Wednesday, July 2

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I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem...The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.  Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”  I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.  - Nehemiah 2:11, 17-18

Nehemiah is abut to embark on a monumental task of rebuilding the nearly 41/2 mile long city wall of Jerusalem.  This wall has been in ruins for over a century, the people living in the Jerusalem have become used to the broken down condition of their city.   While rebuilding the walls is an important job, it is really not the main point of the book of Nehemiah.  The central theme in the book is the sufficiency of God.  Nehemiah’s mind is fixed on the greatness of God and he wants those who will join him in this wor to have the same focus. 

Nehemiah didn’t reach Jerusalem because he was a skillful persuader, or because he was clever or persuasive, or because the king was a generous benefactor, but only because God is a sovereign provider!  Since God had done all that, He would certainly help them to complete the task of rebuilding the walls.

Now remember that these people have been living in this broken down and vulnerable condition for 100 years!   Generally speaking, the longer people live with a problem or an issue, the more used to it and accepting of it they become.  The Jews in Jerusalem had likely become complacent about the condition of their city.  They probably thought, “well this is just how it is for us”, they had lost sight of the vision God had for His people and for Jerusalem.

So...how does Nehemiah rouse the people to action after 100 years of complacency?  What does he do to inspire them?  He doesn’t wow them with his intelligence.  He doesn’t fire them up with his strategic plans.  He tells them the story of what God has done!  This is what motivates them - the story of how God moved the heart of a king to allow Nehemiah to return. The power of a story to impact people’s lives is an incredible thing, and we have the most amazing story in the world to tell, it is the story of how God gave Himself to ransom lost sinners and bring them into His family!

By telling the people what God had already done, Nehemiah was firing them up for what He was about to do. His appeal focused on the glory and greatness of God. When you think about it, it’s amazing that the people said, “Let us start rebuilding.” Think about what they could have said. They could have been apathetic – they had been living in the rubble for a long time and could have just stayed there. They could have reminded Nehemiah that the Jews had “already tried that” before in Ezra 4 and were stopped by the authorities.

We often face those same two obstacles within the church. Either “we’re content with the way things are” or, “we tried that before and it didn’t work!” I’m thankful that this church responds much like the wall builders did in this chapter...because the gracious hand of our God is upon us, let us rise up and build!

Jeff Frazier