Sun.’s Devo - Repair the Walls

Read: Nehemiah 1:1-3:14; 1 Corinthians 7:1-24; Psalm 31:19-24; Proverbs 21:4
The Persian opinion of the Jew wavered throughout the exile years from wanting to annihilate them in Esther to wanting to build their temple in Ezra. Now the governor of Jerusalem who lived in Susa traveled to Jerusalem to assess the damages. His name is Nehemiah. It has been 12 years since the revival of Ezra 9 and 10.
We see right away that Nehemiah had a real heart for his nation and for the Lord. The first thing he did when he heard the news of the condition of Jerusalem is to weep and pray.
God had placed him in the position to make a difference as he was the cup bearer to the king. The cupbearer is one of the most trusted offices to the king because he must taste every cup that is brought to the king first to make sure no one has tried to poison the king. The king noticed Nehemiah’s long face and when he found out he was mourning his homeland and its condition, he granted him permission to visit it and repair the walls. He even provided the materials to do it with.
Jeremiah was given letters of passage from the king for his safety and to show he had the favor of the king. When he arrived at Jerusalem he immediately met his adversaries: Sanballat and Tobiah who did not like the Jews.
Nehemiah had to travel at night to survey the wall and its damages. After three days, Nehemiah met with the Jews and priests and told them why he was there and what his plan was for rebuilding the walls. They were ready to help. Sanballat and Tobia heard about it and came to mock their plan and discourage them. The priests took a section of the wall and began rebuilding at once. Section by section, other families began repairing and rebuilding.
The Bible says that our walls are salvation and our gates are praise but sometimes through bad decisions, tough circumstances, etc, our walls become like the walls of Jerusalem had become - torn down and in disrepair. We need to rebuild them. We will surely meet Sanballat and Tobia who will tell us that we can never be forgiven for… or we will never be able to repair what we have done to our lives. God is the god of the impossible, and redemption and rebirth is his specialty. He can help us to repair our walls and set up new gates. Nehemiah was to be an encouragement to all who were trying to rebound from impossible circumstances.
In Corinthians, Paul deals with marriage and circumcision. He pretty much says not to change your circumstances. If you are married then stay with your mate, it you are not circumcised stay that way. Remain in the place that God has called you to unless he calls you to a new place. If he does then he will give you confirmation after confirmation and it will not violate his law.
We read yesterday how God called them to divorce their foreign wives. Divorce is not a sin - disobedience is. So the bottom line is to obey God whatever he tells you.
Lord, help us to look to you as the answer to all our problems. You have a solution to every thing.