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Focused: Rebuilding the Wall
Nehemiah 4
When reading Ezra and Nehemiah (and associated prophetic books: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi) it is easy to miss the chronological markers that separate the main events. Here is a brief chronology with approximate dates:
- 538 B.C. First exiles leave Babylon-Persia and return to Judah.
- 536 B.C. Zerubbabel begins construction of the second temple.
- 516 B.C. Second temple completed. •458 B.C. Ezra the priest leaves Babylon-Persia for Jerusalem
- 445 B.C. Nehemiah (in Babylon) receives word about the condition of Jerusalem and requests permission to leave and repair the city walls and gates. He rebuilds the wall and gates of Jerusalem.
- 432 B.C. Nehemiah returns to Babylon-Persia (later returning to Jerusalem)
Nehemiah was an official in the court of Artaxerxes, the Persian king. When he received word from Judah that, in spite of the temple having been rebuilt, the wall and gates of the city were in ruins, he was beside himself with grief. He poured out his heart to God asking for favor from the king (Nehemiah 1:4-11). Nehemiah wanted to return and rebuild Jerusalem's defenses.
Nothing was more important to a city in the ancient Near East than its walls and gates. A city without a wall was vulnerable to being overrun by enemies (Proverbs 25:28). It had been more than 70 years since the second temple was completed yet the wall and gates were still not repaired. (It appears efforts had been made when the temple was being rebuilt, but had been thwarted: Ezra 4:7-23).
King Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah permission to return and rebuild the wall. Nehemiah was nothing if not focused on the task. Within three days of his arrival in Jerusalem he did a thorough inspection of the walls (Nehemiah 2:11-16). He then rallied the people and, in the face of constant opposition from opponents, rebuilt the wall in 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15)—a feat that put fear into the hearts of his opponents (Nehemiah 6:16).
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