My Name Is Nehemiah And This Is My Story

my name is Nehemiah and this is my story this is the story of how I a simple cut bear became a great man of influence and restored the city of Jerusalem you have to understand that I am a man who is far from his home many years ago my people had been captured and exiled from Israel for years my people had sinned against God and not repented when he rebuked us our Exile came through the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon he invaded Israel three times capturing and taking people with him each time our

management should not have come as a surprise because the Prophet Jeremiah had said it would happen last for 70 years and then the people could return to Israel years have passed and King Nebuchadnezzar has died yet we are still in captivity King are the Xerxes of Persia now rules now I am a humble cutbearer to the king because of my responsibilities I lived in shushan the capital city of Persia and I lived in the Citadel that is the Fortified Palace of the Persians my body was in Persia but my heart and interest were in Jerusalem

800 miles away I was interested in hearing from those who had returned about how the people and the city were doing people might think that a man like me has more important things to do than think about a far away place he's never been to and the people he was a stranger to yet because my heart was for the things of God my heart was no longer for myself but for others I had a burden for judah's remnant even though I had not experienced their suffering I identified with them one day one of my brothers

came from Judah with some other men and I questioned them about the Jewish Remnant that had survived the Exile in Jerusalem they said those who made it back to the area after the Exile are in a lot of trouble and shame the wall around Jerusalem is broken and its Gates have been set on fire the news I got was not encouraging people called them survivors which was not a very hopeful name the bad state of the people ended a bad state of the city walls went hand in hand the truth is that a city Without

Walls was wide open to its enemies and easy to attack they had no defense and no way to stay safe a city Without Walls was always vulnerable and couldn't keep people in good safe if anything was valuable in an unworld City it could be stolen away easily because there was no defense to stop it people who lived in a city without walls were always worried because they didn't know when they would be attacked and harmed every man is always concerned about his loved ones the temple could be rebuilt but never made beautiful because anything valuable

would be taken quickly when I heard these things right away there was no strength in my legs I sat down and I began to weep and do mourn for some days I cried didn't eat and prayed to the god of Heaven I said Lord the god of Heaven the great and awesome God who keeps his Covenant of Love with those who love him and keep his Commandments let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants the people of Israel I

confess the sins we Israelites including myself and my father's family have committed against you we have acted very wickedly toward you we have not obeyed the commands decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses saying if you are Unfaithful I will scatter you among the Nations but if you return to me and obey my commands then if your exiled people are at the farthest Horizon I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I've chosen as a dwelling for my name they are your servants

and your people whom you Redeemed by your great strength and your Mighty hand low heart let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who Delight in revering your name vior servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man I didn't complain or see who could fix this problem I immediately did what I knew I could do pray and intensely seek God in this situation I knew exactly who I was fasting and praying to there are many gods that people believe in

but only the god of Heaven can meet my needs I prayed to God about my pain and stress and left it there you see as the king's cup Bearer it was my job to bring him wine and taste it the king's cup Bearer is a significant position in any Royal Court the cup bearer was the king's special guard he tasted Wine and Food before the king did so that no one could poison him the cop bear had to be a man the king could put a lot of trust in the cop Bearer had to be

a man of faithful and impressive character in whom the king could place a tremendous amount of trust if the cop Bearer could be turned against the king it would be easy to assassinate him it was natural the cup Bearer would often be asked his opinion on different matters coming before the king after praying and waiting for four months I finally got an answer the day came when everything would change for me and my people my face was sad as I mourned for Jerusalem this was the first time that King had seen me sad so he

asked me why does your face look so sad when you are not ill this can be nothing but sadness of heart in the king's court being sad was against the rules this was true of many King's courts the idea was that the King was such a great person that just being around him would make you forget all your troubles the king could have thought he was badly insulted when I looked sad when the king said this is nothing but sorrow of heart I knew the king had noticed my sadness and that the king took it

seriously the next words from the King could easily be off with his head was very afraid but I told the king the honest truth May the King live forever why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in Ruins and its Gates have been destroyed by fire the king said to me what is it you want was petrified because I knew I was going to the king for something significant a lot was riding on what would happen in response to this question this could change everything I understood it

was not my place to change the king's heart I prayed and left it up to the Lord after my quick prayer I answered the king I explained why I was sad Jerusalem was a destroyed disgraced City the king's response wasn't off with his hand but what can I do to help I knew that four months of prayer were answered I said if it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it then

the king with a queen sitting beside him asked me how long will your journey take and when will you get back the King was happy to send me oh what an honor I had a plan the four months in prayer were not only spent talking to God I immediately said a time and I also asked if it pleases the king may I have letters to the governors of trans Euphrates so that they will provide me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah and may I have a letter to ASAP Keeper of the Royal Park so

he will give me Timber to make beans for the gates of the Citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residents I will occupy I knew I would need letters of safe passage from the King I knew what kind of materials would be required I also knew what work needed to be done the gates of the Citadel the city wall the house I will occupy I did not need time to make more plans the four months were enough the king granted my requests the gracious hand of my God was clearly on

me as this can only be the power of the Lord at work everything was now ready to go following this I traveled to the governors of the trans-euphrates region to deliver the king's letters to them the king had also sent officers and horse riders with me from the Army I was all set I also had substantial supplies of lumber from the king's Forest truly the King of Persia had responded to my invitation nevertheless this was also the beginning of huge difficulties that had the potential to ruin everything at the governor's station I met these two

enemies of Jerusalem and anyone who cared for the city's welfare send Milad to the horror night tobiah the ammonite they were extremely troubled by the fact that an individual had come to check on the children of Israel and see how they were doing as long as Jerusalem was weak and vulnerable these two didn't care about it even though the temple was there and worship conducted that was fine as long as the people of God were not strong secure and free from stress but that did not stop me from going to Jerusalem this opposition came not

at the heart not at the vision stage not at the prayer stage not at the planning stage but when progress started I went to Jerusalem with a big dream a lot of Hope a lot of prayer and a lot of help from the King people would have noticed me when it came to Jerusalem with a military guard and wood from the king of Persia's Forest but I didn't say anything about my task until it was time after three days in Jerusalem I left with a few other people in the middle of the night I was

here for the first time ever I was home by night I went out through the valley gate examining the walls of Jerusalem which had been broken down eats which have been destroyed by fire I knew I couldn't start making the walls until I saw how bad things were could have thought about everything good about Jerusalem we were forced to leave Judah but now we were back there they built the temple there were sacrifices and worship even though progress was slow it was happening there was a lot to be thankful for in Jerusalem but sometimes you

have to look at what's wrong which is what I did the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing because as yet I had said nothing to the people there priests Nobles officials or any others who would be doing the work Jerusalem's people and leaders did not just sit around and wait for a hero to come and rebuild their walls most likely they had accepted that it was impossible it seemed like no one could fix a 100 year old problem years ago when someone tried enemies simply stopped them so they

lived with it then I told them you see the trouble we are in Jerusalem lies in Ruins and its Gates have been burned with fire let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace now when I came and explained the vision for the rebuilding of the walls to the leaders of the city there was a tremendous amount of importance attached to the meeting it was impossible for me to complete the task on my own and I would have been in a lot of trouble if the leaders didn't back me

up I told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me I assured the leaders this wasn't my project it was God's project they replied let us start rebuilding so they began this good work but when San beloved The Horde night to buy you the ammonite official and gesham the Arab heard of it they laughed and despised us saying what is this thing that you are doing will you rebel against the king they mocked and ridiculed us to buy was a powerful figure because of his connections

to the family of the high priest and his ability to solicit assistance from the priests the name tobiah means Yahweh is good a strange name for a man who was an opponent of the work of God through his marriages San ballad was connected to the Priestly families these men were my fellow brothers and the citizens of Jerusalem we might have thought they would have supported my work but they did not opposition is always difficult but when Brothers disagree with you it feels like you've been betrayed on top of everything else San balad and damaya used

scorn in their attack they wanted me to feel mocked stupid and foolish they showed their Spite and despised us with a mocking Edge they asked me will you rebel against the king this question shows that both sand balad and tobiah didn't think much of God's power the fact that they asked that question showed that they thought the King of Persia was the most powerful person in the land first they were completely ignorant they had no idea what they were talking about even if they didn't know it the king had given his Blessing the king helped

with the work second they didn't care about how much power God had even if the King of Persia was against this work it didn't matter because the god of Heaven and Earth was for it I didn't care about the remarks so I told them the god of heaven will give us success we his servants will start rebuilding but as for you you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it we built built built the high priest and his fellow priests got to work and rebuilt the Sheep gate these were the

gates of the wall the gates were the most important points of admission and exit into the City and the places most likely to see an enemy attack therefore the work started at each gate and worked out from there we then consecrated it this is done to show that something is special and set apart for God's glory and care these City Gates were made especially for God the priest knew that God wanted everything to be set aside for him alone this included the walls and Gates of the city Every Man's work was important each person or

family was given individual responsibility for their work for the most part joined in but not everyone did these Lords from the city of Toccoa thought they were better than the hard work so they didn't join in they wouldn't submit they would not bend their next what the Lord wanted them to do the real issue was submission the yashana gate was repaired by men of different professions not professional builders they didn't have the skills to do this kind of work it seemed like they had a good reason not to do anything but they jumped in and

did the work anyway even though many people didn't think they were prepared or able they build walls around Jerusalem they laid its beams and placed its doors with their bolts and bars I held each man responsible for the work he did each man was in charge of a certain part of the wall and it was known he was responsible for it no one wanted people to think they were bad at working for God we got both high and low people to work together the man who lived in a single room the leaders and the high

priest worked together I didn't mind if people tried new things I also told people to start with their own homes and I didn't turn people away because they had sinned or lied in the past when San Milad found out that we were repairing the wall he took offense and grew enraged he made fun of us and in front of his companions and the army of Samaria he asked what are those feeble people doing will they restore their wall they offer sacrifices will they finish in a day can they bring the stones back to life from

those heaps of rubble burned as they are tamiah the ammonite who was standing by his sides woke up and said what they are building even a fox climbing upon it would break down their wall of stones after the work had already began they became outraged and quite agitated about the situation like most attempts to make you feel bad the enemy's words contain a grain of Truth as Builders we would not complete it in a day we did not have the best tools to use I didn't argue I didn't form a committee I didn't even deal

with the two enemies directly instead I took it to God In Prayer I prayed hear us o God for we are despised turn their insults back on their own heads give them over as plunder in a Land of captivity do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your side for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders so we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height because the people worked with all their heart the Arabs the ammonites in the people of ashdod were very angry when

they heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had started and that the gaps were being closed they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it now instead of just complaining or making fun of me they made threats and made plans for violence this was serious the wall was built to protect against violent attacks but now it looked like the wall itself might cause an attack to happen people could have been afraid and worried that all their hard work might be for nothing they wanted to create confusion among the

people of God confused people will never move forward and fulfill God's work they are usually confused because they are distracted by the tricks of their enemies instead of focusing on God and his promises nevertheless we prayed to our God and because of them we set a watch against them day and night we wouldn't start praying to God because of anything we could have given up thinking that God wasn't answering our prayers because the attacks kept happening but we had more faith in God than that I was determined I wouldn't let the security of daylight or

the sleepiness of night keep me from the work this sent a powerful message sent a message to the people of God saying we are committed this will work out because God is with us and will help us get past every problem it sent a message to the enemies that they would not be victorious in their endeavors the work that God has begun cannot be halted since it is already in progress it doesn't matter whether it means sleepless nights or tired days because we are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done it

sent a message to God we ain't trust in you and our faith is a living faith a faith of actions not just words we love and Trust You Lord on the other hand the difficulties did not stop in addition to the difficulties that came from the outside there were also difficulties that came from within Judah said the strength of the laborers is failing and there is so much rubbish that we could not build the wall Judah was supposed to be the tribe with the most strength and bravery it was the tribe that produced Mighty Kings

the fact that this word originated from the tribe of Judah served both as unique obstacle and a source of discouragement the halfway point is a dangerous place much remains to be done but fatigue said sin because much has already been done the task is not yet over rebuilding the walls required not only construction but also cleaning and carrying away the garbage that accumulated during the process the ruins of the walls lying in waste for 100 years to become a collecting point for all kinds of rubbish clearing away the rubbish was not an option it had

to be done the destroyed parts of the wall and the accumulated rubbish had to be cleared away solar walls could be rebuilt upon their foundations the walls wouldn't stand if they didn't do this and our adversary said they will neither know nor see anything till we come into their midst and kill them cause the work to cease were already in a bad state and the discouraged workers felt like giving up now the enemy was making plans to attack the workers who were rebuilding the walls the enemies Knew by now the only way to get them

to stop serving God and doing his work was to slay them live near us came and told us about the evil plan God's enemies did everything they could but God was always in charge the enemies didn't know the people who were loyal were listening to what they were planning those who heard the plan didn't have enough sense to know what to do they were scared and I think it bothered them that I wasn't scared too I stationed some people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places posting them by families with their

swords Spears and bones after taking a look at everything I stood up and told the Lord's officials and the rest of the people don't be afraid of them remember the Lord who was great and awesome and fight for your families your sons and daughters your wives and your homes I commanded them to bring out their armor it was time to get serious to put on the full armor and get ready to fight with every resource at our disposal I looked at the big picture even though the task was hard there was no reason to be

afraid I made sure they didn't forget why they were fighting when our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it we all went back to the wall each to our work as soon as the adversaries noticed the defenses they began to retreat they didn't want to fight since they were confident they would come out on the losing side the enemies wanted the people of God to hand them an easy Victory by failing to watch and be ready from that day on half of my men did the work and

the other half were given swords Shields bows and armor officers stood behind the people of Judah were making the wall the people who carried supplies did their jobs with one hand while holding a weapon in the other after that I addressed the Nobles the officials and the rest of the people telling them the work is extensive and spread out and we are widely separated along the wall wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet join us there Our God will fight for us in addition to that I instructed them to have every man and his

helper stay inside Jerusalem at night so that they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes each had his weapon even when he went for water but then the men and their wives raised a great outcry some were saying we and our sons and daughters are numerous for us to eat and stay alive we must get grain others were saying we are mortgaging our Fields our Vineyards and our homes to get grained during the famine

we have had to borrow money to pay the king's taxes on our fields and Vineyards my story is not that of money yet money problems directly affected the rebuilding work people had money problems because they worked hard on the walls and did not spend the same time providing for their households needs people had money problems because there was a famine which made food more expensive and it was so expensive that some mortgaged their property to provide food people had money problems because the government kept taxing them even though they weren't working as much and the

cost of living went up these taxes were not the fault of those who they heard neither I nor the people acted as if these taxes were unfair yet they were still a hardship people were having trouble making ends meet since the loans they had taken out to make ends meet carried interest and some of them had defaulted on their payments as a result of this some people were forced to hand over their children to their creditors to work as servants in order to pay off their debt the wealthy were using the crisis as an opportunity

to make money off of the less fortunate by charging interest rates of 12 percent per year if I and my people did not find a way to do what God wanted us to do with regard to our money and money problems the work of God would have stopped without a single Arrow being fired by the enemies of God so I called to gather a large meeting to deal with them and said as far as possible we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles now you are selling your own people only

for them to be sold back to us they kept quiet because they could find nothing to say my comrades and I began giving loans of money and grained to the locals and I told the Nobles to stop charging interest I instructed that they give back their fields Vineyards Olive Groves and houses and the interest they were charging them they all agreed and said we will give it back and we will not demand anything more from them we will do as you say so I summoned the priests and made the Nobles and officials take a note

to do what they had promised I also shook out the folds of my robe and said in this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise so may such a person be shaken out and emptied at this the entire assembly said amen embrace the Lord and the people did as they had promised my appointment as governor of Judah followed soon after although neither I nor my brothers ever touched the governor's rations the previous Governors taxed the populace heavily extracting 40 Silver shekels from them in addition to

the usual food and drink quotas the resistance also laudered it over the people but out of reverence for God I did not act like that instead I devoted myself to the work on this wall all my men were assembled there for the work we did not acquire any land in addition there were 150 Jews and officials dining at my table each day one Ox six Choice cheap and some poultry were prepared for me and every 10 days an abundant supply of wine of all kinds despite all of this I never made a demand for the

food that was supposed to be given to the governor since the demands that were placed on these people were so great now what happened when sanbelat tobiah gesham the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that there were no breaks left in it though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates that San berladen gesham was sent to me saying come let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono but they thought to do me harm I was able to see

through the outward appearance so I send messages to them saying I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you but they sent me this message four times and I answered them in the same manner using discernment I would not only Escape their trap I won't even be distracted from my work I was persistent in my discernment then Sandra sent his servant to me as before the fifth time with an open letter in it was written it is reported among

the Nations and gesham says that you and the people plan to Rebel therefore according to these rumors you are rebuilding the wall that you may be their King and you have also appointed prophets to Proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem saying there is a king in Judah now these matters will be reported to the king so come therefore and let us consult together then I sent him saying no such things as you say are being done but you invent them in your own heart then all we're trying to make us afraid saying their hands will be

weakened in the work and it will not be done now therefore o God strengthen my hands I did not mount an elaborate defense trying to prove said wrong Point by point I'm going to waste my time you don't satisfy men like sandblad with facts explanations and evidence you satisfy them by giving in to their demands and I refuse to do this San Milad would not be defeated by being told he was a liar I had the discernment that the slander strategy was all about fear and I wouldn't give in to it no enemy can make

us afraid all they can do is try to make us choose fear but it is up to us to refuse it however the assassination attempts did not end when I went into the house of shamaya who was confined at home he said let us meet and take refuge together in the house of God within the temple and let us shut the doors of the temple because they are coming to kill you and they are coming to kill you at night but I said should a man like me flee in fear and hide should someone like

me enter the temple for Sanctuary to save his life I will not go she may have made an attempt to instill fear in me and convince me to disobey God as a result of this fear the temple was off limits to everyone who was not a priest which included me if I follow Jaime's advice I would have been disobeying God and sinning against him I came to the realization that God was not the one who had sent him but that the enemy had commissioned him to make a prophecy against me ye had been hired to

intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me when words spread that the wall had been finished the surrounding countries were struck with fear and lost their confidence upon learning that it had been built with the help of our God the amount of time that was necessary to complete the task was astonishingly brief after falling into disrepair more than a century earlier the walls were rebuilt in only 52 days time why wasn't the job done in the more than 100 years

before it wasn't that no one saw the problem it wasn't that walls were not wanted the destruction of Jerusalem's walls was witnessed by many and everyone knew how it affected the city's residents yet no one ever moved past wishing Jerusalem still had walls when the wall was finished their enemies were very disheartened it is glorious to dishearten the enemies of God's people and let them be discouraged for a while our enemies were disheartened not just because the wall was finished but especially because it was evident that God did the work a strong secure people of

Jerusalem were a witness to surrounding Nations yet the Nobles of Judah had no trouble being friends to such a man because he had family ties to many in the tribe of Judah also Nobles of Judah were sending many letters to the Maya our enemy opposing the wall and replies from tobiah kept coming to them many in Judah were under oath to him they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said and tobiasl letters to intimidate me after the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place

The Gatekeepers the musicians and the Levites were appointed the Levites and singers were there to guide the people in worship the city walls were not reconstructed so that the people of Jerusalem could admire how wonderful they looked they were reconstructed so that they may worship God in an even more glorious Manner and with greater freedom than before I put my brother in charge of Jerusalem along with hananiah who was the commander of the Citadel due to the fact that he was an honorable man who feared God more than the majority of people I said to

them the Gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the Sun is hot while The Gatekeepers are still on duty have them shut the doors and bar them also appoint residents of Jerusalem as a guards Summit their posts and some near their own houses a tremendous Victory had been won the walls were rebuilt yet the walls would not protect themselves there had to be guards who did their jobs well and the walls had to be watched the gates were to open late and close early because security was very important now the city was big

and open but there were not many people living there and the homes had not been rebuilt then my God told me to gather the Nobles the leaders and the people so that and their family trees could be written down I wanted Jerusalem to grow and prosper but before that could happen I must know who is already there just as when I toured the broken down walls with all these events something great happened there was a Revival all the people gathered together as one man in the open Square in front of the Watergate they told Ezra

The Scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded Israel Ezra was the man responsible for having the temple rebuilt and for returning God's people to worship I just carried on the work that Ezra had begun so Ezra the priest bought the law before the Assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month then he read from it in the open Square in front of the Watergate from morning until midday before the men and women and those who could

understand and all the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law the book of the law of Moses refers to the first five books of the Bible Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy this was Israel's instruction manual for how to walk before God and I the governor Ezra the priest and Scribe and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people this day is Holy to the Lord your God do not mourn nor weep for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law then he

said to them go your way eat the fat drink the sweet and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared for this day is Holy to our Lord do not sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength so the Levites quieted all the people saying be still for the day is Holy do not be engraved I was not merely concerned with the external reconstruction of Jerusalem I also devoted myself to the religious reform of Judah I saw a need got up got a clear picture of what I wanted to do made a

plan and got other people to join me in my cause a high stand is a testament to faithfulness and perseverance I lived far away from my home but I never stopped hoping that I would be able to go back I spend most of my life in Exile in a country where people didn't believe in God but I never stopped believing in the god of Abraham Isaac and Jacob I was a prayer Warrior who brought everything to God in prayer and prayed for my people I was honored for my hard work and persistence I cared so

much about my people that I never stopped hoping for their return not only to our country but to the god that first called our forefather Abraham out of the same area and made a covenant with him one that I believed would stand forever my name is Nehemiah and this is my story