Day 12 - Called to Rebuild

Nehemiah 2:5 (ESV) -  And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.”
(READ NEHEMIAH 2)

Many older American neighborhoods have houses, known as bungalows, built in the “arts and crafts” style. These finely crafted homes built in the early 1900s bear the mark of careful German craftsmanship and pride. A bungalow with broken or boarded up windows, a sagging roof, and overgrown yard is a sad thing to see. But hope comes alive when someone has taken to rebuilding and renewing such a home—there is hope for that house, for that street, and for that neighborhood. Rebuilding and restoring bring hope. 

In 445 BC, after 70 years of Babylonian captivity, the Jews are beginning to return to Judah, more specifically, to the capital, Jerusalem. Nehemiah, a Jewish public official working in the Persian city of Susa, gets news that the city walls of Jerusalem are in shambles and the very existence of his forefathers’ city is in peril. As this reality seeps into his soul, Nehemiah grieves. He weeps. He prays. And as Nehemiah feels a call to take action and rebuild the city walls, he boldly asks his unbelieving boss not only for a leave of absence but for help. Through it all, Nehemiah recognizes the hand of God on his life. “And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me” (Nehemiah 2:8). 

Rebuilding is never, ever easy. It is hard work, much harder than building anew, because when one rebuilds, for better or for worse, there is history, remnants of the original, and voices around us—all of which can help or hinder the rebuilding process. But rebuilding and restoring bring hope.
Like the broken-down city walls of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day, there is need all around for rebuilding and restoration. Souls. Marriages. Families. Friendships. Schools. Homes. Houses. Neighborhoods. Employment opportunities. God calls his people to be restorers and rebuilders. Plunging into the realities of rebuilding and restoring will require God’s people to grieve, cry, pray, ask for help, and in the end, take action. And like Nehemiah, one can be confident of God’s hand upon our lives.

PONDER: As you look at the landscape of your life, or of your city, is there something or someplace—in you or through you—that God wants to rebuild or restore? 

Take time to read Nehemiah 2:1-8. The people Nehemiah loved lived in Jerusalem. At one time they had an amazing wall that protected the city, but then it was knocked down and destroyed. Nehemiah felt called to go to help the people in that city who were in need.

If you have time, try this activity to help you/your family get a glimpse of what the rebuilding of the wall meant to the people in Jerusalem. Find something to build with (Legos, blocks, books, etc.). As a family, try to build a tower. Then have someone knock it over. Ask everyone how they feel seeing all of their hard work destroyed. Then try rebuilding the tower. When you are finished, talk about why the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem would have been important to the people there.