Nehemiah 5:14-7:73, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Psalm 33:1-11, Proverbs 21:8-10
Today is the 13th day of August, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I’m Brian, it is wonderful as it always is to be here with you today as we take the next step forward together through the Scriptures and we find ourselves sitting in the book of Nehemiah at the moment, in the Old Testament. And, we will continue our journey today by reading chapter 5 verse 14 through 7 verse 73.
Commentary:
Alright so, as we continue our journey through the book of Nehemiah, we are getting a first, like a front row seat to an excellent picture of leadership and calling and mission and so and we’ve been working through that over the last couple of days which we continue to do today by simply observing the events that happened and Nehemiah’s responses to them. And so, we did see how Nehemiah planned the whole thing out and how things moved along really, really quickly, until they didn’t. And then all the obstacles of intimidation and taunting and discrediting and the threat of actual violence against the people, the inside job of the nobles taking advantage of the commoners right…right within the Israelite community. All these things we’ve watched Nehemiah deal with over the last couple of days. Today, we see a couple of things. One, we…we see an account of Nehemiah saying that he as the governor did not impose the needs of the governor, the resources that the governor needed upon the people because they were already stretched as thin as they could be. And so, essentially out of his own pocket, he cared for the needs, well his own needs as the governor which included feeding 150 people a day and so quite a few animals and cooking and resources were needed and wine and oil and all of this. And he paid for it so as not to put the burden on the people, so as not to slow down the work. So, we see that this calling, that this mission that Nehemiah is on to complete this objective of giving a wall, a secure wall around Jerusalem, nothing is making him deviate. It is such a burning thing that he’s doing it for free. It’s that kind of a thing, I would do this for free, I love this. This is what I’m supposed to do, well that’s exactly what he’s doing, only it’s more than that, he’s doing it for free but he’s also paying for it to happen. And so, that gives us a sense of the single minded, purposeful commitment that Nehemiah had to what he was called to do. And, he also mentions how there weren’t a bunch of houses in Jerusalem, it’s a pretty empty place and man, like he’s the governor, this is the time to pick the prime real estate in the forming city. Like this, this is the time to build the legacy for generation after generation after generation in your family because you have this ground-floor opportunity, but that wasn’t his calling and that wasn’t his mission and so that’s not what he did and then he faced some really, really dirty politics. So, a conspiracy theory was hatched against Nehemiah and he was invited to come talk about what was going on to have a meeting in the Ono Valley and Nehemiah’s response was I’m up on this wall doing good work, I’m not coming down off this wall. Like, I’m not abandoning my mission to come talk with you guys, who have only threatened and taunted us. And so, four times he does the same rejection, I’m not coming down off this wall. This is my mission. I am not coming down off this wall, to commune with you and hear garbage that is coming out of your mouth. And so, they send him an open letter so that he can become, well he’s supposed to be terribly intimidated and incredibly threatened by…by the rumor because the rumor, if it gets back to the king and the king believes it, Nehemiah is dead because the rumor that’s being hatched is that Nehemiah wanted to rebuild this wall and have the temple in place and the prophets in place so that he could be declared the king and that he would be the king of Jerusalem, there was no truth in that. Nehemiah wanted to finish the wall. It wasn’t trying to be the king. There was no truth in that. And he said as much, and then he redoubled his efforts to continue the work so that the people would not be discouraged or intimidated. And, then there’s this prophetic utterance that Nehemiah should go into the temple because people are coming to kill him, and these prophets quote, unquote prophets had been hired by the very people doing the taunting, so that Nehemiah would flee to the temple and this would discredit him like he needed to flee there to escape some sin, some kind of thing that he had done wrong, so that he would be discredited and so that this story could start to take root and discourage the people away from Nehemiah. Nehemiah is like somebody like me, the governor doing this specific job should I…should I be on the run. And so, we see again as with every other situation that Nehemiah faces, he turns to God and actually that’s how this narrative works, is it Nehemiah’s explaining a lot of the situation in prayer form. That’s how we find out what’s going on is that he’s pouring this out to God. This is where he’s taking his complaint or is discouragements. He turns to God because this is his mission and he is doing this mission on behalf for God believing this is what he supposed to do and so he turns to God in these circumstances, because only God can rescue them. This is an act of service to God for God. And so, we see Nehemiah doesn’t deviate. When opportunity arises, he doesn’t deviate. When challenge arises, he doesn’t deviate. When the progress has to be slowed down, he doesn’t deviate he just moves forward slower. When they can redouble their efforts, they move faster but they don’t deviate from the mission. This is where it becomes so helpful for us to consider, because all the things that Nehemiah and the people are facing as they try to rebuild the wall are the kinds of things that we face in one way or another, and they have every reason to quit. I mean, they have plenty coming against them to say that this…we just can’t get this done but they don’t stop and that’s usually how success materializes. We don’t stop we keep going until we get there because we have a burning passion inside to see the completion of whatever it is, no matter what happens.
Prayer:
And so, Father we’ve all felt pulled toward something in some direction. And our culture really, really pulls, even our Christian subculture pulls us toward how big and how much influence and how many people and how spread out can this be, when that’s not really the normal way of things. We each have assignments. We each have missions and we each face challenges as we work toward those objectives and goals and so often, we might keep trying to endure and have stamina but this picture in Nehemiah of continually turning toward You is beautiful and necessary and so often is the missing piece in our own story. We get discouraged. We think You’re not in it, we think You’ve abandoned us so we abandoned it. When it was just challenge, we just needed to endure. We just needed to keep moving forward. And so, come Holy Spirit into this. Reignite the things within us that have gone by the wayside that we have not completed because we gave up, but they’re still there. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus name we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
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And that’s it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Prayers and Encouragements:
Hello DAB, it feels nice to just be kind of more constantly in this prayer wall/prayer call, it’s just nice. This is People on the Water from Indiana and I’m calling just because I’m happy. I’m calling because I just heard Zach’s message on, gosh, the 22nd of July and he just, it just, it was just nice to hear it. He was saying Psalm 42 caste your cares upon Him for He cares for you. Considering another ladies ship wrecked situation and he himself is going through a rough patch in marriage and just the way he explained that I wanted thank you Zach that was encouraging and eye-opening and just your faith to see beyond your own struggle calling in for a prayer but then also calling in to pray for someone, that’s cool. So, thanks for that. Love you DAB. Bye.
Good morning DABers, John O’Conner here calling in from South Sudan, it’s been quite a while since I called in but anyway. I’m calling in to speak to a young man, 24 years old, who said his father recently passed away and he’s found himself growing closer to the Lord. But then, that his struggle with loneliness which, because of some physical deformity, he found it difficult to be around people. Lord I pray for this young man. He could have easily been one of my Shawns. I speak to his heart even right now. May Your peace that passeth all understanding undergird his heart and mind. Open his eyes, spiritual eyes, that he will see that his identity is in Jesus Christ, not in some physical deformity. Father help him to understand that regardless of whatever deformities we have in this world you have brought us out in this world for a purpose. May he develop that sense of purpose and maybe pursue that purpose. Thank you for answering this prayer. Thank you for touching him, and Father, thank You for healing him in all areas of his life and elevating him so that he will understand that he is the righteousness of God in Christ. In Jesus matchless name. Amen.
Hello, DAB family this is the Disciple that He Loved in Ohio. I am calling with an update and a praise. Thank you so much for all of you who prayed for my daughter. I have a 15-year-old whose been suicidal for years. I have noticed such a change in her heart and behavior since I called and asked everyone to pray. She did make a really bad decision last week but she was repentant when I corrected her and didn’t threaten to commit suicide, which is a big step in the right direction for us. We have an appointment with a psychologist on Thursday, we really hope that he will be able to get to the root of what’s causing all these behaviors and mental health problems. I just really covet your prayers family. I just, my daughter is so lost right now. I spent my whole life teaching her about Jesus and she’s committed her life to him once as a very young child and once in a public confirmation ceremony at church when she was 12. But now she says she doesn’t even think He exists. So just pray that she would turn back to Him, that she would know who He is. I just pray for everyone out there who has kids that have wondered away from God or have mental health issues. I thank you for all of your prayers. They are working. Please keep praying for my daughter Alexis.
Greetings Brian and DAB family this is Viv. My encouragement to everyone today is that you are not here by chance. Whether you stumbled on the app or found it through a friend or got handed a DAB card, with God nothing is by chance. He wastes nothing. And we use even the worse days of our lives to His glory and to give us a testimony of His love and redemption. Susan, God’s Yellow Flower, I am rejoicing with you what an amazing answer to prayers. I’m overjoyed to hear that Keith’s tumors are gone and you’re being able to breath a little and enjoy your grandchildren. Thank you for the update. Well and how wonderful to hear James’ encouragement just after Susan’s call, to God be the glory. Father God, Lord Almighty, we thank you for these two praise reports and the countless others that are being celebrated in this community. We acknowledge that you are the giver and sustainer of life and there’s nothing to hard for you. So, as we celebrate the victories and continue to submit the needs to you, I just ask Father for Your grace over all of us. I think of Eugene and his social challenges and pray that You will encourage and surround him with love wherever he goes. Thank You for his faith in You and may You continue to strengthen him in this regard. Thank You for this community and for Brian and his faithfulness and thank You for Your grace and mercies that are new everyday. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. This is Viv, peace to all and by for now.
Hey Daily Audio Bible family it is Doctor John with a praise report. All you prayer warriors, you know, I’m calling and I say I’m a huge fan of miracles, I love miracles but mostly they’re experienced by other people, I experienced a miracle on Friday. I called you guys, I could not, literally could not see out of my right eye. It was dark and light if I looked at something really bright, I saw visuals of light coming through. I was blind in my right eye, when I called as a complication of my glaucoma surgery last Tuesday. And, I called you guys, my wife prayed over me and she had another one from our church put me on the prayer team. I laid down, two hours later I got up and my vision was back. And, I’m a medical person, I’m a doctor and I’m like, yeah that’s just a miracle. So, all of you Daily Audio Bible prayer warriors, thank you so much for those of you who called, for those of you who don’t call. It’s the majority of us that don’t call in but are still praying for everybody on the prayer line. And it makes a difference. So, if you ever feel like your prayers don’t make a difference just, I’ll tell you, they do. This is the second, absolute miracle that I have seen through prayers for me and my family. So, I was prepared to be blind. My wife was really upset and she’s like why and I said I don’t care because we are so blessed and if I lose my vision, it will be for God’s glory. You know, naked I came into the world and naked I will leave. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And so, God is glorified through your prayers. Thank you everybody.