Nehemiah 2:16-18
Neh 2:16 And the rulers knew not whither I
went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to
the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that
did the work.
Neh 2:17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
Neh 2:18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
The connection between the temple and the wall is significant for the theology of work.
The temple might seem to be a religious institution, while the walls are a secular one. But God led Nehemiah to work on the walls, no less than he led Ezra to work on the temple. Both the sacred and the secular were necessary to fulfill God’s plan to restore the nation of Israel.
If the walls were unfinished, the temple was unfinished too. The work was of a single piece. The reason for this is easy to understand.
Without a wall, no city in the ancient Near East was safe from bandits, gangs and wild animals, even though the empire might be at peace.
The more economically and culturally developed a city was, the greater the value of things in the city, and the greater the need for the wall. The temple, with its rich decorations, would have been particularly at risk.
Practically speaking, no wall means no city, and no city means no temple.
Conversely, the city and its wall depend on the temple as the source of God’s provision for law, government, security and prosperity. Even on strictly military terms, the temple and the wall are mutually dependent.