Until last week, I had never read more than a few verses of Nehemiah.
Between Monday and Friday, I finally read all thirteen chapters.
Okay, I may have skimmed over the lists of names a little bit.
I think that's okay, although I'm guessing I'll write about those lists in a few weeks.
A long time ago, I wrote a post about Nehemiah and Ephesians 6. I talked about being the New Testament Nehemiah, putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10ff) to protect against the enemies that attack.
It related back to Nehemiah 4:11-14. The enemies of the builders were coming to put an end to their work, so Nehemiah "stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows" (Neh. 4:13b, ESV).
My point in the post was that the historical books in the Old Testament can be applied to our lives today by way of analogy, and that the New Testament affirms the Old.
I still think that this is true, but I'm slower to make those comparisons. What I am quick to do is remind myself and others that YHWH is unchanging. He watched over the builders in 445 B.C. and He watches over me right now.
When Paul called the Ephesians to be vigilant, he said "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12, ESV). He was not calling the readers/hearers of his letter to wage a physical war. He was calling them to be prepared to fight spiritual battles.
Nehemiah was old school, calling the people to prepare for a physical fight.
Okay, Nehemiah was facing humans who were coming to "cause confusion" in Jerusalem. This phrase has also been translated as "cause a disturbance" or "to hinder."
To put it simply, they were coming to bring the pain.
And Nehemiah wanted to be ready.
"But just in case they jump us/We're ready to mix/tonight."
(I needed to throw a little "West Side Story" in there.)
He called the people to arms: "Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes" (v. 14b).
I don't want to make statements about pacifism or holy war or just war or anything like that, but I suppose that in not saying anything, I would be saying something.
I don't like war. I wish that we could all just talk things out rationally and make allowances for cultural differences. I wish that peace could reign.
But I've lived long enough to understand that those wishes aren't going to come true. People are people, disagreements happen, and rationality doesn't always happen.
And I believe that when it comes to defending one's family, sometimes violence is the only option. If the life of one of my relatives was in immediate danger, I can say with confidence that I would commit some sort of violent act if it would save the life of my family.
I think that this is what Nehemiah was making sure the people were prepared to do. They weren't going to seek a fight, but they sure weren't going to sit around while their enemies attacked.
I just realized that this might seem like a timely post in regards to the various gun control debates that have been happening in the past few weeks (or the entire history of our country). Please do not read this through that lens. I have not been paying enough attention to that conversation to be commenting on it.
I'm not really sure what my point is in this post. More than anything, I think it was the realization that reading the entire book put those few verses in context and helped me understand why the people needed to defend themselves, who they were defending against, and what they were doing that caused such anger.
And I think the picture of the builders using one hand to work and the other hand to hold a weapon, just in case.
But they never used their weapons. The conspirators didn't attack, though they tried to trick Nehemiah into meeting with them.
"Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid."
Nehemiah, though he prepared the people to defend with weapons, always knew that "the battle belongs to the Lord." He had heard the stories of the preexilic kings of Judah, so he knew how God had defeated armies while His people watched. (I am now understanding why I took that Chronicles class last semester.)
Know God's power, and never forget that He is unchanging. But don't expect Him to behave the way you want Him to. Much like Miley Cyrus, He "can't be tamed." I'm only slightly ashamed of that reference.
Prepare for battle. Take up your sword and be ready to swing it. And know that "Our God will fight for us."
These are not mutually exclusive situations.
Maybe next week I'll actually talk about editing.
Between Monday and Friday, I finally read all thirteen chapters.
Okay, I may have skimmed over the lists of names a little bit.
I think that's okay, although I'm guessing I'll write about those lists in a few weeks.
A long time ago, I wrote a post about Nehemiah and Ephesians 6. I talked about being the New Testament Nehemiah, putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10ff) to protect against the enemies that attack.
It related back to Nehemiah 4:11-14. The enemies of the builders were coming to put an end to their work, so Nehemiah "stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows" (Neh. 4:13b, ESV).
My point in the post was that the historical books in the Old Testament can be applied to our lives today by way of analogy, and that the New Testament affirms the Old.
I still think that this is true, but I'm slower to make those comparisons. What I am quick to do is remind myself and others that YHWH is unchanging. He watched over the builders in 445 B.C. and He watches over me right now.
When Paul called the Ephesians to be vigilant, he said "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12, ESV). He was not calling the readers/hearers of his letter to wage a physical war. He was calling them to be prepared to fight spiritual battles.
Nehemiah was old school, calling the people to prepare for a physical fight.
Okay, Nehemiah was facing humans who were coming to "cause confusion" in Jerusalem. This phrase has also been translated as "cause a disturbance" or "to hinder."
To put it simply, they were coming to bring the pain.
And Nehemiah wanted to be ready.
"But just in case they jump us/We're ready to mix/tonight."
(I needed to throw a little "West Side Story" in there.)
He called the people to arms: "Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes" (v. 14b).
I don't want to make statements about pacifism or holy war or just war or anything like that, but I suppose that in not saying anything, I would be saying something.
I don't like war. I wish that we could all just talk things out rationally and make allowances for cultural differences. I wish that peace could reign.
But I've lived long enough to understand that those wishes aren't going to come true. People are people, disagreements happen, and rationality doesn't always happen.
And I believe that when it comes to defending one's family, sometimes violence is the only option. If the life of one of my relatives was in immediate danger, I can say with confidence that I would commit some sort of violent act if it would save the life of my family.
I think that this is what Nehemiah was making sure the people were prepared to do. They weren't going to seek a fight, but they sure weren't going to sit around while their enemies attacked.
I just realized that this might seem like a timely post in regards to the various gun control debates that have been happening in the past few weeks (or the entire history of our country). Please do not read this through that lens. I have not been paying enough attention to that conversation to be commenting on it.
I'm not really sure what my point is in this post. More than anything, I think it was the realization that reading the entire book put those few verses in context and helped me understand why the people needed to defend themselves, who they were defending against, and what they were doing that caused such anger.
And I think the picture of the builders using one hand to work and the other hand to hold a weapon, just in case.
But they never used their weapons. The conspirators didn't attack, though they tried to trick Nehemiah into meeting with them.
"Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid."
Nehemiah, though he prepared the people to defend with weapons, always knew that "the battle belongs to the Lord." He had heard the stories of the preexilic kings of Judah, so he knew how God had defeated armies while His people watched. (I am now understanding why I took that Chronicles class last semester.)
Know God's power, and never forget that He is unchanging. But don't expect Him to behave the way you want Him to. Much like Miley Cyrus, He "can't be tamed." I'm only slightly ashamed of that reference.
Prepare for battle. Take up your sword and be ready to swing it. And know that "Our God will fight for us."
These are not mutually exclusive situations.
Maybe next week I'll actually talk about editing.
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