TUESDAY, 9 February, 2021 “Next Steps”

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Good Tuesday morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends.

I have a question, particularly for those of you who’ve been on this journey through God’s Word with me for several months. What difference is this daily time in God’s Word making in your life?

Reputation, character, integrity, legacy are all important words which describe the sum total of our lives. So join me again today in Nehemiah’s account of his remarkable experience in the miraculous, 52 day rebuild of the Jerusalem city wall. You’ll remember Nehemiah’s sabbatical from his job in the palace of king Artaxerxes in Susa, the Persian Kingdom, was for a limited time. Now that the wall was completed, Nehemiah had been given authority, by the king, to put in place appropriate and reliable leadership for Jerusalem so it would be an orderly, God honoring, law abiding city after Nehemiah left and returned to Susa. I find it very fascinating what Nehemiah did as soon as the wall project was completed. Look with me at chapter 7.

“After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the Levites were appointed. I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do.“ (Nehemiah 7:1,2) Look at this very carefully my friends. Leadership selection and appointment is so very, very important isn’t it? That’s true in business, healthcare, education, politics, government, even the local church! Last week a military coup arrested the democratically elected leaders of Burma on the eve of their installation into office. Also last week Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, one of the richest men in the world, announced that he’d be stepping down from leading one of the largest businesses in the world, Amazon. And of course the world has been watching the USA leadership transitions of the past several weeks in Washington, DC. So, compare what you’ve seen in the news with what you see in Nehemiah’s description of leadership selection and installation in Jerusalem in 445bc.

Do you see the first people Nehemiah selected and appointed were people responsible for security, the gatekeepers, and spiritual leadership, the Levites. Very interesting that security and spiritual leadership were a priority for a stable, safe Jerusalem. Next, was selection of the person to be ultimately responsible for peace, justice, security and orderly living in the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah chose his brother Hanani. Do you see Nehemiah’s explanation as to what criteria he used in this selection? “…he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do.” Wow!! Now I have a question for us all, no matter where you live in our world. Look closely at all the leaders you know, in every segment of your society. How many of them meet that qualification… “a person of integrity who fears God more than most people do.“?

Now I have a second question… how different would your community, your society, your nation be, wherever you live, IF the majority of the leaders, the men and women of greatest influence in your society, met this very high qualification? There it is my friends. That is the core issue in our world today. Most leadership, in most segments of society, in most places in our world, are men and women who fall far, far short of that criteria. They are NOT people of integrity and not only do they not fear God, most of them have no interest in God nor ambition that their leadership is God honoring in any way! Now I ask you… is that an overstatement? Or, is that a fair assessment, as you know the true character and track record, of leadership influence in your city, your society?

Why was this Jerusalem city wall rebuild project so important? Because then as now, in every place in the world there are unscrupulous, dishonest, corrupt, selfish, greedy people who will do anything to advance themselves and their personal agenda, for their own personal gain, even if it means hurting other people or taking what does not belong to them. Do you see Nehemiah’s instructions for city security? “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, [at the end of the day] have them shut the doors and bar them. Appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards…some near their own homes.” (Nehemiah 7:3)

Most of us don’t live in walled cities anymore, so do you notice how we apply these same principles to our own private homes? Our doors remain locked until daylight, and they are locked again before dark, right? We take our security seriously… now, even things like identity security, password security, even social media security.

My friends, what lessons does God want us to learn from Nehemiah’s actions here, as you and I consider the moral trajectory of our cities, our societies, our countries? What are we passing on to our children and grandchildren? What advice are you giving them for not only survival, but for living flourishing lives in the world that we adults are handing to them?

Do you see what Nehemiah did? As he prayed about the conditions of Jerusalem now that the wall was complete, after he appointed trustworthy leaders, and established important security systems, he evidently asked God what he should do next. So look at verse 5: “So my God put into my heart to assemble the people for registration.” (Nehemiah 7:5) A census! What would happen in your city, your society if the leaders did that, everyday? Rather than doing what they want, they would ask God what they should do to lead well! Wow, that would be revolutionary wouldn’t it? Nehemiah had only been in Jerusalem a few months or so. He didn’t know most people very well, and I’m sure he wondered if some of those who were so opposed to the wall rebuild were now living inside Jerusalem, among them, waiting for a chance to cause trouble?

You may notice that Nehemiah 7:6 – 73 is almost an exact duplication of Ezra 2. Nehemiah explains that he searched and found the original records of those people who had returned from Babylonian captivity 100 years before, as recorded in Ezra 2!! And since 100 years had passed, I suspect Nehemiah and the city leaders used that original list and they questioned every person in Jerusalem to see how they were related, or IF they were related, to those original Jewish exiles.

And then Nehemiah did one more thing I want us to see today. Look at the end of chapter 7 and first verse of chapter 8: “…all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra, the teacher of the Law, to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.” (Nehemiah 8:1)

Do you see it my friends. Nehemiah gathered all the people together to do what you and I do together every day in “Walking with Jesus”. We read God’s Word. We ask God to apply His truth to our lives. We hold up God’s Word like a searchlight, asking God to show us anything in our lives, our hearts, our attitudes, our behavior, that is DISHONORING to God. We want to reject that stuff out of our lives, our attitudes, our relationships, our decisions. So in closing today, look again at this very powerful short statement from today in God’s Word and let’s apply it to our lives: “…he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do.” (Nehemiah 7:2)

Pray this verse with me, my friends…

“Search my heart O God… and see if there is any offensive way in me…” (Psalm 139:23,24)

These are important days in our world my friends. Oh how God’s people are needed in every city, every place in our world. Now I found an old song that I hope will refresh your heart as you contemplate what we’ve looked at today. . .

Let me pray with you; Lord Jesus Christ I lift up before you every person listening to my voice, and WE ask you O God, search our hearts. Help us see what is displeasing to you O God, in our lives, and help us have the courage to reject it and tear it out of our lives. We worship YOU now. . .

Today’s Scripture is Nehemiah 7.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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