Teamwork Rebuilds The Wall

Nehemiah 3:1-3 -  Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel.  The men of Jericho built the adjoining section, and Zaccur son of Imri built next to them.  The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.

 

Nehemiah had organized them so well that a whole chapter is dedicated to recording the many people that helped repair the massive wall around the city of Jerusalem.  It was over 2 miles long…had an average height of 39 feet…was and average thickness of 8 feet….and had 34 watchtowers…placed strategically around the 8 gates of the city.

 

You really have to read the entire chapter to visually the teamwork that went into the project.  Families took charge of the areas closest to their homes….daughters and sons alike worked long hours placing heavy stone blocks together to form this impressive structure.  The mere heaviness of the labor …moving the heavy timbers of support….somehow moving stones that weighed anywhere from 2 to 100 tons.

 

As I tried to write down the many names in this chapter I began to get a sense of the teamwork that Nehemiah had orchestrated in this project.  From the priest’s…to the Levites…to the individual families and leaders of clans…they all rolled up their sleeves and participated in restacking the huge stones that made this 2 mile long wall around the city.

 

The Bible talks about the importance of teamwork in other places. Ephesians 4:16 says…. “From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” 1 Corinthians 12 speaks of the importance of all parts of the body of Christ working together using their individual gifts.  And Ecclesiastes 4:12 is one of my favorites… “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

 

I am guilty of not practicing this concept enough...or teaching the concept to my kids.  It was easier for me sometimes to just do it alone….so I knew it was done the way I wanted it done.  My need to be in control or my need to have it done quickly and out the way prevented me from understanding the value of teamwork in a family or group of workers. This project would have taken many more years if Nehemiah had tried to do it himself.  God gathered together the people that would benefit by the protection of the wall and created a sense of ownership in the part that they played in rebuilding the wall.

 

We all have a new ‘wall’ to rebuild in the world today.  Satan has crumbled quite a bit of the structure of the church these days…convincing many to not be a part of one anymore.   I talk to people every day that feel they can worship on their own just as well …or even better than they could if they were a part of a church. I know many people who have decided that they do not want to be associated with the hypocrites in some churches these days. A new ‘religion’ is born every day….that has interpreted the Bible in a new way….in attempt to fix the problems they saw in the last ‘church’ they tried to participate in.

 

We must simply begin to work together as a team again…to look past the boundaries of denominations…and begin to see the simple truths the Bible speaks to all of us.  WE must organize ourselves like Nehemiah did…and find the part of the wall closest to our home.  We must begin to move the heavy stones of indifference and hypocrisy…and place them back together to seek out the lost and unsaved.

 

Father…I thank you this morning for reminding me that I am not alone.  I thank you that you have called others to believe in your great love and that you have placed me in the midst of other believers that give me support and love.  Help me to find the part of the ‘wall’ that you have assigned me to work on.  Show me which heavy stone to pick up first…and exactly where to place it.  Lead me to the team of people that you have chosen to help me…and bind us together in your great love to do your work. Amen.