You See the Distress We Are In - Nehemiah 2:17

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah went back to the city of Jerusalem and said, “Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. And the rulers knew not where I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work”, and in chapter two and verse seventeen of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “you see the distress that we are in”, where we read,

Then said I unto them, You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

The verse reads, “Then said I unto them, You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire:”. Nehemiah began with the words, “then said I unto them” or “at that time uttered, declared and proclaimed I, Nehemiah, to them, the officials”, “you see the distress that we are in” which means “you, officials, perceive, look at and observe the bad, evil, disagreeableness, malignancy and unpleasantness that we, the people of Israel, are living within”, “how Jerusalem lies waste” or “in the manner that Jerusalem, whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split, is made desolate, ruinous and struck down”, “and the gates thereof” which means “and the portals, entryways and openings within the city” “are burned with fire” or “exist as devoured and consumed by burning fiery fire”. Nehemiah shared how he told the officials that they observed the unpleasantness he and the people of Israel were in and how the city of “Jerusalem” is in a state of destruction with the portal entryways burned with fiery fire. 

The verse goes on to say, “come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “come, and let us build up the wall” or “move, proceed and lead on, and permit and allow us, Nehemiah and the people of Israel, to rebuild and establish the barrier wall” “of Jerusalem” which means “belonging to Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split”, “that we be no more a reproach” or “so we, Nehemiah and the people of Israel, do not exist any longer as a taunting or scorning rebuke”. Nehemiah shared how he told the officials and people of Israel to allow themselves to rebuild the barrier wall belonging to “Jerusalem” so they would no longer be scorned or taunted. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover how Nehemiah began to reveal his plan to the officials and people of Israel by appealing to them to consider the troubles and devastation they were experiencing and to rebuild the barrier walls and the portal doors within the walls. God was bringing His plan together through Nehemiah and the people of Israel, and now they knew what to do and should be rebuilding the “wall”. God loves the people of Israel, and He loves us as well. He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and use us in His Kingdom when we surrender our lives to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected from the dead three days later. Let all who read these words carefully consider the fulfillment of this part of God's plan for Nehemiah and allow Jehovah God to do all He desires within us too. 

Next time Nehemiah says, “I told them of the hand of my God” so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".