A Trowel and a Sword

Nehemiah lived about 400 years before the birth of Christ. He was a Jew and it was during the time after the Babylonian captivity of the Jews when they were trying to rebuild Jerusalem. He lived in Persia and had the highly trusted position of cupbearer to King Artaxerxes.

Word got to Nehemiah that the progress for rebuilding the city wall in Jerusalem was very poor. Walls were very important back then for defense and to build a self-sustaining community. Nehemiah sought and was granted time away from his position with the King to go and try to lead the “impossible” task of rebuilding the wall. He had tremendous success in doing so and the story of Nehemiah is looked upon as a model of great leadership, faithfulness in prayer and perseverance.

During the rebuilding process they faced many obstacles - including direct opposition by those who didn't want to see the wall rebuilt. In Chapter 4 verse 17 it refers to the laborers and how they actually did their work with one hand (with a small tool called a trowel) and held a sword with the other. I believe that this is an excellent picture of how we are to live our lives as Christians.

In one hand a trowel - we are called to work. Work is a privilege and a blessing. We work vocationally in whatever role God has us (school, career, homemaker) and we also do Kingdom work as we serve God and others using the spiritual gifts that he has given us. There are many scriptural references regarding work but my favorite is Colossians 3:23-24: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

In the other hand a sword - which has a dual purpose. A sword can be used to defend but it can also be used to sharpen. Our swords are needed to face opposition. Often that opposition is our own sinful nature as we battle pride, sins of the tongue, envy and all of the others sins that we must contend with. This is the ongoing battle that we face between our sinful nature and the Holy Spirit living in us. Galatians 5:17 speaks to it as “being in constant conflict with each other.” A sword is a great reminder not just that we continually have to fight that battle but also that God has EQUIPPED us for the fight.

A sword can also be used to sharpen. We need daily sharpening and we do this by exercising spiritual disciplines. The one that I want to highlight is the one that Nehemiah did so well - pray. Under his leadership, they were able to accomplish a task that seemed impossible and do it in a time frame that was even more impossible. Nehemiah was truly a man of action but before he did anything - he prayed. This was consistent throughout the whole story and serves as a great reminder to seek God daily in prayer. A wise man once said:

“You can always do more than pray after you have prayed but not until you have prayed.”

Stay Hungry,

Big E