Nehemiah: The Strategy Continues…
Throughout chapter 3 of Nehemiah, each gate around the perimeter was discussed as to the sequence and also who built it. We see a couple of things in this. First of all – there was strategy in the approach to the repair of each gate and that included who worked on each section. As was stated yesterday, not only were the gates meaningful in the rebuilding of the wall then, but they also had prophetic significance to the Christian life today. As each builder nailed nails into the temple gate, he was also securing a future for God’s people:
28 Beyond the horse gate, each priest repaired the wall section in front of his own house, 29 as did Zadok (Immer’s son) and the guard of the east gate, Shemaiah (Shecaniah’s son). 30 Then Hananiah (Shelemiah’s son) and Hanun (Zalaph’s sixth-born son) worked on the next section, and Meshullam (Berechiah’s son) worked on the section across from where he lived. 31 Malchijah, a goldsmith, then repaired the wall all the way to the place where the temple servants and the merchants live, the place across from the inspection gate just beyond the room above the corner. 32 The goldsmiths and the merchants were the ones responsible for the final area between that room and the sheep gate. Nehemiah 3:28-32 (The Voice)
Look at the individual names that are pointed out and the sections they worked on. God sees every one of us and is noting our individual and collective contribution to HIs Kingdom. When it seems as if no one notices, we can take heart in knowing, God sees, God knows, God understands. This world seems bent on making us feel inadequate. One of the largest spirits operating today is a spirit of "bullying". Little children are being tormented to shrivel up, become invisible, inadequate, unproductive. Have you ever considered why this is? Could it be that the enemy of our souls may not know our total future, but he knows our potential. His greatest fear is that we will come to know who we are and WHOSE we are. It is this knowledge that causes miracles to happen, inventions to come forth, lives to be transformed.
God is the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. He sees our today and as He looks at our today, He is also looking at our tomorrow and that of our posterity. As we read the Bible, there are no doubt many passages that specifically relate to the subjects being addressed. However, as the children of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob and knowing that the words of the scripture are a prototype and roadmap for our living, why not take their breath of life and let it breathe upon us today.
Maria