Nehemiah 6:15-16 NKJV
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
The Jews are distressed and their city is in ruins they are in a deep crisis and in this predicament God then raises Nehemiah to lead them. As we have learned this week, Nehemiah though in captivity, takes a position making this burden as his own and he fasts and prays. He plans and when the opportunity presents itself, he makes an appeal to the King who grants him favor. He goes back home,rallies the people together and the work of rebuilding begins. In the midst of all this opposition comes but Nehemiah is able to adjust his plan and rearrange the people to both work and keep watch armed and ready to defend what they believe in.
Why did he do all this?
God was drawing his people back to himself. The crisis presented an opportunity for the people to reflect on how far they had fallen. To me the broken walls represented how exposed they were because they were no longer under the protection of God after neglecting his ways and his counsel.
Nehemiah’s return to the city and his charge to rebuild the walls was a demonstration for the people to consider how far they had fallen and return to God, rebuild their relationship with God. It was a wake up call to cause them to rise up from their slumber. What they considered normal was not normal at all. Living in a city without walls and broken down homes was not what God wanted for them and they needed to turn back to God for the work of restoration to start.
They needed to take responsibility, the work they were doing on the outside rebuilding the walls was a representation of what was happening on the inside. They had their part to play, repent and then turn back to God and rebuild the relationship that had been broken down.
Every family had a part to play in the work of rebuilding in the same way you and I have to take responsibility to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
Reflective Thoughts.
Has this crisis caused you to reflect on your relationship with God? Are the walls broken down?
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Do you need to repent and turn back to God, take your relationship with him more seriously?
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Take responsibility acknowledge your falling away and start rebuilding the walls.
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