Nehemiah 5-7  Nehemiah was appointed governor of Judah where he served for 12 years.  He faced many struggles, but he remained faithful to the Lord.  God granted him much wisdom and strength through these years.  As Nehemiah continued to face opposition from outside the city, he also faced problems inside too. 

In chapter 5 Nehemiah faces the outcry of the poor Jewish people. They were facing a famine and it brought them to the point that they had to sell their land.. which was their livelihood.. and also their sons and daughters.  Their own people were taking advantage of them.  When this was brought to Nehemiah's attention he became very angry.  He held the rich men accountable and when they were confronted with this sin, they agreed and gave back what they had taken. 

Nehemiah was careful to live by example.. he refused to indulge in the money that was rightfully his because of his office as governor.  Instead, he provided for others in every way he could and he trusted God for everything else. 

Nehemiah was continually threatened by 3 men.. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem.

 Sanballat was the governor of Samaria.  His position of power would be threatened by the restoration of Jerusalem. His opposition to Nehemiah was political.  He was probably  Jewish.. as his daughter was married to the grandson of the high priest. Over and over again Sanballat sent letters to Nehemiah to try to trap him and to threaten him.  He even hired "insiders" to try to make Nehemiah afraid enough to hide in the temple... something Nehemiah refused to do.    

Tobiah was called an Ammonite, but may also have been Jewish. He had a position of authority that was also at risk because of Nehemiah's work in the restoration of Jerusalem.  

Geshem was an Arab.  He was a vassal of Persia who had  a lot of personal power with many tribes in the Syrian desert.  He had a lot to lose also if Jerusalem became the center of power once again.  

These three would do everything they could to stop the rebuilding of the wall.. but Nehemiah did not waver. In 52 days the wall was completed...   "And it came about when all our enemies heard of it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God." 

We can learn a lot from Nehemiah. He trusted the Lord. He was given godly wisdom and discernment. He persevered. And he did not allow the things of the world to distract him from the ways of the Lord. He learned to trust men who were faithful to the Lord and to recognize those who did not. Nehemiah listened to the voice of God. Several times he refers to what God put "in his mind" or  "in his heart" to do. This seemed to be his every day practice..  may it become ours too. 

Father in heaven, thank You for giving us Your Word, filled with examples of people like Nehemiah who walked by faith and served You with all their heart.  Help us to follow these examples.  Thank You for showing us examples of those who failed to live for You.. that we might recognize those that are in our times.. and that we might be discerning.  May we be blessed to "not walk in the counsel of the wicked.."  May we be "like a tree firmly planted by streams of water.." as we delight in Your Word and are filled with Living water, Your Holy Spirit, who flows freely from our hearts.  Keep us close to Your heart today, that we might hear Your voice and obey... we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.