Neh 4:13 | KingComments | STEP | Tirelessly Nehemiah is at work. He does not let himself be discouraged. Again he sees through this action of the enemy and gives him the right answer. With conviction he creates order among the people. He does so by grouping them into their generations. He brings together all of the same “blood group”. They can understand each other well. The feeling of family gives extra energy to an enterprise, also to an army. In this way, he undoes the confusion that has arisen. He reinforces the lowest places, which are the most vulnerable. Armed with swords, spears and bows, they are ready to repel the enemy’s attack. For a local church the ‘family feeling’ is important. With your family you have something you don’t have with those who are not in that position. There is a bond of fellowship because of common ancestors. In the church that family bond is there through the new life, the life received from God. The enemy is out to break through that feeling of togetherness. He tries to let each member take his own course. He doesn’t mind that they come together from time to time. As long as everyone sits there for themselves, without attaching too much importance to being ‘together’ and as long as everyone, when the ‘together’ meeting is over, goes his own way again, without worrying about the order and unity of God’s people. Paul says to the church in Colossae that he rejoices “in seeing your good order [as it also can be translated] and the stability of your faith in Christ” ( ). The Corinthians, on the other hand, are admonished by him that “all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner” ( ). Order in the church cannot be obtained by creating structures, but by allowing the Holy Spirit to work freely in the church and let Him use whom He wills. We can say with the words of Nehemiah that among the Corinthians there are “the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places”. In their lives there are areas where the world has easy access because of the lowest lusts of their flesh. Additional guard posts have to be set up there. This is what Paul does in his letter to them, when he admonishes them about all kinds of wrongs. He writes his letter to help them bring up the wall of separation in their minds. The life of the church does not follow an externally imposed organizational model. If things don’t run the way you would like them to, you can’t hire an organizational agency to reorganize. If certain members of the church do not fulfill their task, they need education, encouragement or correction. To this end, the Holy Spirit uses believers who place the Lord Jesus at the center of their lives and who want to be guided by God’s Word. In this way a ‘reorganization’ in the church comes about, or rather the church will function as God intended.

‏ Nehemiah 4:13

People Stationed

Tirelessly Nehemiah is at work. He does not let himself be discouraged. Again he sees through this action of the enemy and gives him the right answer. With conviction he creates order among the people. He does so by grouping them into their generations. He brings together all of the same “blood group”. They can understand each other well. The feeling of family gives extra energy to an enterprise, also to an army. In this way, he undoes the confusion that has arisen. He reinforces the lowest places, which are the most vulnerable. Armed with swords, spears and bows, they are ready to repel the enemy’s attack.

For a local church the ‘family feeling’ is important. With your family you have something you don’t have with those who are not in that position. There is a bond of fellowship because of common ancestors. In the church that family bond is there through the new life, the life received from God. The enemy is out to break through that feeling of togetherness. He tries to let each member take his own course. He doesn’t mind that they come together from time to time. As long as everyone sits there for themselves, without attaching too much importance to being ‘together’ and as long as everyone, when the ‘together’ meeting is over, goes his own way again, without worrying about the order and unity of God’s people.

Paul says to the church in Colossae that he rejoices “in seeing your good order [as it also can be translated] and the stability of your faith in Christ” (Col 2:5). The Corinthians, on the other hand, are admonished by him that “all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner” (1Cor 14:40). Order in the church cannot be obtained by creating structures, but by allowing the Holy Spirit to work freely in the church and let Him use whom He wills.

We can say with the words of Nehemiah that among the Corinthians there are “the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places”. In their lives there are areas where the world has easy access because of the lowest lusts of their flesh. Additional guard posts have to be set up there. This is what Paul does in his letter to them, when he admonishes them about all kinds of wrongs. He writes his letter to help them bring up the wall of separation in their minds.

The life of the church does not follow an externally imposed organizational model. If things don’t run the way you would like them to, you can’t hire an organizational agency to reorganize. If certain members of the church do not fulfill their task, they need education, encouragement or correction. To this end, the Holy Spirit uses believers who place the Lord Jesus at the center of their lives and who want to be guided by God’s Word. In this way a ‘reorganization’ in the church comes about, or rather the church will function as God intended.