Prayer in Nehemiah (20)
“So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall,
and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs.” (Nehemiah 12:31, NKJV)
It’s not unusual for completed building projects to have dedications. Dignitaries and special guests will be assembled to celebrate the accomplishment, speeches often reflecting on the vision, the means, the process, and the obstacles, as all delight together in the finished product.
We find something similar in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah, a Jew in exile, left his service to the king in Persia with the goal of rebuilding the burned and broken down wall of Jerusalem.
From the start, Nehemiah leaned on the Lord his God, seeking Him for favor with the king and for the resources needed. Everything, every dimension of the project was cast upon the Lord for its success. There were challenges along the way but God came through, in His way and in His time.
So it is no surprise that God is the focus of the dedication. All the planning is orchestrated to give Him thanks and praise His name. Levites are enlisted to form two great choirs to lead the people in giving to God the glory due His name.
The scene of dedication in Nehemiah 12 is uproarious. The choreography is reminiscent of the pomp, splendor, and organization of the most spectacular of parades. One choir heads south; the other north. The gates of the wall feature prominently. Cymbals, harps, lyres, and trumpets arouse the people in song, as the leaders lead the people in praise and thanks.
The focus of all the festivity was not Nehemiah. It was the Lord God, for whom and through whom and to whom belonged all the glory. “The singers sang loudly with Jezrahiah the director. Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off” (Neh. 12:42–43).
The excitement was not merely about the wall but what the wall represented, the mercies of God in restoring them to their land. They celebrated not something new but something renewed. The Law that had been read had attested to God’s relationship with them as His people and current events attested to that relationship continuing despite their disobedience and God’s discipline of them.
That is the way a kingdom-focus works. Our lives revolve around our loving and gracious God, and marvel at His dealings with us. In this the Spirit leads us to rejoice with joy when we behold His wondrous works in keeping with His promises and purposes.
The apex of God’s mighty works come to us in His Son, good news of great joy that will be for all the people. A Savior born in Bethlehem prompted angelic choirs to sing against the backdrop of God’s construction work throughout history come to completion, right on schedule.
Nehemiah writes that “the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.” How much more should the good news of great joy, the news of a greater Jerusalem, a heavenly Jerusalem be heard by those both far and near, encouraging all the earth to draw close to see what God has done?
Often, almost as a formality, we will pray to God for things great and small, and then routinely neglect to return to Him to give thanks. Or, if we do remember to thank God, our expression is muted or perfunctory.
But if we give heed to the thought that the living God has heard our voice and responded to our requests, if our pursuits have marinated in prayer, how can we be subdued of heart rather than incited by humility and awe in praise and thanks?
How can you cultivate a reflex of praise and thanks to God for things great and small?
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.