Rebuild the Walls and Begin to Worship
Ezra opened the book in full view of everyone, because he was above them. As he opened it, all the people stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people held up their hands and said, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
(Nehemiah 08: 05, 06)
I have been reading the book of Nehemiah recently. As I progressed through the chapters, I remembered the Bible study groups in which we had looked at Nehemiah as someone who realised the burden that was put in his heart and took the initiative to rebuild a fallen city. Jerusalem's walls needed to be rebuilt. After years of plunder, threatening and captivity the walls of Jerusalem needed to stand up again. And God put this burden in Nehemiah's heart. With a heavy heart that cried for his people and the city, he takes the initiative.
I remember the numerous challenges Nehemiah had to face while rebuilding the walls of the City of Jerusalem. He had to inspect in detail the fallen wall, had to bring in the builders of the wall into synchrony and mobilise them, there were people against this restoration project, poor people needed to be looked after, there were enemies plotting outside the working field, more captives were returning and this long list continues. Through all these, Nehemiah, with God's help, came out clean and clear in all the points where I, as a reader, expected things to worsen. It was the communion that he maintained with God that kept him moving straight towards the aim of this entire project and not be pulled to the left and the right.
But above all these, what surprised me the most was the effort taken by all of these people to start worshipping the Lord, to know His teachings and the yearning to abide by that. The entire community surrounded by this wall being rebuilt was not waiting for things to complete. The purpose of building the wall was not just to find refuge but to bring the people's life to the routine of normalcy. And the first sign of their normalcy was to worship, meditate and pray. They depended on the Lord so much even in the midst of such a devastating condition that they gave all their priority to begin to worship the Lord.
The verses that we have set our focus on today (Nehemiah 08: 05, 06) clearly show their yearning to worship as one family. When Ezra the teacher read the teachings and praised the Lord, the great God, all the people held up their hands and said, "Amen! Amen" and they continued to worship the Lord and adored Him by bowing down with their faces to the ground. They continued to listen to the teachings of the Lord being read and explained what they meant. Later in the same chapter, in verse 09, we find Nehemiah, Ezra and all the Levites who were teaching the people saying to all of them "This is a holy day to the Lord your God. Don't be sad or cry." They had to mention this because the following phrases clarify that all the people had been crying as they listened to the words of the Teachings. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that inspiring? See how much God's words and worshipping Him meant to these people in the midst of a calamity-filled and devastated surrounding. And that was the right motive Nehemiah had in his heart. His burden was to establish things back to normal so that he could see the people living with the Lord. Nehemiah, in the following verse we find, goes a step further and even encourages the people to go, enjoy some food and sweet drinks. And that is what he was sent for by God.
Today we are called by God to rebuild the fallen and broken walls of lives. The hearts and thoughts of those around us are plundered with fear, kept in captivity by the chains of anxiety, their walls of hopes and ambitions have fallen, and they live with feelings of insecurity. In the midst of this, we could hear God's great call to be that person who takes the initiative to build these lives around us. Let our focus be set on bringing people back to the love of God. Let there be a close communion with God and ourselves. Let us stay tuned with His plans. And let us lead the people towards the Lord. The whole purpose is not just to rebuild the walls, but bring people into normalcy. And this normalcy is not on the worldly material things alone, but to strengthen their faith in the Lord. Let us go a step further and ensure that they enjoy the happiness and hope God brings among us all in this time of calamity.
May the blessings of our God the Father, the love and grace of Christ Jesus the Son and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us and help us to be Nehemiahs who realise God's calling, take initiatives and lead the people so that their lives are rebuilt in the Lord our God.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
