Nehemiah was just a guy who loved the Lord and cared about His people. He wasn’t a king or a prophet. He was a Jewish cupbearer, in charge of the wine for the Persian King Artaxerxes while the Jews were in captivity there. Then he heard how bad things were back in Jerusalem. “They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been burned” (Nehemiah 1:3), his visiting relatives told him.
Nehemiah immediately went into mourning. He wept and fasted. He confessed his sin and the sins of his people, then he, like Abraham before him, remembered the promise of God to Moses: “If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands, even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored” (Nehemiah 1:8-9). So he asked God to remember His promise and He did. Nehemiah got the blessing and protection of a pagan king to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city.
And he did all that and more, with the help of a remnant that remained in Jerusalem, the protection of the Lord, and the readiness of the people for battle while they worked, for there was much opposition from surrounding nations.
And regular guy Nehemiah became great because he believed and acted on the promise. And they rebuilt the walls in 52 days! And all the people stood up for days after to hear the word of God read again in the city that was founded on it. And there was obedience, and much joy and rejoicing.
What a difference a wall makes.
My walls are down.
My wife is disgraced.
Much lies in ruins.
I weep over what is —
“You will never rebuild the walls of your life
Until you first weep over the ruins.”
I confess my sin.
I remember the promise
To bring the kingdom of God to earth.
I call on the Lord.
I remind Him of the promise.
He brings courage and renews strength.
I cautiously hope for what can be
Because there is opposition.
We will build.
We will rebuild these walls from the ruins of our home
Around our place in the world
Around our portion of the kingdom of God.
The Lord is confirming our call.
The walls of strength will be built.
Will you help us build?
Then they said, “Let us arise and build.”
So they put their hands to the good work. (Nehemiah 2:18)
John Fischer The Catch 
Where is the poem from in today’s Catch? This was so timely for me today. Thank you.
John & Marti,
Yes, I agree that Nehemiah was called by God to rebuild the Jerusalem wall, but the rebuilt wall and the Temple became a exclusive Jewish faith that left out other people who God wanted the Israelites to reach for God’s Kingdom. I am reminded to a song that was a theme for a year of the Promise Keepers about Breaking down the walls, but mostly I am reminded of John Kay’s response through song when he saw the Berlin Wall coming down in November 1989. How many walls does the church have up to keep people from being included or why is the United States building a wall on the Mexico and United States border to exclude the Mexicans from finding better jobs and housing for their families. The lyrics for John Kay’s song is:
The Wall
(Songwriters: JOHN KAY, MICHAEL WILK, ROCKET RITCHOTTE
Words and music by John Kay, Michael Wilk and Rocket Ritchotte)
Crossing the line in the dead of night
Five years old and on the run
This ain’t no game, boy, don’t make a sound
And watch that man with the gun
Say a prayer for the ones we leave behind, say a prayer for us all
Come take my hand now and hold on tight
Take one last look at that wall
Think of the shattered lives, think of the broken hearts
Think of the battered dreams, of families still torn apart
Wall of bitter tears, wall of crying pain
Wall of chilling fear, you will never keep me here
For I, I shall crawl right down through that wall
I will crawl right on through that wall
That fateful night I was one that got away,
A young and restless renegade
Chasing my dreams, still on the run,
I had some moments in the sun
Years flew by like a speeding bullet train, I sang my songs to one and all
Then came the day when I had a chance to pay
My respects to the names on that wall
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/steppenwolf/the+wall_20344078.html ]
I saw the wooden crosses, saw the bloody stains
Saw the gruesome pictures of all the ones that died in vain
Wall of countless victims, wall of endless shame
Had just one thing gone wrong I might have joined that list of names
And I cried for all who died there at the wall
I recall weeping at the wall
“Freedom has many difficulties, and democracy is not perfect,
But we’ve never had to put a wall up to keep our people in…
While the wall is the most obvious demonstration of the failures of communism,
We take no pride in it…for it is an offense against humanity, separating families,
Dividing husbands and wives, brothers and sisters and
People who wish to be joined together…
All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin
And therefore, as a free man I take pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner”.
(Excerpts from John F. Kennedy speech at the Berlin wall June 26, 1963)
Turned on the news in November ’89
I could not move, I could not speak
Something was burning up in my eyes,
Something wet ran down my cheek
All those laughing faces, all those tears of joy
All those warm embraces of men and women, girls and boys
Sisters and brothers dancing, all singing freedom’s song
God, if only I could be there to shake your hands and sing along
Oh I, I would climb right up on that wall
And join you all dancing on the wall
Standing tall walking on the wall
Tear it down, right down to the ground
Tear it down, right down to the ground
(© 1989 Black Leather Music, Inc., (BMI), Michael John Music (BMI), Attlebrat)
The link to the You Tube song being song is:
Sometimes, God is saying to us to knock down the wall that keeps people excluded from God’s touch, which may just exclude the people doing the excluding not the people being excluded.
Of course there are incorrect uses of walls, especially the ones in our own minds, but these walls geographically and historically are a part of God’s plan for Jerusalem. They also organize and set boundaries for the city. There are 10 gates in and out of the city, each for a different purpose. The only people these walls keep out are enemies who seek to bring harm. Spiritually it would be similar to the Ephesians 6 armor believers wear for protection.
We absolutely agree with knocking down walls of exclusion which are mostly in our minds.
Forming our ideas and words and deeds and feelings about the Gospel of Jesus Christ by interpreting songs from pop singers and poets, and over-involvement with the politics and culture of men, is the source of much confusion today within the Church. It’s all going to come crashing down soon, with strong delusion following…. able to deceive even the very Elect if it be possible. If we don’t study God’s Word carefully, and hide it in our hearts, we are going to be seriously rocked by what is coming. Our job is to proclaim the Truth…. some will believe and be saved, and some will not believe and be damned. So He said, as His last words before He left us long ago. We need to get very serious now….. it is very late!