On This Foundation (17 page)

J
ERUSALEM

T
he sun was just beginning to lighten the sky behind the Mount of Olives as Nehemiah walked with his brothers from the governor's residence to the open plaza near the Valley Gate. Today he would organize his section leaders so they could start rebuilding the wall. He was so eager to begin that his brothers had trouble keeping up with him, their footsteps crunching on the quiet streets of the slumbering city as they hurried down the sloping road behind him.

“Did they make you get up this early in the morning when you lived in Susa?” his brother Hanani asked, yawning loudly.

“Even the sun has sense enough not to rise this early,” Ephraim added. “Why don't you?”

“We need to make the best use of the available daylight,” Nehemiah replied. “I asked my section leaders to meet here before the morning sacrifice so we can finish in time to go up to the temple. If we start building right after that, we can get a lot done before the heat saps everyone's strength.” He slowed his steps to their pace, aware that he was asking a lot of them. His brothers and their families had moved into the governor's residence with him so they would be available to work closely
with him. The stars had still been out this morning when Nehemiah had awakened them. They had grabbed a quick bite to eat, gathered their things, and started walking, but his brothers' eyes still drooped with sleep.

“Are the maps and lists all ready?” he asked them.

“Yes, my lord and master,” Hanani said with mock seriousness.

“Sorry,” Nehemiah said. “I got used to ordering people around in Susa.”

“You're certainly very good at it,” Ephraim muttered.

“I had to be. The emperor's life depended on it. And now the security of Jerusalem does.”

“Well, just don't run ahead of the Almighty One,” Ephraim said, “and decide to crown yourself king.”

By the time they reached the Valley Gate, about halfway down the western wall of the city, the sun had inched higher above the ridge, quickly warming the morning. People had begun to stir in the nearby houses, and he smelled the aroma of cooking fires and heard the grating of hand mills as women ground flour to make bread. Mounds of rubble lay piled all around the area inside the Valley Gate, but he refused to let it discourage him. Soon all these stones would be gone, God willing, and the elaborate gatehouse would be rebuilt.

“I've decided to set up our project headquarters in this open area,” he told his brothers. “It's not very spacious, but it will be a convenient place to oversee the work since the site is easily reached from most sections of the wall.”

“That's very fair of you, Nehemiah,” Hanani said with a humorless laugh. “That way,
everyone
will have to walk uphill to confer with you—those working near the very bottom of the ridge will have to climb up here to talk to you, and those working near the temple will have to climb uphill again
after
they talk to you.”

“It's for my convenience, not theirs,” Nehemiah said. “So I can move quickly to wherever I'm needed.”

“And you are quick, I must say,” Ephraim said. He was still trying to catch his breath after their brisk walk.

One by one the other leaders began to arrive, moving between the houses like shadows in the early dawn light. His three aides, Rehum, Jehohanan, and Levi, were among the first to join him. Of the three, only Jehohanan looked awake and alert. Nehemiah again wished he could have investigated these three men thoroughly before taking them into his confidence as he would have done in Susa, but there hadn't been time. Instead, he'd been forced to rely on the judgment of the officials who'd recommended them. But he knew without a doubt that he could trust his brothers and was glad they'd agreed to be his right-hand men.

Rays of sunlight streaked the sky above the Mount of Olives as the last of the leaders arrived. Time to begin. “This is an exciting day for all of us,” Nehemiah said. “Each of you has volunteered to oversee a section of the wall or to rebuild one of the ten gates. For those of you who require lumber, you'll need to talk to my brother.” Ephraim lifted his hand so everyone would know who he was. “He's in charge of procuring timber from the king's forest a few miles south of Jerusalem. But he's going to need wagons and teams of oxen and mules to haul it here, so if any of you can spare your wagons or teams, please let Ephraim know. I hope by now that you've had a chance to survey your assigned section and have begun to gather your workers,” Nehemiah continued.

“People from my district came forward to volunteer in great numbers,” someone shouted.

“Mine too.”

“Good.” He paused as Hanani handed him the map. “This morning I want to go over this map of the sections and their leaders so you can see who will be working alongside you and so I can learn who you are. I'll start at the north side of the city near the temple mount and proceed around the wall to
the west. The first leader is Eliashib, the high priest, who will oversee the restoration of the temple's citadel.”

“My fellow priests and I have committed to rebuilding the section of wall from the Sheep Gate to the western corner,” Eliashib said, “including the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.”

“Excellent. I know that's asking a lot of you and your men. The Babylonians completely destroyed the citadel and its gates when they broke through to invade the city, so it will be a huge task to rebuild it. We'll need fortified towers and a reinforced wall because that section is still the most vulnerable. We all know that our enemies typically attack from that direction. And you've also volunteered to repair the Sheep Gate and reset its doors, I see?”

“Yes, Governor. The sheep used for the daily temple sacrifices come through that gate, so I intend to consecrate it for holy use. My grandfather, Jeshua ben Jozadak, arrived with the first group of exiles who returned with Zerubbabel, and he would have been overjoyed to see these gates and fortifications rebuilt.”

“Didn't your grandfather help rebuild the temple?”

“Yes. And served as its first high priest.”

Nehemiah continued reading from his list, calling each section leader's name and then memorizing each face. He was thankful for his training as a cupbearer, which had taught him to remember names and faces. The king's life had depended on his ability to recognize every palace worker on sight so he could spot intruders. When he read the name Meshullam, son of Berekiah, it seemed familiar to him. Nehemiah tried to recall why.

“I'm Meshullam. And along with repairing a section on the western wall, I will also make repairs opposite my living quarters on the eastern wall.”

“Very good.” Nehemiah recognized him now. He had borrowed Meshullam's mule the night he'd inspected the walls. “And I see that the men of Tekoa are listed next . . . but I don't have a name for the person in charge of that section.”

“We haven't chosen one yet, Governor,” a volunteer replied. “Our nobles shirked their duty and refused to put their shoulders to the work. They disdain manual labor.”

“Where is Tekoa?”

“Six miles south of Bethlehem and eleven miles from Jerusalem. We're ashamed of our noblemen, my lord, but very proud to be the hometown of the prophet Amos. And we've also volunteered to do double duty and repair another section on the opposite side of the city, near the wall of Ophel.”

“May the Almighty One reward your labor. You're to be commended for your enthusiasm in spite of your leaders' bad example.” As Nehemiah continued reading the names, he was surprised to see that the leaders of Gibeon and Mizpah had volunteered to make repairs. Both towns were under the authority of Governor Sanballat, and Mizpah was an important Samaritan administrative center. Nehemiah resisted the impulse to question the two leaders and ask where their loyalties truly lay. Instead, he made a mental note to watch them closely. Continuing around the perimeter of the city, he came to another name he already knew. “Rephaiah, ruler of the half-district of Jerusalem, will repair the next section.”

“Yes. Gladly,” Rephaiah said. “If the wall had been built a year ago, my son Yitzhak might still be alive.”

Nehemiah quickly moved on, but not before recalling the grief-filled eyes of Yitzhak's young bride-to-be. He had dined with her at the home of her father, Shallum, ruler of the other half-district of Jerusalem. Did the woman now understand why he hadn't answered her question that night? He read the names of four more men who were each repairing a section along the western wall and saw that her father, Shallum, had volunteered to make repairs between the Tower of the Ovens and the Valley Gate. “Hanun and the residents of Zanoah will rebuild the Valley Gate, right behind us,” Nehemiah continued. “That will be a huge job, Hanun. An important job. And I see
you've also volunteered to rebuild the wall all the way to the Dung Gate. That's an extraordinary length. Have you had a chance to look over the work?”

“Yes, Governor. The original wall was built on a steep, rock scarp that is still intact. We'll only need to add three or four feet of wall to its height.”

“Even so, thank you for your willingness to tackle a huge job. . . . That takes us as far as the Dung Gate. A very big task considering that it's one of Jerusalem's main gates at the junction of the Hinnom and Kidron Valleys. I see that Malkijah ben Recab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem, will be rebuilding that gate.”

“Yes, Governor Nehemiah. I'm Malkijah. We met the other day.”

“I remember.” Malkijah had struck Nehemiah as a very personable man, extremely astute—and obviously very wealthy, judging by his clothing and his staff of servants and the fine wine he had given Nehemiah as a welcoming gift.

“I have already consulted your engineers,” Malkijah said, smiling his crooked grin. “And they've instructed me on the best way to proceed and the type of gate I should construct. I'll be working closely with them.”

“Very good. Your gate and the next section all the way to the Fountain Gate are extremely critical to the southern defense of Jerusalem. The Pool of Siloam is within this section, too. Have you decided what to do about it, yet?”

“Yes. King Hezekiah constructed the Pool of Siloam so it would be accessible to the new settlers in the Mishneh, but since the Mishneh is no longer populated, I plan to close off outside access to the pool by building a wall on that western side.”

“Excellent. Thank you. Now we come to the long stretch of wall on Jerusalem's eastern side, above the Kidron Valley. I've had a chance to examine it with our engineers, and we've concluded that the central section of the old wall was too badly
destroyed and there is too much rubble from the supporting structures to rebuild it. The supports were constructed over a period of many years—and we don't have years. Instead, we'll build a new wall higher up on the slope and make the steep cliff and rubble field part of our defenses. That means the city will be smaller than before the Babylonian destruction, and a few of the houses that already have been rebuilt will end up outside the new wall.”

He took a moment to mop the sweat from his face as the section leaders talked among themselves. The sun had reached the rim of the ridge and shone directly into his eyes as he faced the gathered men. “Because of the great difficulty the cliff presents, and the fact that we'll be building a new wall from scratch, I've divided the eastern wall beyond the Fountain Gate into much smaller sections.” He consulted his list again and read off the names of each leader as far as the House of Heroes. “What is the House of Heroes, by the way?” he asked.

“Tradition says that it dates back to the time of King David and served as a barracks and an armory for his legendary Mighty Men. But the remains of it will now be outside the wall you propose to build.”

“I see. That's unfortunate, but right now we don't have much use for an armory or a barracks.” Nehemiah continued reading, putting a face with each name. He was encouraged to see that a good number of priests and temple servants had volunteered to rebuild sections of the wall adjacent to their residences. Even tradesmen such as the goldsmiths and the merchants' guild were taking part in his project. “I believe that covers everyone,” he said when he reached the Sheep Gate on the north side once again. “Thank you.”

Nehemiah could tell by the sun's height that the morning sacrifice would begin soon, but there was one more thing he wanted to say. “I know it's time to dismiss you so we can make our way up to the temple, but before I do, I want to emphasize
how important it will be to work closely with the men making repairs on either side of you. Each section of the wall must join tightly together with the ones on either side,” he said, lacing his fingers together to demonstrate. “And of course the walls must fuse seamlessly into the gates. A vertical seam will weaken the wall, just as strife and contention and jealousy weakens our community. Gentlemen, we must work together as one man for the good of all God's chosen people.”