Nehemiah, the Israelite born during captivity, works for king Artaxerxes of Persia. When one of his brothers, Hanani comes from Judah to visit him at
the palace, Nehemiah asks about the condition of Jerusalem and the situation of the Jewish people. After Nehemiah hears about that Jerusalem wall is broken down and it’s gates are burnt with fire and that people are in great trouble and disgrace, he weeps.

This is the primary characteristic of any man whom God uses. He has a concern for people and then God gives him a burden. If you want to serve God, begin with a concern for others.Nehemiah wept, mourned, fasted and prayed. That is the type of man whom God is looking for today._ one who has a concern and a burden when he is sees his people in distress.

Nehemiah is a great example of a man who was absolutely selfless and who was concerned for the glory of God’s name alone. If we can be challenged to follow his example, God may be able to do something with our lives too.

Cynthia Sathiaraj
Chennai

Division of works – a challenge

📕 Nehemiah Chapter 3
Nehemiah gave up a comfortable position as Cupbearer to the King of Persia in order to lead a dangerous reconstruction effort after hearing the report : ” The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire ” ( 1:3 )
Nehemiah began with a secret nocturnal inspection of the state of the wall. So the responsibility for various areas of the wall was allocated to various groups. Certain points are to be considered :

📌 Work is never equally distributed : The northern section of the wall was the most severely damaged because of Nebuchadnezzar’s assault on Jerusalem had come from the north. The eastern side had also suffered because of the collapse of the terraced hill sides ( 2:14 )
✅ The north wall needed 8 work gangs working on it ( 3:1-5 )
✅ The eastern side needed 21 work gangs ( 3:16-32 )
✅ The west wall required 10 work gangs ( 3:6-13 )
✅ The south wall needed only 2 work gangs ( 3:14-15 )

📌 Not all workers work alike :
Some worked on more than one section of the wall ( 3:4-5, :21, 27,30 ) while others worked in one section.

📌 Work force is never homogenous :
Some worked outside their own houses ( 3:28 ) . Others from nearby areas ( 3:2, 15 )

📌 Some workers may seem unlikely :
Goldsmiths and Perfumers ( 3:8, 31 ) worked on the wall. Shallum’s daughters helped him in the building work ( 3:12 )

📌 Each work is different, but all are valuable :
Some worked on long boring stretches of blank wall while others worked at the bends and corners. Some repaired the Fountain Gate while some others repaired the Dung Gate. All did their best.

🙌 The ultimate goal was to have a wall with “not a gap.. left in it ” ( 6:1 )

💞 Beloved Church, today there are lots of work to be accomplished in the World Evangelization. Expect difficulty / opposition when you do the right things.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth ( 2Tim 2:15 )
Let us strive to have a “wall with no gap” 🛐

Glory to God 🙌
✍🏻 Mark Boje
Arunachal Pradesh, India 🇮🇳