A few weeks ago I read through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah and then it was reference in a journal article I read earlier today. The article got me thinking about the very beginning of the book and a question. Nehemiah begins this way:
Nehemiah 1:1-4 – The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. 3They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." 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.
The question was: What grips me? The story of Nehemiah starts out simply enough. Nehemiah is working and his brother came for a visit. During the visit Nehemiah asks about life in their home city of Jerusalem. The response he received in verse 3 was not good. But then verse 4 makes it more than a simple story. The news of the people and Jerusalem grabs Nehemiah and touches him deeply. His heart is gripped. The news drives him to pray and fast and mourn and weep.
The cause of this intense reaction is clearly his concern for the people, but there is more to it than that, there is also this concern for Jerusalem. If you continue reading Nehemiah it becomes clear that his concern for Jerusalem is connected to Nehemiah understanding that Jerusalem is in rough shape because the people have sinned against God. Nehemiah’s prayer in verses 5-11 point toward Nehemiah being passionate for God and wanting to be right with God.
Sometimes we can read a story and think that is nice or touching and then just move on. If that is our attitude toward the stories of the Bible, we are in a very dangerous place. God shared this story for our benefit. And part of that benefit I think is because the story can challenge us to ask, “What grips me?”
The story of Nehemiah is the story of God doing something significant through a person. I can’t help but wonder if a big reason why God worked through Nehemiah was because Nehemiah was passionate about God and people. Nehemiah was gripped by things that grip God. Am I? There are all kinds of things that could grip us. But am I gripped by the right things? On a cold, windy, sort of snowy night, maybe I need to take stock of what grips me. That analysis may change the trajectory of my week and more.
