Fifty-Two Days in Nehemiah (Day 45)

Day 45

…they sought the Levites in all their places to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgiving and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.

Nehemiah 12:27

In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion about worship, worship styles, and worship approaches. Usually the discussion boils down to people’s preferences. In defense of their preferences, they will attempt to use scripture or empty arguments about how rich the old is and how empty the new is. The problem with all of this is that it is off point. In other words, it is not even an issue of whether the arguments are right or wrong, they are the wrong arguments.

In Nehemiah 12, we see a celebration taking place. The wall around Jerusalem has been completed. People are moving back into the city. Worship has been reestablished and the glory of God is on display. As the people come together to dedicate the wall, they join together in worship.

As we examine the worship that is taking place in Nehemiah 12, we discover several things. First, we see that there was gladness. The people were excited about what God had done. Second, we see that there was thanksgiving. The people knew that it was because of God’s blessing that they had accomplished what had been done. Third, there is singing. There is singing that involved all kinds of instruments.

As you can see, the focus was on God, on celebration, and on giving thanks. There is no mention of worship orders, what types of songs were sung, or what the people’s preferences were. Just and absolute focus on all that God had done.

May the attitude of their hearts be the attitude of ours. May our focus be on celebration and praise, as oppose to styles, instrumentation, and songs.

Fifty-Two Days in Nehemiah (Day 44)

Day 44

And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 11:2

The Bible tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” (Proverbs 18:21). If we believe this to be true, we should be very careful with our words. Our words will either build people up or tear them down. The call of the people of God is to encourage, to bless, and to speak life.

Throughout the Old Testament we see people bless one another. The method of blessing is always with a spoken word; “…you shall say to them, ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace’”(Numbers 6:23-26). We must be careful with our words. They will speak life, or they will speak death.

In Nehemiah 11, we see a city, now secured with a wall, but with few people living in it. Nehemiah knew that they would need to repopulate the city. In order to do this, all of the leaders committed to move into the city (11:1). They additionally cast lots to determine who else would move into town (11:2). And then there is a third group, “men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.” Of this group the Bible says, “the people blessed” them. They spoke words of life, words of encouragement.

Today, be careful with your words. Speak life to those around you. There will always be plenty to complain about. People do not always do what they should. People make mistakes. People drop the ball. People are not perfect. But, we have a choice; we can speak life, or we can speak death.

Certainly, there is a time to hold others accountable, but we can approach things in a positive way. Be sensitive to the people around you. Speak in a way that they can hear. Speak in a way that builds up. Let us be a people who speaks blessing and life to others.

Fifty-Two Days in Nehemiah (Day 43)

Day 43

… We will not neglect the house of our God.

Nehemiah 10:39

The problem with neglect is that it is a passive action. It takes no effort to neglect something. We can neglect our health without trying. We can neglect our finances without trying. We can neglect our families without trying. It takes zero effort to neglect something. And just as we can neglect so many other areas in our lives, we can neglect our relationship with the Lord.

The Israelites had done just this. It had manifest itself in their neglect of the temple. They had stopped bringing their tithes and offerings. At times in their history, they allowed the temple to fall into disrepair. Not only this, but they neglected to take care of the priests, which forced them to leave the temple and to go provide for their own physical needs.

After the rebuilding of the wall, and after spending a fair amount of time in the Law, they make a strong commitment. They pledge that they will no longer neglect the house of their God (the temple). They commit to take care of that part of their lives that was most important, their walk with God.

We, like the Israelites, must be careful not to neglect our relationship with God. This means we must make time for prayer, time for the word, time to listen, and certainly make an effort to obey. We must take action to prevent the results of inaction. We must have a plan to keep our walk with God alive and vibrant.

Take time to assess your walk with God. Make sure you are walking in relationship with Him. Of course, a healthy relationship will result in all sorts of spiritual disciplines being exercised, but no amount of disciplines can replace the relationship. Examine your heart. Examine your walk. Ask yourself whether or not you are where you want to be with God; then talk to Him about it. Ask Him to help you.