Nehemiah

Nehemiah’s call

Walls are put in place to protect things. For decades the Berlin Wall stood in Europe as a symbol of oppression, separating those who were free in West Berlin and those who were held captive within the communist East bloc.

There are many debates today about walls and if we need them or if we should build them at all. Consider the debate of the borders protecting America from threats from bordering countries.

Come with me now to the book of Nehemiah. A fascinating narrative about a man’s call to build up the walls surrounding the great city of Jerusalem. The story of how the city will be restored actually begins in the book of Ezra, preceding Nehemiah. We believe they were once written together and are to be understood as two parts of the same story, the restoration of worship and the people to the city after exile.

Neh: 1:1

“The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came with certain men out of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that survived, who had escaped exile, and concerning Jerusalem.”

When we find Nehemiah he is a cupbearer to the king. Really, the one man who tested the food given to the king to ensure it wasn’t poisonous of deadly. In other words, Nehemiah as cupbearer found himself in a place of trust. He had a unique relationship with the king, who at this time was King Artaxerxes the I.

The Jewish calendar will work like a clock tuned to God’s exact timing as we note the passage of the month of Chislev and move into Nissan, which will discuss later.

God moves, but does not speak in the narrative. Quite interesting in regard to the other many OT books.