Every Hand, One Work: Interdependence in Action

When Nehemiah came to Jerusalem in the fifth century BC to help rebuild the then-ruined city, he exhorted the people, “Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision” (Neh. 2:17). Whatever discussion may have ensued isn’t recorded for us, but the people’s conclusion is plain and clear: “They said, ‘Let us rise up and build,’” and “they strengthened their hands for the good work” (v. 18). Chapter 3 of Nehemiah then goes on to catalogue the names of those who answered the call and the places where they served side by side along the whole wall of Jerusalem, from the priests at the Sheep Gate (v. 1) to Hallohesh and his daughters beside the Tower of Ovens (vv. 11–12) all the way around to the goldsmiths and the merchants beside the Sheep Gate again (v. 32).

This catalogue is in many ways matter-of-fact. Nevertheless, it is part of God’s Word, and it is there for our instruction. Among the many lessons we can draw from it is that in the work of God’s people, the principle of interdependence is key. A project of this magnitude could never have been seriously entertained without the mobilization of the entire community, connected with one another, dependent upon one another.

What would it look like for a church to have the kind of interdependence that the people of Israel displayed here? At least three elements are critical.

Taking Responsibility

First, interdependence involves every individual taking responsibility for something. If you had gone about Jerusalem in the days of rebuilding and asked, “Who are you, and where do you work?” one would have been able to say, “I’m Hassenaah, and I work at the Fish Gate,” and another, “I’m Shallum, and I work at the Fountain Gate.” If someone answered, “I don’t know,” you could safely assume they either had not grasped the purpose of the project or had no interest in being involved.

Indeed, in this case especially, the success of the project depended on each party taking responsibility. A wall around a whole city except for one part would still leave the city vulnerable. Jerusalem needed a completed wall, and so all the people needed to take responsibility for their sections.

About the church, Paul reminds us that “the body does not consist of one member but of many” (1 Cor. 12:14). God’s people are seeking to be a city on a hill (Matt. 5:14), proclaiming the Gospel to the world—but one man or woman cannot do it by themselves. God gives gifts to the church to build the church up (Eph. 4:15–16), and each member must take responsibility for the task God has granted.

Setting Aside Disagreements

Interdependence also means setting aside personal disagreements. Building the church is not like building with bricks that all come out of a machine, each exactly the same size. As someone has said, it’s more like building with bananas:¹ some are green, some are mushy, and none of them really fit together neatly.

Not all in Jerusalem were at peace with one another. In fact, at one point, Nehemiah had to intervene in a conflict between poorer farmers and wealthier leaders who were extracting interest from them—likely on loans taken to hold them over while they contributed to the construction of the wall. Nehemiah acted to resolve the injustice and end the dispute (Neh. 5:1–13).

Interdependence will mean operating with one another on the basis of God’s love. A church that reflects the character of Christ will seek to honor God “by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” Doing so will mean striving to follow Paul’s instructions: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil 2:2–3).

Keeping the Purpose in View

Finally, true interdependence will require keeping the purpose in view. Every group along Jerusalem’s wall had an objective, and that was to meet the next group and, together, form an encircling wall. But it could easily have been possible for one group to get so focused on its little part of the project that it forgot what the people as a whole were aiming for.

You can imagine them: “What a quaint little corner we have! Why don’t we build a deck off the wall here?” Maybe someone else says, “We can get some figs from this grove nearby and sell jam off the deck!” Before they know where they are, they’ve lost sight of their real purpose.

In a church, similar things can happen. A preacher, for instance, may grow so consumed with preaching that he loses his sense of the church’s other ministries; then he will be a nuisance, drawing attention to himself and resources to his interests. The woman who runs the bunco night can start to think that the church was established for the sake of bunco. And so we do well to remember that the church doesn’t exist to rearrange the furniture so that everyone inside can feel comfy. It exists to glorify God and to fill the earth with His glory by proclaiming the Gospel where God has set us down. We ought to ask ourselves, “Am I building up the church for God’s glory, or am I building my own personal deck?”

The story is told that when Christopher Wren was building St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, an overseer was making the rounds inspecting the construction. He came upon one worker and asked, “What are you doing?” He said, “I am helping to carve out the loft for the organ.” He came to another and asked, “And what are you doing?” He said, “I am laying the mosaic on the floor.” And so it went until finally, he came to a fellow, away in obscurity, raising up dust and beating with a hammer and chisel on a big block of apparently inconsequential stone. “And young man, what are you doing?” the overseer asked. The young man looked up at him and said, “I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build St. Paul’s Cathedral.” He wasn’t just there with his stone and his little chisel, doing his own little project. He understood that he was part of the whole.

In the church, we don’t each work on our own little projects. We work together for God’s glory, and we depend on one another as we do. God has given us one another so that together we might work toward the goal of making His name known. And by God’s grace, enabled by His Spirit, we can do just that, hand in hand.

This article was adapted from the sermon “Hard-Pressed but Not Crushed — Part One” by Alistair Begg.