Part 1
We recently read a great historical fiction on Nehemiah called, Victory on the Wall: a Story of Nehemiah. It was excellent. As Amy read it to us while we traveled in the car, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how God spoke to me through that book while we were in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. So I decided to study Nehemiah a little closer myself and thought I’d share my findings with you in hopes that you’ll be encouraged by God’s Word. I’m sure as I go through this I’ll kind of hop all over the place, so thanks for hanging in there with me. I also want to encourage you to study Nehemiah for yourself and PLEASE share with me your thoughts and conclusions in the comments section.
Just Who Was Nehemiah
Before we go too much further, I want to briefly (without getting into too many details just yet) talk about Nehemiah’s position in which we find him at the beginning of the book of Nehemiah. Again, we’ll talk about this in greater detail later but it’s important to first off understand who Nehemiah was. Nehemiah was a Jew. He was a Jew living in exile as the nation of Israel had been conquered along with the rest of Western Asia over a century before his birth by the Persians. When we begin reading the book of Nehemiah we find Nehemiah living (quite well I might add) in the Persian capital of Susa and we later learn that he has a very important job in the King of Persia, Artaxerxes’ court as the Kings beloved cupbearer. Let’s pause for just moment.
God is sovereign. He has a plan. We can see this beginning to unfold in the story of Nehemiah. In this story, God’s chosen people Israel, have been conquered and displaced throughout the region because of their rebellion against Him. However, as rebellious as Israel had become there was still a remnant of faithful and God-fearing Israelites. And even though Israel has been conquered and displaced, God still loved her and had a plan to redeem her.
Let me ask you; do you feel conquered and/or displaced? Has COVID-19 and its after-affects left you doubting God and his love for you? Doubting God’s plan? Or let me ask you this; does it feel like our nation is being torn apart? Is there a great rebellion occurring right before our very eyes? If you answered yes to any of those questions, please re-read the previous paragraph.
God is still sovereign. He still has a plan. There is still a remnant of faithful and God-fearing Americans. And even though you/we may feel conquered and/or displaced, God still loves you and has a plan to redeem you.
Let that sink in. God is still in control and He still loves you. Jesus has already redeemed you. So before we go further into the study of Nehemiah, I want to encourage you to commit or recommit yourself to the truth of the gospel and place your hope and trust in the redeeming love of the Father. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28