Nehemiah Builds the Wall

“Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.” — Nehemiah 4:14

After many years, God kept His promise and began to bring His people home from far away. Some of them went back to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple. But the city was still in ruins. Its walls were broken down, and its gates had been burned. Without walls, a city wasn’t safe.

Far away in the palace of the king of Persia, there was a man called Nehemiah. He was the king’s cupbearer, which meant he served the king his wine. It was an important job, because the king had to trust him completely.

One day some men came from Jerusalem, and Nehemiah asked them how things were there. “The people are in great trouble,” they said. “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned.”

When Nehemiah heard this, he sat down and cried. For days he was sad. He went without food, and he prayed to the God of heaven. He told God he was sorry for his people’s sins, and he asked God to help him when he went to talk to the king.

One day, when Nehemiah was serving the king his wine, the king noticed his sad face. “Why do you look so sad?” the king asked. “You’re not ill. This must be sadness of the heart.”

Nehemiah was very afraid. But he said, “May the king live for ever! How can I not look sad, when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned?”

“What is it you want?” asked the king.

Then Nehemiah did something very quick. He prayed to the God of heaven, right there, a silent prayer. Then he answered the king. “If it pleases the king, send me to Jerusalem, so that I can rebuild it.”

And the king said yes! He gave Nehemiah letters to keep him safe on the journey, and wood from the king’s forest to make the gates.

When Nehemiah got to Jerusalem, he rode out secretly at night to look at the broken walls. Then he gathered the people. “You can see the trouble we’re in,” he said. “Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.” He told them how God had helped him and what the king had said.

“Let’s start rebuilding!” they said. And they got to work. Every family took a section of the wall to build.

But not everyone was happy. Some enemies, Sanballat and Tobiah, laughed at them. “What are these feeble people doing?” they said. “If even a fox climbed up on their wall, it would knock it down!”

Then they planned to attack. So Nehemiah set guards. Half of the men worked, while the other half stood guard with spears and shields. The builders carried materials with one hand and held a weapon with the other! A trumpeter stood by Nehemiah, ready to call everyone together if there was an attack.

“Don’t be afraid of them,” Nehemiah told the people. “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families and your homes.”

And they kept on building. The wall was finished in just fifty-two days!

When their enemies heard about it, they were afraid. They knew that this work had been done with the help of God.

Read it in your Bible: Nehemiah 1–2; 4; 6:15–16

Dear God, thank you that I can pray to you anywhere, even in a quick, silent prayer. Help me to work hard and not give up when people laugh at me. Amen.