The Lord is with Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall. He will bless it and protect it and see it to completion.

The Lord fought for them. They didn’t need to worry about fighting for themselves.

An army had a plan of attack, but their plan was to have a surprise attack. God revealed their plan, and they gave it up when they realized they lost the advantage of surprise.

Nehemiah and the people prayed and the Lord knew how to foil the evil plans of their enemies.

They didn’t need to set a guard for themselves. They didn’t need to keep a weapon on hand at all times.

Nehemiah spurs them on by saying, “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.” But, he doesn’t say, “So trust Him to defend us. We are doing His work.” He says, “So fight for your families and homes.”

He doesn’t remind them that the great God will fight for them. He tells them to fight for themselves.

God doesn’t punish them for half trusting. They are not turned over to their enemies. They are just really out of practice with trusting the Lord. Maybe they hadn’t faced battle in their lifetime, for many of them. The last time the oldest of them faced battle, they were taken captive and their city burned.

God trained David and Israel for war. It wasn’t about strength and skill. The training was in trusting the Lord.

Nehemiah 4 ends with this phrase: “Each kept his weapon at his right hand.”

What should they have considered to be at their right hand?

“I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psalms 16:8 ESV).

This is what David knew and the Israelites had forgotten. Keep the Lord at your right hand. He is your defense.