Nehemiah 4:10
“And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.”
Nehemiah’s whole ministry was about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Those walls were important for the protection of his people. The temple that Ezra was rebuilding needed those walls rebuilt so that it would not be in danger. The heritage to pass on to the next generation was at stake, and that is why the walls needed to be rebuilt. Nehemiah had a lot on his plate, and the rebuilding of those walls had to be completed.
One of the obstacles that kept the walls from being rebuilt was that there was so much rubbish that kept them from getting to the foundation to rebuild the walls. Those who bore the burden of removing the rubbish had lost their strength. Unless the rubbish was removed, they could not rebuild the walls.
The walls of your life are very similar to the walls of Jerusalem. The walls of your life will protect you from sin. The temple was inside of those walls, and the Scriptures teach us 2 Corinthians 6:19 that our “body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.” Those walls that you need to build are important for the sake of your family. If you don’t rebuild the walls in your life, your family will suffer from your sin. Yet, the same thing that hindered the walls of Jerusalem from being rebuilt will hinder you from building walls around your life.
First, rubbish in your life will hinder you from building walls. “Rubbish” is defined as waste material or material that is unimportant. I would say that sin is waste material. Friend, the sin you have accumulated in your life will hinder you from building walls to protect you in the future. If you are going to build walls in your life, then you are going to have to remove all sin for it hinders those walls from being built. The little sin that we don’t consider that big is the rubbish that is keeping us from building the walls in our lives. We often don’t realize how much sin has piled up in our lives. It becomes a pile of rubbish, and God cannot use you until the pile of sin is removed.
Moreover, there are plenty of unimportant things with which we fill our lives that hinder us from building the walls. Our lives can be filled with so many things that we cannot spend time building our Christian life. In other words, whatever keeps you from spending time with the LORD in studying the Scriptures and prayer has become the rubbish that is hindering you from building your walls. You will never build walls in your life without the Scriptures and prayer. What activities and things are hindering you from spending time with God? Though those things and activities may not be wrong in themselves, if they hinder you from spending time with God they become wrong.
The second thing that hinders you from building walls in your life is when you stop bearing the burdens of others. The bearers of burdens lose their strength. You must never stop bearing the burdens of others. This helps you to see the areas in your life where you need to build some walls. The more I help people, the more I see areas where I need to build walls to protect me from the things that have destroyed others. You are missing areas where you need to build walls if you don’t bear another’s burden.
Christian, not only is your life at stake, but the life of future generations are at stake. You must build the walls in your life so that you can be sure to protect yourself and future generations from sin. Don’t let the rubbish of your life keep you from building your walls.