52 DAYS WITH NEHEMIAH August 25-October 15, 2013 WELCOME It took Nehemiah 52 days to build a wall in Jerusalem. Let’s take the next 52 days and build our faith by reading God’s word and praying over our city. The following devotionals are written by members of our own FBCTLH family. You will be reading various portions of scripture, some from Nehemiah, some from other books of the Bible, that all support the common themes of compassion, love, prayer, mercy, and justice. Begin this journey on Sunday, August 25 by reading the devotional for Day 1. Our hope is that these daily devotionals will teach, inspire, and encourage you as you live for Christ and love Tallahassee! INTRO TO NEHEMIAH 722 BC northern kingdom of Israel falls to Assyria; tens of thousands are taken into exile 612 BC city of Nineveh and the Assyrian empire fall to the Babylonians and the Medes 586 BC Jerusalem, capital of the southern kingdom of Judah, falls to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians; the walls and temple are destroyed; many Jews are taken into exile 562 BC Nebuchadnezzar dies and Babylonian power begins to wane 539 BC Babylonian empire falls to Cyrus and the Persians, who will dominate the ancient Near East for two centuries 538 BC edict of Cyrus allows Jews to return; Persia funds rebuilding of the temple 520 BC Haggai prophesies against the people for not finishing the temple 515 BC rebuilding of the temple completed under Zerubbabel’s leadership 458 BC Artaxerxes sends Ezra to Jerusalem 445 BC Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, arrives in Susa after his recent visit to Jerusalem Following his defeat of the Babylonian empire, Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, declared that the Jewish people could return to their homeland and provided the resources necessary for them to rebuild the temple, which had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Facing strong, external opposition and overcoming their own unfaithfulness, more than two decades passed before the second temple was completed. Nearly 60 years later, Ezra was sent by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, to restore worship of Yahweh. The book of Nehemiah opens some 13 years after Ezra’s arrival, as Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, has just returned to the Persian city of Susa from his recent visit to Jerusalem. For a people that had only known the vulnerability and shame of broken walls and gates for more than 140 years, God was preparing to use Nehemiah to begin Israel’s restoration and to correct the social, economic, and religious abuses of his day. day 1 THE GOD WHO ENLIGHTENS AND COMFORTS So let’s get this Nehemiah party started. And by “party” I really do mean “PARTY” because that is where Nehemiah is when the book begins - at a palace. There is no party like a party in a palace (not that I have ever been to one, but one can hope...) Nehemiah 1:1-4 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev (November or December), in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Susa, the palace of the king of Persia, is 800 miles away from Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s role is to sample the wine and food of the king to make sure it isn’t poisoned. Now this is my DREAM JOB (until someone poisons the food). In a palace, eating the best stuff on earth. Safe. Comfortable. A life of lavish luxury. 800 miles away (without cars, planes, trains, etc.) from this area of calamity. However, Nehemiah asks a question about a situation that he must have been following closely... the exiled Jews who have been allowed to return to Jerusalem and had rebuilt the temple. Nehemiah doesn’t receive the news of the trauma with photos. It doesn’t come via twitter feed, Facebook status updates, or Instagram. He can’t hear, see, taste, touch or smell any of the wreckage. He willingly enters into this tragedy with his question. WILLINGLY made inquiries when he could have just passed them some more wine and made small talk: “Much rain this summer?” How many times have I steered clear of someone’s troubles? Driven far around literally or metaphorical- ly? Stayed on the outskirts so I didn’t have to know the full extent of the devastation of someone’s life? Kept in my comfortable world because entering in sometimes gets messy? The honest answer to his question makes Nehemiah’s stomach turn. His eyes fill with tears. His heart is moved. A guy with everything going for him weeps. Straight up mourns like his beloved has died. Keeps on mourning, fasting, and praying FOR DAYS. So why was this wall thing a big deal? Well, a city without walls and gates would have been a city in danger. Any outside force could just come in and take whatever they wanted. Whenever. A city without walls is a place of anarchy. Proverbs 25:28 A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Strong walls and gates were of MORE importance than an army. Without walls a city cannot stand against any enemy. Danger, depression, and shame are the predictable future of a city with no walls. Nehemiah deeply feels compassion. The Latin etymology for the word “compati” literally means “suffer with.” Nehemiah suffers with them. Though he is 800 miles away. And that made me wonder why I don’t feel compassion like this for those who surround me every day.... First because I was born with a default of sinful selfishness in my heart. I tend to think that I am the center of the universe and that my troubles are paramount and everyone around me should serve me and make me happy 24 hours a day. Please tell me I am not the only one with this issue. (Insert sound of crickets chirping here.) And also because we live in an era of individualism. We take care of ourselves. We are proud of being master of our fate, captain of our soul (or however that poem goes). Our culture celebrates the “self-made man/woman.” When in reality, no one makes anything by themselves. It all belongs to God. Every talent. Every brain cell. Every opportunity. Every ounce of energy that we have to make the most of every oppor- tunity. ALL HIS. Every breath. HIS. Self-focus and radical individualism isn’t Nehemiah’s view. And it isn’t God’s. God is constantly focusing our hearts outward. Love one another. Serve your neighbor. Care deeply for the least of these: the stranger, the naked, the oppressed, the prisoner, the widow, the orphan, the helpless (Just to name a few). Help those people with broken walls and gates. Walls have to be repaired before true worship can occur (literally and metaphorically). Nehemiah challenges those of us living in comfort and complacency. How many times have I wept for this city? There are so many college students here alone, with no walls, no protection. Single parents who feel abandoned. Families who have lost everything in the past few years. Those who have never had anything to begin with. People who are homeless through a thousand bad decisions. Or just one. Does it matter why or when or how a person becomes a city with no walls? Haven’t we all turned astray and gone our own way? Weren’t we all exiles? Nehemiah’s father’s name means “Jehovah enlightens.” Pray that you will be enlightened this month. Pray that He will move your heart to weep over brokenness. First to know that you have been that city with no walls. Perhaps there are areas of your life that still are in need of repair. (I know that I have some rusty gates and crumbling concrete.) As you mourn for your own brokenness, remember that Nehemiah’s name means “Jehovah comforts.” There is One True God of so much compassion that He WILLINGLY entered into our sin and shame to build the most awesome Wall and Gate of all: the Cross. God never enlightens without also showing us comfort through His Only Son. “The more I understand how lost I was the more I am profoundly aware of how far He came to find me.” {Judah Smith} Our motivation for compassion “suffering with” should only come from the compassion “suffering with” that we see in Jesus. Not guilt. Not to earn His love. (We already are loved completely by Him.) He became sin for sinners like us. Endured the most shameful of deaths. For me. I was the helpless. I was the city without resources. I was enslaved by the enemy. No self-control. God rescued each of us. He made us belong. Poured out His life for ours. And rebuilt our walls. Praise the God who enlightens and comforts. Nehemiah doesn’t receive the news of the trauma with photos. It doesn’t come via twitter feed, Facebook status updates, or Instagram.