Nehemiah Saw a Need and He Filled It

“Come, and let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no more be a reproach.”

— Nehemiah 2:17

Nehemiah was a great man of God and yet a most unusual one. He wrote no psalms, directing the people of God to lifting up their hearts in exaltation and worship as David did. He did not leave us with hundreds of proverbs with which to guide our daily lives as Solomon did.

He wrote no epistles instructing us in the faith so that we may be built up in our spiritual knowledge. He did none of these things. However, what he did was quite unusual: He built a wall. It is most remarkable that the Bible contains an entire book written about the subject of building a wall.

It was, or course, a most important wall; it was the wall that would protect Jerusalem and its temple (which had been rebuilt) from the attack of enemies. Nehemiah well knew that the temple had been destroyed before only after the walls had been breached and broken down. He knew that if the religion of God’s people was to continue, there must at least be some hiatus in the singing of psalms and the teaching of proverbs, for there was a practical job to do—the wall must be rebuilt.

God calls His children to do different things. We each have our part in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. The key is to make sure that we are on track to faithfully carry out what He has called us to do—even if it is to build a wall.

Lord, our protector, thank You for watching over Your people. Help us to protect and preserve that which You have entrusted to us. Let us gladly do the tasks You assign us, whether they are glamorous or menial…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
COMPLETE ANY TASK HE ASSIGNS US.