Thursday, March 7, 2013

Nehemiah 3

Nehemiah 3

   When I first read Nehemiah 3 I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure what I would blog about.  It seemed it was just a bunch of names and places that didn't really strike a cord to me.  However, after digging deeper and doing a little studying I found that there are some key points to note about this chapter, most of which are shining a light on Nehemiah's great leadership skills.
   141 years had gone by since the fall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah had to be a  great motivator to get the Jews to start rebuilding again after years of devastation and discouragement.  We only get a small glimpse into Nehemiah's motivating speech in Nehemiah 2:17-18, but I'm sure that many more words were spoken.  
   It is also a huge thing to note about this chapter how much coordination it would take to make all of this happen!  There are soooo many different people working on the wall, and all of which are working on different sections.  It baffles me the amount of coordination it would take to 1. train everyone on what to do and how to do it 2. choose who would work on what sections and 3. make the individual parts of the walls run together smoothly when they were connected.
   My favorite thing to note about this chapter is that Nehemiah took the time to notice who was working on rebuilding the wall, write their names down and acknowledge credit towards those individuals.  He even gave credit to Shallum's daughters in verse 12, which wasn't necessarily the custom to do so.  But even more importantly, Nehemiah tells us that they were normal everyday people: priests, perfumes makers, goldsmiths, guards, rulers, and merchants.  They were not skilled wall builders and all of the building they did was in addition to their everyday job.  These men and women served their Lord with hard labor and in turn the Lord blessed them with the skills and strength they needed in order to be successful.

If you have anything to add or any questions about Nehemiah 3 then please feel free to leave a comment.  I'll get back with any questions as soon as I ask someone wiser than me;) Have a wonderful day! Love, Devon


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