The Rubble, The Resolve, and The Ridicule Text: Nehemiah 2:17-20
Introduction: The Theology of a Construction Project
We live in an age that has forgotten what walls are for. Our culture celebrates the tearing down of distinctions, the blurring of boundaries, and the removal of standards. We are told that walls are instruments of exclusion, bigotry, and oppression. But the Bible is a book that believes in walls. From the Garden with its defined space, to the Law with its holy distinctions, to the New Jerusalem with its twelve foundations and gates of pearl, God is a wall-builder. A wall establishes an identity. It says, "This is in, and that is out. This is holy, and that is common. This is us, and that is them."
The book of Nehemiah is not fundamentally about an ancient urban renewal project. It is about the restoration of a covenant identity. The ruined walls and burned gates of Jerusalem were more than a structural problem; they were a theological catastrophe. They were a visible sign of God's judgment and a public reproach to His name. A people without walls is a people without a distinct identity, vulnerable to every passing predator and every corrupting influence. They were a laughingstock. Their condition declared to the world that their God was either unable or unwilling to protect them.
Nehemiah arrives on the scene not as a mere administrator, but as a revivalist with a blueprint. He understands that rebuilding the physical walls is an act of spiritual warfare. It is a declaration that God is restoring His people, re-establishing His holy city, and re-asserting His claim on that piece of ground. And as we will see, the moment the work of God begins in earnest, the enemies of God crawl out of the woodwork. Every act of faithful obedience, every attempt to build a godly family, a faithful church, or a Christian culture will be met with immediate and visceral opposition. This passage lays out the divine pattern for us: a clear-eyed assessment of the ruin, a faith-filled call to action, the inevitable ridicule from the world, and the unwavering, God-centered response that must follow.
The Text
Then I said to them, “You see the calamity we are in, that Jerusalem lies waste and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” And I told them how the hand of my God had been good to me and also about the king’s words which he had said to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. But Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard it. And they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” So I responded to them with a word and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His slaves will arise and build, but you have no portion, right, or remembrance in Jerusalem.”
(Nehemiah 2:17-20 LSB)
Seeing the Rubble, Sharing the Vision (v. 17-18a)
The work begins not with a shovel, but with a sentence. Nehemiah gathers the leaders of Jerusalem and confronts them with the plain truth.
"Then I said to them, 'You see the calamity we are in, that Jerusalem lies waste and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.'" (Nehemiah 2:17)
Notice his approach. He starts with "You see." He doesn't have to convince them of the facts; the rubble was all around them. They had been living in it for so long they had grown accustomed to it. This is the state of the modern church in many quarters. The walls are down, the gates are burned, the world streams in and out as it pleases, and we have gotten used to the shame. True leadership begins by refusing to be accustomed to the ruin. It points to the obvious and calls it what it is: a calamity, a disaster.
The gates of a city were the center of its public life, its judicial authority, and its defense. Burned gates signify a city that is defenseless, without authority, and without integrity. It is a picture of compromise. And the result is reproach. The word means shame, contempt, disgrace. Their condition was a terrible testimony. It told the watching pagan world that Yahweh was a second-rate deity.
Nehemiah's solution is direct and corporate: "Come, let us rebuild." This is not a top-down decree. It is a shared invitation. The work of reformation is the responsibility of the entire covenant community. And the goal is clear: "so that we will no longer be a reproach." The driving motivation is zeal for the honor of God's name. We should be jealous for the reputation of our King. When our families, churches, and communities are in disarray, it reflects poorly on the God we claim to serve. Rebuilding is an act of worship and a work of apologetics.
Having laid out the problem, Nehemiah now provides the basis for their hope.
"And I told them how the hand of my God had been good to me and also about the king’s words which he had said to me." (Nehemiah 2:18a)
He does not begin with a fundraising plan or a volunteer schedule. He begins with a testimony. He points to the sovereign providence of God. "The hand of my God had been good to me." This is the foundation for all Christian endeavor. We do not work in order to get God's blessing; we work because we already have it. Nehemiah had seen God move the heart of the most powerful man in the world, Artaxerxes. He then follows this up with the practical evidence: "the king's words." Nehemiah is a wonderful example of a man who trusts in God's sovereignty and yet uses every practical means at his disposal. He prays and he plans. He trusts God to move the king's heart, and then he asks the king for the timber. Faith is not a substitute for foresight.
A People Resolved, An Enemy Revealed (v. 18b-19)
Nehemiah's faith-filled vision is contagious. The people respond immediately and decisively.
"Then they said, 'Let us arise and build.' So they strengthened their hands for the good work." (Nehemiah 2:18b)
Their response echoes Nehemiah's call. "Let us arise and build." This is the moment of revival. Despair is replaced with determination. Apathy gives way to action. The phrase "strengthened their hands" means they set their will, they committed themselves, they girded up their loins for the difficult task ahead. This was not a sentimental, fleeting emotion. It was a gritty resolve.
But take note of this spiritual principle: the moment God's people strengthen their hands for a good work, the devil and his minions strengthen their hands for an evil one. The opposition is immediate.
"But Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard it. And they mocked us and despised us and said, 'What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?'" (Nehemiah 2:19)
Here we meet the unholy trinity of opposition. Sanballat, a regional governor who likely saw a restored Jerusalem as a threat to his own power. Tobiah the Ammonite, a representative of Israel's ancient, blood enemies. And Geshem the Arab, another regional rival. The enemies of God may have their own squabbles, but they will always find common cause in opposing the work of God's kingdom.
Their first weapon is mockery. "They mocked us and despised us." Scorn is the devil's primary tool for discouraging the saints. He wants to make you feel stupid, small, and backward for wanting to build. He wants you to be ashamed of your desire for holiness and order. He will whisper, "Who do you think you are? Look at this pathetic little project. This will never work."
Their second weapon is slander and political insinuation. "What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?" They twist a work of faithfulness into an act of sedition. They know Nehemiah has the king's permission, but the accusation is not meant to be true; it is meant to be intimidating. This is the playbook of the left to this day. If you want to build a Christian school, you are an enemy of democracy. If you want to order your home according to Scripture, you are a patriarchal oppressor. If you want to defend the unborn, you are a threat to the state. The tactic is to frame righteousness as rebellion.
The Ultimate Answer (v. 20)
Nehemiah's response is a master class in spiritual warfare. He does not get dragged into an argument on their terms. He does not wave his permits from the king in their faces. He appeals to a higher court and a greater King.
"So I responded to them with a word and said to them, 'The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His slaves will arise and build, but you have no portion, right, or remembrance in Jerusalem.'" (Nehemiah 2:20)
First, he declares his ultimate confidence. "The God of heaven will give us success." Our success in any godly endeavor does not depend on our resources, our cleverness, or the approval of men. It depends entirely on the blessing of the God of Heaven. This is the bedrock of our confidence. He is the one who gives the increase.
Second, this confidence leads directly to action. "Therefore we His slaves will arise and build." Notice the logic. Because God guarantees the success, we work. Faith is the engine of obedience. He also defines his crew. "We His slaves." They are not building their own empire. They are not freelancers. They are bondservants of the most high God, working on their Master's project. This identity protects them from both pride in success and despair in difficulty.
Third, and this is crucial, Nehemiah draws a hard, sharp line of exclusion. "But you have no portion, right, or remembrance in Jerusalem." He excommunicates them from the project. A portion refers to a share or inheritance. A right refers to a legal claim. A remembrance refers to a memorial or a stake in the future. Nehemiah tells them in no uncertain terms: You are outsiders. This city does not belong to you. You have no say in what we do here. This is not your project. This is the principle of antithesis. There can be no partnership between the temple of God and idols. The modern evangelical church, with its desperate desire to be liked, cannot stomach this kind of talk. We want to invite Sanballat onto the building committee, hoping he will bring his checkbook. Nehemiah knew that to partner with the enemy, even for pragmatic reasons, is to doom the project from the start. The work of God must be done by the people of God in the power of God for the glory of God.
Conclusion: Building the New Jerusalem
This story is our story. We too were born into a world of ruin. Our own lives, by nature, are a calamity, our gates burned by the fire of our sin. We are a reproach, a bad advertisement for the kingdom. But the greater Nehemiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, saw our ruin from the King's court in heaven. He was grieved, and He came down to rebuild us.
Through His death and resurrection, He has secured the blessing of the God of heaven. He has given us the commission, "Let us arise and build." We are to build our lives, our marriages, our families, and our churches on the foundation of His Word. We are to be a holy city, a restored Jerusalem.
And the moment we pick up the trowel, the Sanballats and Tobiahs of our age will begin to mock. They will despise us. They will accuse us of rebellion against the spirit of the age. They will call our faithfulness bigotry and our obedience hatred.
Our response must be that of Nehemiah. We must anchor our confidence in the God of heaven who has promised us success. We must identify ourselves as His slaves, joyfully laboring on His project. And we must have the courage to say to the unbelieving world, "You have no portion, right, or remembrance in the Church of Jesus Christ. This is His city, His project, and His bride. You have no claim here." This is not arrogance; it is allegiance. It is the necessary work of wall-building, so that the world might see a holy people, set apart for a holy God, and know that we are no longer a reproach, but a praise to His glorious grace.