Thurs.’s Devo -Rebuilding the Walls

Read: Nehemiah 1:1-3:14; 1 Corinthians 7:1-24; Psalm 31:19-24; Proverbs 21:4 Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the King Artaxerxes of Babylon. The cup-bearer was the one who drank from the king’s cup first to make sure the wine was not poisoned, then he would give it to the king. So he laid down his life for the king every day and was one of the king’s most trusted servants. Nehemiah was also a Jewish exile who loved his nation and honored God. He learned from his brother that had been in Jerusalem that things were not going well for the Jews in Jerusalem. The wall had been torn down and the gates and been destroyed by fire. Nehemiah sat in shock. He fasted and prayed. He repented for himself and his nation and asked God to help. He prayed for favor from the king. The next day the king asked him why he was so sad and he told him. He asked to go to Jerusalem and help his nation rebuild their walls and repair their gates. He also asked for protection, equipment and the time off to stay and repair the walls. The king and his queen listened and gave him everything he requested. He was given letters to help him travel, letters to give him timber and an army of officers and horsemen to protect him. He arrived in Jerusalem but Sanballat and Tobiah, officials in Jerusalem heard of his arrival and were not pleased that someone had been sent to help the Jews. They were not Jews and did not want the Jews to succeed. Nehemiah got up in the middle of the night to go and assess the damage of the wall and gates. He met with the priests, Nobels, officials and the people in administration and told them his mission. He encouraged them to rebuild the walls with him and told them of the favor the king had given him. They were in agreement. Sanballat, Tobiah and Goshen heard of the plan and came to stop them. Nehemiah told them that they were rebuilding the wall and the three of them had no right to the work because they were not Jews. The high priest and other priests began to rebuild the Sheep Gate and dedicated it and set up its doors and built the walls. Others joined and took a section of the wall to rebuild. In Corinth, there was so much sexual perversion going on, Paul agreed with them that it would be better to abstain from all sexual relations except between a husband and his wife. The only thing that should stop them from intimacy would be an agreement to take time off to seek the Lord. Then they would comeback together as not to give Satan an opportunity to tempt them. He told widows it would be better to say unmarried unless they could not control their desires, then they should marry. He told the married to stay together and work things out. If the wife is not a believer and chooses to stay with a believing husband then they should stay married. If a believing wife is married to an unbeliever, and he is willing to stay married to her, then she would not divorce The holiness the believer brings into the marriage makes the children holy. If the unbelieving spouse wants to leave then the believer should let them because God has called us to live in peace. Whatever state the person was in when God called them, they should stay in that state. Lord, help us to navigate your laws in a lawless world. May we put your Word above all else and honor you with our bodies and our lives.