A People of Praise
Read: Nehemiah 8:1-12 Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (v. 10) What is God rebuilding in your life? What is he restoring? While the last few years have been marked by setbacks and losses for many, God is still the same: faithful, powerful, and near to his people. Even […]
A Persistent Leader
Read: Nehemiah 6:1-15 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” (v. 3) Near the end of his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul encourages the believers to “be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (16:13). Nehemiah is one of the […]
A Persistent Enemy
Read: Nehemiah 4:1-16 Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome. (v. 14) Finally, some progress! The Jews in Jerusalem now had an effective leader in Nehemiah and a workforce of volunteers. They had a plan, and the walls were beginning to go up. But, almost as if on cue, […]
A Purpose Shared
Read: Nehemiah 3:1-12 Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. (v. 8) So many names! In this section of Nehemiah 3, there are at least 18 specifically named individuals who are recognized for their work repairing the walls of Jerusalem. Add to that the […]
A Program to Rebuild
Read: Nehemiah 2:11-20 And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. (v. 18) In Nehemiah 1, we read that Nehemiah’s brother Hanani had reported that the exiles were “in great trouble and shame” because the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, and the gates were destroyed […]
A Plan for Repair
Read: Nehemiah 2:1-10 The king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. (v. 8) Have you ever asked God for an “open door”? Paul wrote about God opening “a door” for the message of salvation (1 Cor. 16:9; Col. 3:5), and Christians often use this phrase when we are […]
A Prayer from Nehemiah
Read: Nehemiah 1 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant. (v. 11) The book of Nehemiah is really the first-person memoirs of Nehemiah himself—a contemporary of Ezra the priest. The events of chapter 1 took place about 13 years after Ezra’s arrival in Jerusalem—90 years or so after the first […]
Dealing with Discouragement
Are you stuck in discouragement? Nehemiah’s prayer in Nehemiah 1:4-11 gives you a model to leave discouragement behind, by remembering God and his promises. As we drove through Wyoming, my husband and I were amused at some of the creative—and somewhat inhospitable—names of places we saw along the way. Besides the famous “Devil’s Tower,” we […]
A Penitent Population
Read: Ezra 10:1-15 We have broken faith with our God . . . but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. (v. 2) When you drive past the rescue mission in my hometown, you see one word prominently displayed by the entrance. Hope is offered to those who come there. Sin is a destroyer, […]