Nehemiah Inspects the Walls

In this 4th message on Nehemiah, we examine Nehemiah's assessment of Jerusalem's reality, his leadership response, and what we can learn from all of this.
Click here for the recording of this 11/16/25 Service, and you can fast-forward to 32:56 to get to the start of the sermon.

Our text comes from 1st Nehemiah 2.11-20

17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”

18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

Introduction

• There is nothing quite like boots on the ground assessment

• It is one thing to hear stories of peoples’ assessment of reality, and it is quite another to see it for oneself

• Such was Nehemiah’s trip to Jerusalem

• How we respond to our present reality says much about our dependence on God, and our vision for the future

V11-16

• Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem and for 3 days does nothing

• He then goes out at night with a “few men” and his mount

• He then inspects 5 of the city’s 12 gates, and the wall

• At this point, he has not shared with the Hebrews what he plans to do

v17a

• He does not shy away from the reality in which they find themselves- “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned.”

• Sometimes leadership is nothing more than stating the obvious

• That said, the verbiage of the leader needs to align with the facts (we live in an era of spin)

V17b-

• Nehemiah puts before the people a task- “Come, let us build the wall…that we may no longer suffer derision”

• Israel had become a byword, a reproach

• To some extent, we are responsible for others’ perceptions of us, based on our behavior

v18

• He told them that the hand of God had been on him for good

• He reminds them of the favorable words of the king

• He then lays the mission before them- “let us rise up and build…”

• They strengthened their own hands for work- in other words, they prepared (my safari prep)

V19-

• Sanballot, Tobiah and Geshem all were from different people groups, other than the Hebrew

• Because of that, they had a different worldview

1. They express ridicule

2. They hold the Jews in contempt

3. They question Nehemiah’s loyalty to the king

v20

• Nehemiah’s reply

1. Our success is in the hands of God

2. We are going to do that to which we have been called; we are going to do our job

3. You have no portion, right or claim to this land in Jerusalem

How this applies to Cornerstone

1. Wise leaders gather as much data as they can

2. Leaders must have the courage to tell the truth, however hard it is to hear

3. Present negative reality can flip to a positive future reality; people have to believe this

4. There is no substitute for good plan

5. There is no substitute for preparation- we have to be ready for the people the Lord will bring our way

6. There is no substitute for hard work

7. Expect opposition, and prepare for it- it is part and parcel of spiritual warfare