Building the Walls

A reading from the Old Testament book of Nehemiah is where my thoughts as a Pastor go today.

Nehemiah 4:1-6 (NIV)
¹ When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews,
² and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble--burned as they are?"
³ Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building--if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!"...
⁶ So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

Later it is added:

Nehemiah 4:14-17 (NIV)
¹⁴ After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."
¹⁵ When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.
¹⁶ From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah
¹⁷ who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other...

The events described  above may not be familiar to you, so let me paint a brief picture.  The nation of Israel went into captivity twice...first as the Northern 10 tribes known as Israel, or Ephraim; and second as the southern two tribes of Benjamin and Judah.  It was the second time in the period of 604 to 586 B.C. that Judah (which was the rightful heir of Israel) was attacked and destroyed by the Babylonians.  The walls were torn down, the Temple destroyed, and 1000's were taken into captivity - just a remnant of people were left behind.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote in this time period and he prophesied the captivity would take place.  He also stated that it would last 70 years - which interestingly coincided with the number of years of Sabbath years for the land that the Children of Israel failed to observe since they had come to the land.

The book of Nehemiah is written after all of this takes place.  The Babylonians fell from power in 540 BC.  The Persians allowed the Jews to go back to the land and rebuild, and they did...first under Ezra, and then later under the influence of Nehemiah.

That long introduction is to get to the main point in the passage.

The ability to survive as a people of God was only possible because they worked together, and as vs 14 says, they fought for...not fought with....or fought as...but they fought FOR each other.  They fought for their families.  They fought because they knew there was an enemy that was fighting to destroy them.  I don't know if believers in general believe there is an "enemy", and that a "fight" is going on for our families.  It seems pretty obvious in looking at our society that family life is under attack and that there are many families that are divided, frustrated and fractured - to the point of great vulnerability.

I have raised my four children and now they are raising their children (except the one Andy who is not yet married).  Raising kids has "eternal" significance in God's Kingdom.  Jesus reminded us that "the children should come unto me."

The wise person will work together with others to protect the family...BUILD THE WALLS so that they family is safe.

Peace