September 21, 2021
“O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer. Nehemiah 1:11
Nehemiah led the third and final wave of returning Jews to Jerusalem following the 70 years of Babylonian captivity. Before stepping into this role, he served as trusted cupbearer of the Persian king, Artaxerxes. Upon receiving the sad report of the state of disrepair of Jerusalem, Nehemiah’s heart was broken. He approached the Lord prayerfully and sought favor with both God and the Persian king to arise and go to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls. The sought-after favor was granted. By God’s grace, the task of rebuilding the wall was completed in only fifty-two days! The opposition of surrounding enemies, plus abuses among his own brethren, made the quick completion of the task a feat that no one—not even their enemies—could deny was enabled by God. Nehemiah’s godly leadership continued for years as he endeavored to bring spiritual revival to the people of God within those rebuilt walls. It was an uphill battle and undoubtedly extremely frustrating to him. One of the problems had been the breaking of the Sabbath by the Jews who were engaging in buying and selling on God’s holy day, even joining men of Tyre in the traffic. So instead of inviting the stranger who is within your gates (Exodus 20:10) to enjoy a Sabbath rest, God’s people, who knew better, were joining the pagans in their breaking of the Sabbath. The problem continues up to this very minute. It is clearly, patiently addressed throughout the Word of God (compare Exodus 20:11 to Revelation 14:7).
“Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, ‘What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.’” Nehemiah 13:17-18
Did not your fathers do thus? The sins of previous generations affect each of us. Our heavenly Father, in His mercy, may allow disaster. It is a severe mercy, and always redemptive in nature. Even His obedient ones endure various tests for the strengthening of faith. Faith means faithfulness. Do not expect to grow in your relationship with God while refusing to honor Him. Never, for even a minute, think that He has abandoned His work of restoring His image in you.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5