Takeaways from Nehemiah by Brenna Covelens

Takeaways from Nehemiah:

1. God favors those who respond to His voice.

At this time in the Bible, King Artaxerxes was in his twentieth year of reign. The story started off at the fortress of Susa. It was late autumn, and the Jews had returned from captivity to Jerusalem, but the gates had been ruined by fire. The people were described to be in “great trouble and disgrace” (Nehemiah 1:3, NLT). When Nehemiah heard the news from his brother Hanani and Hanani’s friends, he was in distress. For days he mourned, fasted, and prayed. He prayed that his boss, also known as King Artaxerxes, would show him favor to let him venture to the ruined city to help rebuild the wall. Nehemiah prayed to God and said, “Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring You” (Nehemiah 1:11, NLT).

Two seasons later during the early spring, Nehemiah was working. The king noticed Nehemiah’s glum expression and asked what was wrong. He responded honestly, and the king asked how he could help. When Nehemiah told him how long he would be gone, the king agreed to let Nehemiah fulfill his mission. That’s one way God favored Nehemiah: by letting the king grant him his request. God must’ve had some real favor on Nehemiah because the king had along sent along army officers and horsemen to protect him. He was a highly valued worker to the king and safely he would travel.

If God wants to send us somewhere, He will make a means to get there. We only have to respond, and say “Send me."

• We will always face opposition both from earthly and spiritual enemies.

When Nehemiah had arrived in Jerusalem, his presence and mission did not go undetected. There were men named Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem who scoffed at Nehemiah’s ideas. They thought he wanted to rebel against the king, but Nehemiah told them that they had no right or hand on the historic claim of Jerusalem. He put them in their place, and no one on the opposing side likes to be told to stay in their lane.

Throughout the whole book of Nehemiah, these men slander the plans of rebuilding the wall. Sanballat, for example, mocked the Jews while he was with his friends and Samarian army officers.  Secondly, Tobiah also said that a fox could not stand on the wall without it crumbling. When the workers could not be fazed by words, the opposing side wanted to fight and use violence instead.

While the Jews were scared, Nehemiah reminded them that God would fight for them and for them to not be afraid. Though he did not fear the enemy, Nehemiah still didn’t take lightly to any threats. He knew the enemy would be quick to attack without any protection. In response, half the men worked on the wall while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and wore armor. Workers switched in and out on guard duty at night. No one changed their clothes until the mission was complete. The labor and rebuilding continued, and this aggravated the opposition greatly.

Chapter six continues to share more of the opposition faced. When no gaps in the wall remained, Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to Nehemiah which asked him to meet them in a village in the plains of Ono. Four times they resent the same message, and the fifth time, Nehemiah replied. The enemies told him that he wanted to be the king, which was a lie to scare Nehemiah. Nehemiah called them out and said that they would never discourage or intimidate the men from their work. He also mentioned that the work would continue with “even greater determination” (Nehemiah 6:9, NLT).

In response to this, the enemies tried a new tactic, and that was using Shemaiah (son of Delaiah) to intimidate Nehemiah. They wanted to make him sin and to run from enemies that were coming for him. They wanted to frame him as a coward, yet he simply replied that he wouldn’t do it. Because of this, the wall was able to be finished fifty-two days later. The threatening letters from Tobiah continued.

For as long as we are living on this earth, we will always face opposition. It’s how we yield our weapons and continue our work through it that makes a difference.  We should never give up the work God has called us to because we’re hated and discouraged.

• God remembers us, but we also have to remember Him.

Number three correlates with number one. God favors those who respond to His voice, but what does it take to recognize His voice in the first place? To do this, we have to remember Him as He remembers us. There have been many occurrences when the people of the Bible forget God, whether that’s for a mistake made in a day or for a long stretch of time until a different generation arises. Some worshipped idols while some glorified and created their own gods. Either way, people forget what they don’t hold onto on a day-to-day basis.

Throughout Nehemiah’s story, he sought out the Lord. The first thing he did while in disarray was pray. He was always in contact with God. He recounted many times the goodness God had brought to past generations. In a prayer, he said he quoted the words of God, “But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored” (Nehemiah 1:9, NLT).

This prayer matters, because it reveals that God will always remember us, but we have to remember Him. In chapter four, Nehemiah told the people working that God would fight for them. The Lord fights for us, because He remembers us.

In verse nineteen, Nehemiah said a prayer for the Lord to remember Him when he was overworked or needed encouragement. His words were, “Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for doing it” (Nehemiah 5:19, NLT). He said something similar in chapter thirteen. His words were, “Remember this good deed, O my God, and do not forget all that I have faithfully done for the Temple of my God and its servants” (Nehemiah 13:14, NLT).

If Nehemiah wanted to be remembered for the good things he had done, I’m sure the Lord would like credit for the good he’s done for us, too.

• We need to be honest and vulnerable in our prayers and confessions.

Not only did Nehemiah ask the Lord to be remembered, but he also was honest with God with his anxiety, sadness, and other emotions. He was also very verbal with his own imperfection. He was not afraid to admit that he was a sinful man, and he knew that when he spoke in verse six. He said, “Listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!” (Nehemiah 1:6, NLT).

By being honest in our prayers, we have to admit openly what we need improvement on. As hard as it might be, we have to remember that “there is no condemnation for those who belong to Jesus Christ” (Romans 8:1, NLT).

Secondly, Nehemiah was a good teacher when it came to helping others with their relationship with the Lord. I’m sure that the people did not initially like being called out by Nehemiah on what they had to change, but they did respect him. God does the same with us even if we get defensive, scared, or intimidated at times. At the end of the day, God disciplines us because He loves us. Nehemiah cared deeply about the people he led.

Continuing on in chapter nine, we see that the people have assembled to fast and confess their sins. This lasted three hours. It was October 31^st, some months later after Nehemiah’s arrival. Those of Israelite descent spoke aloud of their ancestors’ confessions as well as their own. For the last three hours, they remained standing in place as they listened to the sermon taught from the Book of the Law of the Lord.

Overall, we need to bring ourselves forward and open up if we ever want to have a good relationship with someone. It’s like that with anyone we’re close to. Yet, the best person to befriend and trust with our prayers and confessions is the Lord.

• Worship and praise are vital in our relationship with God.

Before Nehemiah started his vulnerable prayer in chapter one, he also mentioned who God was. In verse five, he says, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps His covenant of unfailing love with those who love Him and obey His commands…” (Nehemiah 1:5, NLT). Before we confess our sins and spill our hearts to God, we ought to consider first praising Him for who He is and what He’s done. This is a good prayer tactic because it reminds us what He’s done for past generations and what He says He’ll do in the future. This can also be mentioning what He has already done for us pertaining to the last week, month, or year. It sets us into a humble position that reminds us we will find good if we seek God because He is good. It helps us hold fast to who He says He is and have examples that prove this.

In chapter nine, after the people confessed their sins and listened to the sermon, the Levites called the people to stand up and praise God. The prayer that followed was a long prayer, repeating the glorious wonders and miracles of the Lord. The story repeated is the story of Moses. The Levite leaders described how God made an honorable and memorable reputation for Himself. The prayer listed what He did to free the Israelites from Pharaoh’s hand in Egypt. The prayer also mentioned how He listened and led them through the wilderness to the Promised Land. God is even praised for His just punishment and discipline upon His people.

Continuing with chapter nine, the Levites easily mentioned more than ten blessings God had done for them in Egypt. Because of their joy from the Lord’s doing, the Levites, leaders, and priests sealed their names on a document that declared them to be the Lord’s people. They wanted to follow the commands, regulations, and decrees of the Lord; because they had seen and heard what good He had brought to their ancestors. The godly men who spoke and testified before the crowds were Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They spoke about what the Lord had done for the people before them.

Praise is wonderful because it humbles us in whatever position we may find ourselves in. Once we worship and praise God for who He is, our hearts and mindsets change. It’s both a weapon against evil forces, but also a sweet reminder that we will come out victorious even if we don’t think so at the time.

• History will repeat itself if we don’t know the Word.

When I was reading the book of Nehemiah, I realized that there will always be some complaints. Like Moses faced with the Israelites, Nehemiah heard the fear and annoyance in people’s voices. In this case, men and their wives protested. They were worried about the little food they had to survive. They were anxious about their mortgaged fields and properties that they sold in order to eat during the famine. They were also stressed about the money borrowed to pay back their debt, and they sold children to make ends meet. It got so bad that in chapter five, verses one to thirteen, Nehemiah listened to the people and called for a public meeting to discuss the issues at hand.

Nehemiah gave practical steps in order for the people to be released from their financial burdens. The more he learned, the more he saw the corrupt powers behind the people’s misery and poverty. Does this sound familiar? This leads to another repeat in history: Financial burdens and poverty. These two had been an issue in the Bible, and it’s an issue now in today’s world. The third is corrupt people. Nehemiah mentioned that the former governors had been unfair to the people. As the Scripture says, “The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act this way” (Nehemiah 5:15, NLT).

Acts of cruelty and dishonesty were nothing new under the sun. As it is written in the New Testament, “Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land” (Ecclesiastes 5:8, NLT).  This issue in Nehemiah’s time is nothing new, and it will carry on until Jesus comes back. But we can have awareness of the issues at hand by knowing the Word of God. By knowing what has happened to people already, we can know what we can do to ease these burdens and worries.

• Everyone has a role in a community.

In chapter three, the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall had started. Nehemiah helped assign tasks to all people. These people included leaders, goldsmiths, Levites, priests, families, and many others of all ages and locations. These people were assigned in the roles of guards, gatekeepers, and all who were involved labored with uttermost effort and energy.

With any project, we need many hands and talents to get the work done. It’s comparable to building a house. You have the carpenters, decorators, painters, and so forth. You have those who can lift heavy weight and those who cannot. You have those who can use tools that differ from a paintbrush to a chisel or a saw compared to a screwdriver. Each tool and each person has a different position to get the job done.

A good example of this is mentioned in the New Testament where it talks about the importance of each part of the body. As it is said, “But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where He wants. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.’ The head can’t say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you.’ In fact, some parts of the body that seems weakest and least important are actually the most necessary” (1 Corinthians 12:19-22, NLT).  It also says, “All of you are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27, NLT).

People are as important in a community as our body parts are to us. Each brings something useful to the mix. While building that wall of Jerusalem, each worker was assigned to a particular job. Some were builders, and some were defenders. Some were big, and some were small. Regardless, Nehemiah and everyone who finished that wall worked together as a team. It’s amazing to think that these scared, financially-impoverished, distressed people came together for a huge miracle. All because of one man coming forward to help them!

When I chose to read the book of Nehemiah, I liked the fact that it was only thirteen chapters. I underestimated how much I would learn from this story. Though I’ve only recorded seven lessons, I have much more wisdom on how I can bring Nehemiah’s strength to my own life. I’ve learned more about mankind, God, and myself while reading this. My prayer life has developed, and I’m excited with the information I get to carry to others. I pray that people will give this short book a chance and let God change their perspective through reading this.

My name is Brenna Covelens, and I am twenty-six years old. I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania where I love to hike and enjoy my time outside. When hiking isn't an option, I like to read a fictional book or dive into my Bible. As a writer, I hope to express who I am while also sharing the love and truth of Jesus.