Nehemiah 3:6 is one of my favorite verses in scripture. Not for what is says but for what it doesn’t say. Placed into the context of Nehemiah 3:5-6 It reads,

And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.

 

Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Gate of Yeshanah. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

Nehemiah is leading the Israelites in the enormous task of rebuilding the walls and gates of Jerusalem. By the grace of God, they will accomplish this monumental task in a mere 52 days. A brilliant manager, Nehemiah breaks down an enormous task into forty-one smaller projects (sections of the wall), assigning teams to each project. The section of the wall from the Fish Gate to the Old City Gate was to be repaired by Tekoite team. Nehemiah 3:5 tells us that while several members of the Tekoite team worked to repair the wall, the ranking Tekoite leaders refused to work.

Were they offended that they had been asked to perform such a menial task? Perhaps. Yet, it is worth noting that Nehemiah 3:1 tells us that the High Priest, the spiritual leader of Jerusalem, willingly worked repairing the Sheep Gate.

The principle of the passage is simply this - there will always be those who refuse to carry a share of the load. Antagonists are nothing new.

What is the attraction of verse 6? It is simply that Nehemiah did not allow his agenda to be dictated by the antagonists. We don’t see Nehemiah convening a special committee to explore solutions to the ‘Tekoite leaders’ problem’.

Verse 6 does not read, And so Nehemiah went to the leaders and said, ‘Please, please tell me what I have done to offend you’. By saying nothing, Nehemiah essentially says (my interpretation), The Lord has a plan for Jerusalem and I will not allow that plan to be derailed by lazy, too-good-to-work aristocrats. I will not focus on those who are unwilling to serve. I won’t lose sleep, get bitter or waste any of my time trying to corral them. I will not be deterred by antagonists.

How many problems would be solved in the church today if pastors did not allow antagonists to set the church agenda? Remember, no amount of time anyone spends volunteering at the church, no amount of money anyone gives to the church and no amount of influence anyone carries in the community earns them the right to be an antagonist in the church.