The End of A Thing is the Beginning of Another!

Today we will conclude our look at the book of Nehemiah by looking at a verse in Nehemiah 10:

²⁸ Everyone else—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all those who separated themselves from their foreign neighbors in order to obey God’s law, along with all their wives and sons and daughters who are old enough to understand— ²⁹ everyone joins with their leaders and relatives and binds himself with an oath and a curse to carefully observe and obey the way God has placed before us through His servant Moses—with all its commands, rules, and decrees. Nehemiah 10:28-29 (The Voice) 

Although this is not the end of the book of Nehemiah, it is the end of the work that Nehemiah set out to do. For just re-building the walls and the houses within the wall without re-building the lives of those that would inhabit therein is not enough. It is one of the most wonderful things on earth to see a holy temple erected and to walk inside and see the grandeur and the beauty of an edifice erected for God. Yet, if those that come to that edifice come with unclean hearts and minds, the sacredness of the building will quickly diminish. 

Jesus was asked by John’s disciples why His own disciples did not fast:

¹⁴ And then some of the disciples of John came.

John’s Disciples: What’s the story with fasting? We fast and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast! MaTTHEW 9:14 (The Voice)

Jesus replied to them this way:

Jesus: ¹⁵ When you celebrate—as at a wedding when one’s dearest friend is getting married—you do not fast. The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them. Then My friends and followers will fast. ¹⁶ You would begin by washing and shrinking a patch you would use to mend a garment—otherwise, the patch would shrink later, pull away from the garment, and make the original tear even worse. ¹⁷ You wouldn’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If you did, the skins would burst, the wine would run out, and the wineskins would be ruined. No, you would pour new wine into new wineskins—and both the wine and the wineskins would be preserved. Matthew 9:18-19 (The Voice)

There comes a time to build – whether it is buildings or relationships. The end of that building process leads to the beginning of another. God is the Master Creator – His work of creation never stops – never should we.

Maria