GOD WILL DELIVER

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.

By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.

They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”

I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

Nehemiah 2:11-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Nehemiah, having gained permission from King Artaxerxes to leave Babylon and go to Jerusalem in the early verses of Chapter 2, arrives in Jerusalem and surveys the situation as the chapter closes.

We read that after staying in Jerusalem for three days, Nehemiah “set out during the night with a few others”, an action Nehemiah said “God had put in (his) heart to do for Jerusalem.” Note that Nehemiah was not led by his own impulses but by the lead of God. There’s much for us to learn from this in our own lives.

I know I can speak from experience in saying that I mess my life up the most when I try and take control of it. God has had to teach me that my life will follow the right course when I turn to Him for guidance and then obediently carry out His will, trusting that He wants the best for me. Maybe you can relate to this.

Back to the scriptures where we read that Nehemiah rode his mount “by night” going “out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.” Nehemiah had only heard of what had happened when he was in Babylon. Now he was seeing it first-hand.

Nehemiah continued his assessment of the damage, moving “on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool” where “there was not enough room for (his) mount to get through” so he continued through “valley…examining the wall” before turning back and reentering the city “through the Valley Gate.”

Having seen for himself what needed to be done, Nehemiah addressed the city officials who weren’t aware that Nehemiah had rode out at night to do his survey. His words were important as he needed to motivate the people to rebuild the walls and reestablish protection for the holy city. We read where Nehemiah said the following:

“You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”

Those words alone might have been enough but then again, I could see where many people would be afraid about what a rebuilding project might bring, especially in the way of retaliation by the enemies of Jerusalem that lived in the surrounding areas.

Notice how Nehemiah adds the following to what he said to the people. For scripture tells us he “also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.”

In other words, the idea of rebuilding wasn’t ordained by Nehemiah but rather ordained by God. His gracious hand was upon Nehemiah and it would be upon the people of Jerusalem as well as they undertook the work at hand.

What was the answer to Nehemiah’s request to rebuild? The people gave it saying, “Let us start rebuilding” and with that, “they began (the) good work.”

And so they did and it was no surprise that the opponents of Israel reacted adversely. We read where “Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about” the efforts and “mocked and ridiculed” the Israelites saying, “What is this you are doing?” and “Are you rebelling against the king?”

Nehemiah had an answer for them saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

In the face of challenge, Nehemiah had it right and we should remember his words as we face challenges as well. The rebuilding was ordained and approved by God and so the project was going to be a success. No one, no matter how powerful they thought they were, would be able to oppose the Almighty God. It was true then and it’s true today.

As we seek God’s will for our own lives and receive His plan, we should remember that He will see His plan through to success, even if we have people who would appear to have power to thwart our efforts. We must move ahead with bold confidence in a God who can do all things…a God who faces nothing impossible to carry out. He will make the way for us just as He made the way for His people in Jerusalem.

All we need is to seek Him, follow His will, and trust Him as we do just that. God will deliver.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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