‘So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.’
What joy it must have been to write those words! Even better, to actually see the rebuilt wall; to walk around inside its perimeter, knowing that the city was secure; to celebrate with those who had put in so much hard work, had risked their lives and chosen to trust both God and their inspired leader, Nehemiah.
So why doesn’t the book of Nehemiah finish here? This was the great task, but it’s only less than halfway into the book. There’s a long way to go yet! And that, surely is the point: Nehemiah’s vision was about much more than the wall – it may have begun like that, but ultimately it was about the renewing of a nation. The wall was the necessary first step, without which nothing else could be achieved; however, it was only the first step towards the bigger goal – a task which took not just 52 days, but 12 years, and counting (see 5:14).
This sense of now… and not yet – or completed… and continuing – is reflected even in our modern bible translations, some of which put v15 at the end of one section, whilst others put it at the start of the next section. Which is it? Again, I think those scholarly debates about the textual flow reflect the much more important point: this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end; but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. As someone once said. (Bonus point if you know who, when and why.)
In fact, what is most striking is how little time is taken here to pause and celebrate the completion of the wall – that will come later. We simply get a short note (v16) that its completion shook their enemies, who saw that the Lord was helping His people. After that, we’re back into the thick of the challenge – nobles who are still under the sway of Tobiah, and the latter’s continuing attempts at intimidation (vv17-19).
None of this is going to stop Nehemiah from pressing on, though; he is not someone to rest on his laurels, he immediately starts putting the next stage of the plans in place: appointing key officials. His prioritising is instructive: first the gatekeepers (absolutely vital for the new fortifications, which had to be stewarded safely at all costs); then the worship leaders – for this is first and foremost a worshipping people. And then the city leadership – at which point some of you will be raising eyebrows at the appointment of Nehemiah’s brother. Nepotism? I don’t think so: bear in mind it was Hanani who had travelled all the way to Susa to tell his brother what was happening in Jerusalem; then factor in all those who were already under the influence of Jerusalem’s enemies (see vv17-19), and the pool of trustworthy people must have been small.
The clincher is the next appointment – Hananiah – appointed ‘because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.’ Nehemiah is not handing out ‘jobs for the boys’; his priorities are character and depth of faith. It’s hard to do better than that – yet another leadership blueprint for today.
This side of glory, the work of the kingdom is always: now… and not yet; Jesus’ great work on the cross is complete – and yet always continuing, as the gospel spreads across the world and into ever more human hearts. Today, take a moment to pray for the Lord’s kingdom work to continue, in whatever places it intersects with your life; and pray for the leaders of that work, that they may have grace to see the fruit of their labours, and still to persevere, however near or far the finish line is.