In the ancient world most cities had walls. Walls set the boundaries of the city as well as provided protection from any threat that would want to cause harm to the city. Together with the walls of the city would be gates in strategic locations around the wall. The gates allowed people to move in and out of the city, to interact with people outside of the city as well as the exchange of goods and services into and out of the city. The walls and gates of an ancient city provided the structure for a society to exist and even flourish. 

By the time the book of Nehemiah takes place, two efforts have been made to reinstate a Jewish society in the city of Jerusalem; one to rebuild the walls and another to rebuild the temple so worship could take place. In the first chapter, Nehemiah receives the bad news that the walls and gates have not been fully repaired and as a result the people were under constant threats from enemies. Threats from outside the city and threats from within by their own people. Furthermore, worship was not happening at the temple because all their energy had to be spent on just survival. Nehemiah wept and grieved when he heard this news.

In the United States we don’t live in walled cities but there are definite boundaries to society that are necessary for our communities for people to thrive and flourish. It is undeniable that our society is facing serious threats to our flourishing. External threats from other nations and ideologies around our globe as well as internal threats from the abandonment of God’s Word as the foundation for our rule of law. The fact that our nation is facing a health crisis due to loneliness and isolation is a serious indicator that our society is in trouble. The walls and gates of our society are broken and in bad need of repair. 

God called Nehemiah to rebuild the walls and rehang the gates of Jerusalem. Under God’s guidance and provision, Nehemiah led the people of Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls in just 52 days. God is calling His church to rebuild the walls of our communities with the relevant application of God’s Word. We live lives to glorify God and serve other people. My message is titled “Building Community” from the first few chapters of Nehemiah. The strength of a society is not found in the chambers of our elected officials, but instead, strength comes when we love God and love our neighbors we share a community with. Nehemiah is an inspiration of how God can change a society when His people obey Him. It will be interesting to see what God will do in our community as we express our love for God by loving our neighbors. Join us on this last Sunday before “Hope Happens Here” kicks off and be inspired to be used by God to love and bless your neighbors.