Scripture: Nehemiah 4: Verse 6
The people continued to work unit by unit, brick by brick, part by part. They were committed to building the Wall in the face of opposition and in an atmosphere of hostility from the enemy. The people armed themselves with swords, spears, shields and bows on the job.
While one half of them worked, the other half were under arms holding their weapons ready for action to protect the workers. Every builder had a sword by his side which he could carry without hindrance. The people worked with one hand and had a weapon in the other. They were ready to die in building the Wall.
Nehemiah kept a trumpet to sound an alarm to give notice on the sign of danger or the approach of the enemy. The people worked from sunrise to sunset every day. They only changed their working clothes for washing. No grumbling, no fretting, no criticism about how they smelled. Everybody focused on getting the Wall built. With a heart and mind to work, the people had to prepare themselves to combat the enemy. They acquired offensive and defensive weapons. The workers were provided with swords, spears and shields in the building of the Wall.
We, like the Israelites, are also in warfare as we do God’s work. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the despotisms, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ( Ephesians 6: 12)
We must be equipped like a soldier with the full armour of God, that we may be able to successfully stand up against the wiles of the devil. We must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. We must have our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. We must have our loins girt about with truth and have on the breastplate of righteousness.
Above all, we should take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and be on the offensive. (Eph. 6: 17)
The Word of God is quick, powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb. 4: 12)
Do you have a heart and mind to work in Kingdom building?
