Pray, Work and War | Wednesday in The Word for May 20, 2026

Nehemiah 3-4

1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They built as far as the Tower of the Hundred, and consecrated it, then as far as the Tower of Hananel.

2 Next to Eliashib the men of Jericho built and next to them Zaccurvthe sons of Imri built.

3 Also the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars.

4 And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Koz, made repairs. Next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok the son of Baana made repairs.

5 Next to them the Tekoiyes made repairs; But their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord.

4:1 But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, ”What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?”

4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!

5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You;for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.

6 So we built the wall and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

7 Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry,

8 and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.

9 Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.

10 Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”

11 And our adversaries said, ”They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”

12 So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.”

13 Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

14 And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.”

15 And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

16 So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.

17 Those who built on the wall and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.

18 Everyone of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

21 so we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared.

22 At the same time I also said to the people, ”Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.”

Context

• What great works of God led up to this moment of rebuilding? (1::4-11, 2:1-8)

Reflection

1. How do we see diversity of people and gifts of the body at work in harmony in chapter 3? (Exodus 31:1-11, Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 14:40, Ephesians 4:11-13, Colossians 3:17)
2. Why all the mocking and opposition? (Nehemiah 2:10, 18, 4:1, 2, 7-9, Psalm 27:2, 3)
3. Why were they working with weapons at the same time? (Nehemiah 4:13-22, Ephesians 6:12, 1 Peter 5:8)

Testimony Time

1. How are you using your gifts to unify His Church and build His kingdom? (Proverbs 27:17, Ephesians 4:3, 7, Philippians 2:1-4, Galatians 5:13)
2. What opposition have you faced? How does Jesus rebuild us and fight out battles? (Exodus 14:14, Deuteronomy 3:22, Isaiah 54:17, Romans 13:12, 1 Corinthians 16:9)