The Joyful Noise of Obedience: The Dedication of the Wall Text: Nehemiah 12:27-30
Introduction: Building and Blessing
We live in a sour, grim, and resentful age. Our secular culture is adept at tearing things down, but it has entirely forgotten how to build, and it certainly has no idea how to dedicate what it has built with joy. They can muster a protest, a riot, a deconstruction, but they cannot manage a dedication. Why is this? It is because true celebration, true gladness, is a theological affair. You cannot have a dedication without a deity. You cannot have true joy without a transcendent source of that joy. All secular celebrations are thin and brittle, propped up by noise and distraction, because at their center there is a void. They are dedicating their work to nothing, and so their gladness is temporary and hollow.
The book of Nehemiah is a book about reformation and rebuilding. It is a story of God's people, in the face of relentless opposition, both external and internal, undertaking the task of restoring the ruins. The wall of Jerusalem was not just a pile of stones. A wall represents security, definition, and identity. It marks a distinction between the holy city and the surrounding paganism. It says, "This is the place where God dwells with His people, and that out there is not." To rebuild the wall was a defiant act of faith in a God who had promised to restore His people.
But notice the order of operations. The work is not truly finished when the last stone is set in place. The work is finished when it is dedicated to the Lord with joyful worship. The construction was done with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. But the dedication is done with cymbals, harps, and lyres. This is because all our work, all our building, all our cultural endeavors must terminate in worship. We do not build for the sake of building; we build for the glory of God. And when the work is done, the only proper response is to turn to God and give Him thanks with a loud and joyful noise. This passage teaches us that godly reformation results in gladness, and that our worship must be both holy and happy.
The Text
Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps and lyres. So the sons of the singers were gathered from the district around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites, from Beth-gilgal and from their fields in Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem. The priests and the Levites cleansed themselves; they also cleansed the people, the gates, and the wall.
(Nehemiah 12:27-30 LSB)
A Deliberate and Public Joy (v. 27)
We begin with the summons to celebrate in verse 27:
"Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps and lyres." (Nehemiah 12:27)
The first thing to notice is that this is a planned celebration. This is not a spontaneous eruption of emotion, though genuine emotion is certainly present. This is organized, deliberate, and intentional. "They sought out the Levites." This was a matter of covenantal administration. The Levites were the tribe set apart by God for the ministry of worship. Nehemiah and the leaders understood that if this dedication was to be done rightly, it had to be done according to God's established order. Worship is not a free-for-all. It has a grammar, a structure, a divinely appointed shape.
And what is the goal? To "celebrate the dedication with gladness." The Hebrew word for gladness here is simchah. It means joy, mirth, pleasure. This is not the quiet, internal, sentimentalized "joy" that many modern evangelicals have settled for. This is robust, audible, public joy. This is a party. God is not a cosmic killjoy. He commands His people to rejoice. And this joy is expressed through "hymns of thanksgiving and with songs." Worship is verbal. It is cognitive. We are singing truth, giving thanks for specific acts of God's faithfulness. The wall is standing. The enemies have been thwarted. God has kept His promises. This is the content of their songs.
And the songs are accompanied by "cymbals, harps and lyres." Our God has ears. He delights in beauty and in music. The war against musical instruments in worship is a sad and misguided affair. From the time of David, instrumental music was an integral part of the temple liturgy. Here, at the rededication of the city, they pull out the full orchestra. This is not quiet, contemplative background music. Cymbals are loud. This is a joyful noise. This is the sound of victory. It is the sound of a people who are unashamed of their God and His work in their midst.
The Gathering of the Worship Leaders (v. 28-29)
Verses 28 and 29 detail the extent of this gathering.
"So the sons of the singers were gathered from the district around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites, from Beth-gilgal and from their fields in Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem." (Nehemiah 12:28-29 LSB)
This was not just a local affair. The call went out to all the surrounding districts. The "sons of the singers," the Levitical choirs, were summoned from their homes. This indicates a couple of important things. First, the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem was an event for all the people, not just the residents of the city. The security of the capital was the security of the whole nation. What happens in the central, governing places has ramifications for everyone.
Second, it shows us that the ministry of music was a developed and established profession. These singers had their own villages. They were specialists. They dedicated their lives to the craft of leading God's people in praise. This is a far cry from the modern notion that worship leading is something for any talented amateur with a guitar. The Israelites took the public worship of God seriously, and they devoted resources and personnel to ensure it was done with excellence. They understood that leading people in praise to the Holy One is a weighty responsibility. This was their full-time job. They were not distracted by other vocations; they were set apart for this holy work.
This gathering is a picture of the unity of God's people. They are coming from all over, from different villages and fields, but they are coming together with one purpose: to magnify the name of the Lord. True worship unifies. When our focus is vertical, on the greatness and glory of God, our petty horizontal squabbles and divisions begin to fade into insignificance.
The Priority of Purification (v. 30)
Before the celebration can begin in earnest, there is a crucial, foundational step that must be taken.
"The priests and the Levites cleansed themselves; they also cleansed the people, the gates, and the wall." (Nehemiah 12:30 LSB)
This is absolutely central. Joyful worship must be holy worship. Before the instruments are played, before the songs are sung, there must be purification. You cannot come before a holy God with unclean hands and an unclean heart. The order is critical. First, the leaders cleanse themselves. The priests and Levites, those who will lead the worship, must be consecrated first. Reformation always begins with the ministry. If the pulpit is compromised, the pews will be as well.
Then, they cleanse the people. The congregation must also be purified. This was likely done through various ceremonial washings and sacrifices as prescribed in the Mosaic law. This was an external act that pointed to an internal reality: the need for repentance and forgiveness. They were acknowledging that their own sin was a greater threat to their security than all the armies of Sanballat and Tobiah.
But notice what happens next. They also cleansed "the gates, and the wall." This strikes us as odd. How do you cleanse a stone wall? This is where we must think covenantally. The wall and the gates were not just inanimate objects. They were being set apart for a holy purpose. They were being brought into the sphere of the covenant. This act of cleansing was a way of declaring that this entire structure, this entire city, belongs to Yahweh. It is His property. This consecrates the labor of their hands. It acknowledges that unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain (Psalm 127:1). Their security was not ultimately in the height of the walls, but in the holiness of the God to whom the walls were dedicated.
The Gospel on the Wall
As with all Old Testament narratives, we must read this with New Covenant eyes. This entire event is a beautiful picture of the gospel. The people of God were in exile because of their sin. The walls of their city were broken down, leaving them exposed and ashamed. This is a picture of every sinner. We are in exile from God, and our lives are in ruins, exposed to the attacks of the enemy.
But God, in His mercy, sends a Governor, a true Nehemiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. He comes to rebuild the ruins of our lives. He does this through His finished work on the cross. He is the true wall of salvation, the strong tower into which the righteous run and are safe.
And what is the result of this great work of salvation? A great celebration. The call goes out to all the world to come and join the song. We are gathered from every tribe and tongue and nation into one great choir. And our song is one of gladness and thanksgiving for the great work God has done.
But before we can truly sing, we must be cleansed. And this is the glory of the gospel. We are not cleansed by ceremonial washings, but by the blood of Jesus Christ Himself. He is the High Priest who first consecrated Himself, and then, by His one offering, "perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). He cleanses not only the people, but the whole creation. He is making all things new. He is consecrating our work, our families, our cities, and our culture to God.
Therefore, our worship should be characterized by this same holy joy. We have far more reason to celebrate than Nehemiah did. He dedicated a wall of stone that would eventually crumble. We are part of a kingdom that cannot be shaken. He celebrated a temporary victory over earthly enemies. We celebrate an eternal victory over sin, death, and the devil. So let us not be a grim and sour people. Let us be a people whose lives are marked by loud, public, unashamed, and holy joy. Let us work with a trowel and a sword to build for Christ's kingdom, and when God grants success, let us be quick to gather the singers, strike the cymbals, and dedicate it all to Him with gladness.