We typically meet at Shiraz Shish Ka Bob at about 6 pm for a fellowship dinner followed by our meeting afterwards at Brazos Union Lodge.
For your reading pleasure I include the following on some perspectives of Nehemiah. ENJOY!
586 BC – Babylon conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple of Solomon, and took the people of Judah captive.
539 BC – 47 years later, Cyrus, King of Persia, and the Persians conquered Babylon.
538 BC – 1 year later, and 48 years after the initiation of captivity, Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jews that wanted to to return home from exile. Zerubbabel led the first wave of people to return.
536 BC – 2 years later, and 50 years after the initiation of captivity, the work on rebuilding the Temple of Yahweh began under the leadership of Joshua (the spiritual leader in the rebuilding of the temple, the son of Jozaddek the High Priest); Prince Zerubbabel ("son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah", a great grandson of Hezekiah, King of Judah); and Haggai (the first prophet of the restoration).
AN HISTORIC TIMELINE
586 BC – Babylon conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple of Solomon, and took the people of Judah captive.
539 BC – 47 years later, Cyrus, King of Persia, and the Persians conquered Babylon.
538 BC – 1 year later, and 48 years after the initiation of captivity, Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jews that wanted to to return home from exile. Zerubbabel led the first wave of people to return.
536 BC – 2 years later, and 50 years after the initiation of captivity, the work on rebuilding the Temple of Yahweh began under the leadership of Joshua (the spiritual leader in the rebuilding of the temple, the son of Jozaddek the High Priest); Prince Zerubbabel ("son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah", a great grandson of Hezekiah, King of Judah); and Haggai (the first prophet of the restoration).
515 BC – 21 years later, and 70 years after the initiation of captivity, the Temple is completed and dedicated.
458 BC – 57 years later, and 128 years after the initiation of captivity, Ezra led a second wave of Jews home from exile.
445 BC – 13 years later, 90+ years after Cyrus' decree and 141 years after the initiation of captivity, Nehemiah led a third wave of Jews home from exile and launched a rebuilding project to repair the walls around Jerusalem, completing its construction in 52 days.
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| Some remains of Nehemiah's Wall |
When Nehemiah was made aware that the city of Jerusalem was still without protective city walls, he was distraught and, as he tells us in the very first chapter of his book he poured out his heart to God in prayer. His prayer included acknowledging God's strengths and attributes, and confession about God's people's shortfalls, errors and sins. It was a heartfelt conversation with God.
God is never annoyed by our heartfelt prayers. God's "inbox" is never too full to take notice of our prayers. You can't tire God with your prayers. He is always there, with you. Have a conversation with God for direction about your calling, but in order to effectively construct something, anything, there must be some form of plan. Such a plan will include the following:
The destination–where are we going and how will we know when we are there?
The starting point–where are we, right now. From where is our journey beginning?
The route–will we take the "high road" or the "low road"; the highway or the back roads? Will we plan to take detours along the way?
The waypoints– In aviation, in the old days, one did not make long distance journeys by flying DIRECTLY from point A to point B. It was too easy to get lost over a long distance journey over territory without landmarks by which to determine progress. It was common to use waypoints, a series of short trips that, when strung together, resulted in successfully achieving the desired destination. Waypoints made the journey easier to manage, made each trip a shorter trip, and ensured that the overall destination was easier to reach.
We must plan as well as pray. Nehemiah had prayed and planned. About four months passed between his first hearing the news about Jerusalem and his opportunity to present his plan to the king. During the interim, he thought about and detailed the necessary "waypoints" needed to reach his desired destination.
Nehemiah relied on God and was prepared to act upon the opportunity that God presented to him in God's time. He did not wait passively. During the four months between his awareness of the need and his opportunity to start to meet that need he had been actively planning for the work to which God had called him. He kept praying, even while he was laying out his plan to the king. He had a vision of what needed to be done in Jerusalem and realized a prompting from God to give leadership to the project.
Soon enough the returning Jews encountered opposition that threatened to derail their efforts. Opposition arises when we take a stand. Nehemiah 4:1-3 points to a typical pattern when humans raise opposition for any reason:
1. They get emotional. Something makes them angry, upset, jealous, or some other negative emotion.
2. They mock. Scorn and contempt are the desire to de-struct something that is con-structive. Stated another way, because of the negative emotions that have arisen in them (for whatever cause) they desire to stop the external cause that brings about their negative feeling rather than seek to work to determine why they feel negative in the first place.
3. They ridicule. First comes the verbal assaults. Like a rattlesnake warning of impending danger, or a skunk's tail lifted high in the air ready to attack, the first attack of opposition is frequently verbal.
4. They call to doubt. Just as in the Garden of Eden, doubt can be the means to continue to ridicule, or as a call to action.
In Nehemiah 4:6-9 the Jews discovered the opposition's plans to go to Jerusalem and fight to "throw it into confusion". They linked prayer with action and focused on what they could control and stationed guards. In verses 14-18 they steeled and prepared themselves for either working or fighting as the need arose and proceeded to continue with their work in the face of opposition.
While hostility can be difficult to handle, it will not stop God's work if you persist in His will.
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| The original sword and trowel knight masons |
Nehemiah mobilized the residents of Jerusalem to accomplish a massive task. Facing threats from outsiders, the people stayed secure in the city and prepared to defend against attack. But Nehemiah also defended against internal distractions, including social injustice. He worked to resolve injustices so that people could stay focused upon the tasks God had provided for them.
As seems so prevalent in our culture today when there is a crisis, humans often seem to take advantage of other humans. They may loot, they may price gouge, they may lie, cheat and steal, but when humans put themselves first, as is often the case today, society suffers because of it. It was similar with Nehemiah's project. Many were pulled off of their land surrounding the city in order to rebuild the city walls. Their farms were suffering because of it. A famine had hit the region and grain prices skyrocketed as agriculture came to a grinding halt. Workers were compelled to mortgage their properties to pay the inflated grain prices AND the king's taxes upon their farms. It was a double and triple whammy for many in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah, a CONSTRUCTOR, responded to this present problem with emotion, but rather than taking the easy road of mocking, ridicule and doubt he got angry and then responded thoughtfully, and willfully. In other words, rather than react emotionally he responded thoughtfully and willfully and set a new course to work to solve the problem. As a result of thoughtful and willful action the problem was resolved.
As seems so prevalent in our culture today when there is a crisis, humans often seem to take advantage of other humans. They may loot, they may price gouge, they may lie, cheat and steal, but when humans put themselves first, as is often the case today, society suffers because of it. It was similar with Nehemiah's project. Many were pulled off of their land surrounding the city in order to rebuild the city walls. Their farms were suffering because of it. A famine had hit the region and grain prices skyrocketed as agriculture came to a grinding halt. Workers were compelled to mortgage their properties to pay the inflated grain prices AND the king's taxes upon their farms. It was a double and triple whammy for many in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah, a CONSTRUCTOR, responded to this present problem with emotion, but rather than taking the easy road of mocking, ridicule and doubt he got angry and then responded thoughtfully, and willfully. In other words, rather than react emotionally he responded thoughtfully and willfully and set a new course to work to solve the problem. As a result of thoughtful and willful action the problem was resolved.
As they rebuilt Jerusalem's walls, Nehemiah and the Jewish people learned the importance of focusing on God's Word. Nehemiah's enemies tried to distract him from his work. They planned to harm him and were making up stories and offering false "peace talks" in order to lure Nehemiah out of Jerusalem and into their trap.
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| Jerusalem in the Time of Nehemiah |
Nehemiah ignored every advance of the enemy. He kept his focus upon God's work and refused to be distracted by seemingly more noble purposes like peace or prosperity that were in reality traps and intimidations.
By staying single-mindedly focused Nehemiah and the Jewish people managed to repair and rebuilt the entire city wall in 52 days. What's even more astonishing is that from the time that Nehemiah first spoke with the Persian king he secured permission to travel, left Persia, arrived in Jerusalem, organized the people and completed that wall in six months.
Because of the increased security, more people were coming to the the city. Nehemiah was eager to begin the spiritual restoration of the people once they accomplished their physical security. The people asked for the Bible to be read and explained to them.
Law was key to establishing order within a community of humans, and now that the Jewish people were back in Jerusalem, now that they were able to secure and regulate their own city, now that they had completed what God had called them to do, they were ready to next learn how God directed them to live with one another. The people respectfully and diligently paid attention to God's word.
Spiritual exercise, like physical exercise, needs planning and regular execution. It is important for the people of God to read, study and implement the word of God in their lives and make such spiritual exercise a routine that is as important as any physical or entertaining exercise that they undertake.
The actions of Ezra and Nehemiah, the foundational examples of Knight Masonry, demonstrate that God's Word must be central to our lives to truly serve God.
Spiritual exercise, like physical exercise, needs planning and regular execution. It is important for the people of God to read, study and implement the word of God in their lives and make such spiritual exercise a routine that is as important as any physical or entertaining exercise that they undertake.
The actions of Ezra and Nehemiah, the foundational examples of Knight Masonry, demonstrate that God's Word must be central to our lives to truly serve God.
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