From Grasshoppers to Warriors

I was reading this morning and wondering how the transition happened in Nehemiah when the Jews went from fearful, uncommitted men to builders who carried a sword in one hand and their load in the other. Get the picture, their city is in ruins, burning; they're outcasts returning to a land where they're despised by the provinces that surround them, and Nehemiah calls together a ragtag bunch of ordinary people to rebuild the temple. Talk about insurmountable odds...they get their supplies from the land around them, at one point Nehemiah can't travel any further because the debris is so high that he has to climb over on foot. So they start rebuilding the wall that will enclose the temple and immediately encounter opposition. It starts off as mockery and slander to their work but then it moves into actual death intentions. Those who didn't want the temple rebuilt planned to sneak in and kill the workers. Nehemiah gets revelation about this, prays, and God tells him to set up watchmen along the wall with swords and spears and bows, day and night. This is a picture of the tabernacle of David already; they didn't need a building. Day and night worship, intercession, and warfare. They could've run away but instead they went aggressively for the plans of God. Still, fear creeps in and is a bigger enemy than the actual people who wish to disrupt the plans. Nehemiah "sees" this and tells them: "Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses." This is where you see the transition. They begin to carry their weapons with them as they work. God has made warriors out of them, casting fear out of their lives so that they can keep moving forward. They're to receive revelation about who God is and to act on it. Nehemiah is very good at connecting worship with action. Fear was the thing making them seem small and insignificant but God had a plan that needed accomplishing.