The Jews of Nehemiah’s day saw the need to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, once destroyed because of the people’s sins. That stone wall was symbolic of the Lord’s protection around his people. In the fullness of time the Son of God came into this world to atone for the sin that separated God’s people from the Lord (Romans 3:23). This same Christ has become a wall of protection around his people (Zechariah 2:5; Isaiah 4:5–6; 2 Kings 6:17) so that he is the church’s shelter and refuge. That is also why the Jerusalem of the New Testament (the church) does not need walls of stone. What the people restored in Nehemiah’s day, Christ Jesus has fulfilled through his work on the cross, the outpouring of his Spirit, and his continued intercession today. Since the church is Christ’s project, she is fully safe, no matter the rage of the devil, the temptations of the world, and the remaining weaknesses of her inhabitants. Upon Christ’s return, all those dangers and weaknesses will pass into history.
The fact that Christ Jesus is a wall of protection around his people does not absolve Christians from the responsibility to defend their hearts and homes—and hence the church—from the attacks of the devil. The fight against the enemy involves not only godly armour (Ephesians 6:10–18) but also ensuring that the doors and windows of our hearts and homes are guarded against infiltration from the world. It is labour we can do in confidence and boldness precisely because Christ has conquered sin and Satan, and so made us coworkers with him. The labour takes effort and self-denial as we protect ourselves and our families and the church from the saboteurs without. Here each Christian has work to do, beginning at our own front doors.
1 Eliaschib, le souverain sacrificateur, se leva avec ses frères, les sacrificateurs, et ils bâtirent la porte des brebis. Ils la consacrèrent et en posèrent les battants; ils la consacrèrent, depuis la tour de Méa jusqu'à la tour de Hananeel.