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...