Tuesday; May 3
When the Jews returned from Babylonian Captivity, they had a lot of work to do. In addition to the damage done in the occupation, the great city had been unoccupied and idle which intensified the deterioration. By the time of the return the temple was in disarray and the walls of the city were ineffective. Repairing the walls became a focus of a guy by the name of Nehemiah who led the occupants in the rebuilding. Unfortunately, not only did they have to be involved in heavy construction, they also had to endure the criticism of their enemies. The adversarial leaders could be heard saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?” (Nehemiah 4:2). Fortunately, Nehemiah had the heart of a leader. He prayed for God’s deliverance and it took it one step further by keeping the people focused on the work they had to do. Neh