Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Nehemiah Builds the Wall
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all
- 0:04Speaker 1: that I have done for this people. Nehemiah 5.19 My Lord,
- 0:11Speaker 1: as I look around and observe all of the blessings
- 0:14Speaker 1: that you have bestowed upon me, quicken my heart to
- 0:18Speaker 1: be mindful of your children who have yet to lay
- 0:21Speaker 1: hold of all the promises that you have in store
- 0:24Speaker 1: for them. With this quickening of my heart, I pray
- 0:29Speaker 1: that you will give me the vision and resources needed
- 0:33Speaker 1: for me to carry out the rebuilding of your children.
- 0:37Speaker 1: Like the wall in the book of Nehemiah, I now
- 0:41Speaker 1: understand that I am called to help build the walls
- 0:43Speaker 1: of hope in the hearts of your children who are lost.
- 0:49Speaker 1: I thank you for uncommon favor with powerful kings like Artaxerxes.
- 0:56Speaker 1: I thank you that the deed has already been written
- 0:58Speaker 1: for me to receive all of the provisions and protection
- 1:02Speaker 1: needed for me to act out the next assignment for
- 1:05Speaker 1: my life. I decree and declare that I will not
- 1:11Speaker 1: allow the voices of those who are jealous of your
- 1:13Speaker 1: favor to stop me from building and completing my mission.
- 1:19Speaker 1: I decree and declare that, like Nehemiah, you quicken and
- 1:23Speaker 1: multiply the works of my hands, so that I will
- 1:26Speaker 1: be able to accomplish more in less time. I command
- 1:31Speaker 1: every limiting thought that would hinder my momentum to be
- 1:35Speaker 1: removed and cast away. I can and I will rebuild
- 1:41Speaker 1: the lives of those around me, because you have anointed
- 1:46Speaker 1: and appointed me to do so, Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.
- 1:55Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
- 2:00Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
- 2:04Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
- 2:17Speaker 2: Nehemiah Builds the Wall In our last story, the invisible
- 2:21Speaker 2: and silent hand of God was used mightily in the
- 2:25Speaker 2: life of Esther. In the presence of a great threat
- 2:28Speaker 2: to the Jews in the Persian Empire, an unlikely hero
- 2:31Speaker 2: was raised up to save them. Now we learn of
- 2:35Speaker 2: another hero sent by God, Nehemiah. Nehemiah oversees the rebuilding
- 2:41Speaker 2: of Jerusalem's temple. He gives them hope and encourages them
- 2:45Speaker 2: to trust in the protection of God. Yet no wall
- 2:49Speaker 2: could truly protect them from their real enemy. Inspired by
- 2:54Speaker 2: the book of Nehemiah.
- 2:58Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
- 3:01Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
- 3:04Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
- 3:07Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
- 3:10Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important that we
- 3:13Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
- 3:15Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
- 3:19Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
- 3:21Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
- 3:25Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
- 3:29Speaker 3: to get a copy of the Jesus book, simply go
- 3:31Speaker 3: to jackgraham.org slash Jesus. That's jackgraham.org slash Jesus. And thank
- 3:39Speaker 3: you for your support. In our previous episode, we heard
- 3:43Speaker 3: how God used Esther, a young Jewish woman, to save
- 3:46Speaker 3: his people from the evil plan of Haman, which was
- 3:49Speaker 3: to wipe out the Jews in Persia. We see her
- 3:52Speaker 3: courage to speak up for her people at great personal risk.
- 3:57Speaker 3: And we see it demonstrated again that God doesn't need
- 4:00Speaker 3: the strong and powerful to accomplish his purposes. He can
- 4:04Speaker 3: do amazing things through people who are available to him.
- 4:08Speaker 3: There are really two abilities that are needed. availability, and expendability.
- 4:14Speaker 3: And today we're going to hear of another who was
- 4:17Speaker 3: willing to step up and do what God put upon
- 4:19Speaker 3: his heart to do for him. A man by the
- 4:22Speaker 3: name of Nehemiah will see the sorry state of Jerusalem
- 4:26Speaker 3: and mourn for his homeland and his people. But then
- 4:29Speaker 3: he will hear the call to boldly act to rebuild
- 4:32Speaker 3: and restore what had been lost. Let's listen now to
- 4:37Speaker 3: God's Word.
- 4:39Speaker 2: The sun was shining on the empire of King Artaxerxes.
- 4:43Speaker 2: The mighty nation of Persia shone in the light of day,
- 4:46Speaker 2: gleaming with prosperity and power. Serving in the great halls
- 4:51Speaker 2: of the king was Nehemiah. He was a Jew by birth,
- 4:55Speaker 2: a descendant of the exiles, and loyal to the God
- 4:58Speaker 2: of Israel. He served as the king's cupbearer and had
- 5:02Speaker 2: his undying trust. Nehemiah served the king diligently and with joy.
- 5:09Speaker 2: The two became very close, however, Nehemiah's heart always longed
- 5:13Speaker 2: for the promised land. The exiles had returned home to
- 5:17Speaker 2: the great city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah had caught word that
- 5:21Speaker 2: the temple had been rebuilt, and the exiles were creating
- 5:24Speaker 2: new lives for themselves. Nehemiah asked his brother how the
- 5:29Speaker 2: new settlement in Jerusalem was faring. When asked the question,
- 5:33Speaker 2: his brother's face turned bleak. I am afraid the remnant
- 5:37Speaker 2: is in great shame. The walls were broken to begin with,
- 5:42Speaker 2: but now they are completely destroyed. They are vulnerable and
- 5:46Speaker 2: live in constant fear. As soon as Nehemiah heard these words,
- 5:51Speaker 2: his knees buckled. He wept on the floor for his
- 5:54Speaker 2: kin in Jerusalem. He beat his fist against the floor,
- 5:57Speaker 2: imagining the women and children of the city lying awake
- 6:00Speaker 2: in fear every night. A city without walls... was a
- 6:05Speaker 2: city without hope. Nehemiah mourned over them. He knew what
- 6:10Speaker 2: must be done. His forehead pressed against the stone floor.
- 6:14Speaker 2: His prayers echoed in his palace chambers. O Lord, he whispered,
- 6:20Speaker 2: grant me favor for what I am about to do.
- 6:24Speaker 2: The next morning, Nehemiah was serving food to King Artaxerxes.
- 6:28Speaker 2: Nehemiah's usually jovial demeanor was replaced with deep contemplation. The
- 6:34Speaker 2: king took notice of this. What troubles you? he asked
- 6:38Speaker 2: as he was finishing his breakfast. You are usually filled
- 6:41Speaker 2: with the joy of your god. Something must have changed.
- 6:46Speaker 2: Nehemiah froze with fear for a moment. He and the
- 6:49Speaker 2: king were close, however, he was still considered a god
- 6:53Speaker 2: in the land. To be on his bad side was ill-advised.
- 6:58Speaker 2: Live forever, my king, Nehemiah feigned a smile. Forgive me,
- 7:02Speaker 2: but My face reveals a sorrow for my people. Their
- 7:06Speaker 2: city is in ruins and the gates are destroyed. The
- 7:10Speaker 2: king looked closely at Nehemiah. Artaxerxes has heard many stories
- 7:15Speaker 2: of the Hebrews from his grandfather Darius. He had heard
- 7:19Speaker 2: of Daniel, David, and Moses. Like his grandfather, he held
- 7:24Speaker 2: a soft spot for the Hebrews. His stepmother Esther was
- 7:28Speaker 2: also a Hebrew. He had learned much from her. What
- 7:33Speaker 2: are your true desires, Nehemiah? Artaxerxes asked plainly. The cupbearer
- 7:38Speaker 2: bowed and said, If it pleases you, I would like
- 7:42Speaker 2: to see my people and help them rebuild the wall.
- 7:45Speaker 2: As you know, I am a skilled architect. Nehemiah's words
- 7:50Speaker 2: resonated with the king. Artaxerxes looked at his wife, who
- 7:53Speaker 2: was beside him. She seemed to agree that the cause
- 7:57Speaker 2: was noble. So Artaxerxes allowed for Nehemiah to go. Not
- 8:02Speaker 2: only did he allow for his departure, but he funded
- 8:04Speaker 2: the project himself. He sent money, resources, laborers, and architects
- 8:10Speaker 2: to aid in the building. Nehemiah and his team traveled
- 8:14Speaker 2: for days and finally returned to the once great city
- 8:18Speaker 2: of Jerusalem. Its high towers and low valleys filled Nehemiah's
- 8:23Speaker 2: heart with joy. He had always imagined visiting the great city.
- 8:27Speaker 2: Now his dreams had finally come true. Nehemiah could smell
- 8:32Speaker 2: the faint odor of burning mortar from a distance. As
- 8:35Speaker 2: he drew closer, he could see that parts of the
- 8:38Speaker 2: walls were still smoldering from their previous attacks. He walked
- 8:42Speaker 2: the whole distance of the wall, holding his hands against
- 8:46Speaker 2: the broken stone. The walls represented the fortitude of God's people.
- 8:51Speaker 2: As long as these walls were broken, so would their spirits.
- 8:57Speaker 2: Nehemiah gathered the tribes and elders together They planned through
- 9:01Speaker 2: the night, taking note of which repairs needed to be
- 9:04Speaker 2: addressed first. Each tribe and family was responsible for overseeing
- 9:09Speaker 2: their own portion of the wall. With the funds of
- 9:12Speaker 2: the king, Nehemiah's guidance, and the favor of God, the
- 9:15Speaker 2: wall began to find its strength once again. Men, women,
- 9:20Speaker 2: and children all did their part to see the wall
- 9:23Speaker 2: reach its highest potential. As the walls rose, so did
- 9:28Speaker 2: the spirits of the peoples. However, the project was not
- 9:32Speaker 2: without opposition. The tribes that lived on the outskirts of
- 9:36Speaker 2: Jerusalem hated the exiles. Since their return, resources had been
- 9:41Speaker 2: more scarce, and land was disputed over. They jeered and
- 9:46Speaker 2: snickered at the builders, seeking to demoralize them.' Look at
- 9:50Speaker 2: these feeble little Jews trying to rebuild what's broken,' they scoffed.'
- 9:54Speaker 2: Be careful that a fox does not brush its tail
- 9:57Speaker 2: against your wall lest it fall again!' The men laughed.
- 10:01Speaker 2: The Jews already lacked confidence since they lived most of
- 10:05Speaker 2: their lives as exiles. Now they had to listen to
- 10:08Speaker 2: the ridicule of their oppressive neighbors. Yet they kept working,
- 10:13Speaker 2: and the wall continued to grow. The borderland armies could
- 10:17Speaker 2: not bear the thought of Judah reclaiming its power, so
- 10:21Speaker 2: they joined forces to rise up against them. The exiles
- 10:25Speaker 2: stirred in fear. They were vulnerable and had very little
- 10:28Speaker 2: to defend themselves with. Nehemiah did not waver. He put
- 10:33Speaker 2: a sword in each man's hand and set up watchmen
- 10:36Speaker 2: to take guard over the workers. The men continued to work,
- 10:40Speaker 2: but their confidence was waning. Nehemiah saw this and stood
- 10:44Speaker 2: before them. Listen to me, he shouted. Our God will
- 10:49Speaker 2: fight for us. Keep building. If you hear the trumpet,
- 10:53Speaker 2: rally to us and we will watch the Lord defend us.
- 10:57Speaker 2: So each man worked with a hammer in one hand
- 11:00Speaker 2: and a sword in the other. Weeks had passed and
- 11:04Speaker 2: the Lord had thwarted many plans to assassinate Nehemiah. Each
- 11:08Speaker 2: time the Borderlands would try and lure him out into
- 11:11Speaker 2: a meeting, Nehemiah was spared by warnings of their true plans.
- 11:16Speaker 2: The wall grew day by day, as did the confidence
- 11:20Speaker 2: of the people. It was as if building the wall
- 11:22Speaker 2: itself was what the nation really needed. They needed to
- 11:26Speaker 2: come together for a common cause and purpose. That served
- 11:30Speaker 2: as a greater protection than the wall itself. Nehemiah began
- 11:35Speaker 2: to plan for life after building. He gathered the leaders
- 11:39Speaker 2: of Israel together and instituted a day where all debts
- 11:42Speaker 2: were forgiven in the land. Nehemiah knew that a land
- 11:46Speaker 2: could not thrive if the people were continually indebted to
- 11:49Speaker 2: one another. This would prove as a powerful image of
- 11:53Speaker 2: things to come. A day when the Lord would forgive
- 11:56Speaker 2: the debts of humanity. After 52 days of labor in
- 12:01Speaker 2: the hot eastern sun, the wall stood as a monument
- 12:04Speaker 2: of hope for the entire nation. For the first time
- 12:08Speaker 2: since exile, God's people were able to sigh a breath
- 12:12Speaker 2: of relief. They no longer had to live in constant
- 12:16Speaker 2: fear of ambush and violence. They could live in peace.
- 12:20Speaker 2: They could worship in peace. Nehemiah called for Ezra to
- 12:25Speaker 2: come before the people and read the word of God.
- 12:28Speaker 2: There they bowed before the Lord and confessed their sin.
- 12:32Speaker 2: They basked in his forgiveness and responded to the call
- 12:35Speaker 2: to be better. Feasts and festivals were held to celebrate,
- 12:40Speaker 2: yet all of it fell flat. No wall could truly
- 12:44Speaker 2: protect them from the real threat. No brick could shield
- 12:48Speaker 2: the people from their true enemy. The enemy of sin
- 12:52Speaker 2: still existed. It still bore its teeth like a hungry lion.
- 12:57Speaker 2: No wall would ever be large enough to protect them
- 13:00Speaker 2: from their own hearts. That would take an act of God.
- 13:05Speaker 2: That would take an act of the Messiah.
- 13:13Speaker 3: In today's scripture, we meet Nehemiah, a Jew who, like
- 13:17Speaker 3: other Israelites before him, had worked diligently even as a
- 13:20Speaker 3: captive at an exile and had gained, therefore, favor with
- 13:24Speaker 3: people in power. In Nehemiah's case, it was King Artaxerxes,
- 13:29Speaker 3: the Persian ruler. Nehemiah was one of the most trusted
- 13:33Speaker 3: servants of this man. He served as the cupbearer to
- 13:37Speaker 3: the king and, therefore, served him food and drink, protecting
- 13:40Speaker 3: the king from poisoning by his adversaries. He was close
- 13:44Speaker 3: to the king. Nehemiah knew of the work of Ezra
- 13:48Speaker 3: to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and this brought him
- 13:51Speaker 3: great joy to know that his homeland was being restored.
- 13:55Speaker 3: But he wasn't there, so he wanted to know what
- 13:57Speaker 3: was actually going on in Jerusalem. And when he asked,
- 14:01Speaker 3: the news disturbed him greatly. The city wall, their first
- 14:05Speaker 3: and best defense against invaders, was on the ground in shambles.
- 14:11Speaker 3: The remnant was living in constant fear in this rubble.
- 14:14Speaker 3: They were living in shame for the sad state of
- 14:17Speaker 3: their homeland. Nehemiah was broken. He was distraught. He knew
- 14:21Speaker 3: that the walls of Jerusalem represented hope and peace and
- 14:24Speaker 3: the glory of God. And he couldn't imagine his brothers
- 14:27Speaker 3: and sisters living without God's glory, without God's hope in
- 14:32Speaker 3: their lives. So Nehemiah weeps.
- 14:36Speaker 1: He mourns.
- 14:37Speaker 3: And then Nehemiah went to action. And his first action
- 14:41Speaker 3: The first thing he did was to get on his knees.
- 14:44Speaker 3: He knew that unless he had God's favor and blessing
- 14:47Speaker 3: upon his life, none of his efforts would be fruitful.
- 14:51Speaker 3: We can learn here so much from Nehemiah. Prayer is
- 14:55Speaker 3: not our last chance. It is always our first choice.
- 14:59Speaker 3: Too often we are quick to act and react, to
- 15:02Speaker 3: reach out to those who, from a human perspective, had
- 15:05Speaker 3: power and resources to help. And while there's a proper
- 15:08Speaker 3: course of action, we must never forget to go first
- 15:11Speaker 3: to God, who is our source of strength, who is
- 15:15Speaker 3: our source and our resource always. We are to submit
- 15:19Speaker 3: to his will and ask for his blessing and favor
- 15:22Speaker 3: and for his provision. Nehemiah understood this, and it made
- 15:27Speaker 3: all the difference in what he was going to do next.
- 15:30Speaker 3: Before Nehemiah even spoke to the king, God prepared the
- 15:34Speaker 3: king's heart. And so when Nehemiah went before this powerful
- 15:38Speaker 3: man the following day, Anazerxes took note of the change
- 15:43Speaker 3: in the countenance of his trusted servant. He noticed that
- 15:46Speaker 3: he was full of faith and courage. This opened the
- 15:50Speaker 3: door for Nehemiah to tell the king that Jerusalem was
- 15:54Speaker 3: in ruins. And amazingly, the king not only allowed Nehemiah
- 15:59Speaker 3: to return home with his protection and blessings, but he
- 16:02Speaker 3: sent resources and workers for the enormous work that needed
- 16:05Speaker 3: to be done, the rebuilding of the walls. Once again,
- 16:10Speaker 3: we see how God uses people just like you and
- 16:13Speaker 3: me to accomplish his purposes. Everyone has a place on
- 16:20Speaker 3: the wall. Everyone has a place of service to rebuild
- 16:23Speaker 3: and restore what God is doing. Nehemiah arrived to Jerusalem
- 16:27Speaker 3: with great anticipation. but also an understanding of the massive responsibility.
- 16:33Speaker 3: He gathered the elders and the people to survey the
- 16:36Speaker 3: work that needed to be done. Here again, we learn
- 16:39Speaker 3: a valuable lesson from Nehemiah. He knew he had God's favor,
- 16:43Speaker 3: but that did not mean it would be smooth sailing
- 16:46Speaker 3: or that he could just mail it in without a plan.
- 16:49Speaker 3: God had granted Nehemiah wisdom and skill at developing and
- 16:52Speaker 3: planning and leading. And so he did not just dive
- 16:56Speaker 3: into the work, he developed his plan and his strategy
- 16:59Speaker 3: with the people. As we have heard, Nehemiah's campaign to
- 17:03Speaker 3: rebuild the wall was not universally embraced or accepted. As
- 17:08Speaker 3: is the case with any work that God has ordained
- 17:10Speaker 3: for his glory, there was fierce opposition to the work.
- 17:14Speaker 3: It didn't stop with derision and doubt and danger. There
- 17:17Speaker 3: were actually people who tried to stop the plan and
- 17:20Speaker 3: undermine the work that Nehemiah was set to accomplish. But Nehemiah,
- 17:26Speaker 3: reassured the people that God was on their side, saying
- 17:29Speaker 3: to the leaders and to the people in Nehemiah 4, 14,
- 17:32Speaker 3: Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who
- 17:35Speaker 3: is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons,
- 17:39Speaker 3: your daughters, your wives, and your homes. What a great
- 17:44Speaker 3: challenge for us in the 21st century, that we would
- 17:48Speaker 3: fight for our families, for our husbands and our wives,
- 17:52Speaker 3: our children and our grandchildren. His words, the words of Nehemiah,
- 17:57Speaker 3: sound like the words of Paul, who would later write,
- 18:00Speaker 3: If God be for us, who can be against us?
- 18:03Speaker 3: We are more than conquerors through Christ. The people were
- 18:07Speaker 3: emboldened by his words and pushed on, even against hardship
- 18:11Speaker 3: and opposition. Step by step, brick by brick, the walls
- 18:16Speaker 3: came up and the city was protected by outside threats.
- 18:19Speaker 3: But there were still threats internally and Nehemiah set out
- 18:23Speaker 3: to bring the people together And when he did, debts
- 18:27Speaker 3: were forgiven, the poor were ministered to and cared for,
- 18:31Speaker 3: and the nation continued to heal. Then Nehemiah called Ezra
- 18:35Speaker 3: to read God's word in the presence of the people.
- 18:39Speaker 3: Their forgetfulness of God's ways had brought them to their
- 18:42Speaker 3: lowest point, and only in turning back to God's word
- 18:45Speaker 3: could he preserve this newfound peace and prosperity among the people.
- 18:51Speaker 3: As the people listened, revival came to his people. Through
- 18:56Speaker 3: this podcast, we have seen time and time again of
- 19:00Speaker 3: the cycle of sin and judgment and restoration, revival among
- 19:04Speaker 3: God's people. I pray that it has been apparent to
- 19:07Speaker 3: you that this tragic cycle can happen again and again.
- 19:11Speaker 3: And it is happening in the world today. It is
- 19:15Speaker 3: happening in America today. And the only solution for the
- 19:19Speaker 3: problems we face is spiritual awakening. That God would rescue
- 19:24Speaker 3: his people and revive us again in the midst of
- 19:26Speaker 3: the years. Dear God, we thank you for your word.
- 19:31Speaker 3: We thank you for the Old Testament with so many
- 19:34Speaker 3: exciting stories, sobering stories, stories that remind us that you
- 19:38Speaker 3: and you only are God. May we find our strength
- 19:43Speaker 3: and our favor and our valor in you. Help us
- 19:46Speaker 3: to do always what you have called us to do,
- 19:48Speaker 3: to build and rebuild the things that you desire. And
- 19:51Speaker 3: we pray, O God, that your church, called by your name,
- 19:55Speaker 3: would faithfully advance your kingdom until you come again. In Jesus' name, amen.
- 20:03Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
- 20:06Speaker 3: And before we go, I wanted to let you know
- 20:09Speaker 3: that the Bible in a Year podcast is an outreach
- 20:11Speaker 3: of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you each
- 20:15Speaker 3: week through the support of listeners like you. Your support
- 20:20Speaker 3: today is so important that we want to thank you
- 20:22Speaker 3: for your gift by giving you a copy of my
- 20:24Speaker 3: book called The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful
- 20:28Speaker 3: guide that shows how every book in the Bible points
- 20:31Speaker 3: to Christ and how you can better read and understand
- 20:34Speaker 3: the Bible. And How God's Word Transforms Our Lives. So
- 20:38Speaker 3: to get your copy of the Jesus book, simply go
- 20:41Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
- 20:48Speaker 3: you for your support.