[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (DRU) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]
[9:43 pm, 08/05/2022] S.R: ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟙:𝟙𝟙
"O Lord, I beseech You, may
Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your
servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful
today and grant him compassion before this man. Now I was the cupbearer to the
king."
Nehemiah knew his Bible well. He
recalled the prophecy of Moses concerning God's judgment for the disobedient
ones and the restoration for the repentant people. Nehemiah confessed their
sins and was asking God to restore them. He trusted God's word. And he decided
to be the repentant one to bring restoration.
Would we like Nehemiah see
ourselves as the agent of change? But to do that we need to be saturated in the
grace and knowledge of God!
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟚:𝟠
"‘and a letter to Asaph the
keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the
gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for
the house to which I will go.’ And the king granted them to me because the good
hand of my God was on me."
Nehemiah recognized the hand of God
in this situation. He didn't credit himself or the king.
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟛:𝟚𝟘
"After him Baruch the son of
Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the
house of Eliashib the high priest."
Only this verse described it
differently. The addition of the adverb "zealously"
We may do the same work, but some
are more passionate than others!
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟜:𝟡
"But we prayed to our God, and
because of them we set up a guard against them day and night."
Prayer was their best strategy,
weapon, and strength! Prayer was not enough, so, they set up a guard. But
without prayer, the guards would be in vain!
"Priority of prayer"
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟝:𝟙𝟝-𝟙𝟞
"But the former governors who
were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine
besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But
I did not do so because of the fear of God. I also applied myself to the work
on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there
for the work."
We need leaders who fear God.
Leaders ought to lead people in and to righteousness!
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟞:𝟙𝟙
"But I said, ‘Should a man
like me flee? And could one such as I go into the temple to save his life? I
will not go in.’"
We need to be brave and courageous
like Nehemiah!
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟟:𝟜
"Now the city was large and
spacious, but the people in it were few and the houses were not built."
Similarly, the earth is big and
there's a need for development. Also, in the church!
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟠:𝟙𝟘
"He read from it before the
square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in
the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people
were attentive to the book of the law."
Enough of attention span! These
people listened to sermons for 6 hours. People can watch a web series that last
20 hours.
It's the unsanctified mind that
gets bored with the word of God. At least give credit to your brain. Have some self-respect!
Don’t talk about attention span. Just tell you aren't that spiritual to listen
to a long sermon.
And in this world, people respect
smart people, not spiritual people!
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟡:𝟛𝟚
"Now therefore, our God, the
great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness,
Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You, Which has come upon
us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers and on all
Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day."
A good prayer model. Recalling the
goodness of God and asking for His mercy again.
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟙𝟘:𝟚𝟡
"are joining with their
kinsmen, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk
in God's law, which was given through Moses, God's servant, and to keep and to
observe all the commandments of GOD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes;"
Where are the men and women of
principle in our time? Hardly, anyone has biblical conviction. They live like
the rest of the world. We should learn to separate ourselves even from other
church members—to be more godly, to speak differently, and to conduct
differently.
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟙𝟙:𝟙𝟡
"Also the gatekeepers, Akkub,
Talmon and their brethren who kept watch at the gates, were 172."
Even the names and list of the
gatekeepers are recorded. God knows each one of us.
ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟙𝟚:𝟜𝟛
"and on that day they offered
great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy, even the
women and children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from
afar."
4 times the description of joy is
repeated in this verse. It's given by the Lord. And btw, the Lord wants all of
us to be joyful people at all times!
[11:40 am, 20/05/2022] S.R: ℕ𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒𝕙
𝟙𝟛:𝟚𝟠-𝟚𝟡
"Even one of the sons of
Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the
Horonite, so I drove him away from me. Remember them, O my God, because they
have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the
Levites."
Nehemiah was zealous for purity! We
need leaders like him, more in our time