After the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt, Nehemiah and the Jewish people assembled to dedicate it and celebrate what God had done for them (Neh. 12:27). Their joy teaches us how to make our church family more appealing to outsiders.
Speaking the Truth in Love
Speaking the Truth in Love
It’s Time to Build
After the reconstruction of Jerusalem’s wall was finished, the people gathered in the square before the Water Gate and worshiped God (Neh. 8:1-6). Their example helps us understand how to worship in a way that is pleasing to God and meaningful to us.
Immediately after the reconstruction of Jerusalem’s wall, the people of Judah assembled in the square before the Water Gate to read the book of the law (Neh. 8:1). Without an open Bible, we can’t build anything of lasting value.
The false prophet Shemaiah encouraged the governor of Judah to protect himself from assassination by hiding in the temple sanctuary. But Nehemiah refused to compromise his deepest convictions. If he dishonored the Lord, he wasn’t doing God’s work.
To his dismay, Nehemiah discovered that the Jewish nobles and officials were mistreating the poor (Neh. 5:1-13). This internal problem threatened Jerusalem’s reconstruction project. Neglecting the poor hurts the church too. https://www.orphanslifeline.org/
Nehemiah personally joined the workers laboring to rebuild the city walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 4:23). Why? He was the governor of Judah. Didn’t he understand that becoming a servant is beneath the dignity of a good leader?
Nehemiah and his people were rebuilding the broken city wall of Jerusalem. The work was half done. But the workers were exhausted (Neh. 4:10). How did they find the strength to finish—and in record time?
Mark 13:32-37 32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house…
Nehemiah came to Jerusalem to rebuild the city’s damaged walls and gates. But Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem fiercely resisted the reconstruction project (Neh. 2:10, 19). Any church seeking revival must expect God’s enemies to employ the same tactics used against Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was a great leader. He saw a serious problem, prayed about it for months, formulated a vision for resolving it, and boldly asked the king of Persia to support it. But the plan to rebuild ruined Jerusalem would have failed if the people had refused to work (Neh. 2:18).
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