So maybe you’ve heard it said, ‘read your bible’ so you tried and failed. Our hope as leaders is that all of us will pick up God’s word and come to understand the true nature of God. After all, the bible is God’s Word curated over centuries detailing His nature, His will, the meaning of life and humanity’s historical interactions with Him. The Bible details the hidden keys to the Kingdom. Hence, the reason we are reviewing a new book each week.
Last Sunday, we learned how the book of Ezra and Nehemiah was once a single book. We also learned from the text that Ezra’s big lesson to all of us then is a simple alliteration of “A’s”. To fully restore our connection to God, we must become aware of our sins, admit them to another and act in a way which totally removes the sin and its tempters from our presence quickly. Any compromise robs us of a true connection to our God.
So if you have your bible, we move into the Book of Nehemiah. Remember Zerubbabel returned with the exiles and began the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord first. Lot’s of promise in the beginning and then disappointment because God doesn’t seem to dwell within. Then Ezra returned to rebuild the faith of the people. Again, lots of hope in the beginning with people committing to live as God's chosen people and then disappointment when they begin to rationalize not completely following the way of God. Now, Nehemiah comes to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Lots of hope in the beginning as the wall gets rebuilt in 52 days, the people celebrate by worshiping God and then disappointment sets in when the people get a dose of affluenza. Affluenza is used to describe the unhealthy effects of wealth on both individuals and society, symptoms of which include a lack of motivation, feelings of guilt, and a sense of isolation. The people in Jerusalem have everything they need (community, spirituality and safety) and as a result they drift away from God to self determination.
Let’s jump to the very end of the book of Nehemiah to chapter 13. The chapter itself has been describing how after Nehemiah had returned to King Artaxerxes, he had heard of some inappropriate actions taking place so he returned to investigate. What he found disturbed him greatly and created a good deal of frustration. In four places, he prays for God to remember him. Verses 14,22,29,31
14 Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.
He prayed this after he removed a former enemy housed in the food storehouse for servants of the temple. He helped get the priests and musicians there recompense. He prays a second time.
22 Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love.
This is prayed after rebuking the community of faith and reestablishing the sabbath in the community.
29 Remember them, my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
He prays a third time after standing with Ezra on the continued practice of violating the commands in Deuteronomy and marrying outside the family of God. He prays for a fourth time.
31 Remember me with favor, my God.
This final prayer to God is offered after assisting the priests, arranging their schedules and providing the basics of life.
The word “remember" in all these cases was not a demand for repayment for all he had done. “Remember” was a word asking God to intervene. He was making a humble plea for God to act in light of his faithfulness and self sacrifice for the people to whom he was sent.
So how does this apply to us?
The simple answer would be to claim that revitalizing our faith requires revisiting the building blocks, assessing what has crumbled and solidifying the practices to strengthen the areas which are no longer effective to render God’s favor. This seems to presuppose our importance to God in achieving His will in the world. It also sounds like a form of manipulation of God and his mercy. Furthermore, it’s extremely transactional. If I do “a”, God will do “b”.
The more complete answer to how these scriptures apply to us can be stated in three lessons from the text.
First, All Holy Movements come from yearning to be in God’s presence, connecting with Him and agreeing to do his bidding. The story of Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah shows us this pattern. The Temple was rebuilt first hoping to connect with God anew. The community was reconnected to God through the scriptures and lastly, the mission takes on the activity of God to affirm his power.
When our hearts are broken for a person, a group of people or a place, it’s natural to be afraid of what people will say (especially the authorities in our lives) and the need for resources. However, as Christ followers, we should go with confidence. Nehemiah was fearful of telling King Artaxerxes about his concern for his tribe of people. However, God had shown the King through his past interactions that Nehemiah was a man of character. As a result, when Nehemiah made his request, it was well received and blessed with resources.
To whom is your heart breaking as a result of your connection and commitment to God?
Second, when we are sent to a person, group or place, our role is to help others, understand the need and get to work. Nehemiah worked diligently with those he was sent to accomplish what many thought was impossible. A little bit of action moves the rest of society along.
It’s the starfish story. A young boy walking along the beach with his dad. He comes upon a lot of starfish washing up on the beach from a storm at sea. The boy begins frantically picking up starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. The father sees the boy and asks why. The father says, “After all, you can’t save them all so stop picking them up and returning them to the ocean. You can’t begin to make a difference!” The boy seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, he bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then he looked up at dad and replied, “Well, I made a difference for that one!” The old man looked at the boy inquisitively and thought about what he had done. Inspired, he joined his son in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish on that beach were saved.
If you are a Christ follower, you are called to emulate the one who saves (Jesus) and go to those in need. Hence, the reason we talk a lot about being “sent” people.
As the Father sent His Son, the Son sent the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit now sends us. To whom are you sent? Why haven’t you gone? If you were to ask the Lord to remember your action on behalf of those your heart has been broken, what have you done or should you do?
Third and most importantly, through Nehemiah we learn we are but a tool in God’s plan. We are His instruments in His hand to complete the mission at hand. Once complete, we should be willing to leave the results to the most high. Obviously, this is easier said than done. In verse 25, we see a Nehemiah resulting to violence to get people to do what is right. However, forcing others to behave is not a signal of a need for more oversight or even unwillingness. It’s a sign of a greater issue - a heart problem.
As the Prophet Ezekiel said, “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
As the Prophet Jeremiah would reinforce, “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people…”
Humanity is incapable in and of itself to fix itself. Ezekiel says it. Jeremiah echoes it. God confirms it. He sends Jesus to fix it and sends the holy spirit to remind us, we can do nothing without His power.
To fully be God’s people, everyone needs a whole heart transformation by fully surrendering to God and asking him to have his way with us.
