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NehemiahPresentation 12

A Conclusion Of PraiseChapter 12v1-47

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IntroductionAt the close of a film a list of names appear on the cinema screen crediting all who have contributed towards its production. While you may recognise the names of those who played a leading role, other names will be unfamiliar.

At the end of the list appear the names of the producer and director, those who have shaped the whole production and made its completion possible. This idea of film credits provides a helpful framework for understanding Nehemiah Ch.12 as we think of the dramatic purposes of God outworked in human history.

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The Unknown WarriorsThe high point of this chapter is the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem. This was a day of great rejoicing, when the inhabitants of Jerusalem took time out to acknowledge the completion of the work of rebuilding. A work which had begun almost a hundred years previously!

The walls, which had formerly been little more than a ruin, were at last rebuilt and more significantly, the city of Jerusalem, had once again begun to function as the City of God.

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The Unknown WarriorsBut what of the list of names in v1-26? Are they unimportant? Indeed they are not! They are unfamiliar -we know nothing else about them but they are not insignificant! Surely the principle purpose of this list of names is to drive home this very point - unfamiliar but not insignificant! These are real, though very ordinary, people whom God used to fulfil his purposes. Believers are often tempted to think,

‘On the stage of world history, I am a nobody, few people will have heard of me outside of my town or place of work, my life does not count for much.’ You may think that, others may think that but God does not!

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The Unknown WarriorsGod's word tells us that God has chosen the weak, and the lowly and despised, those who would never be given a place in a hall of fame drawn up by men, to fulfil his purposes. Cf 1 Cor. 1v26. God's is an army of ordinary people. But we must not confuse ordinariness with insignificance, for these ordinary people listed in v1-26 had a very significant part to play in

God's work.

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The Unknown WarriorsA second essential lesson to draw from these names is that they span a period of almost a century. From the time of the return of the first exiles under Zerubbabel up to the time of Nehemiah. The work of God, from the time the earliest foundations were laid until the final stone was put in place took a long period of time.

And each of these individuals had an important part to play in that work. This is why this list of names which introduces the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem stretches back 100 years. The work is all one work, the early workers were engaged in the foundations the later ones in the construction of the superstructure.

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The Unknown WarriorsThe work of the earlier builders was no less important than that of the later builders. It was foundational but needed others to complete it. Can we apply this in our local congregational setting? Are we not building on the work of those who have gone before us. They laid a foundation on which we are building but together we are part of one work! We are caught up in a glorious process, called to do our share in our day with all our might.God has assigned to each of us a particular task and we engage in building knowing that we might never see the end result this side of glory!

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The Unknown WarriorsNext consider the general pattern and progress of the work. Were there not times when Nehemiah and the people saw little cohesion in the work? There were days when they were bombarded by temptation to discouragement and despair. It is not always possible to see the end from the beginning and to grasp, given the opposition, what our contribution is accomplishing in the overall scheme of things.

We must not allow the magnitude of our task nor our inability to see the end result to dispirit us. Many, like Nehemiah and his companions, have faced tremendous hazards and difficulties while trusting that the hand of God Almighty is at work in their midst.

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Dedication Of The WallsGod is the focus of this chapter and it is he to whom the credit must be ascribed for the completed work. He is the director and producer of his people's history. And his involvement is acknowledged in a march around the wall. Not a protest march but a praise march. It must have been a stirring spectacle as the people of God divided into two companies and marched all the way round the walls. The people were symbolically saying, "All of this could not have been achieved without God. This is God's city. He has clearly encircled it with his grace, protection and blessing".

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Dedication Of The WallsIt is vitally important in any work of God to acknowledge his involvement rather than attempt to take credit for what he has done. Even when we have worked our socks off we need to stand back and admit that we are ‘unprofitable servants’ Lk.17v10 and say, ‘the LORD has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes’ Ps. 118v23. Just as the axe can accomplish nothing unless it is wielded by an axe-man so we are only fruitful when we are instruments in the hands of God.

This is what the people are doing here, they are making much of God because it is he who has been at work in their midst and it is this understanding that gave vitality to their praise.

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Dedication Of The WallsThere is nothing that deadens the praise of God's people more than a refusal to acknowledge that all of their achievements in life and in Christian service find their first cause in God himself. Yes, and nothing deadens praise more than a people’s mistaken belief that they have somehow earned their salvation. Many believe that God is fortunate to have someone like them around!It is the man or woman of faith who has seen the enormity of what God has done for them and in them who can sing with any sense of awe and wonder... “And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour’s blood?”

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Dedication Of The WallsAnd God gave the people great joy v43. By what route did this joy come? Remember they had committed themselves to the task that God had entrusted to them. They had responded with resolution and obedience. They had consecrated themselves, set themselves apart for God and his work.

They were making an important discovery and surely one that we need to recover today; Happiness is the product of Holiness!

Is it any wonder that God came down into their midst and thrilled their hearts? Committed, obedient hearts are met with a response from heaven.

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Dedication Of The WallsIn this connection, see what is said in v44-47 about a return to old patterns of worship and the restoration of a biblical order in the lives of the people. Many voices today clamour to introduce new forms of witness they ridicule orthodox biblical doctrine. “Move with the times,” is a commonplace cry.

Of course there can be an unhealthy hankering after the past. It is possible to crave a return to the good old days which attempts to recapture the past in a wholly artificial manner. For example the thought that the reintroduction of Moody and Sankey hymns would guarantee the spiritual fervour that marked the end of the C19th. That is a foolish notion!

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Dedication Of The WallsHowever there is a return to the old days that has a profound benefit for the people of God. The Bible speaks of returning to “the old paths” Jer.6v16 where it has in view a recovery of biblical godliness and biblical principles. In addition there is merit in recapturing the spirit and hunger of a former age. The commitment and godliness of our forefathers puts many of us to shame.

This kind of return to the past is not only possible but necessary for the church’s advance. If we fail to turn the clock back in this way we will remain a laughing stock on a par with the ‘orpple’ an interesting curiosity but not something to be taken too seriously.

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Dedication Of The WallsWe read that the sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away v43. The influence of this people's praise was wide ranging. That should not surprise us because their worship was lively, spiritual worship. It flowed from a living awareness of who God was and what he had done.

Do not underestimate the influence of spiritual worship upon unbelievers. When the people of God begin to magnify his name with hearts full of rejoicing, and that has more to do with spiritual volume than with a literal volume, then the Spirit of God inhabits the praises of God's people. Their praise has become a potent thing.

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Dedication Of The WallsMartyn Lloyd Jones, in response to hearing the Salvation Army band play wrote;“God's Spirit imparts a virtue to this praise that enables it to bless, encourage, heal, yes and draw men and women to God himself.”

When God inhabits the praises of his people and strangers come into the church, then they are immediately aware of the fact that God is in the midst. God's presence simply cannot be hidden. And as the infectious joy of God’s people communicates itself to others their appetite may be whetted to learn more of God.

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Dedication Of The WallsThis quality of praise characterised the early church and caused others to be drawn to listen and respond to the gospel. The finished work, which God has given us to sing about, is more substantial than stone walls. It is the finished work of Christ. Impregnable walls of salvation have been raised by his death and resurrection.

Where do we stand in relation to these walls? We are either on the inside praising and celebrating, or we are on the outside - a joyless people trying desperately hard to find something to sing about and running from one distraction to another.

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ConclusionThe walls of salvation built around the city of God, unlike the walls build around other cities, are not designed to keep people who want in out. The Lord Jesus has, by his death, built a door in the wall. No one can claim, “I knocked and tried in vain to gain entry. I sought forgiveness and mercy but the way was barred to me”.

Men bar themselves by their refusal to admit their need of a salvation. Your name may never be written in the history books, that doesn't matter! What matters is to have your name written in God’s book, as one who through faith in Christ has entered the walls of salvation.

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