Nehemiah was an Israelite servant of God during the Babylonian exile of the Israeli nation in the fifth century B.C. According to scholars, the Israelites had been conquered and carried into captivity to Babylon where they lived seventy years.
Babylon was then conquered by Persian King Cyrus in 539 B.C., who allowed groups of Israelites to return to Palestine. The Temple was rebuilt but the walls around Jerusalem lay in ruins, leaving the city’s inhabitants defenseless against hostile neighbors. Many Israelites chose to live in surrounding villages instead of within the city.
Nehemiah served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia, performing the equivalent duties of today’s butler. When word came to Nehemiah that the city walls and gates lay in ruins and the city remained uninhabited, Nehemiah wept and mourned, crying out to God for days (Nehemiah 1:4).
Seeing the servant’s distress, Artaxerxes asked what Nehemiah desired. The favor of God was upon him and Nehemiah requested permission to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city and restore the people of God to the city of God (Neh 2:5). The king sent Nehemiah back to Palestine with royally sealed letters, granting Nehemiah safe passage as well as supplies needed for the work ahead.
Problems in Jerusalem
The Israelites in Palestine were discouraged and unorganized. Work on the restoration of the city had ceased. The people groups surrounding Jerusalem were unhappy that help had arrived for the Israelites and that the king had sanctioned the work. Jerusalem was surrounded by hostile neighbors with Sanballat the governor of Samaria to the north, Arabs to the south, Ashdodites to the east, and Tobiah the Ammonite to the west.
Under Nehemiah’s leadership, work to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem began. Nehemiah convinced the people of Israel to live within the city while they worked assigned portions of the wall and the gates. Opposition to the work from surrounding communities was so great that they worked on the wall with one hand, holding their weapons with the other (Neh 4:17). Guards were appointed to keep watch day and night for enemy attacks.
The worship of God was the central purpose of Nehemiah’s struggle to rebuild their city. Nehemiah wanted to create a place for people to practice a holy life that honored God in safety. In the end, the walls around Jerusalem were successfully rebuilt and the city restored. The walls protected the altar of worship and the Temple, as well as the city’s inhabitants. The people of God repopulated the city of God and began once again to properly worship and practice the traditions of Israelite faith.
Lessons for the Modern World
There are five life lessons we can take from the story of Nehemiah.
1. Just as a city without walls is defenseless, a spiritual life without boundaries is vulnerable to attack. We are called to live a holy spiritual life that honors God. Healthy boundaries around that inner life in our personal life and in our faith community preserves the sacred space where we meet God.
Massive crowds continually gathered to hear him speak and to be healed from their illnesses. But Jesus often slipped away from them and went into the wilderness to pray. Luke 5:15-16
2. Grief and mourning are appropriate when the sacred and holy spaces of our lives have been destroyed by outside influence or our own poor choices. An honest appeal to God involves humility, repentance, and trust that God hears and cares.
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. Psalm 51:17
3. Those who oppose spiritual things will oppose your efforts to rebuild the holy in your life. This will often include religious people who think the hard work of building something new is unnecessary and a challenge to the way they live. A boundary (wall) to protect the sacred space in your life can be taken by some as a personal attack or exclusion. Build appropriate walls anyway. Protect the sacred life with God that is in you, your family, and your faith community.
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
4. Stand guard. The enemy seeks to destroy what God is doing. The holiness of God emanates from the altar of worship in your heart. Keep watch over the work of God in your life.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
5. The meeting place of God on earth is worship. Whatever meaningful way you worship God brings His joy into your sacred practice of faith. Seek God and you will find joy. You may have to fight for it or rebuild it, but God will meet you at your inner place of worship.
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
Photo: Greek iconography, Public Domain
Copyright @ TA Boland 2023
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