A Mind to Work

“So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” Nehemiah 4:6

Without modern machinery and construction materials, rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem was an enormous task. Nehemiah had a relatively small group of people, a work area strewn with debris, and a constant stream of resistance from outsiders; but he and his helpers somehow completed the wall encircling the city in just 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15). At the halfway point in the project, Nehemiah wrote about what may have been the ingredient that enabled them to accomplish such a great feat in such a short span of time. The people had a mind to work. They were not only willing to work, but they also wanted to be involved. What was their motivation? It seems that they would have been interested in enhancing their own personal safety and the security of their community. With a wall around Jerusalem, they would feel much better about building the homes they needed for shelter and planting the crops that would provide sustenance for their families. Perhaps they hoped that the wall would bring financial strength because of increased trade with people from the surrounding area. There was certainly a spiritual significance to their work because Jerusalem was the place where people came to worship God at the temple. Nehemiah and his followers had a unique opportunity to accomplish something great for God, and they were successful because they had a mind to work.