We have this picture of restoration or rejuvenation here in chapter 7 of Nehemiah. Rejuvenation in Webster's is defined as " to restore to youthful vigor, appearance, etc.; make young again; to restore to a former state; make fresh or new again." There seem to be at least three parts to rejuvenating something, each being crucial to the maintenance of the true restoration: the structure, the insides or organism and the support for the organism. If we used a person as an example, we would say there is the body, the life or soul, and the provision to keep that life alive. They depend upon each other. At some point in the past, this wonderful house had one or more problems that resulted in the decay of the whole. Let's now discuss these three parts as we find them in chapter 7 of Nehemiah.

A. The Structure (Nehemiah 7:1–3)

All along I have emphasized that Nehemiah's goal was not merely to rebuild the wall. The wall was important to the welfare of the community and city. The wall is like our skin which protects us from evading enemies. The enemies might not be so obvious, but they are present. Without the wall, the enemies would be much more apparent. Regarding Jerusalem, we have been acquainted with some of its strong enemies. When the city's defenses were down, these enemies were strengthened. But when the defenses were put up, then the influence and power of these enemies decreased. This is why they kept coming up with plans to foil their efforts to rebuild the walls. However, it is obvious that it would be wise as a church, society, family or individual never to let our defenses be lowered in the first place and allow the enemy in. This is what is happening all around us now.

However, amidst all the campaigns to hold back the building of the wall, including threats of all sorts, the wall was rebuilt. In the 52 days to rebuild the wall, we find that Nehemiah faced immense opposition. But at the same time, through extreme dedication, trust in God, and cooperation with the people, the wall was rebuilt. No doubt in this case the wall could be rebuilt in 52 days because they did not start from scratch. He merely restored the broken-down places. But I can imagine they had to rebuild much of the wall from the bottom up to fill the gaps. Once the alignment is out, one has to go back and make major adjustments.

What is it that Nehemiah did once the wall was rebuilt? Nehemiah 7:1-3 says,

"Now it came about when the wall was rebuilt and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed, that I put Hanani my brother, and Hananiah the commander of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many. Then I said to them, "Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, let them shut and bolt the doors. Also appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each at his post, and each in front of his own house."

A whole list of things were quickly done. Nehemiah immediately had set up the doors or gates. Gatekeepers were appointed. Singers and Levites were appointed. Furthermore, he put Hanani his brother in charge of the fortress and Jerusalem's defense. He gave special instructions to those manning the gates. He also set up a local militia. Basically, these things can be collected under two broad categories: defense and focus.

As to defense, we can see Nehemiah was greatly interested in protecting the work that they had just accomplished. The wall was rebuilt but there would be attempts to destroy the work they had done. Guards were appointed. Gatekeepers were given specific directions as to when and how to open the gates. Security was of most importance. He found the most trustworthy person to be the commander of the fortress. He could not afford anyone to be bought with a favor. People can deceive another. We need to take extra precautions in crucial areas of leadership.

The second interesting thing he was concerned about was the focus or vision. We see that he appointed singers and Levites. This has to do more with securing the life within. Remember that the three parts are interdependent. Nehemiah could easily be content with the building of the wall in 52 days, but this defense is nothing unless the peoples' focus is corrected. They must focus on the intention of the wall. It would be very easy to just settle down to normal and satisfied lives. Once the structure is built, they could stop worrying about the world out there and get busy with restoring their own material lives. After concentrating so intensely on material things, it is easy to forget the greater goals in life.

Nehemiah however, by appointing the singers and the Levites, was saying that the wall is not the goal. They had done well, very well. But there is more to what they were doing than the mere repairing of a wall. The world would be content with that but God's people are not. The defense is in place so that we can go further in our spiritual lives. I often think about how many Christians are content to go only so far in their Christian lives. They stop at a certain point because their lives are focused around the wall rather than the Lord. Or a church that has focused on building a church building. How often they become content with the building of it even though the building is nothing but a curse without a growing ministry of love and evangelism. By establishing the singers and Levites, he turned the focus back around the Lord. They were all of a sudden realizing something greater than the wall is being rebuilt and that they must take interest in it. I find two immediate applications to the rebuilding of the wall.

Application #1

Actually, there are two ways to start a church. Some start from the outside and then build inward; others start from the inside and wait for it to develop before building the outward structure. What did the Lord do in His redemption plan? He did both at the same time. The framework of salvation was planned and executed in the work of Jesus Christ. There is no doubt that it is on the basis of faith in what Christ has done that saves. Salvation does not come about because we are better and better. We simply step in the walls of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the favor of God, His precious work on the cross all become instantly ours. The wall of salvation surrounds us. Praise God. Anytime we have doubts and fears, we only have to look a the wall and send back the Accuser with all his lies.

Application #2

The lesson is very apparent. Take advantage of the protection we have received. I think of the command in Ephesians 6:10-15,

B. The Organism (Nehemiah 7:4–65)

There are four parts to this life spoken here.

1. The burden (Nehemiah 7:4–5)

Birth is of the Lord. We do not say we want to be born. We are born and one day realize the life we have. John 3 again confirms this by saying we are born from above or born again. Ephesians 2:8 10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

So we find that the Lord has both the walls and the people in the walls of salvation all planned out. This leaves no room for the pride of man. All the glory goes to God. What can we do but give great thanks to such a God! This is what paul does in Romans after covering the discussion of salvation, sanctification and election. Romans 11:33-36 says, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?
Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen."

2. The people (Nehemiah 7:6–38)

Who is it that came back from captivity? Well, first of all we discover in verse 7 what seems to be a list of twelve separate individuals who led other exiles back to the land. The scriptures say, "who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah." we recognize maybe a few names but most of them we do not even know of. If this verse did not list them, we just wouldn't have had a clue that there was such a serious movement to come back to the land.

Application

But I also want you to not starting at the end of verse 7 is a whole list of families of Israel that had returned. It was not enough to applaud those who led them back but the actual families that came back are identified. Again, we know of some of the names or city names, but most we don't know. Isn't it good that we are not God?! Isn't it good that judgment doesn't rest upon our memories?!
Application This leads us to wonder if, for any reason, God chastised you, would you come back to Him? Would you gripe and forget Him? Would you love Him or your new setup?

3. The called (Nehemiah 7:39–60)

Verses 39-60 describe those with specific duties or callings, mainly related to temple service. According to Mosaic Law, family roles connected to the temple were significant. A male, of age, and ceremonially clean, could be a priest depending on his father’s lineage. The same applied to singers, gatekeepers, and servants. A healthy community relied on individuals filling each of these roles. Later, we will see instances where some roles, like priests, were in short supply. We often only realize the importance of a position when it is not correctly fulfilled, highlighting a collective need.

Application

4. The unsure (Nehemiah 7:61–65)

Lastly, we turn our thoughts for a moment for those who did not fit in. There were two kinds of 'lost' families. One kind was the typical family, except they lost their family records. No one could vouch for who they were. Of course, the importance to them was that they could not prove any land was theirs as an inheritance. But this could be easily worked through no doubt because so many others did not come back to the land.

However, the other group was those who called themselves priests. They search and search among their ancestral registration but could not find their names in there. How was it to be handled? They were very careful. They were not blaming these priests. They did not do anything wrong. It is just that they could not prove their ancestry and, therefore, their calling. Instead of just taking their word for it, they considered them unclean and excluded from the priesthood. E might think this is too strict, but when one is trying to put things back together, we must be careful to do so according to the original model. In the end, they would wait until a priest arose with a Urim and Thumim which to this day is still a vague thing. It was an instrument that enabled the priest to discern the will of God in such a matter. The families had to wait who knows how long. And even at that, they might still be excluded.

Application I think it is important for us to be careful on allowing people to join the church. We must verify their faith and calling. We have them write testimonies. But for those being called into the ministry, we must even be more careful. We should not just take anyone. The church of God has standards that are set out in I Timothy and Titus very clearly. It is true that we no longer judge people in the church by who their father is, but by the lives they live. There are strong demands that are more and more difficult to fulfill in our broken society.

Once the shell and the wall were built, then the insides needed to be focused upon.
Nehemiah knew if God would rebuild the wall, then the insides would have to be restored to. He had full confidence that if God would work out the wall of the city, then He would certainly work out the insides of the city. We can be that sure with the great work of salvation. It is the wrong response to say that if God provided for salvation, we do not need to do anything to bring in the people. No. Actually, we are responsible to get the people inside. We are the evangelists. One of the great burdens of D.L. Moody, the Father of Mass Evangelism, is that when he started his training institute in Chicago, he built it with the express purpose of getting laymen involved in evangelism. He himself was a Sunday School teacher. But he knew God enabled him to spread the gospel. He believed God intended not only pastors to share the gospel as was common back then, but for the body of Christ to beckon the world into its lovely doors.

We have a great and serious obligation to usher people to the love doors of God's kingdom. We trust God to work it all out. He is sovereign. He is Lord. He is the Redeemer. He is the Savior. But He has called us to join Him in His glorious saving plan by sharing the gospel and making disciples. As part of His great plan, we therefore get to share the rewards and the honored position of being with our Lord.

C. The Provisions (Nehemiah 7:70–72)

Just like our bodies which are our structure or working framework for our lives or souls. We need to feed our bodies, nourish our souls. They obviously thought about this need. In verse 70 we read that the heads of the fathers households gave to the work. They had the most wealth; they led in the giving. What did they need? They needed a lot of temple equipment. Some even provided priests' garments. Altogether these patriarchs gave 20, 000 drachmas and 2,200 silver minas. This was a sizeable start. Then the people themselves joined in and matched the golden drachmas and silver.

There was a need and the need was met. Was there sacrifice? No doubt there was. But we must remember that the only way these people got this wealth was because of the way God treated them in the exile. God blessed them. Now they could have had this wealth hold them back from returning. But they saw it the right way. They saw their wealth as the Lord's. They would do with it what their Lord wanted.

Application