Nehemiah was not a preacher, a priest, a scribe, or a prophet. He was a cupbearer for Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Nehemiah received word of the distress and reproach in Jerusalem. What was his attitude toward these problems? "So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven." {Nehemiah 1:4} The news touched Nehemiah. His prayer to God tells us much about the man himself. "Please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant... for the children of Israel Your servants,... we have sinned against You. Both my father's house and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments..." {Nehemiah 1:6,7} Nehemiah did not mince words-- he admitted that Israel was to blame for her conduct. He asked God to forgive them, if they repented and turned back to Him.

Nehemiah's presence before the king is now different, and the king notices his sadness. Nehemiah told the king about the deep hurt he felt in his heart because of the conditions in Jerusalem. And he made a request. "...If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." {Nehemiah 2:5} They agreed on a time. Then, Nehemiah asked for something else. "...If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy." And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me." {Nehemiah 2:7,8} Now, he had the king's permission and the materials he needed to proceed with the work.

What about workers? Nehemiah needed help. "...You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach. And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. So they said, "Let us rise up and build." Then they set their hands to this good work." {Nehemiah 2:17,18} Nehemiah encouraged the people to help with the work.

Whenever God's people determine to do His work, before they ever begin, Satan and his agents try to impede their progress. "...What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish-- stones that are burned?... Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall." {Nehemiah 4:2,3} The enemies threatened to attack. Nehemiah armed the workers, and the work continued. Sanballat tried to get Nehemiah away from the work to discuss the issues. But the work was too great, and Nehemiah continued. Then they sought to ambush and kill Nehemiah, but their plans were revealed and defeated. Despite all these efforts, the work continued.

In 52 days, they finished; the walls were built (Nehemiah 6:15). How? "So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work." {Nehemiah 6:4} It's amazing what people can do when they put their hearts and souls into any work-- especially the Lord's work!