The Theology of the Mortar Joint Text: Nehemiah 3:1-2
Introduction: A Catalogue of Nobodies
We live in an age that despises the mundane. Our imaginations are captivated by the spectacular, the revolutionary, the grand gesture. We want to be on the main stage, under the bright lights, doing the thing that everyone sees and applauds. But the kingdom of God is built differently. It is built with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other, yes, but it is also built stone by stone, family by family, one small, forgotten task at a time.
When we come to a chapter like Nehemiah 3, our modern sensibilities are tempted to skim. It can appear to be little more than a dusty old attendance roster, a list of unpronounceable names and forgotten locations. Who were the sons of Hassenaah? Where exactly was the Tower of the Hundred? We read it and think it is just a catalogue of ancient construction crews. But to do so is to miss the point entirely. This chapter is not just about building a wall; it is a profound theological statement about the nature of the church, the character of true reformation, and the way God builds His kingdom.
This chapter is a rebuke to all our celebrity-driven, individualistic notions of ministry. God is not building His kingdom with a handful of superstars while the rest of us watch from the stands. He is building it with a vast army of ordinary, faithful people who have a mind to work. This chapter teaches us that there is a theology to the mortar joint. There is gospel significance in doing the small, unglamorous work God has placed in front of you, right next to the person He has placed beside you. The strength of the wall is not in the size of the stones, but in the integrity of the connections. And so it is with the church.
Nehemiah is a book about reformation. After the glorious work of Ezra in restoring the law and the worship of God, the people were still vulnerable. They were a city without walls, a people exposed to their enemies. True reformation is not just about getting the doctrine right in your head; it is about building the walls of obedience and holiness in your life, your family, and your community. It is about applying the Word of God to the rubble of a fallen culture. And that work, as Nehemiah 3 shows us, is a corporate project.
The Text
Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they set it apart as holy and made its doors stand. And they set apart as holy the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.
Next to him the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.
(Nehemiah 3:1-2 LSB)
The Priests Go First (v. 1)
We begin with verse 1:
"Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they set it apart as holy and made its doors stand. And they set apart as holy the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel." (Nehemiah 3:1)
The first thing we must notice is who begins the work. It is Eliashib the high priest and his brothers, the priests. The leaders lead. Reformation does not begin with a committee of the laity sending a memo to the elders. It begins when the spiritual leaders of the people of God get their hands dirty. They do not merely supervise from a distance; they arise and build. This is the biblical pattern. The ministers of God are not a separate, pampered class. They are player-coaches. They must lead from the front, with calloused hands and sweat on their brow. When the people see their leaders invested in the hard, physical work of rebuilding, it sets the tone for the entire project.
And what do they build? They build the Sheep Gate. The chapter is arranged as a tour around the city, gate by gate, and it begins here. This is not accidental. The Sheep Gate was the gate through which the sacrificial lambs were brought to the Temple. Before any other work can be done, the way of sacrifice must be secured. Worship is central. The atonement is foundational. Any attempt to rebuild our lives, our families, or our culture that does not begin with the blood of the Lamb is a fool's errand. It is an exercise in godless moralism.
The priests not only build it, but they "set it apart as holy." They consecrate it. This tells us that the work is not merely a civic infrastructure project. It is an act of worship. All of our work, whether it is preaching a sermon, changing a diaper, or laying bricks, is to be done as unto the Lord. We are to consecrate our labor. This sanctifies the mundane and turns our daily grind into a holy liturgy. They are not just building a wall; they are rebuilding the covenant community. And the foundation of that community is consecrated worship, centered on God's provision of a sacrifice.
John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament priests, stood and pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Jesus Himself later said, "I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7). All of this points to Him. The priests building the Sheep Gate are a type, a foreshadowing of the great High Priest who would not just build the gate, but be the Gate. Our access to God, our security, our salvation, all of it begins and ends with Him.
The Principle of Proximity (v. 2)
Verse 2 introduces a pattern that will be repeated throughout the entire chapter.
"Next to him the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built." (Nehemiah 3:2 LSB)
The phrase "next to him" or "next to them" is the organizing principle of this whole chapter. It appears over and over. This is the principle of proximity. God's work is done side-by-side. The priests finish their section, and right next to them, the men of Jericho pick up the trowel. And next to them, a man named Zaccur, son of Imri, builds his section.
This is a beautiful picture of the church. We are not called to be spiritual lone rangers. We are called to build the kingdom in fellowship, shoulder to shoulder with the saints God has placed in our lives. The men of Jericho were not from Jerusalem, but they came to help their brothers. They understood that the security of Jerusalem was tied to their own security. There is a corporate solidarity here that we have largely lost. Your brother's crumbling wall is your problem. We are members of one another.
And notice the inclusion of "Zaccur the son of Imri." We know nothing else about this man. He is not famous. He wrote no books of the Bible. He performed no great miracles. He simply built his section of the wall. And God saw it, and God recorded it in His Word for all time. This is a tremendous encouragement. Most of us are Zaccur. We are not Eliashib the high priest. We are ordinary people, called to do the ordinary work of faithfulness in our own small corner of the kingdom. You are to build the section of the wall that is right in front of you. That means discipling your children, being faithful to your spouse, doing your job with integrity, serving in your local church. You may think no one sees. You may think your work is insignificant. But God sees, and He is the one keeping the records.
This chapter demolishes the lie of anonymity in the church. God knows His people by name. He knows who is building and who is shirking. Later in this chapter, we are told that the nobles of the Tekoites "did not put their necks to the work of their Lord" (Neh. 3:5). God records the names of the faithful, and He also records the names of the lazy. There is no hiding in the crowd. Every person has a designated spot on the wall, a task assigned by God. The question is not whether you have a job to do, but whether you are doing it.
Building in the Rubble
This chapter is a roll call of the faithful, but it is also a picture of the gospel at work. The city of Jerusalem was in ruins. The walls were broken down, the gates were burned with fire. This is a picture of our lives under the curse of sin. We are born into rubble. Our relationships, our institutions, our own hearts, are all broken down and defiled.
The work of salvation is a rebuilding project. God, through Christ, does not just forgive our sins and leave us in the rubble. He calls us to the great work of reformation. He calls us to arise and build. The Holy Spirit comes and begins to clear away the debris of our old life and lay a new foundation, which is Christ Himself. Then, He calls us to the lifelong task of sanctification, of building the walls of holiness and obedience stone by stone.
And He calls us to do it together. The church is God's construction company. We are all on the job site together. Some are priests, some are men from Jericho, some are Zaccur son of Imri. We all have different gifts and different callings, but we are all working on the same wall. When we see a brother struggling, when his section of the wall is weak, we don't stand back and criticize his bricklaying technique. We get over there and help him. We bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
This is what it means to be the people of God. It is not glamorous. It is hard, dusty work. There are enemies on the outside who mock and threaten, and there are lazy nobles on the inside who refuse to help. But the people of God have a mind to work. They pick up their trowel, they find their spot on the wall next to their brother, and they build. And as they do, stone by stone, the holy city of God rises from the ruins, a testament to the grace of the God who does not abandon His people, but who delights to rebuild their ruins and make them a praise in all the earth.