Cities defended by walls were an important development in the progress of human civilization. The oldest walled cities appear to have been built in Mesopotamia around the ninth century BC. They were many feet thick and constructed of rocks or bricks, with gates that could be closed, and towers for watchmen and defenders.

Trenches were sometimes dug around the outer perimeter of the wall to add to the defensive capability. A dry trench prevented battering machines from rolling up to a wall to break it down and also hindered the construction of siege ramps.

A trench filled with water made tunneling under the wall nearly impossible, and sewage flowing in the water away from the city provided another deterrent to invaders.

Jerusalem’s walls were built on Mount Zion with the Kidron and Hinnom valleys around three sides of its perimeter. Its walls didn’t need a trench; it was relatively easy to defend because of its position above the surrounding terrain.

The Walls of Jerusalem Today

The oldest part of Jerusalem’s wall that stands today is called the Western Wall. King Herod the Great constructed it in the first century BC as part of the retaining wall under the Temple Mount. Part of it is fully exposed and people go there to pray.

The rest of the wall is in a tunnel that is still being excavated, heading north beneath the Temple Mount. Inside the tunnel are alcoves that face the wall. Devout Jews go there to pray because they feel that’s the closest they can get to the original Holy of Holies that was in Solomon’s Temple.

The walls that stand around Jerusalem’s Old City today were built by the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the sixteenth century.

Nehemiah and the People Build the Wall

If you Google “map of Nehemiah’s wall” you’ll be able to trace the route Nehemiah followed when he made a record of the construction.

The account starts at the north end of the city where the wall was closest to the temple. The high priest Eliashib supervised other priests in building the part of the wall that lay between the Sheep Gate and the Fish Gate. These gates each had a tower: the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.

Going counter-clockwise along the wall, toward the west, the next section was built by men from Jericho. After that the list includes one group of Israelites after another who each worked on a section. Some of the builders lived in Jerusalem and worked on the wall nearest to their homes. Others came from Judah and the regions north of Jerusalem and went to work wherever they were needed.

They reused stones from the destroyed city, but they also brought in new materials, especially for the gates that had to be completely rebuilt and refitted with iron hinges and locks.

Opposition

“When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, ‘What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble – burned as they are?

Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, ‘What are they building – even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!’” Nehemiah 4:1-3

The laborers working on the wall got tired and thought they might never be able to clear enough rubble to finish building. The people in the countryside came to Nehemiah ten times to tell him they were afraid of being attacked by Sanballat and the other governors.

So Nehemiah stationed people with weapons at the most vulnerable parts of the wall and said, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” Nehemiah 4:14

From then on half of the men worked on the wall while the other half stood watch, armed and ready to defend Jerusalem against attack. Every man kept one hand ready to wield his weapon while he worked with the other hand. Nehemiah always had a trumpeter with him so he could muster fighters wherever they might be needed.

The crews worked from dawn to nightfall. Nehemiah and the other leaders didn’t take time to go home and change clothes. They barely had time to drink water or eat a meal. They all worked as hard and as fast as they could and finished the wall in fifty-two days.

Righting Injustice

A famine struck Judah and many of the people lost everything. Some of them sold their children into slavery in order to buy grain for the rest of the family. Rich Jewish people made a profit by brokering the sale of the children to other nations. They also made loans to desperate families and charged so much interest that it was impossible for them to repay the loans.

The leaders in Jerusalem had been buying back Jewish slaves from foreign nations, only to have them sold again. When Nehemiah learned about this he put a stop to it.

“What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them . . . ‘We will give it back,’ they said. ‘And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.’” Nehemiah 5:9-12

Nehemiah shook out the folds of his robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise.” Nehemiah 5:13

Nehemiah Withstands His Enemies

Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshom tried to infiltrate the ranks of the workers in Jerusalem, but they were prevented. Next they tried to lure Nehemiah to a place where they could assassinate him, but he blocked every attempt they made. He repeatedly told them he was too busy to come and meet with them.

Sanballat sent Nehemiah a letter accusing him of trying to make himself king in Jerusalem and threatening to report him to King Artaxerxes if he didn’t come and meet with them. Nehemiah replied to him that nothing Sanballat was saying was true, and he prayed that the Lord would give him strength.

Nehemiah went to visit the prophet Shemaiah who was shut in at home. Shemaiah told him that there was a plot afoot to kill Nehemiah that night and he should go with Shemaiah to hide in the temple.

“But I said, ‘Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!’ I realized that God had not sent Shemaiah , but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him . . . to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.” Nehemiah 6:11

Transfer of Leadership

Nehemiah still had a job to return to in Susa so he put a new leadership team in charge of protecting the city.

“I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do.” Nehemiah 6:2

Then Nehemiah gave instructions that the gates of Jerusalem should be kept shut until the sun was high in the sky each day. He also appointed certain guards who would lock the gates at night and others who would stand watch through the night.

In less than two months Nehemiah led Jerusalem from a city of ruins to a secure citadel on the hill. Next he and Ezra would bring order to the lives of its citizens.