Author: Bryan Richardson

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 13:15-22 (day three)

Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day.

In the early days of Nehemiah’s presence in Jerusalem, Nehemiah stationed guards to protect the people completing the city wall. Now, he posted guards to protect the people behind the completed wall. What becomes apparent is that city walls can stop an invading army, but they can’t stop the forces invading the heart. The guards he posted to prevent interference of sabbath observance showed Nehemiah’s devout concern for the people’s spiritual welfare. He was making space for them to stop buying and consuming, and instead to be still. Walls can keep external threats at bay, while a person’s internal machinations remain unchecked. Nehemiah showed his people how to pay attention to the heart.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 12:40-47 (day three)

“So all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the portions due the singers and the gatekeepers as each day required, and set apart the consecrated portion for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the consecrated portion for the sons of Aaron.”

The religious use of money is a fraught issue because of financial abuse and misuse. The same was true in Nehemiah’s day. When Nehemiah arrived on the scene, he found that the high priest in Jerusalem maintained cozy and mutually beneficial arrangements with those in power. The same was true centuries later when Jesus laid waste to the temple’s outer court, decrying the profit-taking schemes benefitting the religious establishment. Jesus still watches the money flowing through the church, just as he sat watching that day when he pointed out that a widow’s pure devotion outweighed all other riches.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 9:1-3 (day three)

“The sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.”

One of the hallmarks of a depressive state is the lack of care for the body, sometimes manifesting as the cessation of eating, apathy towards personal grooming, and lack of attention to hygiene. In such a state, time slows to a crawl and the seconds of the day stretch into one undifferentiated moment in which, from the standpoint of the person experiencing the mood disorder, nothing happens and no changes occur. The act of communal confession chronicled here does not present people in a depressive state. There is a pause in giving attention to the body, yes. There is a mood of deep solemnity and sorrow, certainly. But the people are experiencing a time of repair, not despair. God accepts them, the breach is healed, and they become whole.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day three)

“For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law.”

For these Jews, the words of the law were not just a solemn recitation. These words of the law were the history of their own people’s interactions with God. They heard Moses’s cry: “Hear, O Israel.” And they couldn’t breathe. Moses was alive again, calling out to them to remember the sweep of history, the rescue from Egypt, the passing through the sea, the manna from heaven, the water from the rock, the Ten Commandments, the year of Jubilee, the welcome to the foreigner, the God who hears from heaven – all of it. They heard, and they remembered. Even those who might not have ever heard these exact words heard the word that fit their souls as if they were now home. And they were.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 6:10-19 (day three)

Nehemiah visited a shut-in. And during that act of godly care – even right there – his wily nemeses attempted by proxy to dislodge him from his steadfast adherence to his mission. Nehemiah consistently saw through every disguise, every ruse, every feint. How? By rejecting everything that didn’t look like the deep longing that God had nurtured in his soul. Did Sanballat’s “concerns” for the welfare of the Persian empire look like that longing? No. How about this current fearmongering from this convalescing acquaintance? Again, no. Nehemiah would not stop until the longing for Jerusalem’s reestablishment was fulfilled. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes that God has set eternity in the hearts of people. Nehemiah was listening to those deep yearnings that welled up from the center of his being, from that place in which he bore image of God from the moment God created him.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 5:6-13 (day three)

“Please, let us leave off this usury.”

Philosopher Dallas Willard said, “Business is God’s way of taking care of people, so when someone says, ‘It’s just business,’ watch out! They’re getting ready to hurt you.” Nehemiah understood this. In fact, his understanding expanded beyond business to include the concept of city. He rightly discerned that the purpose of a city is to help people live face to face with one another and take care of one another. That’s a far cry from how people often view the city today. It’s not uncommon to hear of people “escaping” the city, getting out of the “rat race,” and holing up in solitary rural enclaves. Maybe that’s you. It makes sense. Who wants to live where people cannibalize each other? Nehemiah displays the nurturing care that all people need, and it starts with the city.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 4:1-8 (day three)

“What are these feeble Jews doing?”

A well-worn aphorism: “When you have the facts on your side, pound the facts, when you have the law on your side, pound the law, and when you have neither, pound the table.” All the harrumphing going on here betrays the weak position of Nehemiah’s enemies. Confident people don’t employ ad hominem arguments, and Nehemiah knew it. He could see through their ridiculous rhetoric. But would his resolve envelop the people he led? This question fueled his prayer. The resulting calm and courage in him provided a steady voice to which all the people rallied.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 3:1-5 (day three)

“Next to him the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.”

The people followed Nehemiah. He facilitated their skills, helping them channel their engineering, masonry, and stonework abilities to rebuild an entire city. But Nehemiah also followed the people. That is to say, Nehemiah responded to the hopes and desires already present in their hearts. These longings were not wishful thinking or flights of fancy, but deep yearnings long dormant from ancient times, passed down from generation to generation from the time of the exodus, full of the fervor of Moses’s preaching and the promises of the law. These were dreams – initiated by God – that would not die. It was these dreams, present in Nehemiah’s own heart too, that Nehemiah heard and followed.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 2:11-20 (day three)

“I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem.”

When you hear someone say to you that “God has laid it on my heart” to do some action, or that “the Lord is leading me” towards this or that, or that “I’ve prayed and I’m being directed” towards a certain decision, how do you feel about your freedom to disagree? “The Lord led me” is something that is often hard to counter. That’s why it can be used to gain power over someone’s reasoning or better judgement. If you disagree, it’s as if you’re fighting against God. Nehemiah eschewed such tactics. He displayed his integrity as a leader at every turn. He could well have said “follow me because the Lord is with me.” Instead, he let his actions do the talking.