IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. Nehemiah 1
BAD NEWS. Nehemiah 1:1-3 The book of Nehemiah is, for the most part, an autobiography, as the Spirit of God moved this man to give us not only a historical account of events but also principles of leadership. A man in comfortable circumstances, with a very important position in the king's palace, still had his heart in the right place. He knew his Jewish heritage was important and that, whatever his personal circumstances, he was bound by birth to the people of God. He likely had never been to Jerusalem and had only heard of the first group of exiles who, under the leadership of Zerubbabel, had returned to Jerusalem before his time.
The group that went with Ezra fifty years later would have been his contemporaries, so his interest in their success would have been personal. They began building the temple in Jerusalem, which was completed after a lengthy period. Then, in their enthusiasm, they began to rebuild the walls of the city. But fierce opposition arose, and the Persian king ordered the construction of the wall to stop. Apparently, not only was it halted, but what had been built was torn down, and the wooden gates were burned. After twelve years, Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, and some others came to Babylon with bad news about the state of affairs among God's people in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah would have known about the group that went with Ezra, and his interest in that work and its success was genuinely heartfelt. It was in the month of Chisleu (December) at the king's winter palace, where his brother and those with him gave a report on the sad state of affairs among the Jews in Jerusalem and on the disorganized, unprotected city that was at the mercy of all those around them. Likely, there was some resentment from those idolatrous women and children, and their pagan families, against the Jewish men who had put them away.
A city without walls is defenseless and vulnerable to attack from without. Separation without defined barriers is open to any opposition that is louder and stronger. God's people need to know there is an "in and out" to a scripturally gathered assembly. They also need to know the scriptural basis for separation, the reasons for it, and the results of separation.
Our interest in the Lord's work wherever it is in our day is an important part of our lives because those engaged in spiritual enterprise all over the world are our brothers and sisters. We may not know many of the thousands of laborers in the world's great harvest field, but we can have a part in the work through prayer and practical participation, including financial support. The prayer meetings of a local assembly of God's people and the reports from mission fields stir our interest and our hearts. An assembly that prays for and supports missionary work and Gospel efforts will be a healthy assembly. When we know a bit about a work in some far-off field, we will always want to know more about its progress.
People are obviously more important than things. Without people, the house of God and the fields ripe for harvest are valueless. God desires His people to be with Him and involved with Him in their lives. "Gather My saints together unto Me; those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." The unity and security of God's people are essential to the public testimony of God's grace and saving power to the world around us. Who we are and what we do in daily life shape how we express our worship and service to God. Forms and rituals do not constitute worship. If our testimony before the world as citizens is lost, our assembly testimony is of no value. The first step of separation is "unto" the Lord. When we have gathered unto Him, there will be separation from the world. There will be a distinctness that makes people of the world uncomfortable because it exposes sin.
Even though Nehemiah served in high places and held a high position, he knew the uniqueness of the Jews and the need to maintain that uniqueness in the world. He was seriously concerned about the people and the place. The exiles were in trouble, and the disgrace and reproach that the few who were left were enduring was the cause of Nehemiah's great sorrow. For some reason, there was only a remnant of exiles left, and they were in danger because of the defenseless city. The wall-building project Ezra had started had been forcibly stopped. The rebuilding of the temple was a good thing, but the need for holiness in the day-to-day lives of God's people, which made temple worship possible, had to be real to them. Both the walls and gates were destroyed in Jerusalem. Nothing defined that place. There was no place at the gate where judges met to make public decisions that kept order among the people. People came and went without any restrictions or reservations. There was no seat of authority and no distinction between the people of God and everyone else.
Isolation is quite different from separation. Isolation removes us from interaction with people and cuts us off from any means of carrying out the calling and commission we have been given by our Lord. Separation simply means we are maintaining a distinct life and walk that is consistent with the holy calling we have been given. The distinctiveness of holiness lies in how we live rather than where we are. We live by faith so the grace of God can be seen both in our personal lives as believers in Christ and in our church life as those gathered to Christ alone and in His name alone.