The book of Nehemiah takes place in 444 B.C. 13 years after the return led by Ezra and 94 years after the return led by Zerubbabel. There are two divisions in the book that span a time of 21 years:
•Chapters 1-7 Construction: Nehemiah concern for the people leads him to inquire about the condition of the people who have come back to the land of promise only to find out that the walls and gates of Jerusalem still remain destroyed. He secures permission to finish what had been started 94 years earlier but not completed. Although Nehemiah faces stiff opposition both from without and from within the work is completed in 52 days to the glory of God even by those who opposed the work (6:15-16).
•Chapters 8-13 Instruction: The construction of the walls is followed by a consecration of the people led by Ezra the priest reminiscent of his reforms 13 years earlier. This rebuilding will take more work and a lot more sacrifice to repair and restore the wall and gates of the relationship with God that had been destroyed.
The work of God in the servant Nehemiah is of greater value than the historical rebuilding as we see a five-step process God worked in Nehemiah that led to the rebuilding of the walls in 52 days:
•1:2-5 Concern: In Neh. 1:2-7 we are told that Nehemiah asked about, “the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and he was told that “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach.” Folks we will never have the walls of our lives rebuilt if we don’t first take stock of the damage that living apart from God has done!
•1:4-10 Confession: Upon hearing those words Nehemiah, “sat down and wept, and mourned for many days” and then fasted and prayed. Concern led to a prayer of confession. Have you examined what possibilities your life could experience if only you lived regularly surrounded by his loving protection? Listen up friends, Nehemiah didn’t view the desolation as an opportunity to “GIVE UP” he viewed it as an opportunity to “GET UP”.
•1:11 Commitment: Notice that even while Nehemiah was praying the Lord was putting a plan on his heart. Concern led to confession which led to commitment to the plan God has revealed. Far too often we see that we have concern over our condition, confession over our condition but no committed action in prayer for our transformation in grace.
•2:9-10 Courage: Yet with that said it still took courage for Nehemiah to ask the king to go and to stand up to Sanballat and Tobiah once he arrived. Folks you can always expect resistance to God’s work in driving you back to His arms of love. It will take courage for you to ask the King as well as courage to trust the King in your transformation. Whenever you say in your heart arise and build (2:20) you can bet that the enemy will arise to destroy! Satan will always place roadblocks and obstructions on the road to our spiritual reconstruction!
•2:11-16 Caution: Nehemiah didn’t just run off trying to get everyone else on board he went out stealthily to check out the condition of things firsthand. A cautious hand is a well-thought-out plan my friends and it always pays to do the research.
With this five-step approach, Nehemiah told them in Neh. 2:18-19 “the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.” And he found because of this they responded by saying, “Let us rise up and build.” And these folks weren’t mere talkers, no “they set their hands to this good work.”
So how about you and me using the Nehemiah 5 step plan to rebuild the destroyed walls of our life?