Mortar, Mockery, and Stiff Necks Text: Nehemiah 3:3-5
Introduction: The Glorious Grind of Reformation
We live in an age that loves the spectacular. We want the highlight reel, the dramatic conversion, the mountaintop experience. We want the walls of Jericho to fall down with a shout, and we want it to happen before lunch. But the book of Nehemiah, and particularly this third chapter, is a potent corrective to our spiritual impatience. Reformation, the work of rebuilding ruined walls, whether in a city, a culture, or a human heart, is not primarily a matter of fireworks. It is a matter of hard hats and trowels. It is a glorious, tedious, brick-by-brick grind.
Nehemiah chapter 3 is one of those passages that modern readers are tempted to skim. It reads like the credits at the end of a movie, a long list of unfamiliar names and forgotten gates. But in the economy of God, this is one of the most important chapters in the book. Why? Because it shows us the fundamental nature of covenantal labor. It is a roll call of the faithful. It demonstrates that the work of God is not done by a few superstars, but by a vast company of ordinary people who have, as Nehemiah says elsewhere, "a mind to work" (Neh. 4:6). God is building His city, and He is doing it with families, with goldsmiths and perfumers, with fathers and daughters, and with men who had the simple, rugged faithfulness to repair the section of the wall right in front of their own house.
This chapter is a theology of the mundane. It is a doctrine of doing the next thing. But it is also a chapter of sharp contrasts. As the camera pans across the wall, section by section, builder by builder, it pauses on one glaring exception. It highlights a group of men who thought themselves too important for the sweaty, dusty work of their Lord. In these three verses, we see a microcosm of the entire Christian life: the faithful at their posts, the detailed nature of the work, and the proud aloofness of those who should be leading the charge but refuse to get their hands dirty.
This is not just an ancient construction report. This is a diagnostic for the modern church. It forces us to ask the question: when the roll is called for the work of reformation in our time, which list will our names be on? The list of the builders, or the list of the nobles with stiff necks?
The Text
Now the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and made its doors stand with its bolts and bars. Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana also made repairs. Moreover, next to them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the service of their masters.
(Nehemiah 3:3-5 LSB)
The Work of the Gate (v. 3)
We begin with the specific task of building a gate.
"Now the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and made its doors stand with its bolts and bars." (Nehemiah 3:3)
The first thing to notice is the specificity. This is not a vague "everyone pitched in." This is a detailed accounting. God knows who built what. He is interested in the particulars. The sons of Hassenaah are assigned the Fish Gate. This was likely the gate through which the fishermen from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan would bring their catch to the market in Jerusalem. It was a place of commerce, of daily traffic, of life.
And look at the detail of their work. They did not just stack stones. They "laid its beams and made its doors stand with its bolts and bars." A wall is for defense, but a gate is for controlled access. A gate is for life. It is for letting the right people in and keeping the wrong people out. A city without gates is a prison; a city with gates that have no doors, bolts, or bars is a ruin. The sons of Hassenaah were not just doing the heavy lifting; they were doing the skilled work, the finishing work that made the gate functional.
This is a picture of mature Christian living. We are called not only to build up the defensive walls of sound doctrine against heresy, but also to build the gates of fellowship, commerce, and mission. Our churches must have doors that swing open to welcome the repentant sinner, and they must have bolts and bars to refuse entry to the ravenous wolf. Church discipline, doctrinal standards, membership requirements, these are the bolts and bars on the gates of the new Jerusalem. To neglect them is to leave the city vulnerable to every passing whim and predatory ideology. The sons of Hassenaah understood that a gate is not a suggestion; it is a structure. It requires beams, doors, bolts, and bars.
A Cord of Three Strands (v. 4)
Next, we see the pattern of the work, which is one of cooperative succession.
"Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana also made repairs." (Nehemiah 3:4)
The phrase "next to them" is the drumbeat of this entire chapter. It is the connective tissue of the covenant community at work. Meremoth picks up where the sons of Hassenaah leave off. Meshullam picks up where Meremoth stops. Zadok works alongside Meshullam. There are no gaps. The strength of the wall depends on the integrity of each section and the seamless connection between them.
This is how the kingdom of God is built. It is not a collection of individualistic freelance projects. It is a coordinated, corporate effort. Your faithfulness affects the man next to you. His work protects your family. We are stones fitly framed together, a spiritual house built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone (Eph. 2:20-22). This is the antithesis of the autonomous individualism that plagues the modern evangelical church, where everyone is a spiritual entrepreneur with his own brand, his own platform, and his own ministry silo.
Notice also that God records their names and their lineage. Meremoth the son of Uriah. Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Zadok the son of Baana. These are not anonymous drones. They are men with a history, with a family, with a reputation. They are bringing the honor of their father's house to the work of God's house. This is generational faithfulness in action. The work we do today is not just for us; it is so that our sons and daughters will have a safe city to dwell in. We are repairing the walls so that they will have something to build upon, a heritage to continue.
The Stiff-Necked Nobles (v. 5)
But then the music stops. The rhythmic beat of "next to them" is interrupted by a sour note.
"Moreover, next to them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the service of their masters." (Nehemiah 3:5)
Here we have a fascinating and tragic contrast. The Tekoites, the common people from the town of Tekoa, are hard at work. Tekoa was the hometown of the prophet Amos, a blue-collar prophet who knew a thing or two about confronting corrupt leadership. The ordinary citizens of Tekoa are commended for their labor. They are pulling their weight.
But their nobles, their leaders, the men of wealth and influence, refused to join in. The text says they "did not support the service of their masters." The Hebrew is literally that they would not "put their necks" to the work. It is the image of a stubborn ox refusing the yoke. This is not just laziness; it is proud, defiant rebellion. They considered the manual labor beneath them. They were too refined, too important, to sweat and haul stones with the common folk. They wanted the benefits of a secure city, but they would not stoop to the work required to build it.
This is a permanent danger in the church. It is the temptation of the credentialed, the established, the comfortable. It is the spirit that says, "Let the young men do the evangelism. Let the deacons handle the messy problems. I have paid my dues." These nobles abdicated their responsibility. Leadership is not about privilege and position; it is about putting your neck to the yoke first. It is about leading from the front, with your own hands on the trowel and your own sword at your side.
Their sin is recorded here for all time. While the names of Meremoth and Zadok are remembered with honor, the nobles of Tekoa are immortalized for their shame. They are a warning to every pastor, every elder, every father, every man who is tempted to think that his position exempts him from the hard, dirty, glorious work of the kingdom. God is building His city, and He will do it with or without the help of the proud. He would rather have a willing bricklayer than a stiff-necked nobleman.
Conclusion: Your Place on the Wall
So what does this ancient construction report have to do with us? Everything. We too have been called to a great work of reformation. The walls of Christendom are in ruins. The gates have been burned with fire. Our culture lies exposed to every form of pagan foolishness and moral decay. And God has called us, in this generation, to be builders.
This passage gives us our marching orders. First, we must be specific. Find your gate. Find your section of the wall. Is it your family? Your business? Your local school board? Your church's ministry to the poor? Do not just talk vaguely about "changing the world." Lay the beams. Set the doors. Fix the bolts and bars on the gate God has put in front of you.
Second, we must work together. Find the man next to you and make sure there is no gap. The work of Christian education connects to the work of Christian politics. The work of mercy ministry connects to the work of evangelism. We are not competitors; we are co-laborers. We must lock shields and work shoulder to shoulder, recognizing that the strength of the whole depends on the faithfulness of each part.
And last, we must beware the spirit of the Tekoite nobles. We must crucify the pride that looks down on the necessary work as though it were beneath us. Changing diapers, balancing budgets, catechizing toddlers, sharing the gospel with a hostile neighbor, this is the stuff of rebuilding. It is not glamorous. It will not get you on a conference platform. But it is the work of the Lord, and He sees, and He remembers.
The roll is being called today. God is looking for those with a mind to work. He is looking for those willing to put their necks to the yoke, for the glory of their Master and the good of His city. Let it not be said of us that we saw the ruins and were content to remain comfortable. Let us rather pick up our trowels and take our place on the wall, so that our names might be recorded, not with the shame of the nobles, but with the honor of the builders.