A trowel and a sword. What an odd combo. One is a mason’s tool; the other a soldier’s weapon. Those on the wall to rebuild Jerusalem had one in each hand.
Nehemiah 4: 2 “And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? 8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. 9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. 17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. 19 And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. 20 In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us. 21 So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. 22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day.”
What an accomplishment—laying brick with one hand and fighting with the other. Both of these tasks need two hands. It was vital that the wall be restored so the city of Jerusalem could be. God burdened Nehemiah. He was not a builder but a cupbearer for the king. God, however, supplied the skill. God gave the promise that if the work started the wall would be built, and if they carried their weapons, he’d fight for them.
The circumstances dictated they work with a tool and a weapon. Their work was so opposed by enemies. You would think that all would have jumped in and helped with the task, but that was not the case. We get that as well. Many times we’re not appreciated; we suffer reproach. We’re opposed simply because we believe the Bible and live by a different standard. The devil is our adversary, the commander behind it all.
In verse 2 Sandballat made fun of the builders. Who in the world did they think they were to even start such a project? He tried to instill doubt. The devil also tells us we can’t be successful as a Christian. We can’t win the victory. See how alike we and Nehemiah are. We’re not building a wall, but we are in a work for the Lord. The true Word, the true Christian, the true church of the Lord is opposed by the world. We have plenty of Sandballats.
In verse 8 Sandballat began a conspiracy. He planned a surprise attack. The first thing the people did was pray. We live under a threat. The truth is opposed at every hand. It’s not only the church; it is on a personal level. Before I can help build this church, I must build me. The same is true of each of you. We need to grow in grace. We have to build the inside—our soul. We need the proper tools. They needed trowels, hammers, chisels, and such. We need the appropriate tools. We’ll never build ourselves spiritually without them. We’re building our own wall with the Lord. We need personal development. I can’t do it for you, and you can’t do it for me. When we come together, collectively we can build.
It would be nice if we could put both hands into the work, but every time we read our Bible or pray something comes up. We get sidetracked. The phone rings. The newspaper article catches our attention. Our minds wander. It would be nice to pray without the devil on our back. It would be nice not to be challenged for being a Christian. It’s just the way it is. Nehemiah knew it wouldn’t be a piece of cake. Even if we only have one hand to work and must carry a weapon in the other, God supplies the hand that makes it work.
It was very hard for the people on the wall to work. To protect their bodies they wore clothing similar to a knight’s chainmail. Even with all the opposition, they worked. Even for us, it’s still good to be a Christian. All God asks is for us to be willing to work and defend the Word of the Lord. It may be a sword today, a spear tomorrow. Whatever is needed will be supplied. The right tools are supplied, and God asks that we use them. God supplies the weapons to protect what we’re building for him.
The people had to work far apart to get the wall built, but there was a trumpet. When it blew, it meant the enemy was near; the people were to come close together. They helped each other. Verse 14 says to fight for the brethren.
We may feel like a one-armed, one-handed Christian. Remember God supplies the other part. We labor in the work. This is the way the job gets done. Keep one hand on the trowel and one on the sword. We’ll get it done.
In the end, Nehemiah’s enemies were defeated. The wall was built, the city restored, and God prevailed. He’ll do the same for us.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 