Rebuilding

Nehemiah tells us of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, after they had been destroyed during Nebuchadnezzar’s siege and the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (2 Kings Chapter 25). In Chapter 4:1-3, Nehemiah describes the opposition they received from the surrounding inhabitants. At first, Local leader Sanballat, ridicules the Jews’ efforts in rebuilding and was very angry. Later, When Sanballat along with Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod realize that the Israelites are beginning to succeed…

“They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.” Nehemiah 4:8

Often times God gives us a task to do as well. Many people may try to discourage us from undertaking the tasks God has put before us. They can ridicule us, or try to dissuade us from his work with what they describe are their best intentions. Sometimes the things that would keep us from doing God’s work don’t come in the form of people, but may in fact be the barbs of Satan in the form of reminders of past failings, or self doubt.

Nehemiah offers a plan to combat those people and things that would inhibit us from achieving his will. He first coaches us to pray (Nehemiah 4:4), and then begin the work, guarding against those who would seek to sideline us (Nehemiah 4:16-22).

There is a happy ending to Nehemiah’s story:

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. – Nehemiah 6:15-16.

What exciting words, “they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God”. May we carry out work to completion, so that those around us may know that the things we have done are done with the help of the God of this universe.