Day 35 - Nehemiah

Yesterday at the end of the book of Ezra, we read how the people shivered in the rain as they gathered in the square before the temple. Today I walked up to the plaza in front of the western wall in the pouring rain, and it was very cold. My feet have yet to thaw out.

The passage from today's reading that stood out to me was the further repetition in Nehemiah chapter9 of the history of God's people - how they have been showered repeatedly with God's blessing, and how when God has delivered them from trouble, they trun away as the comforts and luxury of life in peace and security crowd out out awareness of our need for God.

Walking toward the Old City, there are plenty of new buildings being put up - shops, top of the range housing, offices - and these are all a reminder how God moves and shapes the affairs of men in allowing His people to return to the land He promised them. The stonework in these buildings is beautiful, a glorious light-honeyed yellow, almost as transluscent as Minas Tirith in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. And the awareness that this city is special because God chose to allow his temple to be built here is everywhere here. And yet.... It is very easy to be so overwhelmed by the sights and miss the reason they are here, the living God. It is not a new problem either. Mark 13:1-2, "As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.”
Jesus replied, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

One thing that is very obvious is sabbath. All the shops shut at 3, and even the cafe we were in for lunch threw us out then. If you are not going to worship, or celebrating with family and friends, this can seem lonely, long drawn-out and even oppressive. Yet, if you have those things, it is wonderfu to have worshipping God as the sole focus of activity for the day. This is something that I have never had that sense of before.

Nehemiah is a man of action, not naive to the be unaware of the ruses and oppostion of those trying to prevent him completing his task, but above all, the image I take away from Nehemiah is of a man of prayer. It is prayer that bookends the story, gives him clarity of vision, boldness of action and a humility before the God who makes all things possible. He is not a bad example to follow.