Rebuilding the walls- Nehemiah 1 &2

“ They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the
province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of
Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted,
and prayed to the God of heaven!” Nehemiah 1:3-4

Introduction

The Israelites had abandoned God and were taken into captivity by the
Babylonians who invaded the city and destroyed the walls of Jerusalem. As a
result of the invasion, Jerusalem became a city without walls, defenseless
and with no power. Here we meet Nehemiah, one of the Israelite slaves
living in Persia as the king’s cupbearer. Because he was in the service of the
king, he had a relatively comfortable life. However, as we see in the story,
he was still very concerned about the state of events back home.

Getting the graphic firsthand description of the deplorable situation at

home caused Nehemiah to weep, fast and pray for months. God answered
and worked through Nehemiah to provide leadership and direction to Israel
and bring them back to a place of faith and trust in God. The story of
Nehemiah is the story of how God used a man to bring restoration to the
nation of Israel by placing a burden on his heart.

Today there is a constant battle over lives, families and nations. The enemy
has broken down the walls of many lives and left them exposed to all
manner of pain, fear and dejection. Our nation is crying out for help and
God is seeking people He can share His burden with to bring forth
deliverance and salvation. What a privilege it will be to be found worthy of
His use. (Ezekiel 22:30)

What burden are you carrying from God?

Group discussion: a) Each member should talk about the burdens God has
placed on their hearts for their family, church or community b) How
prepared do they feel to address these issues?

Responding to God’s call

In Isaiah 61, we see God’s call on our lives to bring deliverance to our
world. The purpose of His Spirit in us is to bring good news to the poor, to
comfort the brokenhearted and to set the captives free. The problem with
staying in our comfort zone is that it keeps us blinded to God’s desires for
us. God has called us to a life of victorious living, however we can only
experience victory by stepping out and taken on difficult situations.

Lessons from Nehemiah

(a) He carried a burden (Nehemiah 1:3-4)- When God wants to use

you in some capacity, the first thing He does is to burden your heart
with the situation. Perhaps, like Nehemiah, you may have known in
general about a need for a long time. But then you hear about the
specifics of it or you see it firsthand and you can’t put it out of your
mind. Nehemiah’s burden like Jesus, stemmed from feeling the
people’s great need (Matthew 9:36-38).

(b)He was a man of prayer (Nehemiah 1:5-10)- When you compare

the date of chapter 1:1 with the date of chapter 2:1, you discover that
Nehemiah did not hear about this need and immediately rush in
before the king with his request to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild
the wall. Rather, he waited on God in prayer for four months before
the opportunity arose to talk with the king. Prayer is key to unlocking
the winning strategy.

(c) He had vision for God’s purpose (Ephesians 2:10) - If Nehemiah

had lacked a vision of God’s purpose, when he heard about the
conditions in Jerusalem he would have said, “Why be bothered about
Jerusalem? We live in Babylon and have lived here for over 100 years.
What’s the big deal about Jerusalem anyway? Why not just settle
down and worship God here?” But Nehemiah knew something about
what God wanted to do with His people (1:9): “I … will bring them to
the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.” Babylon
would not do. God’s purpose involved His name or His glory being
made known in Jerusalem.

(d)He was a man of action (Nehemiah 2:11 - 12) – As soon as he

obtained the king’s permission, Nehemiah left immediately for
Jerusalem. He did not spare any moment but rather went straight into
action when He arrived in Jerusalem.

Closing Prayer

Lord we pray that you grant us open eyes, open minds, open hands and
open hearts, so that we can continually be your hands and feet here on
earth. Bless us with the right resources, along with a spirit of generosity,
kindness, humility, compassion, gratitude, and an ever willing heart
for serving God and others.