Happy Tuesday, sweet friends! We are now on day 7 of our 30 / 30 Challenge and I am absolutely loving walking through the Word with you all!
Here’s your FREE journal sheets, if you are using them (Journal Your Way through the Word ). You can use those or go grab your own journal or notebook and your Bible and go get your 30.
Nehemiah 3 & 4 is phenomenal! 😉
MY TIME:
Nehemiah 3 begins with the building of the Sheep Gate and then continues on with the names of those who built the various parts of the wall. It may seem boring to read names and the details of what they built, but there are great nuggets of truth tucked in these two amazing chapters.
So, today, I’m just going to share with you what the Lord showed me as I read through Nehemiah 3 & 4…
Nehemiah 3:1 ~ The children of Israel started building the Sheep Gate before they worked on anything else so they could make first things first. The Sheep Goat was where they brought in the offering. It’s part of how they worshipped…by offering a sacrifice to the Lord.
Our service to God should begin with an offering of ourselves and worship of Him.
Nehemiah 3:2-32 ~ Different families with all their differences worked together to complete the wall.
Side by side. The rich and the poor. The type A and the type B. The phlegmatics and the melancholies. The young and the old. They didn’t waste time arguing about what color the wall should be or what the other person was doing. The carpenters worked with the perfumers and the women were very much involved in helping with the wall building efforts.
They were so focused on doing what God called them to do and honoring Him that they weren’t worried about any of that.
And that’s exactly how we should be about serving the Lord together. The question is…are we?
Nehemiah 4:1-3 ~ Surprise. Surprise! Opposition started coming hard and fast. Relentlessly working against their efforts to fulfill God’s will and God’s work.
No matter how long we serve God or how many times we overcome opposition, there will always be another hurdle to get over, another battle to fight, another enemy to defeat. But IN CHRIST, we are more than conquerors! (Romans 8)
Nehemiah 4:4-23 ~ Israel responds by seeking God’s face and His intervention and by continuing the work. I always think it’s interesting when we see God’s people praying against others, but here is another instance in which they do.
But they also continued to work hand in hand, next to one another. Guarding one another. A sword in one hand and a brick in another hand.
Serving God, yet fighting a battle all the while. Because the PEOPLE HAD A MIND TO WORK! (Nehemiah 4:6 ~ LOVE THAT VERSE!)
We will always face obstacles and opposition, but we are given the opportunity to respond like the children of Israel responded. To work together regardless of what opposition we face. To understand throughout the Christian life, we can be sure that while we are serving the Lord we are also having to fight a battle at the same time. A brick in one hand and the Sword of the Spirit in the other.
We stand united. We fight. We serve. And ultimately, it is God who fights for us because the battle is the Lord’s.
Don’t you just love knowing that we can’t lose?!
QUESTION: HOW DID CHAPTERS 3 & 4 MINISTER TO YOU? WHAT WAS YOUR NUGGET FROM THESE TWO AMAZING CHAPTERS?
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I love the book of Nehemiah! I scribbled in the margin of my Bible next to 3:1, as they built the Sheep Gate, “so that the sheep may enter the temple.” So meaningful! And I love 4:9, “We made out prayer to our God and set a watch against them day and night.” And verse 14, “Do not be afraid of the enemy; [earnestly] remember the Lord and imprint Him [on your minds]…and [take from Him courage to] fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” (All Amplified) Verse 20, “Our God will fight for us.” Awesome! Thanks for doing this series!
Thank you so much Lynn! I’m a big Nehemiah lover too! Such GREAT encouragement in that amazing book of the Bible! LOVE it! LOVE YOU !! 😉