Remember me O my God !

Neh.13:31, “Remember me, O my God, for good!”

Nehemiah was blessed with great burden for the well being of the remnant in Jerusalem. He submitted himself for the great mission. He humbled before the Lord and was used powerfully by the Lord. In spite of all the challenges, threat and mockery of the people around, God used him to build the broken walls of the city. But that was not the end of the mission. He served the king Artaxerxes as his cup bearer. But he again and again took leave from there and spent his leave days to serve the Lord instead of taking rest. Re-building the walls was only one of his assignments. Next, he  addressed the causes of the broken walls. When broken walls represent the unfaithfulness in prayer life, we need to look into the reasons that can cause it. Let’s ponder on same  and learn from same.

• 13:14, “Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services!” The priest of the temple in Jerusalem had a good relation with Tobiah. And to keep this relation, he gave him the great chamber of the temple to Tobiah for his personal use. The chamber which was supposed to be used for keeping the meat offering, frankincense and vessels of the house of God and all other things meant for the Levites was now used by Tobiah, the Ammonite, who was not allowed to come into the congregation of the Lord. Neh.13:8, “And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room.” Nehemiah commanded the chamber to be cleansed and replaced it with things of the house of the Lord.

Today, our body is the house of the Lord. Many have used the heart chamber to store the things and thoughts of the world, for many have made alliance or friendship with the world. James 4:4, “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” The things meant for the Lord , i.e prayers , word meditation, worship all have been put out of the chamber. Hence, jealousy, bitterness, anger, wrath, prayerlessness etc.  have replaced the heart chambers. Jesus drove out the sellers and traders out from the premises of the temple (Mt.21:12-13), saying, “It is written, “My house shall be called the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” If one’s heart chambers is not filled with His Word, it can easily become the den of thieves, causing broken prayer walls.

• 13:10-11, ^“I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field. ¹¹ So I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place.’ Levites who were sanctified to serve in the temple were found in their fields, working for their own survival. The other tribes of Israelites were not bringing their tithes to the temple as per the law of Moses. Nehemiah contended with the rulers and restored the bringing of tithe to the temple and appointed faithful people over the management of the treasuries.

The Israelites brought the best of the first fruits of the harvest as tithes. Today, our heart’s first choice is the tithes. Giving the Lord the best portion of our  time, our best talents and resources with all our heart is the tithe. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and it’s righteousness. And all the things shall be given unto you.”(Mt.6:33). We are the priests or Levites of the New testament church. We have been sanctified to serve Him. And as we give Him the priority over everything in our lives,  the Lord faithfully provides for all our needs. One can observe chaos in lives who do not give the Lord priority over other things of life, which in turn breaks the wall of prayer life.

• 13:22, “…..Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy! Nehemiah noted many Israleites disobeying the law regarding Sabbath. Neh.13:17, “Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?” He commanded the gates of Jerusalem to be closed before sabbath and rebuked the ones who lodged near the wall. From that time they did not come on Sabbath.

If tithes represent our first choices and priorities, observing Sabbath represents obedience. First day of the week was sanctified for exalting and worshipping the Lord. God rested on the 7^th day, after creating the heavens and the earth for six days. He called this 7^th day as Sabbath. The Greek meaning of the word ‘Sabbath’ is ‘rest.’ We have been given rest from all works to earn salvation, for it has been given to us as a gift of grace through faith in Christ. Now we need to prove our faith through our works of righteousness. Obeying His Word proves our love for God and faith in Him. Faith without obedience is called dead faith. Purposeful disobedience again and again can harden one’s heart, leading to broken walls of prayer life.

• 13:29, “Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.” Neh.13:25, “So I contended with them and ^[e]cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.” Nehemiah expressed his hatred towards mixed marriage which was forbidden by the Lord. He noted their children unable to speak Jewish language, which was sacred for them. He chased one of the sons of the priest, Eliashib away from him for he had married a Horonite lady.

God has sanctified us. He has set us apart from the rest of the world. Though we are in the world, we are not of the world. Mixed marriages refer to close relations, which easily influences one’e life.  Any influence which causes one to stay away from the Lord’s word is like a mixed marriage. This in turn causes broken walls of prayer life.

Nehemiah addressed all issues that were the root cause of the broken walls. We need to identify the issues causing one to move away from a disciplined and steadfast prayer life. A broken wall is easy access to thieves and robbers who enter the city to destroy the inhabitants. A broken wall of prayer life is easy access to evil one . Jn.10:10, “ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Lets be watchful and careful.

After doing each of these assignments, Nehemiah prayed Neh.13:31, “Remember me, O my God, for good!” Whatever a person does in this life may or may not be remembered by the world. But anything done for the Lord will never be forgotten by the Lord. God did not forget Nehemiah. He through His Spirit and Nehemiah’s own hands, recorded all he did for the Lord and till today, we are able to read and learn from this book of Nehemiah. All praises be to the Lord our God.

GOD bless us all.