Appoint the workers!

[Nehemiah 7:1-3]

It is said that there are 18 types of service in the church (Internet): (1) Platoon leader type - Saints who always take care of themselves at the forefront, (2) Food type – A believer who skips cooking while working and show up quickly when eating, (3) Forward head posture type – A believer who is full of energy at home but shrink at church, (4) Mudfish type – A believer who makes excuses and escape easily, (5) Innocent type – A believer who is obedient and diligently looking for something to do, (6) Snout type – A believer who serves only with the mouth, (7) Lucky type – A believer who just grabs a broom and is praised by a pastor who has just arrived, (8) Destroying a family type -  A believer who neglects his family under the excuse of volunteering, (9) A morale booster type - A believer who brings food for workers, (10) Leaving behind type – A believer who wants to stay behind, (11) Time oblivion type – A believer who needs guidance by a pillar of fire once they start, (12) Drop-off type – A believer who disappears silently in the middle, (13) Blind fish type – A believer who comes to the site without thinking and is always caught, (14) Martha type – A believer who prepares snacks and meals to entertain others, (15) Endorphin-supplying type - A believer who laughs happily next to you rather than work, (16) A hardware store type - A believer who takes care of necessary materials and tools, (17) Unlucky type to eat type – A believer who is always involuntarily fall in whenever he eats snacks, and (18) Loyalist type – A believer who serves quietly until the end.

What kind of workers do you think are needed in the community?  Focusing on today's text, Nehemiah 7:1-3, I would like to think about three types of workers Nehemiah raised after completing the city of Jerusalem under the title “Appoint the workers!”

The first workers to be appointed are the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites.

Look at Nehemiah 7:1 – “After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed.”  Nehemiah 6:1 says that although the walls of Jerusalem have been built, the gates of the city have not yet been installed.  So, when the work of the city was completed in fifty-two days and the city was completed (6:15), in Nehemiah 7:1, Nehemiah installed the gates of the city.  After the gates were installed, the first representatives of the people of Judah appointed the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites.  These were all those who would engage in temple service.  If we put this into our modern language, we can think of rebuilding the city and appointing a pastor, praise team, and guides to serve in the church.  In a word, it means that the worshipers were appointed.

1. Charles Fensham, in his commentary, states that the Hebrew word for 'appoint', 'put in charge' or 'appoint' in verses 1, 2 and 3, has three different roots. The “appointed” in verse 1 is the root “pqd,” which means “probably made by representatives of the people.” In other words, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites in verse 1 would have been appointed by the representatives of the people.  The root of the word “put in charge” in verse 2 is “swh,” which was appointed by Nehemiah, governor of Judah.  The root of the word “appoint” in the last verse 3 is “’md”, which means the guards set by the two men appointed by the governor Nehemiah in verse 2 (Fehsham).  ‘The gatekeeper’ comes first here (v. 1).  How can this be applied to our church?  I think we can apply the words of Mark 13:34 – “It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.”  In other words, we must carry out our mission with faith as a gatekeeper (Internet).  From Mark 13:33 to 37, the word “keep watch” appears four times.  What does this teach us?  It means that as gatekeepers, we must be keep on the alert.  In other words, the closer the end approaches, the more Christians must carry out their mission well with the faith of a gatekeeper.  What is the gatekeeper's mission?  It is to guard and check entry and exit.  It is the gatekeeper's mission to let in those who should be allowed in and to stop those who should be blocked.  It is the same in our daily life as well as in our spiritual life.  We must prevent the entry of anything that destroys our souls.  And what beautifies our souls must be allowed in and out.

Apostle James says that one of the pure and undefiled religions before God the Father is to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (Jam. 1:27).  If all evil, secular, unclean, dirty, and false things come into us, our life of faith becomes a mess.  But when good thoughts and beautiful thoughts come into us, our life of faith becomes beautiful.  That's why Satan struggles to let the evil spirit into us whenever he gets a chance.  Therefore, in the last days, as worshipers, we must carry out our mission with faith as gatekeepers.  When the Holy Spirit is seated in our hearts, evil things cannot enter.  Otherwise, the devil puts evil thoughts into our hearts and makes us do what the devil does in our lives, even though we look like holy saints.

The second set of workers are the assistants.

                Look at Nehemiah 7:2 – “I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.”  After the representatives of the people appointed gatekeepers and singers and Levites in verse 1, here in verse 2 we see Nehemiah, governor of Judah, appointing two assistants to rule Jerusalem together.  Their names were “Hanani” and “Hananiah” (v. 2).  The name “Hanani” is a name we have already heard.  Here, Nehemiah referred to his younger brother (“my brother”), and this Hanani was the one who came from Judah to the Susa palace in Nehemiah 1:2 and informed Nehemiah of the people remaining in Judah and the conditions of Jerusalem (v. 3).  This was a man with honesty and love for his country (Henry).  The other was “Hananiah,” and he was “the commander of the fortress” (v. 2).  ‘The fortress’ was a fort around the temple, guarding the northern wall, where it could be attacked most easily.  Nehemiah writes about this man in two ways.  Hananiah was a faithful man, and he feared God more than many.

                The most important qualities of an assistant are loyalty (faithfulness) and fear of God.  Look at 2 Timothy 2:2 – “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”  Those who fear the Lord are faithful to fulfill the mission the Lord has given them.  However, if the leaders fear people more than God, they will fall into a snare and fail.  Look at Proverbs 29:25 – “The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.”

The third and last set of workers are the guards.

Look at Nehemiah 7:3 – “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.’”  After Nehemiah appoints two assistants, his younger brother Hanani and God-fearing faithful Hananiah, to rule Jerusalem together, we see these two assistants appointing guards (v. 3).  What was the guards' role?  They were the ones who opened and closed the gates: “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.  …’” (v. 3a).  One of the roles of the guards was those who knew when to open the doors and when to close the doors and put them into practice.  If the gatekeepers open the gates in the morning while everyone is asleep, the enemies will come in and they would be caught defenseless.  Also, if they kept the gates closed at night without the guards, they could give their enemies an opportunity to sneak into their city.  This should have been done for the safety of Jerusalem and the Jewish people.  They appointed two kinds of guards: The first kind of guards patrolled from special locations on Jerusalem's walls, while the other set watch near their own house.  In Nehemiah 3, many people of Judah worked on the wall near their houses, so Nehemiah challenged Hanani and the guards appointed by Hananiah to guard the area of the wall they had built.  With gatekeepers at the gates and the guards on the walls, the city of Jerusalem was kept safe from enemies.

We must appoint spiritual watchmen.  Look at Isaiah 62:6a – “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night.  ….”  As it is written here, the watchmen of God set on the walls are the servants of the Lord and also the saints. The most important duty of a castle keeper is to stay awake. It's a big deal if the watchman is sleeping.  In military terminology, there is a saying that those who fail in battle can be forgiven, but those who fail to guard are not forgiven.  We must not stop praying and always be spiritually awake to keep our own faith well.

What kind of workers does the Lord want to appoint within or through our church?  Those who worship God, those who praise God, pastors, and those who carry out missions with the faith of gatekeepers, God wants to appoint faithful workers who fear God.  God wants to appoint spiritual watchmen who are being alert.  I sincerely hope and pray that all of us will be raised as such workers.