"REMOVING THE RUBBISH (PART I)" (Pastor Tom Henry) ~ 9/24/26

“…there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build.” (Nehemiah 4:10)

Jerusalem had been totally laid waste by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, and what that destruction meant may be determined by the vast heaps of rubble that was the sole memorial of what was once the glorious and beautiful city of God in the mountain of His holiness. So magnificent had been her situation with her glistening towers, and royal palaces, and strong bulwarks! But after the Babylonians razed her to the ground there remained much rubbish.

Nehemiah was in Shushan (Where he was serving as the King’s cupbearer) when he received word about the Jews who had escaped the captivity and of the condition of Jerusalem. He was told what he would later see for himself, “…the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down…Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.” (Neh. 1:3; 2:17) Having, by the grace of God, obtained permission to go to Jerusalem and help remove the reproach of his beloved city, he organized forces to rebuild the walls and restore the gates. The temple had now been completed.

As Nehemiah and his forces began building and were making progress, they soon met up with great opposition. As the opposition grew, Nehemiah said, “…we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night,…And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish: so that we are not able to build the wall.” One can only imagine the amount of debris that had been pushed to the parameter of the city from its former temple, the houses, the tower, the armory of David, the palace of the King, etc. Is it any wonder that they could not build because there was so much rubble? It was surely out of the question to try and build upon the rubbish.

This presents an apt metaphor that may be justifiably used for a type of the work which God’s people are called upon to carry out in Jesus’ name in this world. We are commissioned to build the wall of the Church of Christ, but there is so much rubbish that must be removed.

This is true, first, of the building of the Church, the Jerusalem of God. This is the enterprise of God. He alone can build the church. “When the lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory.” And we may build as we may, but “except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” Yet, we work because God works by us. We are hindered, however, in this service by the fact that there is much rubbish in the way.

The foundation is there. “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” But the foundation has been overlaid with tons of rubbish. The wise master-builder himself had to plow through and remove much rubbish of Jewish tradition. He, as all of the apostles, had to get rid of invented rites and ceremonies. So many held to the “handwriting of ordinances” that were nailed to the cross of Christ. (Col. 2:14)

They encountered on the broader scene of the Roman Empire the rubbish of old paganism, and oh, what rubbish it was! How the classic writers and satirists polluted the times with their vices, superstitions, and hideous groveling. Their very gods were monsters of crime and sacred rite orgies of lust and drunkenness. Men could not find out God, for gods many and lords many stood in the way. Satan had blinded them and their foolish hearts were darkened. It takes greater power than any human builder possesses in himself to clear away such rubbish. We must labor in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank God, by His mighty power, such rubbish is removed, so that the foundation is exposed. Paul himself had to have the rubble of his old religion removed before he came to be fixed upon the true Foundation of Jesus Christ.

In the early days of the Church there was a kind of “feeling after God” in the heathen mind, but it was misdirected through various forms of philosophy and proud self-confidence. Sadly, this same kind of rubbish takes various forms today. For example, the whole Roman Catholic system, while claiming to be founded upon Jesus Christ and the Gospel, is really a conglomeration of human tradition, pagan philosophy, witchcraft, humanism, extrabiblical dogma, distorted Christian doctrine, priestcraft, and so on.

Many protestants and evangelicals are confusing souls about what salvation is. They call upon hearers to say a certain prayer; to seek a certain feeling; to walk down a church aisle; observe the ordinances, and the list goes on. Thus, rather than clear the rubbish, they build upon it and produce “converts” that know nothing of deliverance from sin.

Let us, as builders, do what Nehemiah did. Let us, first make prayers to our God. Then, let us, in the power of the Holy Spirit clear away the rubbish and build by preaching the truth.