March 6 Reading Plan

March 6

Nehemiah 5-7

 

So I’m reading from the New International Version, and it feels like Nehemiah 7 ends mid sentence. And if you look at the NIV, as well as many translations, it actually does. First, remember that Nehemiah’s original writting was written without chapters and verses. It was written as a memoir of the rebuilding process and what was happening to Jerusalem and the Israelites. 

 

The Jews in the 1400 divided Nehemiah into chapters and verses. This was to help them reference various writings about different times and events. The prophets and books of history are a little easier to divide because they center around pretty big historical events that are significant in the shaping of Israel. 

 

This section is interesting however. We saw the rebuilding of the city walls. Israel was coming together to show that they were becoming a people again - a nation set apart to serve and honor God. And the first thing that needed to happen, was that they were building the wall to keep foreign influences from destroying them. 

 

Because the first thing we need to do is to rebuild a division. A space that says we won’t allow the influences of social pressure, to control and dictate who we should be. 

 

This, Nehemiah said he would not stop for anything. In fact, he told Sandballat that he would not come down because he was doing a good work! 

 

It is a good work that we rebuild a separate purity in our homes and our community of believers. What do I mean by this? We must rebuild a standard of holiness that isn’t influenced by social pressures and ideological viewpoints. If we are to be set apart for the Lord, we must be free from influences that differ than God’s desire for us. 

 

But this still doesn’t answer the mid-sentence ending to chapter 7. 

 

For those who divided these chapters, this is a way of saying that what took place leading up to chapter 8, is a precursor to what is about to happen in next. You cannot accomplish what happens in the next chapter without what happened in the previous chapters. 

 

Tomorrow we will read what happened next. But in order to understand why the people respond and are able to adjust in tomorrow’s reading, understand that it only happened by each household doing the work to stand strong and finish separating themselves from outside influences. 

 

If we are going to see revival in the church today, it must start with each family removing outside influences from their lives. We must separate ourselves from things that are not of God. Place guardrails around your homes, and put them in your life. 

 

And as we do, we will be ready to take the next step into the presence of the Lord. 

 

That’s all the time we have for today.