Be a Nehemiah

Then I said . . . 'Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.' . . . So they said, 'Let us rise up and build.' Then they set their hands to this good work. Nehemiah 2:17-18

A city wall in ruins was a very bad thing in ancient days. It left a city vulnerable to both physical attack and hurtful ridicule from neighboring powers. In Jerusalem's case, the unrepaired wall also gave foreigners a reason to scorn God, whose holy city it was. And that is why Nehemiah wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed for several days when he heard the news of the condition of the wall, which had been destroyed and neglected for more than a century.

During the 120 years after the walls were torn down by the Chaldeans (2 Chronicles 36:19), generations of Jerusalem's people had looked at the ruins and done nothing. Maybe to them, rebuilding the wall looked like an impossible challenge, even though the city possessed plenty of workers. What the people needed was someone to rally them, plan their course of action, and take them through the rebuilding process. What they needed was a leader. They needed Nehemiah. Remarkably, it took the people only fifty-two days to rebuild the city wall. And they were able to do it because they had a great leader to navigate for them.

Will you be a Nehemiah to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem? This is my personal challenge to you. In whatever capacity you are, what we need is your willingness and heart to do the job.