2024_05_20 Insight Post- Kim Feld
This week’s reading- Nehemiah 1-6
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are connected; Nehemiah picks up after some Jewish exiles return to Jerusalem to find much destruction and the wall defending the city in ruins. Rebuilding is initiated but thwarted in the book of Ezra. Nehemiah begins with Nehemiah’s brother Hanani and some other men reporting what they saw while visiting Judah. Let’s take a look at Nehemiah’s response:
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 1:4, NIV)
Nehemiah is not living in Jerusalem, but he is deeply affected by what is happening to the city and to his fellow Jews. He mourns, fasts, and prays for days. Nehemiah’s response stood out to me. His depth of emotion speaks to his connection with his people and homeland. As chapter one goes on, he acknowledges in prayer that the people have not obeyed God’s commands and God had separated them as Moses had warned. It is striking that he lumped himself and his family in with those who had sinned, aligning himself with the people of Israel.
This part of Nehemiah’s story stood out for a couple of reasons. One, he sees himself as part of a whole and moves to repentance for the whole. Two, Nehemiah’s repentance is not just a passing “I’m sorry, please forgive me” prayer. He weeps, deeply mourns, fasts, and prays for days – not minutes, days.
We live in a deeply divided nation where honoring and obeying God is not even on the radar for many. Does this grieve us? Are we brought to tears and led to fast and pray for repentance? Do we see ourselves as part of this “whole” who need repentance and forgiveness?
What is happening within Christendom is even more significant than what is happening in our country. We are not united as followers of Christ – we are separated by our denominational ties and interpretation of scripture. We can’t seem to agree on the “essentials.” Then, we shake our heads at our Christian leaders who have moral failures, but in our hearts, does it grieve us the way it should? Does it bring us to tears and cause us to cry out before God, “We have sinned! Forgive us!”
Believe me when I say that I most often write out of what the Holy Spirit is convicting ME about, so this is not meant as an accusation for any of you. I have read this verse in Nehemiah hundreds of times, but it leaped off the page today. I fear I have become somewhat numb to hearing of the moral failures of others because it is unfortunately so common. But it should break my heart and lead me to my knees in prayer. I ought to grieve it because my Father is grieving it. This may be already a practice of yours. If that’s the case, I would appreciate your prayers as I move into this space with more regularity. But if not, join me in praying that the Holy Spirit would break our hearts with the things that break God’s heart. He listens and is moved by the prayers of His people.
Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach