Nehemiah 4:12-23: a reflection

12When the Jews who lived by them came, they said to us ten times from all places, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” 13Therefore I set guards in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places. I set the people by family groups with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” 15When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. 16From that time forth, half of my servants did the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. 17Those who built the wall, and those who bore burdens loaded themselves; everyone with one of his hands did the work, and with the other held his weapon. 18Among the builders, everyone wore his sword at his side, and so built. He who sounded the trumpet was by me. 19I said to the nobles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally there to us. Our God will fight for us.” 21So we did the work. Half of the people held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared. 22Likewise at the same time I said to the people, “Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day.” 23So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes. Everyone took his weapon to the water.

As Nehemiah and the people rebuild the wall of Jerusalem under threat of attack, they combine two things: diligent work and watchful readiness, while trusting that God will fight for them. Each builder worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other, and Nehemiah told them, Don't be afraid; remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers. And again, Our God will fight for us. The people did their part, working diligently and staying watchful and ready; and at the same time they trusted that God would fight for them. They did not sit back and do nothing, presuming on God; nor did they trust only in their own efforts; they worked and watched, and trusted God. This shows the combination of doing our part diligently and trusting God for the outcome. Work and watch, doing your part, while trusting God to fight for you. The people worked diligently and trusted God together. Doing our part and trusting God go together. They labored and watched, trusting God would fight for them.

Notice how the people held together their own effort and their trust in God. They worked hard at the wall, and they stayed armed and watchful against attack; they did everything they could, laboring and guarding, not neglecting their part. And yet their confidence was not finally in their own effort but in God: our God will fight for us, Nehemiah said; remember the Lord. They combined diligent work and watchfulness with trust in God. This gives us a balanced pattern. On one hand, we are not to sit back and do nothing, presuming that God will act while we neglect our own responsibility; we are to work and watch and do our part diligently. On the other hand, we are not to trust finally in our own efforts, as though the outcome depended on us alone; we are to trust that God fights for us. Doing our part and trusting God are not opposed; they go together. We work as though it matters, and trust God as the one who gives the outcome. Do your part diligently, and trust God for the outcome. Working and trusting God go together, not against each other. We labor and watch, while trusting God to fight for us. Neither presume on God nor trust only yourself; work and trust.

That is worth taking to heart, for we are to do our part diligently while trusting God for the outcome, as Nehemiah and the people worked and watched at the wall while trusting that God would fight for them. We can swing to one extreme, sitting back and presuming God will act while we neglect our responsibility, or to the other, trusting only in our own efforts as though the outcome depended on us alone; but the people worked hard and stayed watchful, and trusted that God would fight for them. Doing our part and trusting God go together. Do your part diligently, and trust God for the outcome, neither neglecting your responsibility nor trusting only in yourself. Do your part diligently while trusting God for the outcome, as Nehemiah and the people, rebuilding the wall under threat, worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other, staying watchful and doing everything they could, while Nehemiah told them not to be afraid but to remember the Lord who is great and awesome, for their God would fight for them; for we can sit back and do nothing, presuming that God will act while we neglect our own responsibility, or we can trust only in our own efforts as though the outcome depended on us alone, but the people held both together, laboring and watching diligently while trusting God as the one who would fight for them, so that doing our part and trusting God are not opposed but go together, and we do well to work as though it matters and trust God as the one who gives the outcome, neither presuming on him nor trusting only ourselves.

Lord, as Nehemiah and the people rebuild the wall of Jerusalem under threat of attack, they combine two things: diligent work and watchful readiness, while trusting that you will fight for them. Each builder worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other, and Nehemiah told them, Don't be afraid; remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers. And again, Our God will fight for us. The people did their part, working diligently and staying watchful and ready; and at the same time they trusted that you would fight for them. They did not sit back and do nothing, presuming on you; nor did they trust only in their own efforts; they worked and watched, and trusted you. Show me how the people held together their own effort and their trust in you. They worked hard at the wall, and they stayed armed and watchful; they did everything they could, not neglecting their part. And yet their confidence was not finally in their own effort but in you: our God will fight for us, Nehemiah said. This gives me a balanced pattern. On one hand, I am not to sit back and do nothing, presuming that you will act while I neglect my responsibility; I am to work and watch and do my part diligently. On the other hand, I am not to trust finally in my own efforts, as though the outcome depended on me alone; I am to trust that you fight for me. Take that to my heart, for I am to do my part diligently while trusting you for the outcome. Keep me from sitting back and presuming you will act while I neglect my responsibility, and from trusting only in my own efforts as though the outcome depended on me alone; help me work and watch diligently, Lord, while trusting that you will fight for me, doing my part as though it matters and trusting you as the one who gives the outcome.