Nehemiah 1:1-3:14
1 Corinthians 7:1-24
Psalm 31:19-24
Proverbs 21:4
I am a father; my wife and I are trying to raise our children as best we can. It is interesting how our two younger children, both boys, are exhibiting very similar behavior. When they do something wrong, and we point it out, their immediate response is to try and shift the blame to someone else (usually another sibling). And we try to point out how one is condemned to repeat mistakes they refuse to acknowledge and learn from.
I hope my sons turn out like Nehemiah. When he saw what had happened to Jerusalem, he immediately realized why, and what had to be done. He wept for his realization, and acknowledged what wasn't just his sin, but all of Israel's sin, before God. He was saddened to the point of tears with the acknowledgement of the sin, and then he confessed the sin and repented, and he reminded God of God's promise, to gather up His people in exile when they returned to Him and obeyed His commands.
Here's what's amazing: God heard his prayer, and answered it. Nehemiah had no money, no resources, nothing with which to rebuild the Jerusalem. He was a servant, a cupbearer of the king - not something that came with lucrative stock options and profit sharing, no 401-K he could borrow against. Yet he didn't even have to start the first conversation that led to him getting the resources needed - God moved King Artaxerxes to note Nehemiah's sadness and ask him. And then God provided what Nehemiah needed, through someone who had no incentive whatsoever to give him permission, much less the materials and authority required.
So the truth is, I want our children to learn from Nehemiah - not just in the acknowledgement of their own faults, shortcomings and sin, but in their acknowledgement of God, and their dependence upon Him. Then they will partake of the abundance of "the good things that You have stored up for those who fear You, that You bestow in the sight of all on those who take refuge in You."
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