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.
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