(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 4:15-23)

As Christians, it should be our desire to do the work. The work is the good work that God prepared in advance for us to do. The work should be for His kingdom, and is not for our salvation, but as a response to the salvation we have in Christ. To do the work is probably something that resonates with us because there is so much more good work that we can do for Christ, and that Christ desires for us to do as the light in this darkened world.

However, what is our response to being prepared for war? What is a Christian or a church doing preparing for war? Yes, we serve at church, we care of those that are in need, and we do the work so that others can be blessed as we have been.

However, as we do the work, are we also prepared for war? Perhaps the world is not currently at war with us, but does that mean we are doing a good job keeping the peace, or does it actually reveal that we are not doing as good as a job as we think of being a witness for Jesus Christ.

If we did our jobs as Christians, then perhaps rather than peace,
we would find that the world would be preparing itself for war with us.

In today’s Scripture, we see half of the men do the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. In fact, those who carried materials to do the work with one hand also held a weapon in the other hand. Builders, may not have had any experience being in a war and conflict, but they wore their swords at their sides as they worked.

16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

This is a image for us as Christians workers in the church. Yes, we need to carry materials with one hand, and hold a weapon in the other, because we are involved in an intense spiritual war. We are spiritual warriors, on one hand building up the church of God, and the other defending the church and our faith.

If we only experience the work, and don’t realize that this work is being done in the midst of spiritual war, then we may find ourselves losing sight that we are actually being attacked from the enemy each day. The most dangerous situation that the Jews could find themselves in, is if they only focused on the work and weren’t prepared for battle because they didn’t see the danger their environment posed to them.

May we do the work prepared for war, as the Jews did, because our work is not just the work of the world, but spiritual work, in a spiritual environment, with a spiritual enemy plotting against us even at this very moment. Spiritual warfare is real and present, and perhaps the danger we find ourselves in, is not seeing it or sensing its presence.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Nehemiah 4