Nehemiah

Listen to today’s reading:

Nehemiah 1:2-7

Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said:

“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

Psalm 55:9-11

Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,
for I see violence and strife in the city.
Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
malice and abuse are within it.
Destructive forces are at work in the city;
threats and lies never leave its streets.

Colossians 1:18-20

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstbornfrom among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Today’s Reading:

On June 20, 2015 Max Scherzer faced Jose Tabata for the opportunity to secure the 27th out for the Nationals in the field. 26 up and 26 down – the game at Nationals Park was coming close in a historic moment. With a 2-2 count, Max was one pitch away from perfect. To date, there had only been 23 perfect games pitched in MLB history. All eyes were on the next pitch. As the ball was thrown, the curveball bent toward the plate from the right-handed Tabata… but not enough. The ball barely nicked Jose’s elbow guard, and the umpire motioned the batter to first base. Gasps could be heard throughout the crowd. So close! Actually, Scherzer was maybe an inch from perfection. In history, as people in the world have striven to do good, we have all still been tainted by sin – even if it is just a little, tiny bit; we all have a blemish of imperfection on our resumes… except for one man. During Jesus’s life, a man asked him how he could enter into eternal life, and his answer seemed to be good enough. He said he had kept all of the commands recited by Jesus – not murdering, not committing adultery, not stealing, not lying, always honoring his parents, and always loving his neighbor. Sounds like a perfect resume. What else was this man missing? Jesus told him that if he wanted to be perfect, he needed to sell everything, give everything to the poor, and follow him. In this brief statement by our God in the flesh, Jesus shines a penetrating light into us all as human beings. We are helpless apart from the work of God to do right and to love God. Jesus himself says in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands.” But how? Because God, from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, was asking for this love in obedience as well, but we’ve seen that it did not end well. Sin led the people of God through many of life’s mountains and valleys, and then all the way to Babylon where they were tested like never before. The power of God did make a way for the people of God to persevere, but something more had to happen. We come near to the end of the Old Testament Biblical timeline in the story of Nehemiah. He was a common man, but a cupbearer to the king nonetheless and an Israelite in that foreign land during the exile - who gets word of the troubled Jewish remnant in a destroyed Jerusalem. In the book of Nehemiah chapter 1, he pours out his heart to God for redemption for the people of Israel. As the king sees his cupbearer’s solemn face, he asks Nehemiah why he is sad. Nehemiah asks him for support to rebuild Jerusalem – specifically the walls of the city that had been torn down. The king agrees. Nehemiah begins the endeavor to restore the broken city and people - an image of how God was about to build a new city through the messiah. As we reflect on the entrance of the Son of God coming into the world and physically walking in the heart of this restored city (but still a land where people were captive in sin), we can also worship in wonder of the fact that the Lord God made a way for redemption by entering into this heartbreak, our heartbreak, putting on human flesh, and redeeming chipped and broken vessels. Before the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem and pre-exile Israel, way before the first crack in the beautiful walls of that kingdom, the lie of the serpent penetrated the wall of the fragile human heart in the Garden of Eden. The will of man misaligned with the will of the holy God of the universe – and tragically for us, God removed his protection to a degree as a consequence. We are all broken and enveloped in unescapable sin without him. Evil besieged our walls and set up camp. Through the work of Christ, all of the sins and blemishes that entered into these walls and separated us from relationship with a holy God, causing us years of unbearable, inseparable pain is being dealt with by Christ. God could have left the city in ruins, but he chose to send his Son, the cornerstone. Before him, no one had pitched the perfect game until he came. The life of Jesus marked the biggest win in history for us. The gift in the life and sacrifice of Christ was the only path to new construction. He purchased every right to build his kingdom. Brick by brick, the walls are being built up through the work of the church with the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ as the head of us all. Tomorrow, we celebrate the physical arrival of this miraculous, immovable, and unbreakable cornerstone that was planted into firm foundation. We may have not loved him, but he loved us. He came to die for us. Yes, we may be imperfect, but Jesus was perfect for us. Jesus is our only hope of healing and wholeness into eternity.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Praise God for laying a cornerstone through his Son Jesus and beginning a new kingdom for us that will never fail – a kingdom, without him, that would never be possible.

Confession – Confess that you have enjoyed drifting in the sea of sin opposed to working to lay bricks in the walls of the new kingdom.

Ask – Ask him what you can do today to contribute to construction. Ask, “how can I love my neighbor and love you today? How can I invite others into your work?”