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...