Building on the Foundation

  Nehemiah has long been one of my favorite characters in the Bible. His zeal for God, his faith, his courage, and his unwavering devotion to God’s way of life take a back seat to no one, save Jesus Christ. As we read through the Book of Nehemiah, written in the man’s own words, his zeal and passion for Almighty God fairly leap from the pages! Now according to the Hebrew lexicons, Nehemiah’s name means “YHWH comforts,” and his father’s name, Hachaliah, means “YHWH enlightens.” Both names define Nehemiah’s mission, as we’ll soon see. God enlightened Nehemiah and guided him, just as He does for each one of us if we put our faith and trust in Him. And God sent Nehemiah on a mission of comfort to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, to bring justice for the poor and oppressed, to restore Godly worship among the people of Judah, and to teach them to put their faith and trust in the God of their fathers. Nehemiah wrote most of the book in the first person, much like Ezekiel and some of the ot...

  Throughout history, civilizations have esteemed courage as one of the highest manly virtues. And it’s true, part of being a man is being courageous. In 1 Cor. 16:13, Paul exhorted the congregation, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” In Greek, that word “brave” is andrizomai (Strong’s # G407), which means “to act manly, show oneself a man, be brave.” In the Old Testament, wherever we read the phrase “be of good courage” in our English Bibles, the Greek Septuagint uses that same word andrizomai . Be manly. Be brave. God commanded Joshua to “be strong and of good courage” and “be strong and very courageous” (Josh. 1:6-7). And again, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Josh. 1:9). David’s general Joab exhorted his troops, “Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God” (2 Sam. 10:12; 1 Chron. 19:13). On his deathbed,...