Nehemiah 4:21-23So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.” Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, e...  Read More

Nehemiah 4:16-18Nehemiah is one of my favorite books in the Bible, and also one of my favorite men. Why? Because his story is so wonderfully unfolded. He ached for what had happened to Jerusalem, and more specifically, the walls that had been built to protect it. Jerusalem and the walls themselves were in terrible disrepair. Once he had heard of this, he began his strategy to rebuild them. As a pl...  Read More

Nehemiah 4:15 When things get tough, we often find it’s much easier to give up or abandon a task. We see it all over the world, from sports, work, and even the Christian Journey. We give up so easily! In our house, Sarah and I often talk about not panicking when things don't go our way. Trust me, I know it’s easier said than done. We are in the midst of searching for a new house. Between searching...  Read More

Nehemiah 4:14Fear. We all have it. It looks different for everyone, but we all feel it at some point in our lives. Fear is what made Moses hesitate when God said he was the man to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Fear is what caused the Israelites to wander in the wilderness. Fear is what made Jonah run from God. Fear is what caused Elijah to run from his enemies. There are several others I could...  Read More

Nehemiah 4:10-12The people had become tired from building the wall, and their morale was going down. Imagine how tired you might be from spending every day working endlessly to rebuild this massive wall. As your body is really feeling the fatigue, you start to hear about how your enemies are plotting together to attack you. I would imagine that you would start to feel scared, defeated, intimidated...  Read More

Nehemiah 4:1-5 The building of the wall was not easy for the builders. It was a physical burden, but one we saw they did together! This passage shows the mental anguish it must have been. We are given two names in this passage. Sanballat and Tobiah. The Jews are hard at work, rebuilding the walls, and these two men sit there and ridicule and do what they can to discourage them. The response to the...  Read More