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 it is awesome to be here with you today, every day as we come around the Global Campfire and just find a place here in the serenity of…well…of this little space that we create for ourselves each day, a space for the Scriptures to speak into our lives. And we are in the book of Nehemiah. We’re just getting started. It’s not a long book so it won’t take that long, but it reveals a lot for us to consider as we watch Nehemiah as he lives out a burning passion, a desire, a calling even to be a part of the rebuilding of the holy city of Jerusalem, and in specific rebuilding the wall in order to protect the temple. And, so, we pick up the story. Nehemiah chapter 3 verse 15 through 5 verse 13 today.
Commentary:
Alright. So, in the book of Nehemiah which we began yesterday and in yesterday’s reading we saw sort of the methodical approach that Nehemiah took from hearing about the exiles in Jerusalem and that kind of planting a seed as he pictured the temple of God in Jerusalem unprotected. And, so, he began to envision a wall, he began to pray about it and to intercede about it, think about it all the time until he had an opportunity as the Kings cupbearer to inquire of the king and ask permission to go and help restore and rebuild Jerusalem. And he was given permission. And, so, we watched that planning and what he took with him and their journey to Jerusalem. And then we watched him settle into Jerusalem for a few days and then go and inspect the wall all by himself, like not bringing a bunch of voices into the mix, assessing the situation, getting a true understanding of the scope of what it was that had been burning inside of him because he was in Babylon. He was several months journey away from Jerusalem. So, he’s seeing this and inspecting what he’s imagined in his mind for quite some time. And then he brings leadership into the mix, and everybody catches the vision and that’s kind of where we pick up today in the middle of rebuilding. So, there are a bunch of people rebuilding different stretches of the wall and there’s a lot of enthusiasm and vision for this. And, so, it’s happening. The dream is happening and it’s happening faster than was anticipated. The enthusiasm to continue the work is there. And that’s what we would want…like that’s what we would want. And it’s like that could be the end. The wall was built. The end. That’s how the story that we would like to be told. And that’s how we would like it to be in our lives. We prepare, we pray, we plan, we execute flawlessly, it’s awesome, it’s a great experience and then we move on to what’s next. It’s just that that…that basically never happens. And when we look into the Scriptures, we can see like it didn’t happen then either. And, so, the people of the region, some of the leadership of the region came to see what’s going on in Jerusalem and then they began the campaign of taunting and diminishing and criticizing. And we’re pouring our heart into something that we believe the Lord has commissioned us to do in some sort of way, and we’re pouring our life and our resources and taking the risk and doing these things than those of voices, those taunting words of criticism can be debilitating. In fact, they can take the whole thing down. And what we see is that they didn’t just ignore it or that they didn't…that…that…that it wasn’t acknowledged. It’s certainly acknowledged. We’re reading about it in the Bible. What we see is that Nehemiah turns to God. He essentially says Lord we’re here doing this work and you can hear what they’re saying. That is a different posture than getting pulled into the argument, like taking the bait of the critic and going in and having that constant debate of criticism and how you’re not doing it the right way and all of these things. Nehemiah turned to God and simply said, we’re gonna…we’re gonna keep going. You can hear what they’re saying. Let it not fall on us, let it turn around and let their words fall on their own heads. So, we move past this criticism, diminishment kind of phase, the taunting phase and then…then there’s the threat of actual attack almost as if the…the taunting can’t diminish them and stop the work then we’ll go in and disrupt the work. We’ll get into that city, and we’ll start sabotaging things. And people will start disappearing and we’ll disrupt and cause confusion and stop this work. Nehemiah’s response to that is essentially to cut the workforce in half so that half the people are working on the wall and half the people standing guard are ready for an imminent attack so that they can defend themselves while still continuing to take the next step forward, continuing to build out wall. And, so, you know, certainly discouraging. When…when things had gotten off to such a great start and were going so smooth and they got the wall all the way around the city half its height, and now they got to go at half the speed at a more difficult portion of building the wall because now it’s gotta get higher and higher and higher. And, so, things have gotten slow. They’ve been slowed down because of the threat of attack and because of the workload. What Nehemiah doesn’t do is get discouraged and quit. They just keep going with what they have to work with. And then finally in…in today’s reading, it’s an inside job as well. So, there’s an attack from the outside and an attack from the inside. And for any leader that’s like, okay I give up. I’m trying to serve here but the conflicting agendas are just overwhelming. So, it’s a time of drought and people rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem and then they can’t do all of the farming that they need to do and all the resources that they need aren’t there. And, so, they have to mortgage their property, or produce a certain amount of crops and resources for…for their lenders and it’s causing basically foreclosures and entrapments and enslavements that people are never going to get free from. And it’s the Jewish people with means, with the resources, with wealth, the nobles that are enslaving the commoners in various ways, demoralizing the people from within. And, so, Nehemiah has to step into that and confront that situation by saying we’ve been trying to buy our fellow Israelites back from slavery from different places and here you are re-enslaving them. This is not right. This is not how this is supposed to go. And, so, the nobles then sense the shame of it and respond appropriately when Nehemiah had to deal with the injustice of it. And, so, that’s all the way around this whole story, keeping one foot in front of the other. Even in the injustice of it keep moving. There is a destination. And, so, there is plenty for us to ponder from the book of Nehemiah today as we apply it to our own stories and our own callings and our own missions.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit come. Thank You for the counsel of the Scriptures. Thank You for allowing us to look back into that story and understand that we have similar stories at various seasons and stages in our lives. And we see Nehemiah turning to You, not giving up and moving forward even if it’s just a little bit at a time. So, come Holy Spirit and encourage us in our discouragement, in our seasons of trying to move forward as we turn our hope and affection and attention on You knowing that You are our only hope. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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Community Prayer and Praise:
Hey DAB family I go by Little Leaf this is my first-time calling in. I’ve been listening for a while, but I’ve really been getting into this platform just this past year, especially after learning about the affair that happened sometime earlier this year. And while it’s helping me grow closer to the Lord, I’ve also been experiencing a lot of hardness of heart and unforgiveness. And I just…even though my husband has come home he only recently started to disconnect from this partner and I’ve just been having a real hard time accepting the fact that I’ve lost someone so near and dear to me as a trusted friend and trusted partner. And I know my God is good and He can do anything but I just don’t know how I can see myself with this person moving forward and I don’t know if I even want to as much as I hate to admit that. So, I just ask that you lift us all up, the other woman included, in prayer and just that God would take away all the confusion, take away all the pain and just allow me to love, to show His love and that His will would be done in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Thank you, guys.
Hello, my wonderful DAB family this is Rosie also known as great to be free in Jesus. I’m calling in to let you know that I’m still praying for you and your families. Just because I don’t call in doesn’t mean I'm…I’ve stopped praying because I still pray. And that’s still important to me because the Lord led me to do that. But I have a prayer request. My son Charles has been coming over now and he’s been talking to me and he’s been coming and seeing me but he is suffering with the spirit of fear and the spirit of rejection. And I told him a while back as part of my testimony, I told my family about how his dad wanted me to abort him because his dad had diabetes and he didn’t want any of his children to have diabetes and have to live the way he’s had to live. And I don’t think that helped out with his…with the spirit of rejection. But he really needs prayer because he’s been so hurt with rejection and now, he’s become an offender and he really needs prayer. I brought him up in church but every time I talk to him about that he reminds me that I forced him to go to church when he was younger. And I know that nothing is impossible for God and I would really appreciate your prayers for my son Charles and thank you and I’m still praying. I love you guys. Bye.
DAB family it’s Quiet Confidence from Virginia and I need your prayers I really need God to help me against the mental attacks, the fear, the anxiety, depression. I haven’t left my house in two months. Wasn’t able to work because the anxiety was so bad and my husband’s been the only one working and I don’t feel like this fear because he’s tired. But really need God to deliver me. I don’t want to go back on antidepressants or to the hospital because those drugs make me feel worse. But I know that God is able, and I just need your prayers. I need His strength. I want to be able to get a job. I want to be able to work and to help. And I know God can deliver me because He did it before. But I really need to be strengthened right now. I just can’t do this on my own. And every day I cry out to God and I ask Him to help me and to give me the strength. I ask Him for His grace and his mercy, and the enemy just keep speaking so many lies to me telling me I’m backslidden and I’m going to hell and that I’ve abandoned my faith. But my faith just got weak for a moment. But I really need God to just deliver me and strengthen me and I’ve seen the power of prayer in this community. Thank you so much. I love you. God bless you.
Hello today is Sunday August the 8th and I just finished listening to July the 31st. I am behind and trying to catch up. I wanted to pray for loving heart in Saint Louis. She had called in requesting prayer for her daughter that is anorexic. And I am a recovered anorexic. I was anorexic for…for years and years. Just purely the hand of God that I’m still here and I just right now Father and name of Jesus Christ I pray for a loving hearts daughter, Father that she would be set free from this addiction, Lord that her…her eyes would be open. God that she would be willing to get the help. Sometimes there’s such denial in anorexia or any addiction. Father, I just pray for her parents Lord that You would just comfort them and give them wisdom to know how to deal with their daughter and the situation. But we just pray Your intervention Father, that you would do it only you can do. We know that you can supernaturally deliver her or just lead her or to the right…the right treatment center. There’s some really good Christian treatment centers. God, You know what she needs. We pray Your protection upon her. God we just pray Father for her deliverance and her healing for her parents right now in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hello DABbers Bubba D here and my prayer goes out today to the sister of gods Princess warriors. Father God we ask that you would bless the family, give them peace God as they lost their teenage son, 17 year old son of a drug overdose. Lord we trust that he’s in Your hands we trust that You’ve given him a chance to see You to make that decision to follow even in his last minutes. We trust that You’re able to perform miracles like that and to reveal Yourself like that to people even that side of eternity father. We just cast all the cares and the troubles and the…the feelings and the hurt and the loss and the cutting off of something that was part of You. We ask for Princess warrior’s sister too be comforted by Your Spirit these day Lord. We pray that You would even confirm to her Your love in ways that only You can God in the midst of this tragedy. Father bring Your presence around her in a mighty way Lord God. Comfort her. Lord we ask that You would give her the strength to see that You’re with her, that You are walking right alongside her in this very very hard difficult times, hours, and days that will follow. Blessing her in Your name Jesus. Amen.
Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is LJ lavender Dream calling from western mass. I’ve been listening now for about a year, and I don’t usually call in. I’m praying for everyone who’s struggling right now and especially those with their children who’ve lost their children who are dealing with eating disorders and the family who lost their son because he was saving his little sister and everything. We’re going through something right now. I am with my son. I had to call psych crisis on him because he was suicidal and we’re waiting for inpatient and it’s very difficult. I tried to leave him where he was, and he was very upset that I couldn’t take him home and it took three staff members to allow me to be able to leave. And I just felt like he felt like I was abandoning him, but I am not qualified to keep him safe at home. So, I’m just asking for prayer for my son and for our family and I’m also trying to advocate for my mum and I had to do something that is causing a rift in the family but it’s also, you know, doing the right thing and doing the right thing doesn’t always mean it’s the easy thing. So, I’m just praying for mended bridges and that God will cover his hands and peace that will surpass all understanding and that He will give a clarity and an understanding for my son because he’s really having a difficult time dealing with my chronic illnesses. In Jesus’ name. Amen.