
Neh 5:15 But earlier rulers who were before me made the people responsible for their upkeep, and took from them bread and wine at the rate of forty shekels of silver; and even their servants were lords over the people: but I did not do so, because of the fear of God.
Nehemiah, is one of those books in the Old Testament few people want to read and few ever
preach on.
One the surface of it, it appears to be a bit of a boring book, just the retelling of the
building of the wall that had been destroyed during the war with Babylon and the telling of that
story by a Governor appointed by the Persian King Artaxerxes.
It is a kind of rags to riches story as Nehemiah had been the kings wine taster (Chapter 2). It is my understanding that the Kings wine server/taster was expendable since it was not uncommon for enemies to try to off the King through poisoning the Kings food or wine. The wine server had to taste the wine before he served it to the king if he lived, he served the wine if he died a new server was pressed into service right away.
I said on the surface of it, it appears boring but if with a bit of prayer the Holy Spirit can teach you many spiritual lessons from this bit of Jewish History.
We can quickly see why Nehemiah was used by God for this very important job. Nehemiah feared God, 5:15.
Nehemiah was not afraid to get his hands dirty as he too worked on the wall, 5:16.
Nehemiah was a humble man refusing to tax the people for his pay, and seeing God as His source, 5:14 through 5:19.
Nehemiah Like His ancestor David, sought after Gods heart, he sought to please God no matter what the odds or the cost.
Okay, your asking, how does this relate to us today?
The book of Nehemiah teaches us about our own journey, our own challenges, how to deal with the enemy, The importance of single mindedness and following Gods calling. It teaches about right attitudes of the believer as he trudges this path towards our blessed destiny.
Nehemiah got the walls built because he never lost sight of who God is and what he was called to do.
Reading and meditating on this book can be extremely vital to your own growth and walk in the Lord, it sure has helped me.
May God bless and Keep you.
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Thank-you