city as they worked. There is strength in numbers.
23 So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.
Or, “except when going for water.” An exact translation is difficult because the Hebrew is literally, “each his weapon the water.” The point is, the workers stuck together, the people stuck with one another, continually.
We’ve been saying that God is doing a work of rebuilding in your life; using the rubble of your past to shape you into something wonderful in the present, and continuing that rebuild into the future; trust God to do the work…every day is a day of God’s working in your life, building and rebuilding through the gospel.
So what do you do when it seems the rebuilding is taking a long time and all you see is the rubbish and the rubble and it seems that the Master Builder has left you to the enemies of doubt, discouragement, and defeat. What do you do when there’s “trouble” in the “rubble?”
***When There’s Trouble in the Rubble…
(Spiritual Warfare: Building & Defending)
- Know the True Enemy
Ephesians 6:12:
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Just before verse 12, Paul says:
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
God’s children were mocked as they built the wall. God’s children are mocked today as they build the kingdom.
John 15:18-19:
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
- Expect Daily Battles
1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be [d]vigilant; [e]because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
Remember Nehemiah “set a watch (verse 9)” against the enemy. You and I need to set a watch as well; expecting daily battles. Always building, always defending, sword in one hand, trowel in the other. Expecting the enemy and ready to defend. How?
Ephesians 6:13-18:
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…
Expect daily battles—
—battling doubts and discouragements by remembering the gospel
—battling the enemy’s lies by prayer, rebuking the devil in the name of Jesus Christ
—battling temptation by quoting the word, studying it, memorizing it
—battling bitterness in your marriage, in your family, by praying and applying God’s word
- Never Leave Your “Battle Buddies”
I learned this one from my younger son Nic who is in the US Army National Guard. He taught me about the Army’s teaching of battle buddies. You never go anywhere alone. “Never leave a battle buddy alone.” There’s strength in numbers. Just like Nehemiah positioning people all around the wall and in the gaps of the wall, people gathered together to defend together.
This is the importance of the community of faith—the church. The church is a bunch of battle buddies working together to ward off the enemy. You cannot battle alone! Do not fight alone! We need one another.
Hebrews 10:25, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
People who talk about worshiping God alone miss the point of the church. Of course we can worship alone. But we must also come together. Two are better than one at fighting off the enemy.
We gather together to learn the enemy’s secret battle plan and then we battle together. Two are better than one. So I’m being tempted or discouraged I gather together with my battle buddies and get help and give help. The church is about battling together. Christianity is a “one another’ faith and you can’t do “one another” alone.
A battle buddy messaged me this week. He’s struggling in an area of purity and he purchased some accountability computer software and messaged, “Will you be my accountability partner?” I messaged back, “Glad to help.”
When you mess up royally that’s when you need the church! Don’t leave! Too many people are like, “Oh I’ve ruined it! I’m so ashamed, so embarrassed, I can’t go back to the church!” That’s what the church is for!! We are a hospital for those who know they are sick. We battle together!!
We need one another. Serving together, encouraging together, rallying and fighting together, strength in numbers. This is edification, strengthening. It’s also multiplying. Focusing on others. Our Sunday school class should never be like, “Us four and no more!” Who isn’t in your class that needs to be? Who will visit them this week?
- Trust God to Bring the Victory
Remember the Lord! (14)
Our God will fight for us (20)
“Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
“If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31).
Remember the Lord, great and awesome! There’s power in the name of Jesus. Use the name of Jesus. We often sing, “the enemy has to leave at the sound of Your great name!”
Treadmill. Christian music, prayer, rebuking. There’s power in His name! Remember the Lord and fight!
Listen to this from the Gospel Transformation Bible: “Our God has fought for us, in Christ, and has won the victory. As we battle on as his people to the end, often despised and rejected, we must always remember our great and awesome Lord and make every effort to guard and strengthen the household of God.” Amen!
Remember the Lord who fights for you! Remember the Lord, great and awesome! When there’s trouble in the rubble, never forget that God is working in your life, Christian, taking the rubble from your past to reshape you in the present for something wonderful for the future.
Truth is, every single Christian has something of what those kids experienced in Cateura in Asunción, Paraguay. God makes music out of our messes, trophies out of our trash. He takes the rubble from yesterday and shapes it into beauty for today, and bright hope for tomorrow. There is strength and victory at the sound of His great name.
- Let’s pray. “God, we repent. We turn from our sin and we turn to You. Give us grace to build this week. Remind us to live as though holding a trowel in one hand and a spear in the other, building and defending, moving forward and ever vigilant in the daily battles with the enemy. Help us remember to fight together with the household of God—the church—our battle buddies, calling one another up, praying for one another; never leaving a buddy alone. And help us this week to call regularly upon Your great name—knowing:
Every fear, has no place, at the sound of Your great name
The enemy, he has to leave, at the sound of Your great name
in Jesus’ name, amen.”
RESPONSE: Your Great Name
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