Seek the Good of the City

At the beginning of this story we find this man named Nehemiah. We are told that he was living in Susa, in the royal king’s court.  One day some men from Judah came to visit Nehemiah. At this moment Nehemiah is greatly concerned about the well-being of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 1:2-3,9, 2:5  And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

What was once a thriving and prosperous city occupied with people and rich in trade and business was now broken, destroyed and desolate.  Just to give a little history on why Jerusalem had laid in ruins:

In 605 BC Babylonians invade Judah- First wave of deportation from Judah to Babylon including the King of Judah as well as Daniel & his friends.  In 597 BC Babylonians capture Jerusalem- Second wave of deportation to Babylon this time the prophet Ezekiel, Captains, men of valor, craftsmen were among the exiles. The Babylonians also carried away the treasures that were in the House of the Lord.  In 586 BC the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. The walls and the gates were burned with fire. We then see the third deportation to Babylon.
Those that were in exile would remain there until 70 years were completed.  In 539 Babylon is overtaken by the Persians and king Cyrus II is now in control.  He then makes a decree which allows the Jews to return back home.

In 516 The Jews rebuild the temple.
But as we just read the report of the men that came from Judah,

3 “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

The temple was rebuilt but people were living as scavengers there.  As soon as Nehemiah hears of the condition back in Jerusalem his heart is grieved. He begins to weep and repent for the sins of his people. He prays night and day pleading with God to remember his promises.

So was the condition of the children of Israel broken & scattered. Yet here is Nehemiah pleading with God to gather up His people together again and to cause his name to dwell in Jerusalem once more.  Nehemiah was zealous for the House of God and the city of Jerusalem.

Besides praying night and day, Nehemiah also sought the favor of the king.  We are told that Nehemiah was the king’s cup bearer which was a position that required great trust. Not only would a cup bearer serve the royal drinks but at times he would have to test the drink to ensure the king was not poisoned.

Just as God had Moses grow up in pharaoh’s palace so that one day he would be used to deliver God’s people, or just as Joseph would travel from prison to palace just so that God could use him to preserve his family, God had this man named Nehemiah in the perfect place, at the perfect time to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.

Like Moses, Nehemiah lived at ease and enjoyed all the benefits of living in royalty. However he could not shake the fact that he was an Israelite nor could he shake the thoughts of his fellow Israelites in distress. Much like when Moses looked and seen the distress of his fellow Hebrews.
In his position he finds favor with the kings as he ask this request:

Nehemiah 2:5  “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it."

The king would allow Nehemiah to go and rebuild the city. Not only did the king give him permission to build, but also gave him letters granting permission to pass through provinces that were potential stumbling blocks.  If that wasn’t enough, Nehemiah had also asked for wood to rebuild the gates and stones to rebuild the walls. Everything he had asked for was granted to him by the king.

So when Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem in 445 BC some 70 years after Jerusalem’s temple had been rebuilt, he encountered a city still in need of rebuilding.  In Nehemiah’s day Jerusalem covered only about 30 acres with a population of around 4500. Just to compare by the time Jesus would arrive Jerusalem would then cover approximately 230 acres with a population of 40,000.
As He surveyed the city he was grieved and in great sorrow. The land is describe as being desolate, the walls were broken and gates were burned. It was a forsaken area populated more by ruined relics than by any thriving human or animal life.

Nehemiah saw the skeleton of a city, dried up and barren of community.  The gates of Jerusalem were once vital centers of city life. Almost every aspect of city life, commercial, administrative, social transpired in and around the gates of the city.  Damaged and neglected city gates signaled a city whose vital signs were failing. Nehemiah could effectively take the pulse of the city by inspecting the city’s gates.

He saw a city long on history and short on solutions. He witnessed a city whose population seemed more like scavengers than citizens. It was a war torn wasteland. Yet at the same time it was a visible expression of the justice and mercy of God.  Justice because God had judged the sin of Israel,

In the book of Jeremiah 44 we see the reasons for the destruction:  3 because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’ 5 But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods.

Mercy because He did not destroy all of them but brought back a remnant of people and gave them the favor needed to rebuild.  Despite all that Nehemiah had seen he found the courage to embrace the small beginnings. He had faith and believed God’s purposes could not be stopped. Even in the rubble and ruin, faith could find the materials to rebuild for the future.

If we were to take a pulse of our city what would we find?
• We will first find that we live in an area that is pronged to hurricanes and destruction. Besides natural disasters people are destroying their own lives.
• We will find that women prostitute their bodies for financial gain.
• We will find there less and less people who value hard work and choose other means for income
• We will find that men intoxicate young girls so that they can rape them
• We will find that convenient store and bankers run the risk of being robbed and/or killed.
• People are losing their minds- example of a woman who jumps into a car and threatens driver and the baby. Others are committing suicide
• People medicate themselves using drugs, alcohol and/or sell that same poison to others. (two guys in Chauvin guilty of meth lab)
• We will find domestic violence a Houma man threatened woman with baseball bat
• We will find more and more people are losing their jobs and find themselves struggling to make ends meet.
• On any given Sunday morning you will find more cars parked in the neighborhood than at the church.
• Kids are having kids
• The rise of homelessness
• Fathers are not sticking around
• People are confused about their gender
• Kids, even adults have such a disrespect for authority at an alarming level.

When taking the pulse of our city things can seem pretty grim. These previously mentioned statements are things that are happening on a regular basis in our city.  If we were in search of Godliness, we would have to conclude that we too live in a desolate land.  Before Nehemiah had seen the rubble, the broken walls, the demolished gates he does what every believer who is concerned for their city should do.

Nehemiah 1:4  4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Does it break you to see the condition of our city?

Are you concerned enough for those around you, that you are willing to fast and pray for them?

Are you humble enough to repent of the sins of your city?

Are we concerned about that which is ruined?

What if I took it a step further and asked you to take the pulse of your own life?

Would you find rubble and brokenness? Would you see everything you had worked for and lived for destroyed in front of your eyes? Broken family, broken relationships, broken dreams, broken security, broken promises, broken peace, broken joy, and broken hope?

Here is the encouragement today:
Even in the rubble and ruin, faith in God will propel you into rebuilding your future.

Only God can take the broken pieces of your life and mend them together.  Nehemiah believed that God was on his side and that there was nothing going to prevent him from rebuilding the city.  With God on your side there is nothing or no one that will prevent you from becoming the man or woman God intended you to be.  God can take the rubble of your life and make you new again.  After God makes you new, you should seek the good of the city.