Building a Life of Faithfulness

The first home that Christine and I owned we had built. We bought a lot from a couple who became our neighbors and friends, hired a contractor who was recommended to us, chose a floor plan and then floor coverings and fixtures. Then we watched as the house was built.

The second home that we owned was also new when we moved in. We signed a contract to purchase it from the builder, a member of the congregation we had gone to Oklahoma to minister with, while the house was under construction. We made some alterations in the floor plan and again chose floor coverings and fixtures. The next time we saw the house, construction was complete and we moved in.

In both cases, we made decisions about the construction of the house and then it was built, or in the case of the second house, the building was completed. However, after moving in we still had to make each house a home by personalizing it with our own decorating and living in it everyday.

As we come to the second half of Nehemiah, he has completed the rebuilding of the walls. Now he and the people of Jerusalem have to turn the city into a place where they can live.

When Nehemiah 6 begins, the walls Nehemiah set out to rebuild have been completed, but the gates have not been set in place. When Nehemiah 7 begins, the gates have been set in place; the building project is complete. The chapter goes on to describe the heritage of the people who have returned to rebuild Jerusalem. It then sets the stage for the remaining chapters of the book which describe the spiritual development of the city. The pieces of that development include:

• A commitment to the Word of God—chapter 8. Ezra, the priest who had led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem fourteen years earlier, leads a public meeting at which he reads the law of Moses to the gathering, and the people commit to living by the law.
• A commitment to the greatness, goodness, and grace of God—chapter 9. After committing themselves to the law, the people of Jerusalem confess their sins for not having obeyed the law and recognize the God who has delivered their nation from trouble again and again.
• A commitment to obedience—chapter 10. The people then promise to obey even the hard parts of the law.

Just as Nehemiah had to build a nation that committed themselves to our great God and his Word and to obeying him, we need to do the same. When we have rebuilt our lives after being broken, we then need to build a life of faithfulness.

While the rebuilding is hard—as we have seen with Nehemiah and the opposition and problems he faced–so is building a life of faithfulness. There will always be constant temptation trying to pull us away from God, but we have resources available to us to help us maintain our commitment to him. The final chapters of Nehemiah will help us understand these resources.