To say that Nehemiah had an intense passion for God and things of God would be a bit of an understatement. While still in Babylon, he asked for a report concerning the walls of Jerusalem and wept as mourned upon receiving it, then went into a time of prayer and fasting. 2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Nehemiah 1:2-9
With a broken heart for his nation, he cried out to God in repentance. And when he received permission from King Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem, he went with a fire in his belly and a purpose in his spirit. Once he got there, he went and inspected the gates and the walls of the city at night without any of the rulers or nobles knowing.
After doing so, chapter 2 verse 17 and 18 records his statement to them. 17 Then I said to them, You see the bad situation we are in - how Jerusalem lies in ruin, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, then we may no longer be a disgrace. 18 Then I told them the hand of my God which was upon me for good, and also the words that the king had spoken to me, And they said, Let us rise up and build! So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
Just as in our lives, when the enemy sees us doing the work of God, he attacks to try to tear it down, so did the enemies of Nehemiah attack when they found out that the walls were being rebuilt. They were not going to stand for the work of the Lord to go forward. Nehemiah would not been moved, swayed, or discouraged and admonished the people of Israel to build, yet to be ready for battle at the same time. 13 So I set [armed men] behind the wall in places where it was least protected; I even thus used the people as families with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 I looked [them over] and roe up and said to the nobles and officials and the other people. Do not be afraid of the enemy; [earnestly] remember the Lord and imprint Him [on your minds], great and terrible, and [take from Him courage to] fight for your brethren your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes. 15 And when our enemies heard that their plot was known to us and that God had frustrated their purpose, we all returned to the wall, everyone to his work. 16 And from that time forth, half of my servants worked at the task, and the other half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; and the leaders stood behind all the house of Judah. 17 Those who built the wall and those who bore the burdens loaded themselves so that everyone worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other hand, 18 And every builder had his sword girded by his side and so worked. And he who sounded the trumpet was at my side. 19 And I said to the nobles and officials and the rest of the people, The work is great and scattered, and we are separated on the wall, one far from another. 20 In whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us. Nehemiah 4:13-20
I believe whole heartedly that these scriptures are important to where we are in time right now. Think back over the past 12 months and all that has happened. Our churches have been shut down and we are not allowed to gather together, we are kept scattered and separated one from another. We need to take heed of Nehemiah's words "Do not be afraid of the enemy; [earnestly] remember the Lord and imprint Him [on your minds], great and terrible, and [take from Him courage to] fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your homes." and "The work is great and scattered, and we are separated on the wall, one far from another. In whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us." Has someone in your life sounded the trumpet and needed prayer, assistance due to their livelihood being hindered, or losing their business? Has someone you know tested positive or even passed away from this virus? We must rally to them and stand on the word, praying and seeking the Lord in agreement with them. Our God will fight for us! Nehemiah 8:10 goes on to say Then [Ezra] told them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold.
Think back to your life before salvation, or if you've never accepted Jesus, really take a look at your life right now. Take inventory of the brokenness and disrepair of both your spirit and fleshly man. Before Jesus, ours walls of protection are shattered, and lay in rubble. The gates were burned and left open to the enemy. We had no line of defense. Like Nehemiah, I have no doubt that Jesus has heard the report that we were or are in ruins and it breaks His heart. He has received permission from the King, His Father, to rebuild our walls. So, when we accept Him as Savior, He comes, takes inventory and begins the work.
What is our wall? I was thinking on this and saw and imagine of a mortared wall in my mind. I saw Jesus placing the bricks into the wall and upon each brick was a scripture that I had written on my heart. Each brick or scripture fortified my wall of protection. I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, but I did the best I could so that I could provide a visual of what I was seeing and have shared it below. What are the scriptures? The Word of God, and if you read a few posts back on the scriptures for healing, at the very end I shared the revelation I was given that you can not spell sword without WORD. We stand on the wall with Jesus, our tool in one hand and the sword in the other. Those who built the wall and those who bore the burdens loaded themselves so that everyone worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other hand Nehemiah 4:17
What did Jesus say concerning burdens? 1 Peter 5: 6-7 says 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care (burdens) upon Him; for he careth for you. He is ready to rebuild your wall and your life. He will take all of your brokenness and restore it into a beautiful thing. Isaiah 61:3 says To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that HE MIGHT BE GLORIFIED. Allow Him to rebuild your life. Allow Him to rebuild your wall of defense with His word. Allow Him to restore you beauty, your joy, your praise and plant you firm in Him. He is the rebuilder of broken walls and lives.
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