47 Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem [Nehemiah 1-13]
The Bible passage: [Nehemiah 1-13]
The Story:
(The book of Nehemiah is his story, told in his own words. The story begins about thirteen years after Ezra’s return to Jerusalem.)
I was living in the fortress city of Susa. A group of men from Judah arrived and I asked them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile. They told me that they were in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall was broken down and its gates were burned down.
When I heard this, I sat down and cried. I mourned for several days, fasting and praying to the God of heaven: “Yahweh, God of heaven, the awe-inspiring God who keeps His covenant with His people. I confess the sins of my people. We have broken your laws and commands. You told Moses that you would scatter Israel among the nations if they sinned against you. You also promised that you would gather them back to You if they returned to following You. Please, Lord, hear my prayer and forgive Your people and allow us to return to our country.” [Deuteronomy 28:64; 30:1-5]
At the time, I was the cupbearer to the king.
I had never been sad in the presence of the king, but on this day, he noticed my sadness. I was filled with fear, and I replied to the king, “I can’t help being sad when the city of my ancestors is in ruins.”
The king asked, “What is it that you would like to do?”
I prayed quickly, and asked, “I would like to return to Jerusalem, the city where my ancestors are buried, and rebuild it.”
The king asked, “How long will the journey take, and when will you return?”
I gave the king the time and he decided to send me. He gave me letters to the governors along the way to give me safe passage. He also gave me letters to get the materials we would need for the rebuilding project.
After I had been back in Jerusalem for three days, I got up during the night and took a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what I was planning to do. I did a complete inspection of the city walls and gates.
The next day, I called together the leaders of the city, and said to them, “Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Let’s rebuild the city so that we will no longer be a disgrace.” Then I told them how gracious God had been, and what the king had said to me.
They said, “Let’s start rebuilding,” and were encouraged to do the work.
When officials of nearby countries (Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem) heard about this, they mocked us, “What do you think you’re doing? Does the king know about this rebellion?”
I replied to them, “The God of heaven will give us success. You have no right or claim on Jerusalem.”
Each family in Jerusalem and the surrounding valley was assigned a gate or a section of wall.
The work was progressing well.
When Sanballat saw that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked us in front of his colleagues, saying, “What do these pathetic Jews think they are doing? Do they think they can restore the city by themselves? Do they expect to worship God here again? Will they ever finish it?”
Tobiah, who was beside him, said, “If a fox climbed up on that wall, he would break it down.”
I (Nehemiah) prayed to God, “Listen to them, God. Turn their insults back on them.”
We continued rebuilding the wall until the entire wall was completed up to half of its original height.
When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the others saw that we were continuing to progress, they all plotted together to fight against us and throw the work into confusion.
We prayed to our God and stationed a guard day and night because of them.
Our enemies believed they could sneak up on us and kill us and stop the work.
I stationed armed men at the vulnerable areas of the wall.
After I made an inspection, I spoke to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, and fight for your country, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes.”
When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated their plans, every one of us returned to his work on the wall. From that day forward, half of the men worked while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. Each of the builders had his sword strapped to him while he was building.
The people of Judah complained loudly about financial conditions in the land: mortgaging the fields, vineyards and homes to get food; having to borrow money to pay property taxes; having to sell their children into slavery.
When I heard their outcry and the charges, I was very angry. I accused the nobles and officials of charging interest to their own people, even though this went against the laws of God. [Deuteronomy 23:20] I told them, “We have been buying back our fellow Jews who had been sold to Gentiles. Now you’re selling your own people, only for us to buy them back!”
They kept quiet. They couldn’t think of anything to say.
I continued, “What you are doing is not right. You should obey God’s laws to avoid looking bad to our Gentile enemies. Stop charging interest to your brothers. Give back their fields and vineyards and houses, as well as all of the interest you have been charging them.”
The nobles and officials took an oath to do what I had instructed.
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem and the rest of our enemies heard that the wall had been rebuilt with no gaps left, they sent a message to me asking to meet in one of the villages on the plain outside the city.
I sent messengers to them with this reply, “I am working on a great project and can’t stop working to come out and meet you.”
Four times they sent the same message and four times I sent the same reply.
Sanballat sent a message saying, “Everyone knows that you are building the wall so you can rebel against the king. You need to come and meet with us.”
I sent this reply, “You are just making things up.”
The wall was completed in fifty-two days.
I appointed the gatekeepers for the city, and the musicians and Levites for leading worship.
The people of the surrounding villages went back and settled in their own towns.
The people all gathered in the square. They told Ezra, the teacher of the law, to bring out the books of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel.
Ezra stood on a high wooden platform that was built specially for the occasion. Ezra brought out the books of the Law. All the people could see him because he was standing above them. As he opened the book, the people all stood up. He read aloud from it from daybreak until noon. The people listened attentively as he read.
After hearing the words of the Law, the people held a great feast to celebrate the rebuilding of the city and the reestablishment of worship.
The Lessons:
- Just as in the story 45 The People of Judah Return from Exile, those working on God’s project faced opposition.
- Nehemiah started his journey and project by praying. And he prayed often throughout.
- Nehemiah had a vision for what needed to be done. Having a vision helped Nehemiah to stay focused on the task in front of him.
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