Day 20

“Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.” Nehemiah 7:4

 The walls have been rebuilt but the city is not fully occupied. Houses need to be rebuilt and people are needed to inhabit the city. Nehemiah therefore takes a census of Israel with the purpose of casting lots “to bring one out of every ten” from the surrounding villages to live in Jerusalem (see 11:1). For the city to be strong, it not only needed strong walls but it needed its houses to be rebuilt and the city to be occupied.

 We have seen how important it is that we protect the walls in our lives that God has rebuilt. However, we must also recognise that God wants to rebuild and occupy our inner life. The broken walls in our lives may have resulted in damage to our inner life that needs to be restored and occupied with the Spirit of God. Hurt, disappointment, oppression, offense, sin or perhaps unbelief have destroyed “the houses” and left a vacuum in your life that needs to be rebuilt and filled with God. Ask the Lord to show you how your inner life is and take a census of the things you are occupying your life with. Whatever preoccupies us, occupies us. As God heals you and rebuilds the houses within you, the areas of brokenness and loss, spend time filling your life with God. Pray, worship, read God’s Word, read testimonies, listen to sermons, tell people about how wonderful He is and fix your eyes on Jesus. God wants your “city” to be rebuilt and filled with Him. The Lord wants to “comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendour. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations” Isaiah 61:2-4. Ask the Lord to rebuild and occupy you today so that you can rebuild and occupy the land for His glory! 

___________________________________________



„Nun war die Stadt nach allen Seiten weit und groß, das Volk darin aber spärlich, und es gab keine [neu] gebauten Häuser.“ Nehemiah 7:4
Die Mauern wurden wieder aufgebaut, aber die Stadt ist nicht vollständig besetzt. Häuser müssen wieder aufgebaut werden und Menschen werden gebraucht, um die Stadt zu bewohnen. Nehemia führt daher eine Volkszählung in Israel mit dem Ziel durch, Lose zu werfen, "um jeden Zehnten aus den umliegenden Dörfern herbeizuführen", damit er dann in Jerusalem lebt (siehe 11:1). Damit die Stadt stark sein würde, brauchte sie nicht nur starke Mauern, sondern auch den Wiederaufbau ihrer Häuser und die Besetzung der Stadt.
Wir haben gesehen, wie wichtig es ist, dass wir die Mauern in unserem Leben schützen, die Gott wieder aufgebaut hat. Wir müssen aber auch erkennen, dass Gott unser Innenleben wieder aufbauen und bewohnen möchte. Die zerbrochenen Mauern in unserem Leben können zu Schäden in unserem Innenleben geführt haben, die wiederhergestellt und mit dem Geist Gottes erfüllt werden müssen. Verletzung, Enttäuschung, Unterdrückung, Beleidigung, Sünde oder vielleicht Unglaube haben "die Häuser" zerstört und ein Vakuum in deinem Leben hinterlassen, das wieder aufgebaut und mit Gott gefüllt werden muss. Bitte den Herrn, dir zu zeigen, wie dein inneres Leben ist, und mache eine Bestandsaufnahme der Dinge, mit denen du dich in deinem Leben beschäftigst (also was dein Leben "bewohnt"). Was uns beschäftigt, ‚bewohnt uns‘ auch. Während Gott dich heilt und die Häuser in dir wiederaufbaut, die Bereiche der Gebrochenheit und des Verlustes, verbringe Zeit damit, dein Leben mit Gott zu füllen. Bete, anbete, lese Gottes Wort, lese Zeugnisse, höre Predigten, erzähle den Menschen, wie wunderbar er ist und richte deine Augen auf Jesus. Gott will, dass deine "Stadt" wiederaufgebaut und mit Ihm gefüllt wird. Der Herr will „trösten alle Trauernden; um den Trauernden von Zion zu verleihen, dass ihnen Kopfschmuck statt Asche gegeben werde, Freudenöl statt Trauer und Feierkleider statt eines betrübten Geistes, dass sie genannt werden Bäume der Gerechtigkeit, eine Pflanzung des HERRN zu seinem Ruhm. Und sie werden die uralten Trümmer aufbauen und wieder aufrichten, was vor Zeiten zerstört worden ist; sie werden die verwüsteten Städte erneuern, die von Geschlecht zu Geschlecht in Trümmern lagen“ Jesaja 61,2-4. Bitte den Herrn, dich heute wieder aufzurichten und dich zu füllen, damit du das Land zu Seiner Ehre wiederaufbauen und besetzen kannst!






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 8

“So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.” Nehemiah 2:11-16 Nehemiah told no one what his God had put on his heart to do for Jerusalem. He obeyed God in secret before makin...
Read more

Day 14

“Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” Nehemiah 4:14 Once again, having heard “t hat the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed”, Israel’s enemies became very angry and threatened to attack the city and the people (4:7). The enemy’s tactic is exposed once again! If he cannot stop God’s work through intimidation, privately and publicly, he will seek to attack those in the flock whose walls are at their lowest. The enemy tries to intimidate the weak so that they begin to sow doubt and fear within the flock! The people began to report, “our enemies said, ‘Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.” Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us” (4:11,12). If the enemy cannot intimidate fro...
Read more

Day 10

“But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. ‘What is this you are doing?’ they asked. ‘Are you rebelling against the king?’ I answered them by saying, ‘The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.’” Nehemiah 2:19,20 When we pursue our God-given vision, the enemy will seek to dissuade us by sowing doubt, intimidating us, and questioning our motives. In effect the enemy seeks to draw our attention to ourselves so that as we focus on ourselves and our own limitations, we lose focus of the One with whom all things are possible. After listening to the enemy and disobeying God in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve became self-conscious and hid from God (see Genesis 3). The enemy knows that self-consciousness draws us away from God and into ourselves. His tactic is to distract us,...
Read more