Hearing the city of Jerusalem lies in ruins, Nehemiah looks sad. After praying for a few days, he comes to Judah with the will to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem, being fully supported by King Artaxerxes he serves.
Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem and examines the fallen walls of the city. Gathering the Jews, he says,
“You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”
When Nehemiah tells them about the gracious hand of God upon him and what the king said to him, they are moved and reply.
“Good! Let’s start rebuilding it together.”
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab hear about the construction, they mock and ridicule the Israelites.
“What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
At their mocking, Nehemiah replies boldly.
“The God of heaven will give us success. But you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”
The confident action comes from faith. If our faith wavers, we cannot help but fall even by feeble words. However, Nehemiah did not waver at all by the people who mocked the work of reconstructing Jerusalem. It was because he firmly believed that the gracious hand of God would be upon him in fulfilling his mission of rebuilding the city of Jerusalem.
The courage of Nehemiah, who was confident of God’s help and went forward without wavering despite severe interruptions of the enemies, awakens us to the mission to fulfill the gospel work in this age. Let us trust the power of God, who is always with us and willingly helps us, and move forward with confidence.