Rebuilding The Wall

“We have acted very wickedly toward You [YeHoVaH]. We have not obeyed the commandments, decrees, and laws You gave Your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:7).

Human beings have been building walls for literally thousands of years. From the truly imposing, 5000-mile-long Great Wall of China, to the humble white picket fence lining an American home’s front yard, we humans have constructed a wide variety of walls and fences down through the ages, and we’ve done so because they serve many beneficial purposes.

Walls act as physical boundaries between properties and countries. They offer protection for one’s house and family. They serve at the borders of nations to control immigration, prevent smuggling, and thwart human trafficking. They create private spaces where activities can be conducted away from public view. In agriculture, they serve to keep livestock in and pests or predators out. For prisons, they help to ensure that dangerous inmates remain inside (thank God!). They’re built along highways to reduce noise pollution for nearby residents. Retaining walls prevent soil erosion or landslides in hilly or unstable areas. They increase property value and can provide a certain desirable aesthetic—like that beautiful white picket fence.

All these are very good reasons to consider the building of a wall.

Historically, however, there was one primary reason why our ancient ancestors built walls: to protect their towns and cities from invaders; to save themselves from a guaranteed destruction. The ancient world was exceptionally dangerous—far more so than most modern peoples dare to imagine. Having a strong wall surrounding your city was literally a matter of life and death.

And, ancient Jerusalem was one such city.

Originally a city of the pagan Jebusites, Jerusalem had a formidable, high wall surrounding it. And more than just its high wall, the city was set atop Mount Moriah with steep valleys on either side. Because of these strong fortifications and the challenging terrain, Jerusalem was a city that proved impossible for the Israelites to capture in the days of Joshua (see Joshua 15:63).

The Jebusites remained in the region living among the Israelites for hundreds of years, down until the reign of King David. It was David who devised a plan to finally breach Jerusalem’s walls by secretly sending soldiers via the water shaft (see 2 Samuel 5:8). “David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces inward. And he became more and more powerful, because YeHoVaH God Almighty was with him” (2 Samuel 5:9-10).

Within those same high walls surrounding Jerusalem, Solomon—the second-born son of David and Bathsheba—would then build the first temple of YeHoVaH. The city was then chosen by the Almighty God as the place where His Name would be forever.

“In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name forever” (2 Kings 21:7; 2 Chronicles 33:4-7).

However, after God’s people had fallen into extreme wickedness over the course of the next several generations, the once great city would eventually be besieged by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And in 587 BC, after an 18-month-long siege, those same city walls were breached by the Babylonian soldiers.

Many Jews were slaughtered.

Many others were taken into captivity.

The temple was burned and torn down.

And those once great city walls crumbled into ruin.

All this was to fulfill YeHoVaH God’s promise that He would visit His people with wrath and judgment if they fell into disobedience to His commandments.

“Therefore YeHoVaH Almighty says this: ‘Because you have not listened to My words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,’ declares YeHoVaH, ‘and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years’” (Jeremiah 25:8-11).

According to YeHoVaH’s promise, His people would remain in Babylonian captivity for seventy years—where under the heavy yoke of slavery they would be humbled and ultimately repent for their wickedness. After the seventy years were completed, God promised He would bring them safely back home.

“This is what YeHoVaH says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares YeHoVaH, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares YeHoVaH, ‘and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares YeHoVaH, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile’” (Jeremiah 29:10-14).

And God did fulfill His promise. At the end of the seventy years, the Jews were permitted by the Persian king Cyrus the Great to return to their once beautiful city and rebuild the temple of YeHoVaH. An estimated twenty years later, “The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius” (Ezra 6:15).

However, the wall surrounding Jerusalem remained broken down and in ruins. It would not be for another seventy years before someone would eventually raise the warning voice among the Jews and encourage them to rebuild the wall.

That man was Nehemiah.

A cupbearer of the Persian king Artaxerxes I, Nehemiah was a Jew from a family that had voluntarily stayed in Babylon after the years of captivity were completed. After learning from one of his brothers that the wall around Jerusalem had never been rebuilt and was still in ruins, he “sat down and wept. For some days [he] mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4).

His powerful prayer gives us the spiritual insight we need to see what that wall (and all walls) symbolically represents.

“YeHoVaH, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer Your servant is praying before You day and night for Your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against You. We have acted very wickedly toward You. We have not obeyed the commandments, the decrees and laws You gave Your servant Moses.

“Remember the instruction You gave Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to Me and obey My commandments, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.’

“They are Your servants and Your people, whom You redeemed by Your great strength and Your mighty hand. Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of this Your servant and to the prayer of Your servants who delight in revering Your Name” (Nehemiah 1:5-11).

After receiving permission and resources from King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and accomplished a great miracle by the grace of God: the wall that had by that time been in ruins for approximately 160 years was rebuilt in only 52 days! God’s people were once again living within the safety of those beautiful high walls. HalleluYAH!

And when we think biblically, we can see that walls offer the most beneficial purpose of all: A SPIRITUAL ONE.

Walls—like the one surrounding the city Jerusalem—are a symbol of living within the safety of the commandments of YeHoVaH God. When God’s people are obedient to His commandments, the wall that surrounds them remains strong and impenetrable. No enemy is capable of breaching it. But when we continuously fail to be obedient to God and fall into the paths of wickedness, YeHoVaH’s divine protection is removed from us; the enemy attacks, the walls crumble, and we’re taken captive by our sin and led to destruction.

If we desire the protection of YeHoVaH throughout our lives, then we must choose to remain within the walls He has put in place. Those walls are the laws and decrees He gave His servant Moses. The high wall we are to live within is THE TORAH. When we obediently live the commandments of the Torah, we have the assurance that God is with us, that He will protect and prosper us.

“See, I [Moses] am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of YeHoVaH your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of YeHoVaH your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known. …

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and destruction. If you obey the commandments of YeHoVaH your God that I command you today, by loving YeHoVaH your God, by walking in His ways, and by keeping His commandments and His statutes and His just decrees, then you shall live and multiply, and YeHoVaH your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

“But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28; 30:15-18).

Now, when we look to the future instead of the past, we can see that ancient Jerusalem is not the only “City of Peace” that has a high wall surrounding it. There’s also the prophesied NEW JERUSALEM to come—the eternal holy city of God.

“It [the New Jerusalem] had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:12-14).

Symbolically, the New Jerusalem’s high wall represents the exact same thing as ancient Jerusalem’s wall: THE TORAH. And only those who have been obedient to the commandments of the Almighty will have the right to enter the holy city—where they will find eternal safety and comfort within its beautiful walls.

“Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).

“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14).

May we all choose to be obedient to the commandments of YeHoVaH God, and by so doing be found among those worthy to live eternally within the glorious high walls of His holy city.

Amen.

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Rebuilding The Wall

“We have acted very wickedly toward You [YeHoVaH]. We have not obeyed the commandments, decrees, and laws You gave Your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:7).

Human beings have been building walls for literally thousands of years. From the truly imposing, 5000-mile-long Great Wall of China, to the humble white picket fence lining an American home’s front yard, we humans have constructed a wide variety of walls and fences down through the ages, and we’ve done so because they serve many beneficial purposes.

Walls act as physical boundaries between properties and countries. They offer protection for one’s house and family. They serve at the borders of nations to control immigration, prevent smuggling, and thwart human trafficking. They create private spaces where activities can be conducted away from public view. In agriculture, they serve to keep livestock in and pests or predators out. For prisons, they help to ensure that dangerous inmates remain inside (thank God!). They’re built along highways to reduce noise pollution for nearby residents. Retaining walls prevent soil erosion or landslides in hilly or unstable areas. They increase property value and can provide a certain desirable aesthetic—like that beautiful white picket fence.

All these are very good reasons to consider the building of a wall.

Historically, however, there was one primary reason why our ancient ancestors built walls: to protect their towns and cities from invaders; to save themselves from a guaranteed destruction. The ancient world was exceptionally dangerous—far more so than most modern peoples dare to imagine. Having a strong wall surrounding your city was literally a matter of life and death.

And, ancient Jerusalem was one such city.

Originally a city of the pagan Jebusites, Jerusalem had a formidable, high wall surrounding it. And more than just its high wall, the city was set atop Mount Moriah with steep valleys on either side. Because of these strong fortifications and the challenging terrain, Jerusalem was a city that proved impossible for the Israelites to capture in the days of Joshua (see Joshua 15:63).

The Jebusites remained in the region living among the Israelites for hundreds of years, down until the reign of King David. It was David who devised a plan to finally breach Jerusalem’s walls by secretly sending soldiers via the water shaft (see 2 Samuel 5:8). “David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces inward. And he became more and more powerful, because YeHoVaH God Almighty was with him” (2 Samuel 5:9-10).

Within those same high walls surrounding Jerusalem, Solomon—the second-born son of David and Bathsheba—would then build the first temple of YeHoVaH. The city was then chosen by the Almighty God as the place where His Name would be forever.

“In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name forever” (2 Kings 21:7; 2 Chronicles 33:4-7).

However, after God’s people had fallen into extreme wickedness over the course of the next several generations, the once great city would eventually be besieged by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And in 587 BC, after an 18-month-long siege, those same city walls were breached by the Babylonian soldiers.

Many Jews were slaughtered.

Many others were taken into captivity.

The temple was burned and torn down.

And those once great city walls crumbled into ruin.

All this was to fulfill YeHoVaH God’s promise that He would visit His people with wrath and judgment if they fell into disobedience to His commandments.

“Therefore YeHoVaH Almighty says this: ‘Because you have not listened to My words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,’ declares YeHoVaH, ‘and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years’” (Jeremiah 25:8-11).

According to YeHoVaH’s promise, His people would remain in Babylonian captivity for seventy years—where under the heavy yoke of slavery they would be humbled and ultimately repent for their wickedness. After the seventy years were completed, God promised He would bring them safely back home.

“This is what YeHoVaH says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares YeHoVaH, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares YeHoVaH, ‘and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares YeHoVaH, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile’” (Jeremiah 29:10-14).

And God did fulfill His promise. At the end of the seventy years, the Jews were permitted by the Persian king Cyrus the Great to return to their once beautiful city and rebuild the temple of YeHoVaH. An estimated twenty years later, “The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius” (Ezra 6:15).

However, the wall surrounding Jerusalem remained broken down and in ruins. It would not be for another seventy years before someone would eventually raise the warning voice among the Jews and encourage them to rebuild the wall.

That man was Nehemiah.

A cupbearer of the Persian king Artaxerxes I, Nehemiah was a Jew from a family that had voluntarily stayed in Babylon after the years of captivity were completed. After learning from one of his brothers that the wall around Jerusalem had never been rebuilt and was still in ruins, he “sat down and wept. For some days [he] mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4).

His powerful prayer gives us the spiritual insight we need to see what that wall (and all walls) symbolically represents.

“YeHoVaH, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer Your servant is praying before You day and night for Your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against You. We have acted very wickedly toward You. We have not obeyed the commandments, the decrees and laws You gave Your servant Moses.

“Remember the instruction You gave Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to Me and obey My commandments, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.’

“They are Your servants and Your people, whom You redeemed by Your great strength and Your mighty hand. Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of this Your servant and to the prayer of Your servants who delight in revering Your Name” (Nehemiah 1:5-11).

After receiving permission and resources from King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and accomplished a great miracle by the grace of God: the wall that had by that time been in ruins for approximately 160 years was rebuilt in only 52 days! God’s people were once again living within the safety of those beautiful high walls. HalleluYAH!

And when we think biblically, we can see that walls offer the most beneficial purpose of all: A SPIRITUAL ONE.

Walls—like the one surrounding the city Jerusalem—are a symbol of living within the safety of the commandments of YeHoVaH God. When God’s people are obedient to His commandments, the wall that surrounds them remains strong and impenetrable. No enemy is capable of breaching it. But when we continuously fail to be obedient to God and fall into the paths of wickedness, YeHoVaH’s divine protection is removed from us; the enemy attacks, the walls crumble, and we’re taken captive by our sin and led to destruction.

If we desire the protection of YeHoVaH throughout our lives, then we must choose to remain within the walls He has put in place. Those walls are the laws and decrees He gave His servant Moses. The high wall we are to live within is THE TORAH. When we obediently live the commandments of the Torah, we have the assurance that God is with us, that He will protect and prosper us.

“See, I [Moses] am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of YeHoVaH your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of YeHoVaH your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known. …

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and destruction. If you obey the commandments of YeHoVaH your God that I command you today, by loving YeHoVaH your God, by walking in His ways, and by keeping His commandments and His statutes and His just decrees, then you shall live and multiply, and YeHoVaH your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

“But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28; 30:15-18).

Now, when we look to the future instead of the past, we can see that ancient Jerusalem is not the only “City of Peace” that has a high wall surrounding it. There’s also the prophesied NEW JERUSALEM to come—the eternal holy city of God.

“It [the New Jerusalem] had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:12-14).

Symbolically, the New Jerusalem’s high wall represents the exact same thing as ancient Jerusalem’s wall: THE TORAH. And only those who have been obedient to the commandments of the Almighty will have the right to enter the holy city—where they will find eternal safety and comfort within its beautiful walls.

“Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).

“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14).

May we all choose to be obedient to the commandments of YeHoVaH God, and by so doing be found among those worthy to live eternally within the glorious high walls of His holy city.

Amen.

Add a Comment

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