Hello, and thank you for joining me today for Give Him 15.

The title of today's post is Rebuilding the Walls.

The book of Nehemiah is a great account of restoration.

Against all odds, Nehemiah, along with a remnant of Israelites, was used by God as part of the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

He led the efforts to rebuild the city walls.

His name, fittingly, means Yahweh comforts.

The Babylonian captivity of Israel, prophesied by Jeremiah, had ended.

Prior to Nehemiah's role, Zerubbable and Ezra had led remnants back to Jerusalem to rebuild

and re-establish the temple. God had used a pagan king, Cyrus, king of Persia,

the nation now ruling the area, to allow this and even help them. Ezra 2 says,

this is what Cyrus, King of Persia, says,

The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth,

and he has appointed me to rebuild for him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Whoever there is among you of all his people, may His God be with him, go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah,

rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. He is the God who's in Jerusalem. And every survivor,

at whatever place he may live, the people of that place are to support him with silver and gold, equipment and cattle,

together with a voluntary offering for the house of God, which is in Jerusalem.

In Nehemiah's time, however, the people living in Jerusalem were still in distress.

Walls of the city, still in ruins.

Nehemiah 1-3, they said to me,

Nehemiah talking,

the remnant there in the province who survived the captivity

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