Nehemiah 11:1-36: Living with a Mission

Nehemiah 11:1-36: Living with a Mission

Please turn with me in your Bible to Nehemiah 11. If you’re using one of the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page ___. We’ve been working out way through the book of Nehemiah passage by passage, and this morning we come to Nehemiah 11. And we’ll be looking at the whole chapter, but to begin, I’m just going to read verses 1-2. Nehemiah 11:1-2: 1 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. 2 And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem. Let’s pray.

If you haven’t yet heard the story of John Bunyan, it is remarkable. John Bunyan was a pastor living in England in the 1600’s, and he lived during a very turbulent time in England—both politically and religiously. Depending on the political circumstances, the English government would allow churches to form outside of the official state church some years, but there were other years where it was illegal to have any kind of church or religious meeting outside of the official state church. And if you broke that law, you could be imprisoned or even in some circumstances executed. Now John Bunyan had grave concerns and I believe very biblical concerns about the official state church, the Church of England, so he couldn’t in good conscience be a part of it. So there was a period of time where it was illegal for him to be a pastor. And the authorities warned him that if he didn’t stop preaching, bad things were going to happen. So guess what he did? He kept on preaching. He didn’t care what they said. And since they didn’t let him have a church building, he went out and preached in the fields. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t long before he was arrested. And ordinarily the punishment for having an unsanctioned religious gathering would be that you had to spend three months in prison. Then at the end of the three months, you could get out as long as you promised to stop preaching. But John Bunyan refused to make any such promise. God had called him to preach, and he wasn’t about to let any human ruler stand in his way. He told the authorities that promising to stop doing what God had called him to do would be, in his words, “to make of my conscience a continual butchery and slaughtershop.” Then he stated that he was committed to continue suffering in prison “even till the moss shall grow on mine eyebrows, rather than thus to violate my faith and principles.” And suffer he did. For twelve years, he voluntarily suffered in prison because he wouldn’t agree not to preach. Keep in mind that he had a wife and four young children at home, one of whom was blind. His wife also was pregnant with a fifth child but ending up miscarrying because of the stress of her husband’s imprisonment. And by the way, his wife was an amazing woman and believed her husband was doing the right thing and vocally defended him throughout his imprisonment. Nevertheless, she did basically live in poverty without her husband and depended almost entirely on financial gifts from well-wishers in her church congregation for support. And as you might expect, that’s what Bunyan himself had the most difficulty with. He almost couldn’t bear to think about what his family was going through as a result of his imprisonment. Yet he held his ground and wouldn’t give up doing what God had called him to do. 

So here’s the question I’d like to ask: “Why would he put himself through that? Why would he hold his ground with such tenacity?” You see, if you told John Bunyan’s story to a lot of people today, I don’t think they’d be able to make sense of it. I don’t think they’d understand the heart behind his tenacious devotion to the gospel. But I believe our main text this morning in Nehemiah 11 shines some light on it. To give you a little bit of background on this chapter, the Israelites had now finished rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall, but the city of Jerusalem itself was still pretty much empty aside from the leaders and temple workers who had to live there. So there was a need for the city to be repopulated. And that’s what we see happening in verses 1-2 of chapter 11. Let me read it again: 1 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. 2 And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem. Then, throughout the rest of the chapter, it gives us a very detailed record of who moved to Jerusalem. Israelites from the tribe of Judah who moved to Jerusalem are named in verses 4-6, followed by those from the tribe of Benjamin in verses 7-9. Then the priests are named in verses 10-14, then the Levites in verses 15-18, and then miscellaneous others in verses 19-24.

Now here’s the main idea I’d like us to see from this chapter, and this is where it ties in with the story of John Bunyan: These Israelites who moved to Jerusalem were pursuing God’s purposes despite the required sacrifices in light of future reward. Again: they were pursuing God’s purposes despite the required sacrifices in light of future reward. And as I’m about to explain, this chapter challenges us to adopt that same mentality in all three of those areas. It challenges us, number one, to pursue God’s purposes, number two, to make the required sacrifices, and number three, to do it all in light of future reward. So let’s look at all three of those challenges in turn. 

The Challenge to Pursue God’s Purposes

Number one, the challenge to pursue God’s purposes. Notice how verse 1 states that the Israelites “cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem.” So basically, they drew straws. That’s what casting lots pretty much was. Why did they have to draw straws to determine who would be sent to Jerusalem? Well, moving to Jerusalem wasn’t a very desirable thing. It required making considerable sacrifices in life. And we’ll see a little bit later what kind of sacrifices it required. So a lot people had to be sent to Jerusalem through the process of drawing straws or casting lots. However, verse 2 records that there were others “who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.” I believe this is a different group than those mentioned in verse 1 that were chosen by lot. In contrast to the group chosen by lot, this group in verse 2 took the initiative to offer themselves as volunteers to populate Jerusalem. And because of their willingness to go, it says that the rest of the nation “blessed” them. 

So why would these people volunteer to do something nobody else wanted to do? Well, Jerusalem was a special place. Verse 1 calls it “the holy city.” God had chosen the city of Jerusalem to be the city where he would dwell. It’s where the temple was. It’s where the sacrifices took place. It was the epicenter of God’s presence and God’s work on this earth. And basically, people needed to live there so that it could actually be a city and have a reasonable ability to defend itself in case it was attacked. So these people in verse 2 volunteered to move to Jerusalem because they felt called to do that. They felt called to be a part of what God was doing in this world. In the terminology of our first point, they were pursuing God’s purposes for their life. 

And I believe their example should challenge us to do the same. It should challenge us to adopt God’s purposes as our own—and to make them our highest purposes. So often, we might initially commit ourselves to God’s purposes when we’re first saved, but then we often smuggle a lot of our own purposes into our Christian lives. As one preacher named Paul Washer once wrote, “We lay awake at night and worry about so many things. We fret and are anxious about so many things. We desire things passionately, fanatically, even to the point of obsession: houses and [property], jobs and promotions, fame and reputation, needs, and wants, and countless other things. But when was the last time that sleep escaped us because of our concern for the nations that have not heard? When was the last time that our hearts broke in two because there are places on this earth where God’s Name is not hallowed, His kingdom advances ever so slowly, and His will is not foremost in the hearts of men? We fret and sweat about so many things, but do we ever give any thought to that which is most on the mind of God?” Challenging questions indeed. You see, God’s purpose for both our lives and this entire universe can be summed up in three words: his own glory. He expresses that desire throughout the Bible and with particular clarity in Malachi 1:11. He says, “From the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great.” That’s God’s purpose. He’s all about his name being great. And by the way, he’s worthy of his name being great. So the question for you to answer this morning is this: “Do your purposes and God’s purposes match up? To what extent are you caught up in the purposes of God?” 

And as it turns out, living for God’s purposes and for the glory of his name is actually the most satisfying way to live. So often, people think they’ll be happy with this or that earthly thing. They think, “Maybe if I buy this new gadget, it’ll make me happy. Maybe if I lose this weight, it’ll make me happy. Maybe if I get this promotion, it’ll make me happy. Maybe if I have this relationship, it’ll make me happy. Or maybe if I live in this nice neighborhood, it’ll make me happy.” But unfortunately, all of those things pursued as ends in themselves never seem to truly satisfy—at least, not in any deep or lasting way. And there’s a good reason for that. Ecclesiastes 3:11 states that “[God] has put eternity into man’s heart.” What do you think that means—that “[God] has put eternity into man’s heart”? It means that every human being has this mysterious sense that we were created for something that transcends this world. We were created to pursue something eternal. And it’s only when we’re pursuing something eternal—like God and God’s mission—that we can be truly satisfied. You know, when I was a teenager, my family lived on some property that was right next door to a farm. So every day, as I was getting home from school and walking the hundred yards or so from the road to my house, I would see the cows next door just over the fence. There were usually about twenty of them. And as I would walk by, they would just look at me. And they would keep on looking at me the whole way to my house. It was almost like me walking by was the most interesting part of their day. If I had to guess, I’d say it probably was. I’m pretty sure the rest of their day was spent eating grass and swatting flies with their tails. They had a pretty boring life. But here’s the thing: they didn’t seem to care about how boring their life was. It’s not like they were depressed or in need of counseling or therapy to help them cope with their painfully boring lives. Instead, they always seemed satisfied. And that’s because eating grass and swatting flies is pretty much what a cow was created for. They weren’t created for much more than that. But human beings, on the other hand, have been created with eternity in our hearts. We were created for something that transcends this world. And it’s only as we pursue those transcendent purposes—namely the glory of God—that we’ll be truly satisfied.  

The Challenge to Make the Required Sacrifices 

Then number two, not only does our main passage back in Nehemiah 11 challenge us to pursue God’s purposes, it also challenges us to make the required sacrifices. That’s point number two: the challenge to make the required sacrifices. Remember, these Israelites in verse 2 who were voluntarily moving to Jerusalem out of devotion to God’s purposes were making considerable sacrifices. First of all, moving to Jerusalem was dangerous. Because if an army decided to invade the land, where do you think that army was going to attack—the houses scattered across the countryside or the big city with a temple full of gold and silver? Probably the city. So living in Jerusalem was like having a target painted on your back. And not only that, but moving to Jerusalem also meant accepting that you probably weren’t going to be as prosperous as other Israelites. Because back then, your prosperity was very much tied how much land you had and how many crops and flocks and herds you were able to have as a result. But living in a city meant that you wouldn’t be able to have as much land or as many crops, flocks, and herds. So moving to Jerusalem required accepting a lower level of prosperity. It required considerable sacrifice. 

And likewise, pursuing God’s purposes in our own day often requires considerable sacrifice as well. In Luke 14:28-33, Jesus tells his disciples to count the cost before they decide to follow him. He states, 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. So following Jesus requires sacrifice. It requires being willing to give up everything for him—even your very life—if circumstances require it. So if you’re a Christian, what are you holding onto that you shouldn’t be holding onto? A comfortable lifestyle where you spend all your money on yourself? Social prestige where you’re relatively silent about your Christian faith to make sure you still fit in everywhere you want to fit in? What sacrifices are you shying away from? 

The Challenge to Do It All in Light of Future Reward

Then finally not only does our main passage Nehemiah 11 challenge us to pursue God’s purposes and make the required sacrifices, but, number three, it also challenges us to do it all in light of future reward. That’s point three: the challenge to do it all in light of future reward. That’s what I believe these Israelites were ultimately pursuing—future reward. Now in case you’re trying to find that motive explicitly stated in Nehemiah 11, I don’t think the passage mentions it explicitly. But I nevertheless believe that was their motive because of another passage in the Bible: Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 is all about the forward-looking faith of godly people in the Old Testament. And as we’re about to see, it mentions a few of these people by name, but I believe it also applies in a more general way to pretty much all people in the Old Testament who were sincerely using their lives to honor God. Listen to what it says about what drove these people to do the things they did. 

Hebrews 11:8-16: 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. 

So why did these godly people in the Old Testament do the things they did? Why did they take the risks they took and make the sacrifices they made? Going back to Nehemiah 11 specifically, why did these people volunteer to move to Jerusalem? By the way, understand that Jerusalem at that time was a backwater city. It may have had the temple, but the rebuilt temple was only a shell of the former temple. It was such a downgrade that the book of Ezra records that the elderly Israelites who saw it and who remembered what the former temple had been like started weeping. That’s how unimpressive it was. And the city of Jerusalem itself was nothing like the glorious city it had formerly been. So why move there? Why be content with that dump of a city? Because these people who voluntarily moved there had their minds fixed not on the earthly city but on the heavenly city. They were looking forward in time toward that “city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”

Yes, as we’ve discussed, the earthly Jerusalem was a dangerous place to live. It was the place invading armies would attack. So these people were giving up earthly security. But they were fixing their eyes on a reward that was more secure than anything in this world could ever be—in the words of 1 Peter 1:4, “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.” So they were willing to give up the illusion of security here on earth because they knew the heavenly city was a place of true and eternal security. Likewise, they were also willing to give up earthly prosperity in the form of land ownership because they knew that all the prosperity in the world pales in comparison to the prosperity of that heavenly city. So you see that looking toward the heavenly city changes everything. 

And honestly, I have to wonder sometimes how much even we as Christians are looking past this earthly city and toward that heavenly city in a way that actually alters the way we live. It’s so easy to buy into the lie that’s all around us that this earthly life is all there is. Isn’t that the mentality of our society? Isn’t that the unspoken assumption guiding the lives of the vast majority of people—that this earthly life is all there is so live it up while you can? And it’s so easy for us as Christians to just go along with that mentality. We’re so immersed in it, many times we don’t even realize how much we’ve adopted it. It reminds me of a story I heard this past week that kind of made me chuckle of two young fish swimming along. And as they’re swimming, they meet an older fish swimming the other way, who says to them, “Morning boys, how’s the water?” Then the two younger fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and asks, “What in the world is water?” The point, of course, is that the fish were so immersed in water and had been so immersed in water for their entire lives that they weren’t even aware of the water that was all around them. They were so wet that they didn’t even know what it was to be wet. And I wonder how much that’s true for us as well. 

So are you living with a heavenly mentality? Are you living in such a way that your lifestyle wouldn’t make any sense if it weren’t for heaven? John Bunyan was living in a way that didn’t make sense apart from heaven. The Israelites who voluntarily moved to Jerusalem were living in a way that didn’t make sense apart from heaven. Are you living in a way that doesn’t make sense apart from heaven either? This morning, let me invite you into a life of true heavenly-mindedness, a life of true discipleship, of taking risks for the gospel, of zealously pursuing God’s purposes not matter the cost, and of doing things that just don’t make sense if this life were all there is. 

Conclusion

And the greatest example of that heavenly mentality, by the way, is Jesus. Right after Hebrews 11 describes the forward looking faith of godly Old Testament heroes, it says this in Hebrews 12:1-2: 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. So why did Jesus endure the cross and despise its shame? “For the joy that was set before him.” He had a heavenly mentality. 

And the first step of having a heavenly mentality is committing yourself to Jesus and trusting in Jesus as the only hope you have of entering heaven in the first place. Don’t hear this sermon and come away with the idea that what gets you into heaven is trying really hard to live for God. Because at the end of the day, we all fail that test. None of us can perfectly live out the three challenges we’ve looked at. We all fall short. We all sin. But like Hebrews 12 says, Jesus died for sinners like us. He took all of our sin on his shoulders and died for it on the cross. He voluntarily received the punishment we deserved. And it’s because he did that and then triumphantly rose again to life that you and I can have eternal life in heaven. But our confidence has to be in Jesus and not in any way in ourselves. So have you put your trust in Jesus this morning? Is your confidence in him? Are you resting in him? 

And those are good questions also for those of you who have already been saved. Whenever you come away from the Bible, like we have this morning, feeling challenged toward greater obedience in certain areas of life, that’s a good thing. You should regularly feel that way when you read the Bible. And this passage in Nehemiah 11 is no exception—it challenges us. But even as we strive in the Holy Spirit’s power to rise to the challenge, we always have to come back to Jesus and remind ourselves that our standing before God depends not on our performance but on Jesus’s performance. We have to remind ourselves to rest and rejoice in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. That’s what makes us right with God. That’s the basis of God loving and accepting us. God won’t love or accept you more if you rise to the challenges of Nehemiah 11, and he won’t love or accept you less if you fail to rise to those challenges. He already loves and accepts you completely because of Jesus.