Why Can’t We Remember?
One of the most important and frequent commands God gives His people is to remember. God’s people are to remember what He has done: how He brought them out of Egypt, delivered them, and made them His people for His purposes.
Remembering is one of the most difficult things for people to do. We are frail and weak. We are forgetful and easily distracted. Even simple things like grabbing something from the store or recalling what we ate yesterday slip from our minds.
We seem predisposed to forgetfulness. We can try to compensate with reminders, apps, and notes, but we still forget. Children forget water bottles or gloves or to flush the toilet (even adults forget this sometimes). We are forgetful people.
So God calls His people to remember. He gives rhythms and rituals, six days of work and one day of rest, so that they might remember. He gives festivals and a day of atonement so that they might remember. In the garden, one of the central failures that led to the fall was that Eve failed to remember what God said. That is why the serpent asked, “Did God actually say?”
We must remember what God has done and what God has said. In Nehemiah 6 and 7, we see that remembering involves at least two things:
Remembering the purpose of the wall of Jerusalem
Remembering who God’s people are
The Work of God and the Fear of His Enemies (Nehemiah 6:14–19)
The wall took 52 days to complete. Nehemiah had arrived about nine months earlier, gathered people, planned carefully, and then began the work. From start to finish, the restoration of the wall and gates took less than two months.
This was not a small project. The wall stretched roughly 1.5–2.5 miles. And this was stone masonry without trucks, machinery, or modern tools. Even today, a skilled masonry crew using concrete blocks might take around 40 days to build a comparable wall. Nehemiah’s workers were moving heavy stone by hand. What they accomplished was extraordinary.
When the enemies of God’s people heard of it, they became afraid and lost confidence. They had schemed, mocked, slandered, and threatened in hopes of stopping the work. But the result was the opposite: they recognized that God Himself had accomplished it.
When God’s people accomplish great things for Him, it becomes a testimony to His power before unbelievers. The enemies of God had tried to frighten His people into stopping. Instead, they themselves became frightened. This is how God works. The schemes of the enemy fall back on his own head. Just as at the cross of Christ, where Satan thought he had won but was actually defeated, so here the enemies of God’s people are demoralized.
One of the most effective ways to demoralize your enemies isn’t through retribution or counter attack but by winning. The best answer to opposition is to keep working and fulfill God’s will so that others see His power. The answer is simple: do the work God gives, and leave the results to Him.
Why did the wall matter? Because it meant God’s people could no longer be easily trampled. When God’s people take action to prevent harm and secure stability, opposition intensifies: ridicule, slander, or threats. When Christians take measures to prevent their own harm, the enemy will attack them. This will come through name calling, slanders, and threats. We know this. When Christians finally stand up and say “that’s enough, we’re not just gonna be walked all over, we’re gonna establish laws and raise up leaders to defend Christians,” the enemy hates this. But it honors the Lord.
The the main purpose of the wall was not merely protection. It was ultimately for the glory of God through the building up of His people. But even after completion, attacks persisted. Tobiah still tried to undermine the work through relationships: marriage ties and business alliances.
Tobiah continued to try and leverage these relationships to try and subvert the work of Nehemiah. “Tobiah had his hooks into a number of Jerusalem families and these kept up continual pressure for a ‘kinder, gentler’ policy toward the surrounding syncretists or pagans.” - Dale Ralph Davis
There was a type of 5th column that persisted among those who Nehemiah led that would converse with Tobiah and seek to undermine the full throated expansion of God’s kingdom.
How many of us have been part of Christian groups where there are those who are constantly trying to govern the tone and direction of the group based on having relationships with those who hate God? I have heard of this in campus ministries with good men and women who are constantly throttled from teaching the full council of God because it might hurt someone’s feelings.
They will say “You can’t do that and go on the offense for Christ because it would upset people who hate God.” This is very common. And it is a type of spiritual attack.
Spiritual attack is not always dramatic or obvious. Often it is subtle like a slow erosion of conviction, unity, or clarity. The enemy frequently works through relational leverage, seeking to dull obedience and soften faithfulness. God’s people must be clear-eyed about this reality if they are to remain steadfast.
The True Purpose of the City (Nehemiah 7:1–4)
After the wall was finished, Nehemiah established leaders and guards. His aim was not merely civic order but right worship. The wall existed so the people could worship God freely. Nehemiah knew that more than a wall though, it was worship that would be the central feature, and he needed to appoint ministers that would function as watchmen on the walls of worship. “God’s worship is the defense of a place, and his ministers, when they mind their duty, are watchmen on the walls.” - Matthew Henry
He appointed trustworthy, God-fearing men of character to leadership. Like what Paul did when he planted churches. There should be clear leaders that are men of character and trustworthy as well as rules about how things will be conducted.
This is wise leadership: establish qualified leaders and clear structures. Yet he also instituted temporary measures, such as limiting when the gates opened, because wise leadership sometimes requires interim decisions suited to present conditions rather than permanent laws.
Nehemiah understood something crucial: the central feature of the city was not its defenses but its worship. Worship is not mere ritual. When God’s people worship, they come before their Creator who is their defender, strong tower, judge, and refuge. In that sense, worship itself is a kind of wall.
Remembering Who We Are (Nehemiah 7:5–73)
Nehemiah then assembled the people and recounted their genealogies. He explains that God put it into his heart to do this. Every good impulse, wise plan, and holy desire ultimately comes from God. Knowledge, grace, and wisdom all come from Him, and therefore all glory must return to Him.
Nehemiah was always looking for ways to build up God’s people and glorify God. Faithful men think this way: How can I bless others? How can I glorify God? How can I build up His church? They aspire not to greed but to greatness. They aspire to build and bless.
The lists of names and numbers in the Bible often confound Christians in their Bible reading plans. But they have been given to us in the Word for our profit.
A few months ago I visited the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C. They have a list of the names of the men who died serving our country. I found myself reading through the list because they are my people. I was especially interested to see how many men with the last name “Davis” were recorded (there were many). These were the men who came before me. When we come across the lists of names in the Bible, we should have a similar appreciation and humility.
The census-like record served several purposes. It helped organize the city for proper worship and clarified who belonged within it to rebuild homes and guard the walls. Knowing who they were mattered. Identity was tied to calling.
Knowing who you are is essential to serving God. This is not about personality profiles; it is about knowing your connection to the Father through the Son—remembering what Christ accomplished in His death and resurrection and what that means for you. He calls His people friends and brothers. He has purchased them at a price. That must be remembered.
When we read lists of names in Scripture, we should remember: these are our people too, the spiritual descendants of Abraham. The faithful generations who trusted God and labored for His purposes belong to the same story we do. We do not belong to Christ in isolation. We belong to His body across time and place.
The passage closes with generosity. The people gave abundantly for the restoration of Jerusalem and the worship of God (gold, garments, and resources). Every movement of God involves people stepping forward in faith, obedience, and generosity. Whether many or few, God works through those who trust Him.
Bringing It Together
The people of needed clarity about their purpose and their identity. Nehemiah provided both by appointing leaders, organizing the people, and reminding them who they were. Then he put them to work.
Often remembrance is strengthened not merely by hearing truth but by acting on it. If you find yourself forgetting the gospel, one of the best ways to remember the love of Christ is to obey Him, to throw yourself into faithful living and into building up His church.
Remember
God is building His eternal city, a new Jerusalem. More than physical walls, He is advancing His lordship throughout the world. Since Christ’s ascension, His people have been commissioned as builders and defenders of His church. God is doing this work in congregations everywhere all across the globe.
We must remember our purpose: to advance Christ’s lordship for God’s glory and our good. This is true of every faithful church, and it is true for us in particular. It is our duty and our service.
We must remember who we are: the people God has saved. No weapon formed against His church will ultimately prevail. Christ reigns. He has brought His people into communion with Himself and given them access to the throne of grace. Our story is not merely individual; it is the shared story of God’s people throughout history.
When we are clear about our purpose and identity, we will live with generosity, resist division, and stand firm against every scheme that seeks to undermine the body of Christ.
This sermon was preached at The Well Church in Boulder, CO on February 15, 2026. To watch this sermon go here. To listen to this sermon go here.