Nehemiah 3:15-5:13, 1 Corinthians 7:25-40, Psalms 32:1-11, Proverbs 21:5-7
Today is the 12th day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it is a pleasure, it is joy, does the heart good to be here with you in your presence as we all come into the presence of the Scripture and invite the Holy Spirit to speak through His words into our lives and into our day. So, yeah, it’s a joy to be here with you as we take the next step forward. So, we got a new week here that we’re moving into. We’re reading from a new translation, the Good News Translation. This week we began the book of Nehemiah. Yesterday we talked about that then and we’ll continue with that story today. Nehemiah chapter 3 verse 15 through 5 verse 13 today.
Commentary:
Alright. So, we started the book of Nehemiah yesterday and it is such a powerful work for us to consider, especially as we just watched Nehemiah’s processes because it counsels us as we pursue our own lives callings and our own goals. So, we can watch Nehemiah and then we can contrast ourselves and learn some things. So, first we remember Nehemiah when he arrived in Jerusalem, he road all the way around the city examining the condition of the broken-down walls and he did it at night and he didn’t tell anybody what he was doing to others. He’s assessing the situation before there are a bunch of opinions flying at him about what should be done. He’s assessing the situation. God called him to do this, moved upon his heart, he interceded about this, he went before the king, the king commissioned him, so he has the authority to do this and before he gets everybody’s opinion about it, he’s assessing the situation. Once he did that, he shared the vision with the people and the people were on board and progress moved faster than anyone could’ve hoped. I mean we read about a bunch of people who built a bunch of sections but what we’re watching here if this were actually…like…if we were able to observe this is a bunch of people lifting up a wall all at once all the way around the city. This is happening. And, so, when we think of this in light of our own pursuits, the things that we believe God has invited us to do, that’s what we want, faster than planned, smooth sailing all the way, but smooth sailing isn’t the story, right? Like, this is how they launched but the Nehemiah started facing some pretty formidable opposition once it got going. First came the taunts, right? First came the ridicule. What does this bunch of poor Jews think their doing? What do they think, they can build this wall in a day by offering sacrifices? They think they can make building stones out of rubbish? Oh, these discouraging words. And this is what happens to us. We feel a call. We prepare, we assess, we begin, things are moving, then envy and jealousy somehow seems to surround, haunting voices, people who aren’t actually willing to take risks are thoe ones who seem to have all of the answers. And, so, discouraging words are poured on the fire that’s burning within us and then discouragement sets in, and then we begin to waiver and then, you know, before long its over. That’s not what Nehemiah did. Nehemiah cried out to God in prayer and he kept moving forward. Like, we need to think about that. Nehemiah didn’t listen to the voices of discouragement or the oppositions that faced him. He knew because he had assessed the situation, he knew because the king had given him authority to do this. He knew that he was capable. And, so, he may have had to slow down but he did not stop, and he did not give up and pretty soon the wall was half its height. So, at this point, the enemies, realizing that the taunting, right, the sort of the verbal attack isn’t gonna work so they’re gonna actually attack. So, Nehemiah responded. He armed everybody and basically split all of the work into two shifts. One shift was on guard while the other laborers were working and then they would probably switch places the next day or something. Nevertheless, and even though they had to get on the defensive and be prepared and even though this cut the work in half and slowed them down considerably they still stayed prepared and they still kept moving forward, even though they were moving forward more slowly. And then finally there were the oppositions…there were…there was the opposition that came from within. Many of the people weren’t able to maintain the work on the wall and keep farming and trading and supporting their families. And, so, some people became opportunists, wealthier Jewish exiles preyed upon the less fortunate, causing families to be broken up, right. Like indentured servitude was a common thing, which infuriated Nehemiah. And, so, he pulled all these wealthy leaders together and essentially gave them the business and told them that what they were doing was unthinkable and that they needed to undo what they were doing immediately. And they did. So, Nehemiah didn’t hide injustice just to keep things going and get the job done, he brought it into the light which exposed everybody who was participating and they repented. So, the lesson here is that Nehemiah was not willing to give up no matter what. And he prepared for everything he could prepare for and then he dealt with everything that came his way, knowing that the mission was given to him by God and God would be the only one to accomplish the mission. It’d be very, very good, very good for us to remember these things as we continue to navigate this week.
Prayer:
Father, we invite You into that. So, often we get excited about something, we launch into something, but we haven’t stepped back, we haven’t assessed the situation, we haven’t counted the cost before we get a bunch of voices into the mix. We don’t exactly know what we’re doing, we’re unprepared, but we launch and things move along and then we get all these words of discouragement flying at us and we’re just truly not prepared, we simply haven’t understood that no dream, no vision happens by total accident. So, come Holy Spirit, lead us into the truth about this. Show us the areas that we’re spinning our wheels and wasting our energy because we are not prepared. Show us the voices of discouragement that are slowing us down, but we need to utterly depend on You. And show us the problems that are coming from within that need to be brought into the light. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is home base and it is where you find out what’s going on around here.
Been talking about the Family Reunion that’s coming up in a couple weeks. So, we’re…well…we’re getting there. August 31st through September 2nd. So, this is Labor Day weekend. Here in the rolling hills of Tennessee we’re gonna gather and have a Family Reunion and celebrate the year that we are having together and just play together and be together and love one another. So, hopefully you can come. All of the details can be found at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. So, check that out. If you’re using the app, you can press the little Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner of the app screen and that’ll get you to the to the Initiatives section as well. So, we’re looking forward to seeing you soon here in the rolling hills of Tennessee.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at the website as well. A link just lives on the homepage and I thank you beyond words for your partnership. If you are using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.
And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.
And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.