Restore Rebuild Revive - Introduction : 19 Jan 2011

One step away…

The love of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled, and pardoned from his sin.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.

We need not faint-The love of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can ever tell; Thankfully, we get glimpses in the pages of Scripture. Not just “stories”, but historical accounts that reveal how rich and pure and measureless and strong is the love of God. Nehemiah is an account of “His erring child, he reconciled.”

It appeared that the nation promised to Abraham had collapsed and were no longer God’s holy possession, His treasure. They were now stranded on the beach of idolatry.

But grace was just one step away. While in exile, God raised up prophets that foretold of Babylon’s destruction and the restoring, rebuilding and revival of Israel –(Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah). Cyrus, king of Persian would defeat Babylon and be used by God to restore His nation- as he had promised thru his prophets. 

Jer 29:10-14 "For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed

for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

 God is and was faithful.

Ezr 1:2-3 "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel--he is the God who is in Jerusalem.

 Because God’s love goes beyond the nearest star and reaches to the lowest hell, a remnant returned to Jerusalem and the temple was rebuilt (Ezra). Nehemiah, a cub-bearer to the King of Persia is living in the capital of the Persian Empire, Susa. He hears that the Temple is rebuilt but also knows that the walls of the city of Jerusalem are in ruin leaving the people vulnerable (unsafe-dignity). God uses Nehemiah to fully restore, rebuild and revive His people.

 Nehemiah considered a man of God and example of godly leadership. Nehemiah is often used to teach on good leadership-rightly so. The focus of our study of Nehemiah, like all Scripture, will be God. I identify not primarily with Nehemiah, but with the people of Israel. I am in desperate need of God’s grace. I need to be restored, rebuilt and revived. For I am distant, damaged and dry-and so you. I need to see and experience His grace that is just one step away-His love that is greater than any tongue or pen can ever tell.