Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

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Facing a task as monumental as rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and encouraging the people to do so is daunting in and of itself.
Add to this the fact that Nehemiah’s work had to be done in the midst of opposition and it becomes even more so.
Just about everything was against Nehemiah.
He had to work with people who had not yet come to grips with the need or the importance of the work; otherwise, they would have done it already.
Nehemiah had never been in Jerusalem before as far as we know, which means that he was not familiar with the city — either its topography or culture.
He didn’t know what to expect.
And he was also not an engineer by trade.
His service as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes had not prepared him to build a wall.
Therefore, he had to figure out what needed to be done and the best way to do it.
He worked through all of these details, as we read in our text, without mentioning them to a single person.
But Nehemiah was not the least bit discouraged or overwhelmed.
To the contrary, he showed himself up to the task at every point.
And in this his ability to lead the people of God anticipated the leadership of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our great trailblazer, after enduring to cross, despising its shame and taking his seat at the right hand of God the Father, encourages us not to become weary or faint in our minds when we set out to do the work of his kingdom (Heb.
12:2–3).
Nehemiah likewise just did what he had to do and he allowed nothing to stand in his way.
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Patience with a Purpose
Verse 11 says that Nehemiah waited for three days after arriving in Jerusalem.
Although the reason for this wait is not stated, there are at least three possibilities.
He may have waited simply because he and those who were with him were tired and needed to rest.
Their trip, after all, covered several hundred miles and took at least two months to complete.
Even Jesus encouraged his disciples to rest occasionally so that they might be refreshed for greater service (Mark 6:31).
Perhaps Nehemiah also spent the time praying.
We have already seen that he frequently devoted himself to prayer.
He prayed when his brother brought him word of the condition of Jerusalem, and he prayed when the king asked him the reason for his sadness.
Having now seen the devastation of the city with his own eyes, it is very likely that he also called upon God for strength and wisdom to complete the task.
James says, /If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him/ (Jas.
1:5).
It’s also possible that Nehemiah used some of this time to meet the leaders of the Jewish community.
Knowing that he would have to work closely with them for the next few months, a sense of where they stood theologically and politically would have been extremely helpful.
In any case, Nehemiah’s leave of absence from the king’s service was limited and his mission was urgent.
We can be sure that he did not fritter it away, but used it somehow to accomplish his goals.
At the end of the three days, Nehemiah went out to survey the condition of the city.
Verse 12 makes it clear that he did not want anyone to know what he was doing.
He went out by night, i.e., while just about everyone else was asleep, so that no one would see him.
And when he left, he took only a few men with him.
These were, no doubt, men whom he could trust, but even they were not privileged to know the reason for his nighttime reconnaissance.
Nehemiah also took only one animal with him, perhaps a horse or mule, to aid him in surveying the city.
Too many animals would have made a lot of noise and commotion, and would have aroused the curiosity of others.
As Nehemiah recorded his story for us, twice he mentioned the fact that he had not revealed his plan to anyone (vv.
12 and 16).
Sometimes letting information too early can be detrimental to one’s purpose.
The Lord Jesus also revealed himself little by little.
Once he told a leper not to tell anyone that he had healed him (Matt.
8:4).
Instead, he was to show himself to the priest and make the appropriate sacrifice.
After Peter acknowledged him to be the Messiah, he admonished told all the disciples not to reveal this information to anyone else (Matt.
16:20).
This, of course, was only a temporary restriction.
Today we are to tell this to as many people as we can find.
And after the Transfiguration, Jesus commanded those who had witnessed it that they were not to report what they had seen until after the resurrection (Matt.
17:9).
In Nehemiah’s case, there were at least two reasons for his caution.
First, he wanted to make a careful and accurate assessment of the city’s condition and needs before presenting a plan to those who would be working with him.
Earlier in the chapter he had been just as careful when he approached the king.
The Scriptures exhort us not to be rash in our decision-making.
Proverbs 18:13 says, /He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him/.
And Jesus said that we should first sit down and count the cost before undertaking a project, lest we get part way through it and realized we do not have sufficient funds to complete it (Luke 14:28–32).
And second, Nehemiah did not want to arouse any unnecessary opposition at this point.
When the Jews had attempted to rebuild the wall earlier, they announced their plan early and the opposition immediately crippled their efforts (Ezra 4:12).
To prevent this, Nehemiah chose not to subject his plan to public scrutiny until he was sure of what had to be done.
This was, after all, the Lord’s work, not Nehemiah’s.
Nehemiah understood this.
Note how clearly he stated his sense of the divine calling in verse 12: /what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem/.
As Nehemiah investigated the condition of the wall that night, he went past several landmarks that help us trace his path.
He mentioned these in verses 13 to 14.
He left the city through the Valley Gate, which was the main gate along the western wall.
From there he went toward the south, passing by the Dragon Well.
Although we do not know what the Dragon Well was, it was apparently not too far from the Valley Gate.
It could have been either a well, as the KJV translates it, or perhaps a smaller gate.
Here the Hebrew can also be translated as the Dragon’s Eye (עֵין הַתַּנִּין).
At the southern edge of the city near the Valley of Hinnom, Nehemiah came upon the Dung Port.
This had two uses: Jerusalem’s main sewer line exited the city here, and it was also through this gate that the city’s other refuse was removed and burned.
Along the southeastern wall was the Fountain Gate, and a little beyond that was the King’s Pool.
Again, we cannot be certain about what the King’s Pool was, but it may have been an overflow reservoir for the Pool of Siloam.
So far, Nehemiah’s journey was fairly straightforward.
He left the city on the west side, travel southward and then partway up the east side.
At this point he had seen the worst of the destruction— enough to confirm that the city was as bad off as his brother had said.
In fact, there was so much debris that in most places Nehemiah could not get through on his animal.
In any case, verse 15 suggests that Nehemiah turned around at Brook Kidron and then retraced his steps back to the Valley Gate.
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Winning the Hearts of the People
Having conducted his survey of the damage, Nehemiah disclosed his plan to the people.
But before doing so, in verse 16 he emphasized a second time that up until then he had kept everything to himself.
What Nehemiah said to the people, as he recorded it for us in verses 17 and 18, is really a masterpiece of Biblical motivation.
Everything he said was calculated to bring about the desired result, viz., convincing the people of the need for the work and of their involvement in it.
If you look at his speech carefully, you’ll find that he used five specific points to motivate the people.
First, he identified himself with those who would be doing the work.
Note the pronouns in verse 17: /Ye see the distress that we are in …/ /let us build up the wall of Jerusalem/ (v.
17).
Although he had been in the city only a few days, he made it clear to everyone that they were all in this together, including himself.
And this wasn’t just a tactical ploy on his part.
In his prayer in chapter 1, he confessed his sins and the sins of his fathers, not just the sins of those who lived in Jerusalem and had not taken the time to reconstruct the wall.
Just as the problem included in Nehemiah, so also did the solution.
They would build the wall together.
Second, Nehemiah emphasized the serious of the problem: /Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire/ (v.
17).
The walls, which symbolized the Lord’s protection of his people, lay in ruins.
But note that te mentioned the problem without dwelling on it.
In a sense, the problem was self evident, although it had been ignored for several decades.
Nor did he cast blame on others.
He just said, This is what we need to deal with.
Third, having identified the problem, Nehemiah told the people what needed to be done about it.
He said, /Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem/ (v.
17).
Fourth, Nehemiah explained the theological importance of the work.
The sorrowful condition of the city had made the Jews a reproach among the people.
Outsiders would wonder how could the Jews could claim that God loved them when they wallowed in such misery and weakness?
Not only was this a criticism of the people, it was even more a criticism of God himself.
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