So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.
Nehemiah 6:15 NAS
We began looking at the Book of Nehemiah last week, discussing it as it relates to our 2027 theme of being “ONE.” The walls of Jerusalem were broken down, the gates were burnt, those who had returned from being captives in other nations after suffering God’s wrath for their division and disobedience were found living in the rubble of this once glorious city as the reproach of all who saw and surrounded them. But then one man comes, and in and by the grace of God to the glory of God, he ushers in oneness by offering himself as a part of the solution. Then history records that through their oneness, even under constant threats and distractions from their enemies, as one, they complete the rebuilding of the wall in just 52 days! Pause and take that in for a moment. I have household projects that have taken longer than that!
It’s amazing what God will allow us to accomplish when we are willing to put our heads, hearts, and hands together as one; choosing to obey God and complete a task together rather than compete against one another and have it our own way. God blesses oneness and despises divisiveness in the body of Christ.
As they began to work, Chapter Three records each person working and then the person working “next to him.” Side-by-side they worked until the worry of the rumors and threats of their enemies caused a new strategy that cut the workforce in half, with one working and one an armed watchman in case they were attacked. That is also the powerful work of intercessory prayer. We pray for the people who serve throughout our communities and country, we pray for neighbor and nation and Jesus even calls us to pray for our enemies. In turn, as the Church we get the powerful privilege of asking others to pray for us as we work, build a marriage, a family, a business, face trials, do justice, etc. Our prayers for one another help pick us up when we are knocked down by life’s challenges or the pain other people can throw at us.
The key is to keep our eyes and ears on our Good Shepherd who leads us through the valley of the shadows of death, dismay, discouragement that threatens us with worry and anxiety, but as we focus on God we are focused on the LIGHT that exposes these as mere shadows as He leads us to green pastures and still waters. Sheep generally live in flocks, so should we. Isolation is Satan’s favorite place to catch you and try to slither in to keep you company. Keep that door shut on the enemy, and go find some godly friends.
It can be even more painful when the person / people who hurt you are close to you, even from the same church or family. Nehemiah experienced that when it was reported to him that Jews were enslaving Jews and also charging each other interest on food and other resources instead of pulling together in their time of need. Our flesh can creep into our decisions when pride becomes our motivator or the fear of lack becomes our driving force. Thankfully, in every opportunity for discord that would have led them to remain in the ruble, oneness in God and goal not only brings the rebuilding of the wall to a quick success but also brings about spiritual success in many ways, including, Nehemiah 6:16 “When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”
Hallelujah! The same is true for us today. Those who don’t know Jesus, even those who have rejected Him will see our oneness, the joy, peace, strength, compassion, faithfulness we express and experience together and it will cause them to pause and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray they will “believe.”We encourage you to continue reading through the book of Nehemiah and continue to see how the people continued to carry out life as one. We have added some highlights below to guide you as you read and pray with us that we, the Church, will be ONE, that the world may believe.
Oneness to look for and more:
Nehemiah, Chapter 7 – All the people who had returned assembled and were accounted for by name. Some worked, some gave, some sacrificed, giving up what was theirs to take but choosing not to.
Nehemiah, 8:1 – All the people assembled “as one …”
Nehemiah, Chapters 9 & 10 – Recounted their history together, repented together, and made a covenant with one another to serve God righteously together.
Nehemiah, 11:2 – And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
Note: All the people supporting all the leaders.
Nehemiah, Chapter 12 – Dedicated, celebrated and sustained together.
Nehemiah, Chapter 13 – Evil and unfaithfulness reprimanded, and righteousness and obedience were restored.
Lord Jesus, thank You for making us ONE. You prayed for us to be one and then paid for us to be one as You hung on the cross and paid our sin-debt in full, taking the wrath of the Father so we could be one with the Father in You. Remove pride, prejudice, and competitiveness from Your Church. Strengthen us as we see the strides You bring when we work as ONE, for Your glory, that there would be a harvest of souls and celebration in heaven as every knee bows and tongue confesses “Jesus is LORD!” In Your precious name we pray, Amen!
Serving Him with gladness,
Kathy Branzell
President