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prepared for BATTLE

Nehemiah 4:16
"And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah."

We have turned back to the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, written around 444 B.C. These events took place after the Jewish people's seventy years of exile in Babylon. Nehemiah's example is outstanding; he gave up his good job in the palace to return to a hometown he never knew and undertake the hard and laborious task to REBUILD IT! From a posh life with the royals to a life filled with BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS. 

Nehemiah and his team are there to build protective walls around Jerusalem. The Samaritans are working to demolish any work they do. The Samaritans want to intimidate and scare off the Jewish people. Nehemiah’s people labored with a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other! 

"And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah." The "habergeons" is body armor. We can compare it to chainmail. These people had to go to work prepared for BATTLE. This was a all hands on deck situation. Even the rulers were there at the wall. Encouraging the workers and guards. Sometimes even assisting with their own hands. And, sometimes commanding the defensive force when they were assaulted! This was a very dangerous time and place.
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