Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built.
Nehemiah 4:17b-18a
Nehemiah lead a tough construction crew. If I pulled up to a job site today and saw the workers all side armed like they were part of some NRA convention, I’d worry about the neighborhood I was visiting! Jerusalem was a dangerous place without her walls, and there were enemies around the city who did not want to see the city secure again. Threats were made against Nehemiah and the rebuilders. This just convinced them the wall really needed to go up... and fast!
So Nehemiah’s response was to carefully arm the workforce and set up an early warning system to muster them to defense if it was needed. The force was armed to the point of overkill, with even the unskilled day laborers at the alert with a weapon in their hands as they carried stone. Stone masons built with a trowel in one hand and a sword strapped to their side. The trumpets were ready to call this blue collar army to defense with a simple blast.
The crews were dedicated to their task, camping near the work and sleeping in their work clothes nightly to always be ready to both protect and build the city. And this strategy succeeded without any skirmishes and with the work completed on schedule. The well-armed construction crew got the job done. God kept them safe as they wisely empowered themselves through protection, good defense, alertness, and commitment.
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