Nehemiah
The book of Nehemiah begins with distressing news - “The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). Nehemiah takes this situation to the Lord in prayer (Nehemiah 1:4-11). With the help of God, the work of rebuilding begins. This work was pleasing to the Lord (Nehemiah 2:18). This work would not be easy. There was opposition: They “mocked and ridiculed us, ‘What is this you are doing?’” (Nehemiah 2;19). The opponents would not succeed. Why? - “The God of heaven” would give “success” to His people (Nehemiah 2:20). God’s work is done by many people, working together. Nehemiah 3 gives us a list of all the people who played their part in the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls.
The book of Nehemiah begins with distressing news - “The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). Nehemiah takes this situation to the Lord in prayer (Nehemiah 1:4-11). With the help of God, the work of rebuilding begins. This work was pleasing to the Lord (Nehemiah 2:18). This work would not be easy. There was opposition: They “mocked and ridiculed us, ‘What is this you are doing?’” (Nehemiah 2;19). The opponents would not succeed. Why? - “The God of heaven” would give “success” to His people (Nehemiah 2:20). God’s work is done by many people, working together. Nehemiah 3 gives us a list of all the people who played their part in the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls.
Nehemiah and his
fellow-builders face determined opposition from their enemies: “What
they are building - if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down
their wall of stones!” (Nehemiah 4:3). When the enemies “heard that the
repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being
closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together against
Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it” (Nehemiah 4:7-8). What did
God’s people do when they were faced with this opposition? - “We prayed
to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat”
(Nehemiah 4:10). They were watching out for their enemies - and they
were looking to the Lord. Nehemiah urged the workers to keep looking to
the Lord: “Remember how great and awe-inspiring the Lord is ... Our God
will fight for us!” (Nehemiah 4:14,20). This is what we must do. We must
keep our eyes on the Lord. He is the great God. He is a great help to
His people in their many times of testing.
Nehemiah works, with
the help of God, for the poor of the people (Nehemiah 5:19). The enemies
of Nehemiah continued to oppose the work of rebuilding the walls of
Jerusalem. When they came with their criticisms, Nehemiah refused to be
distracted. He kept on working (Nehemiah 6:3). Work on the city walls
was completed. The critics were silenced - “When all our enemies heard
about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their
self-confidence.” God was glorified - “They realized we had done this
work with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:19). The situation of God’s
people today is still the same as it was in Nehemiah’s day. To rebuild
the “walls” of God’s work, we must overcome determined opposition.
Following
the list of those who returned to the city of Jerusalem from exile
(Nehemiah 7), we see the people of God, hearing the Word of God, read
and explained to them (Nehemiah 8:7-8). The preaching of God’s Word took
the place within the context of thanksgiving and worship (Nehemiah
8:6). The ministry of the Word of God was grounded in the study of the
Word of God (Nehemiah 8:13).
“Stand up and thank the Lord your
God” (Nehemiah 9:5). This is a call to worship. We worship God, our
Creator: “You alone are the Lord. You made heaven ... You made the
earth” (Nehemiah 9:6). The God of Abraham is our God - the faithful God:
“You made a promise ... You kept Your promise” (Nehemiah 9:8). Our God
is the God of redemption. He’s the God who redeemed His people, Israel,
from their bondage in Egypt (Nehemiah 9:9-11). He is the God who has
given us “commandments, laws and teachings” (Nehemiah 9:14). He gives us
“bread” and “water”, as we stumble through life’s wilderness, on our
way to His promised land (Nehemiah 9:15). Our God is great: “You are a
forgiving God, One who is compassionate, merciful,patient, and always
ready to forgive” (Nehemiah 9:17). He is the God of “endless compassion”
(Nehemiah 9:19). He has given us “His good Spirit” to teach us
(Nehemiah 9:20). He blesses us, with His “vast supply of good things”
(Nehemiah 9:25). “Our God” is “the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring
God.” He is the “merciful and compassionate God” (Nehemiah 9:31-32).
The
“separation of God’s people from the inhabitants of the land” was “for
the sake of God’s teachings” (Nehemiah 10:28). There is an important
principle here. We are separated from the world so that we might be
separate to God. Everything revolves around this - giving glory to God
by giving Him His rightful place in our hearts and lives: “We won’t
neglect God’s Temple” (Nehemiah 10:39).
The walls had been
rebuilt. Now, they were “dedicated” to God (Nehemiah 12:27). It was a time
of great joy (Nehemiah 12:27,43). The people of God sand “songs of
praise and thanksgiving to God” (Nehemiah 12:46). As well as singing
praise to God, the Lord’s people listened to His Word (Nehemiah 13:1).
Sometimes, after happy times among God’s people, there can be a time of
decline - “Why is God’s Temple being neglected?” (Nehemiah 13:11). We
must not live in the past. Our walk with God must continue. There must
be an ongoing fellowship with the Lord. If there is to be a closer walk
with God, we must always remember that this is not our own doing. It is
the loving kindness of God, reaching out to us: “Remember Me ... My God
... Since You are very kind” (Nehemiah 13:22). His kindness brings
blessing into our lives: “Remember me, my God, for my benefit” (Nehemiah
13:31).
No comments:
Post a Comment