Nehemiah 4 is such an awesome and metaphorical chapter of the Bible. At this point in Nehemiah, he and the people of Jerusalem are attempting to rebuild the city wall which had been broken down and burned. Back in that time period, the condition of a city's walls was seen as an indication of the strength of the people's gods. However, in the first chapter of Nehemiah, he equated the state of Jerusalem's wall with the state of the people's obedience to the Lord. Nehemiah was grieved for God's reputation and vowed to rebuild the wall. So in a sense, rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem also held a deeper meaning in that the people were restoring themselves with God.
When their enemies learned of their plans to rebuild, they scoffed and threw insults at the Jews saying, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble--burned as they are?" When Nehemiah hears of this, he immediately begins praying to God for safety, deliverance, and ultimate success in his mission. At this point, the people of Jerusalem had finished rebuilding half of the wall back. When they hear of the insults of their enemies, they are immediately disturbed, full of fear, and full of unbelief that they can finish what they have started.
When Nehemiah sees the people downcast and distraught, he stands up, and says, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." This is the epic hero speech moment. This is the moment that Keanu Reeves gives inspiring words in the football huddle to inspire his team to win the game in The Replacements, and the moment that Mel Gibson rides in with the American flag and ignites a fire under his warriors on their way to battle in The Patriot. This is the moment where fear is squashed by a faith in a God who has no limits, no boundaries, and no end to what he will do for the people that love and seek him.
From that moment on, half the men in Jerusalem worked on rebuilding the wall and the other half of the men were equipped with spears, shields, bows, and armor. Even the men who were working on the wall "did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other." How awesome would this scene have been to see? An army of people fully fueled by faith, resurrecting a wall--a relationship with God--from the rubble and the ashes, ready to strike down anyone who would get in their way.
Sadly, I have been on both sides of Jerusalem's wall...haven't we all? Haven't we all played the role of the enemy? The one who scoffs with disbelief in the faces of prostitutes, adulterers, and people with addictions who are attempting to rebuild their life piece by piece, rock by rock as the people of Jerusalem were rebuilding their wall? Haven't we all played the role of the people of Jerusalem? The one who stands there in the midst of the rubble and the ash, wondering how on earth we got there and wondering how on earth we will ever get back?
In the spirit of Good Friday, when Jesus takes his place on the cross that made it all possible, let's vow to pick up a stone today. Instead of throwing that stone at a brother or sister, let's help them rebuild the wall that was once there, all the way encouraging them the way Nehemiah did to the people of Jerusalem. Because today is the day we remember the cross. And the path back to God is made up of a road lined with the same wood and the same blood stains as the cross held on that Good Friday so many years ago. With God, there is always hope. And with the cross, there is always a way back.
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