May 17, 2010 Nehemiah 2-5

I really appreciate how personal the Book of Nehemiah is. Chapter 2 begins as Nehemiah brought the king wine. Nehemiah admitted that he had never been sad in the
king's presence and the king noticed that Nehemiah was sad. The king inquired of Nehemiah and then answered his own question by saying that since he was not ill, it can only be sadness of heart. Nehemiah then admitted his fear to us, but answered the king truthfully anyway. He told the king that his father's home town lay in ruin and the gates had been destroyed by fire. The king asked him what he wanted. So he answered him truthfully that he wanted to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the gates, the walls and a house for himself to stay in. He also asked for protection and materials. He told the king he would return by a certain time which he doesn't share. A couple of bad guys, you probably know the type, who don't like it when things happen which they don't approve of, grumbled.

Nehemiah went to Jerusalem and inspected the wall at night in secret. He had not told anyone what God had put in his heart to do in Jerusalem. After he got some idea of the job to be done, he made himself known and told the officials and leaders of his plan. They all supported him enthusiastically - except the bad guys - Sanballat and Tobiah.

Nehemiah described the work done in each area and who did it. I like how it was a real community project. Each person contributed by doing the work themselves, usually in front of their house. Some nobles wouldn't help because they didn't want to take orders from their subordinates, but there were many leaders who set the example and got busy. People from many walks of life helped - goldsmiths, merchants, and even a perfumer, another guy had help from his daughters!

When Nehemiah heard the bad guys taunting them and being jerks, he prayed that their insults would be turned back on their own heads. But they kept working and soon the walls were about half done. This got the attention of those who despised them. The two bad guys had friends and they were very angry. They plotted trouble and Nehemiah and the people in Judah prayed. Soon the negative attitude began to spread to the workers and they began to lose strength. They were afraid of attack from the bad guys. So Nehemiah posted guards at the lowest places and gave them a pep talk to remember that God was in charge and the work continued.

It came to Nehemiah's attention that the poor people had been borrowing money from some wealthy Jews. They had to resort to harsh measures to make the payments, such as, selling their children into slavery, and mortgaging their property to pay their bills. So Nehemiah had a talk with the wealthy Jews to remind them that what they were doing wasn't right. Nehemiah got them to agree to change their ways. He set a good example and had 150 Jews, officials, and visiting dignitaries dine with him.

Tomorrow read Nehemiah 6-8:8