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Nehemiah 52 Days of Rebuilding Rebuilding is a word that immediately points the mind in two opposite directions at the same

e time. To build means to form by ordering and uniting materials by gradual means into a composite whole. To develop according to a systematic plan, by a definite process, or on a particular base. Building sends our thoughts up. Re is a prefix that means again and back or backward. Re snatches our thoughts back down, to the memory of something broken. To speak of rebuilding implies that something has been torn down. Nehemiah, the man, was a rebuilder. Nehemiah, the book, is an account of a rebuilding process. In order to fully appreciate the victory of building up, we have to take a look back and understand how things became broken down. Brokenness is a reality in our world. Time, nature and people all have the power to bring destruction. Brokenness can happen in a moment, in a day or over time. It can occur when we least expect it, leaving no time for preparation, like a tornado that swirls itself up out of nowhere. Brokenness can also be like a slow-motion free fall. We experience the horror of the ground drawing closer; but theres nothing we can do to stop it. However brokenness happens, one thing is certain. It happens to everyone and everything. Time unwinds and pulls us down. Nature erodes, wrinkles and often devastates. People war, violate, scar, attack and discard. Brokenness abounds in our world. Why does God allow it? We were never meant to be broken. As a matter of fact, God created us to be whole, complete in Him. Genesis 1:26-27 shows us His intent for our lives, Then God said, Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God made man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God fulfilled His plan and it was good, very good. Yet, temptation crept in and two whole people cracked under the pressure. And in that moment, we became broken. The perfect relationship between God and man was severed. It would take the broken heart of the Father and the broken body of the Son to make us whole again. Creation was not the only miracle to take place in Eden. Miraculously, God gave mercy, grace and healing to the broken places. Genesis 3:9 says, Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? God came to pick up the pieces of His broken children. In His kindness, God led Adam and Eve to a place of repentance, a position of rebuilding. He covered sin-broken people with the sacrificed coats of an animal, revealing restorations high price. Amidst curses upon sin, there is a promise of salvation. It was the promise of Messiah that made a way for redemption. Fellowship was restored between God and man; but the perfect life was broken. And God uses the brokenness of our lives to point to our very real need for the One Who will make us whole. Only Jesus can do that. He took our brokenness upon Himself to become the Rebuilder and the Restorer of our souls. Isaiah 61:1-3 says of Him, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. Think of it God wants to pick us up from the ashes, exchange our brokenness for His beauty, plant us firmly in Him to become not little bushes, but tall, lush trees of righteousness that He will point upward to Himself! Amazing! Why does God allow brokenness? Joseph, a man whose own brothers sought to break him, spoke of Gods purpose in allowing his pain. In forgiveness, Joseph said to his brothers, as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive (Genesis 50:20). Paul also shares this Truth in a very familiar verse, Romans 8:28, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. God uses brokenness to rebuild His

people and to bring us up closer to Himself. Amen. In our study of Nehemiah, well closely examine the Ultimate Builder as He rebuilds His people and uses them to rebuild Jerusalems walls. Watch for the movement of the Holy Spirit as God sovereignly moves people to repentance, trust, worship, boldness, and action. The process is powerful. The outcome is eternal. I cant wait to see what God does in us as we follow Him in building the rebuilding projects He has planned. Nehemiah opens in the kingdom of a pagan king. What is a godly man like Nehemiah doing in service to an ungodly king? Nehemiah, like Joseph, Esther and Daniel before him, was placed in a for such a time as this position. Due to ongoing rebellion of Gods people, they were carried away in captivity by their enemies for a period of 70 years. Second Kings records the outright rebellion of Israel and Judah against their God. God kept the walls of protection around the city of Jerusalem until, in judgment, He allowed Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, to break through in 2 Kings 25:4. Once the walls were broken down, Nebuchadnezzars men came in and completely ransacked the city, destroying the Temple and taking the people captive. As a military strategy, he left the poor behind in Judah; but more destruction came and the remaining people fled to Egypt. Judah was devastated; the city and the Temple destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar was an evil king who took the people of Judah on a journey from the land of promise to a land of enslavement. As they were led away in chains, trudging miles and miles toward the fearful unknown, I wonder did the people remember Gods promise to Abraham. Sometimes when we stray far away from God, it takes restraint and loss of freedom to bring us back to remembering Gods Word. God made a promise to Abraham that his descendants would be more in number than the sand and the stars. God kept His promise. He allowed Abrahams descendants to grow as He blessed Isaac and Jacob. Through Jacob (whose name God changed to Israel) God appointed twelve tribes led by his 12 sons. As they grew and multiplied in the land of Egypt, the Pharaoh became concerned that this great people might fight against the Egyptians, so he enslaved them. God used that time of slavery to increase the 12 tribes more and more in number. He also used it to raise up a leader named Moses who would lead them out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. These 12 tribes were to become settlers in the land promised to Abraham. But, in their fear, they refused to go in to settle the land and God judged them by causing them to wander in the desert for forty years. After their wandering, God established the people in the land. Over time, and as a result of disobedience, the people decided they wanted a king. God allowed a line of kings, beginning with Saul, (who ultimately disobeyed God) made strong through David and corrupted through Solomons moral compromises and broken covenant. Gods judgment was firm, promising division and devastation. The kingdom was divided with 10 tribes becoming the northern Kingdom of Israel and 2 tribes becoming the southern kingdom of Judah. Two lines of kings arose with Judah being ruled by descendants of David. God blessed David, preserving his line because of the covenant He made with David to bring the Messiah through him. As unholy kings took the throne, the people sank further into idolatry and farther away from God. They completely rejected God, committing horrible atrocities, including child sacrifice to pagan gods. Judgment came in the form of a conquering king. The Assyrians attacked Israel; and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was used by God to conquer Judah. Under Babylonian rule, the people worked and lived for 70 years until God allowed the Persians to take over and Cyrus to become king. God stirred the heart of King Cyrus to release the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. The people who returned to Judah did so in three waves over a span of about 90 years. The first group was led by Zerubbabel, the second by Ezra and the third by Nehemiah. John MacArthur compares the return of the Jews to the initial release of the Jews from

enslavement in Egypt: The Jews return from the Babylonian captivity seemed like a second Exodus, sovereignly patterned in some ways after Israels first redemption from Egyptian bondage. The return trip from Babylon involved activities similar to those of the original Exodus: 1) the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls; 2) the reinstitution of the law, which made Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah collectively seem like a second Moses; 3) the challenge of the local enemies; and 4) the temptation to intermarry with non-Jews, resulting in idolatry. Other parallels between the original Exodus and the return from Babylon must have seemed to the returnees like they were given a fresh start by God (639). Oh, how I love a fresh start! Our God truly is a God of fresh starts. In light of Gods mercy, there is no one past hope, past redemption. Throughout Scripture, God reveals His mercy as He provides examples of redemption in real people living real lives of real rebellion, drawn to repentance through a real Messiah. In response to the suffering and judgment of Judahs sin, the prophet (most likely Jeremiah) proclaims the hope of God, Through the Lords mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not, they are new every morning, Great is Your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23). How do we get from a place of brokenness to a position for rebuilding? We follow the direction of God found in Lamentations 3:40-41, Let us search our hearts and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord; let us lift our hearts and hands to God in Heaven. We must trust God with our broken places. Remember, He is the One Who has the plans. He is the One Who made the blueprint, fashioned our lives and built us for eternity in the first place. Nehemiah Week One ___/____/_______ This week, well approach our study in a slightly different way from our coming weeks. We want to be cleansed, open and ready before the Lord as we begin our study of rebuilding. Lets follow Gods desires and do some true heart examination.

First, take a close look at the spiritual landscape of your life. Are there walls of protection that need mending? Are there areas of fresh destruction? What about crumbling gaps of neglect? Bring those areas to the Lord and ask Him to begin the rebuilding process right there. Walk through Psalm 27 and pray key verses from this passage to the Lord concerning your spiritual walls. Next, take a look at your emotional walls. Are there issues that have been beneath the surface, eroding away your peace and contentment? Ask God to reveal those issues and to lead you to the right moments and methods for dealing with the issues, as well as the people connected to them. Joseph is a wonderful example of a person with broken emotions. This week, read his testimony in Genesis 37, 39-45. Allow God to begin the process of emotional mending for His glory and your good. Also, examine the walls of your physical life. Are you allowing, or possibly causing, destruction in your physical health? If so, today can be a day to begin a wonderful rebuilding process in your body. Why are we addressing this in a study on Nehemiah? Because if we are believers, God has said that our body is the Temple in which His Holy Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 6:19.) One of the major rebuilding efforts God called the people to upon their return was a rebuilding of His house. Our physical strength is never to be an obsession; but it is to be in submission to God. Were also addressing our physical health because God has a great work to do in you AND through you. In the coming days, our eyes will be opened to many broken places in this world where God can use us to be instruments of His rebuilding work. We must be ready, spiritually,

emotionally and physically, for the work He calls each of us to do. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, God commands us to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength (Deut. 6:5). Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. (Mark 12:29-30). Spend some time skimming the book of Mark to see Jesus in action. If there has been an issue of neglect or destructive behavior in your physical life, ask God to lead you in a rebuilding process beginning today. There may be physical issues beyond your control. Spend time today in prayer entrusting your physical health to the Lord and asking Him to show you exactly what it means to love Him and obey Him with all of the physical ability He has given you.

***To prepare for discussion this week, lets think about general ways women experience brokenness in their spiritual, emotional and physical walls of protection. As you are reading and spending time with the Lord, make a list of the ways the enemy seeks to bring destruction in these areas. Also, take note of any verses that stand out to you that could be used in rebuilding those broken places.

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