If you were to put together the soundtrack for your life, which songs would you include? Perhaps there are particular songs that fit into particular periods of your life; songs that, when you hear them, you’re reminded of a specific day, or incident, or period of your life. Maybe the song that was your first dance at your wedding. Or a song from your childhood that sparks memories.
One of the songs that seems to stick in my memory was released 21 years ago. And twenty years ago, when I was finishing school, this was the soundtrack to our secondary education. It’s by Fatboy Slim, and the words go like this:
‘We’ve come a long, long way together,
through the hard times and the good.
I have to celebrate you, baby,
I have to praise you like I should.’
At the age of 18, those words seemed to sum up our schooling, and the end of an era that was the Wallace High School, Lisburn. But as I sat down to consider these chapters of Nehemiah, it seemed as if they could be included in his soundtrack as well. You see, we’ve come a long, long way together from when we first met Nehemiah back in September.
Back in chapter 1, Nehemiah was in Susa, the capital of the kingdom of Persia. He was an Israelite who had never been in Israel, born and brought up in exile far away from God’s promised land. He had just heard the news of the state of the city of Jerusalem, and it had caused him to weep.
The people who had returned to Jerusalem were in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and its gates had been burned with fire.
City and people were in disgrace. It caused Nehemiah to weep, but more than that, to pray. And so Nehemiah prayed, as God had put it on his heart, to go with the king’s support, to rebuild the city and its people.
And since September we’ve been following the hard times and the good that Nehemiah faced back in Jerusalem. It wasn’t an easy job to rebuild the walls - not everyone was on board with the idea; and there was opposition from outside, threats, and taunts. There were problems inside the city too, as the rich exploited the poor to make a quick buck. But despite all those problems, the wall was built in fifty-two days. Nehemiah then turned to the other item on his checklist - to rebuild the people of the city. He did that through the reading of the Law, hearing what God wanted of his people - which led to joy (the joy of the Lord is your strength), but also to repentance, and a resolve to follow God’s word. We saw that last week in their solemn agreement, setting out their promises to obey what God had said.
Tonight, in chapters 11-12, we see the final elements coming together in Nehemiah’s grand plan of building up the city and the people. And remember why all of this is so important. God had promised that his Messiah, his king, would come through the Jewish people. So it’s vital for God’s promises to be fulfilled that the Jewish nation is intact and prospering - so that Jesus will be born. So let’s see how the final details of Nehemiah’s plan came together.
You might remember that back in chapter 7, we heard how ‘the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.’ (7:4). That is only really resolved at the start of chapter 11. The leaders live in Jerusalem, but there’s still more room. So ‘the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns.’ (1)
The people themselves were tithed, a tenth of them to live inside the city of Jerusalem. And the rest of the chapter is a list of the residents of Jerusalem - at least 3044 men (plus wives and children) - from Judah, and Benjamin, as well as priests, Levites and gatekeepers. And we read of where the temple servants and singers settled.
Things really are coming together. And as chapter 12 comes, there are more unpronounceable names, with the family tree of Levites and priests. You’re welcome to have a read through them all later on yourself. But we’re going to pick up again from verse 27, at the climax of all that Nehemiah had set out to do.
And just as my old school-leaving song put it, ‘I have to celebrate you, I have to praise you like I should.’ Here we see the great outpouring of celebration and praise to God, because of all that has been accomplished in the city of Jerusalem.
The occasion is the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. With its dedication, Nehemiah’s building project is complete. The city will be secure, and returned to its previous position. The disgrace is finished, as they celebrate. And they take it very seriously!
‘At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres. The singers also were brought together from the region around Jerusalem.’
Now, with Holy Week and Easter on the horizon, the choir will be gathering from next week to practice some special pieces. (You’re very welcome to come along and join us!) And here we see all the singers from all their villages come together to sing along to the Levites playing their instruments.
But first there’s an important priority. Verse 30: ‘When the priests and Levites had purified themselves ceremonially, they purified the people, the gates and the wall.’ Everything has been purified, has been dedicated to God. And so they’re ready to begin the celebration.
From verse 31, Nehemiah divides the leaders, the choirs, and people into two groups. And they’re to go on top of the wall in opposite directions, playing and singing God’s praise, until they meet up at the house of God. And the nearest picture I could think of as to what this would be like was, forgive me, the Apprentice Boys of Derry! Before their big parade in August, they parade around the city walls. And what’s going on in Jerusalem is a bit like that.
Do you see what they’re doing? They are encircling the city in praise. They are covering the city in praise. And with each step that they take, they are praising the God who fulfilled his purposes, despite the taunts and threats of the opponents. Taunts like Tobiah’s words back in chapter 4: ‘What they are building - if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!’ (4:3). Here, the people of God are walking on their wall. The work has been done. And God is to be praised.
By verse 40, both choirs have made it to the house of God. The singers take their places. The trumpets are sounded. And the note is a note of joy. ‘And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.’ (43)
If you were making a movie of Nehemiah’s story, this is where you would end. The camera hovers over the scene, as everyone rejoices, job done, and then pulls back, with the sound of rejoicing still audible, until the titles roll.
As Solomon, in an earlier period of Israel’s history had said when he dedicated the temple, ‘Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.’ (1 Kings 8:56)
Solomon could see the fulfilment of God’s promises, and yet there was more to come - not least the destruction of the temple he was dedicating. And for Nehemiah, he rejoices as he sees God fulfilling his purposes in his day, but as you can see, even his book isn’t finished, let alone the whole of God’s plans and purposes. So for us, even as we celebrate at all that God has done for us, as we look back, and see the long, long way we’ve come, the hard times and the good, and even as there is much to celebrate, and much to praise God for, there is still more to come. He is not finished with us yet.
For Nehemiah, the remaining verses of our chapter is setting practical details in place, things like storerooms and people to supervise them. They build on the precedent of what David and Solomon had commanded, and they provide for the service of God’s house, just as they had promised at the end of chapter 10: ‘we will not neglect the house of our God.’
Tonight, take an opportunity to look back; to reflect on how God has been at work in your life to fulfil his plans and purposes. Rejoice in all he has done. But don’t just settle for what’s happened in the past. Continue to look to the future, to dedicate yourself to his service, to look to what he is doing today, and tomorrow, and how you can be involved as he builds his kingdom, and works towards that great and final day of rejoicing.
Perhaps we can give the final word to Fatboy Slim:
We’ve come a long, long way together,
through the hard times and the good.
I have to celebrate you, Jesus,
I have to praise you like I should.
This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 24th February 2019.
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