Text: “Remember for my good, O my God, all that
I have done for this people.” (Neh 5:19)
Most
of us want to be remembered for the good we have done for people. Nehemiah was no different. He was moved to action when he saw the need
and stayed at the task until it was completed.
We see Christ in Nehemiah is that he was a restorer of the broken.
The
prophet Jeremiah had told the people of Judah what would happen if they
continued to reject God. God had listed
their sin and iniquity and gave them the opportunity to repent, but they would
not. So, he sent the armies of Babylon
against them and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, and took the very best of
the people into captivity for 70 years.
After
70 years in exile, Cyrus gave a decree to return home and the Jews did just
that. They were able to worship God in
their own land, but the city still lay in ruins. The once-great capital of the
promised land was a depressing rubble exposed to her enemies.
When
Nehemiah hears this, he sets out to restore the city walls. The book of
Nehemiah is his story in his own words. The book is about reestablishing God’s people both
physically and spiritually.
In
the first part of the book, Nehemiah restores Jerusalem in a physical sense.
When Nehemiah hears that “the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates
are burned with fire,” (Neh 1:3), he gets permission from Persian King
Artaxerxes to rebuild the city. The governors of surrounding territories
viciously oppose Nehemiah’s efforts, but the wall is finished in just 52 days
(Neh 7:15). Nehemiah also restores economic justice in the land, admonishing
the wealthy for taking advantage of their less fortunate brothers (Neh 5).
In
the second section, Nehemiah and Ezra bring spiritual revival to Jerusalem.
Ezra reads the law of Moses aloud to the people, and the nation rededicates to
obeying God. Later on, Nehemiah works diligently to point people back to the
law of Moses (Neh 13).
Nehemiah
writes in first person. His story is peppered with personal
commentary—sometimes it reads like a historical account, and sometimes it reads
like Nehemiah’s journal. We know when he is afraid (Neh 2:2). We know when he
is angry (Neh 5:6). We even see him break his own narrative with prayers to God
(Neh 13:14). This book gives us a look into the mind of an Old Testament man of
God, giving us examples of how to lead, pray, and deal with discouragement.
“And
they said to me, ‘The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province
are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken
down, and its gates are burned with fire. So, it was, when I heard these words,
that I sat down and wept and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying
before the God of heaven.” Neh. 1: 3,4
I
really admire anyone who can build things, especially musical instruments. I have made several dulcimers, a hammer
dulcimer, and an electric bass guitar. We have a gentleman who comes to our bluegrass jam
that has made his own guitar, mandolin and fiddle and they are fine works of
art. Building something from raw
materials is beautiful in its own way, but to restore something old and still
give it a sense of the original, so you can’t tell which part is original and
which is the addition, is an amazing work of art. The time, the patience’s, the knowledge of
the tools and material to be used all go into making something that can be
used. However, being able to stay
focused, and not interrupted is important to completing the task.
What
is frustrating is to do this work with opposition and distractions or even fear
for your own safety. This is what Nehemiah faced when he led the people of God
to rebuild the broken-down walls of Jerusalem. Given permission by the king to
leave his job in the palace to undertake this task, he finds many willing
workers.
“…So,
I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king,…” Neh. 2: 4b,5a
Nehemiah
turns to God for strength to accomplish the task to which he knows God has
called him. Prayer should always precede our work. We also shouldn’t attempt to
undertake anything that we do not feel we could pray about. The task looks too
big, but then he gets each person to work on one small section until the whole
wall is rebuilt. “If everyone will
sweep before his own door, the street will be clean.” I would tell my students to learn to divide
and conquer. Breaking down the task into a small manageable job keeps you from
getting discouraged.
Even
if you do breakdown the task you may find opposition in completing your
job. Nehemiah was faced with opposition,
led by two men, Tobiah and Sanballat. These men do whatever they can to thwart
the work and discourage the people. They
were bully’s.
As
opposition mounts against the people, he arms the people working up on the
wall. They work with one hand and are prepared to fight with the other.
Things have not changed much in the attitude toward the people of
God. Today, all over the world Christians are public enemy number
one. The hatred is seen daily in the
Islamic countries where Christians are beaten, tortured, raped, beheaded, or
driven from their homes. Christians in
these Muslim country are going through significant
tribulation right now. The blood of
these Christian martyrs is crying out from under the altar, “How long, O Lord,
holy and true, until You judge those who live on the earth” and avenge our
blood? The majority of the world’s Christian believes scattered over two-thirds
of world face this persecution every day. In some areas, it is nothing short of genocide.
It is estimated that as many as
160,000 a year die for their testimony with more martyrs in the 20th century
than in the previous nineteen. Occasionally a high-profile case gets the
media's attention, but most die in closed
countries, often buried in graves known by the LORD.
As
I was scanning through some news article one caught my attention. In the
country of Chechnya, this Islamic State has urged its followers to kidnap and murder Christians in
“Russian-occupied Muslim areas,” according to a letter published by an intelligence
group that monitors the terrorist organization’s online communications.
ISIS says Russian rule there is an occupation. Now here is what I find very interesting, the
Muslims claim that Russia has intentionally occupied Muslim-majority areas in
the Caucasus and Central Asia to convert Muslims to Christianity or forcibly
displace them.
After the killing of five women in a church, ISIS claimed
responsibility for the attack. In a
letter from those claiming responsibility they stated, “Allah permitting, this
will be the spark for more bloody attacks that will destroy a larger number of
the Christian combatants in all the Russian-occupied Muslim areas. Many of them
will be killed as a punishment for their disbelief in Allah the Great, and it
will plant fear and horror inside the hearts of hundreds of thousands of their
brothers and make them flee with fear.”
In this same letter,
there is a call for Muslims to kidnap and kill Christians living in Russia, and
to use extortion. “Let every Muslim know
that the blood of those combatant Christians and their money is permissible and
that taking any of them as hostages for ransom or to swap with a Muslim
prisoner is also permissible. So, let the good deed be for everybody.”
The
Tobiah and Sanballats are still trying to discourage and stop the work of the
LORD.
So,
How is Jesus like Nehemiah, the
re-builder?
Nehemiah
was the cup bearer of the King. He lived a relative life of ease in the palace,
yet when he heard about the situation of the city of Jerusalem, he decided to
do something. He could have stayed where he was and merely felt bad about the
situation.
Likewise,
Jesus dwelt in Heaven, untouched by the effects of sin, enjoying the fellowship
of the Father and the Spirit. He didn’t need to do anything. He was not
obligated to save us. Yet He willingly
removed His royal robes and stepped into our world to redeem, remake and
rebuild us.
The
song by Dottie Rambo captures the love Jesus had for us:
He left the Splendor of
Heaven
Knowing His destiny
Was the lonely hill of Golgotha
there to lay down His life for me.
Knowing His destiny
Was the lonely hill of Golgotha
there to lay down His life for me.
He finds us broken by sin. To look at
man, you’d never know the beauty that was there before the Fall. Sin scars us,
hurts us, makes us unlovable.
"But God commendeth
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners.” Rom. 5:8
When
He saves us, His Spirit begins the work of re-making us into His image.
For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For
what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That
the righteousness of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Is
there opposition to this re-building? Of course. The world, the flesh and the
devil fight it continually, and try to discourage us or thwart the work. They
may even fight to keep us where we were when the work began, or tempt us to backslide
into a worse state.
But
we don’t have to worry that Jesus will be thwarted in His work. …“being
confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil. 1:6
As
the people had a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other, so Christ equips
us to work and gives us the Sword of the Spirit, His Word, to fight against our
enemies.
“Every true Christian is both a laborer and a soldier, working with one
hand and fighting with the other.”
Nehemiah
appealed first to God in prayer, and then he approached the king with his
petition. This gave him confidence in his task. Likewise, Jesus depended on His
Heavenly Father for strength to complete His work. He was often in prayer.
Should we do any less?
We
are often our own worst enemies. Even if we were to take the world and the
devil out of the equation, our own flesh would still fight to oversee our
destiny.
For
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will
is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For
the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now
if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in
me. Rom.7:18-20
You
can’t escape sin, because it’s within you.
But, the LORD has come to change your life and make you a spiritual
house.
“Coming
to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and
precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a
holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 2:4
This
reference to believers as living stones shows our connection with and
resemblance to Christ, Himself our Chief Cornerstone. This spiritual house is a
reference to the temple or dwelling place of God.
“And what agreement has the temple of
God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.” 2 Cor. 6:16
Believers are associated with the temple of
God because the Spirit dwells in us.
“Now ,therefore, you are no longer
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of
the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole
building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom
you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Eph. 2:19-22
“…but Christ as a Son over His own house,
whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope
firm to the end.” Heb. 3:6
Again,
a reference to believers as the house of God.
Christ is a rebuilder of broken lives.
He paid the price to mend our broken lives.
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or
gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from
your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish
or defect.” 1 Pet. 1:18,19
“Oh
you afflicted one, tossed with tempest and not comforted. Behold, I will lay
your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires.” Isa. 54:11
If
you have not met the re-builder of lives, let Jesus repair your sin broken life
and become the spiritual house he desires us to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment