Nehemiah 5:9 Again I said, "The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?"
God put it in Nehemiah's heart to lead an effort to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem that had been decimated during the Bablylonian captivity of Judah. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were taken into captivity and Jerusalem lie in ruins. Years have gone by, the Babylonians have been overtaken by the Persians. The Persians allowed the Jews to start returning to Jerusalem. Nehmiah got special permission from the King to rebuild the Jerusalem wall. In Nehemiah's thinking, the honor and glory of the Lord are at stake. There is more to it than just rebuilding a wall.....a strong Jerusalem with a fortified wall occupied by the chosen people of God once again represented a strong testimony for the Lord. As long as the wall is in ruins, Jerusalem is a reproach to the name of the Lord.
As they start to rebuild the wall, the morale of the workers is challenged by the actions of some of their own countrymen. Some of the Jews were charging very high interest to those who needed to borrow money in order to buy food or pay their taxes. Nehemiah condemns this practice and tells them to stop doing it. In Nehemiah 5:9 Nehemiah appeals to them based on their fear of the Lord, and their testimony to the world. What Nehemiah is saying to them is this: Your practices are jeopardizing this project, and if this project is jeopardized then this damaged wall will continue to be a poor witness among the nations. A completed wall shows the world that the good hand of God is with us. For the sake of the witness of Jerusalem to the nations, stop what you are doing so you no longer jeopardize the mission.
What do we learn from the story? Anything that threatens unity among the people of God threatens the mission. In the New Testament we are not trying to build a wall around Jerusalem. But God has us on another project called the Great Commission. We are building the Kingdom of God. That is what God has told us to do. And we can not do it without each other. If the devil can manage to divide us he can keep us from the mission.
What type of church member are you? Are you a peace maker? Easy to get along with? Or are you always keeping something stirred up? Are you quick to forgive and difficult to offend or do you get upset over everything that happens that doesn't go your way?
Be the type of church member that guards the unity of God's people. Be a peacemaker. By protecting the unity of the church, you are helping to build the Kingdom of God.
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