"...howbeit our God turned
the curse into a blessing."
Nehemiah 13:2b
Nehemiah was a God-fearing Jewish man who oversaw the rebuilding of the walls surrounding the city of Jerusalem...
the curse into a blessing."
Nehemiah 13:2b
Nehemiah was a God-fearing Jewish man who oversaw the rebuilding of the walls surrounding the city of Jerusalem...
At this point in the history of the Jews, the people were now coming back into the land after seventy years of captivity in Babylon. There was plenty of work to do for everyone, as much of the land was in ruins.
Satan, of course, and those who hated the Jews wanted to do everything in their power to make sure that the city's walls would not be rebuilt. So the enemies of the Jews tried many devices to cause the work to stop. They wanted Nehemiah to quit.
Discouragement was everywhere as Nehemiah and the Jews set about their task. Nehemiah himself was threatened and harassed. He was mocked, too. The opponents of the project also tried to manipulate Nehemiah to enter into a false peace treaty. They tried as best they could to curse the work and keep the walls down. Yet neither fear nor deception would succeed.
Nehemiah was a man of prayer and passion. There was to be no quitting. He was not going to allow the people to lay down their trowels and swords and leave the work undone. God, you see, was behind what the Jews were doing. And as this little known passage of Scripture from the last chapter of the book of Nehemiah points out, God can turn difficult situations around. He could take a curse and turn it into a blessing. What a powerful promise for the child of God!
D.B.
Satan, of course, and those who hated the Jews wanted to do everything in their power to make sure that the city's walls would not be rebuilt. So the enemies of the Jews tried many devices to cause the work to stop. They wanted Nehemiah to quit.
Discouragement was everywhere as Nehemiah and the Jews set about their task. Nehemiah himself was threatened and harassed. He was mocked, too. The opponents of the project also tried to manipulate Nehemiah to enter into a false peace treaty. They tried as best they could to curse the work and keep the walls down. Yet neither fear nor deception would succeed.
Nehemiah was a man of prayer and passion. There was to be no quitting. He was not going to allow the people to lay down their trowels and swords and leave the work undone. God, you see, was behind what the Jews were doing. And as this little known passage of Scripture from the last chapter of the book of Nehemiah points out, God can turn difficult situations around. He could take a curse and turn it into a blessing. What a powerful promise for the child of God!
D.B.
