The Outcry of the Oppressed
Nehemiah 5
Nehemiah may have come to Jerusalem to rebuild the broken walls and fortify the gates, but that was just the first layer of restoration so desperately needed. He discovers that beneath the surface, a deep crack divides fellow Jews from one another, and their relationships are in shambles; the victims raise an outcry.
The first time crying occurs in the Bible, it comes from a murdered brother’s blood,
and the cry goes straight to the ears of God (Genesis 4:10).
When an outcry is raised against the debauchery of an entire city,
this great cry moves God to intervene in judgment (Genesis 18:20,21).
When Israel sees Pharaoh marching toward them, “they were terrified and cried out to the Lord” who hears and defends them (Exodus 14:10).
In the Law to His people, God warns not to oppress an orphan, a widow, or the poor,
because if they cried out to God about any mistreatment,
He would hear, and His wrath would burn against the oppressor (Exodus 22:21-27).
Over and over, God’s people suffer at the hands of stronger nations,
and when they cry out to Him, He saves (Judges 10:11,12).
But, brothers weren’t supposed to provoke such cries (Deuteronomy 23:19,20).
Whether it’s a city, an army, or a family member who plays the part of aggressor, God hears the outcry of the oppressed and sides with them against their oppressor.
If you’re a victim, raise an outcry.
If the cries reach your ears, how can you lighten the load like Nehemiah did? It may put you in similarly awkward positions of confrontation, it may require self-sacrifice, and it may mean doing what no former leader has done, but standing with the weak is linking arms with God.
Half-hearted, half-way
Nehemiah 3 & 4
If you’ve ever embarked on a DIY project, you know that the messiest point in the process is when you’re half-way; the old is in shambles and still very visible, and the new is such a contrast that it looks like nothing is quite right. At this point, it’s easy to question whether you should have started in the first place and to wonder if it would be best to give up before things get even worse. It’s disheartening.
When Nate and I have been in the middle of home renovations, at least one of us faces a crisis of doubt, asking, “will this really work?!”. And we expect the other one to muster up some words of encouragement to double down and keep going, even if we only half-believe in ourselves. A simple raised eyebrow at the fragile midpoint could be the straw that topples confidence and halts improvements altogether.
In Nehemiah 3, God’s people have risen to the task of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls, and in chapter 4, their dedication raises the wall to half its height (4:6). The word half is repeated 4 times in chapter 4, describing the messy middle.
Not only do the people face their own internal questions about progress on the wall (4:10), they hear external threats, mockery, and slander about it (4:2,3,8,11,12). Because of this, Nehemiah is forced to divide his man-power in half, grouping them into construction teams and protection teams (4:16,21). Even those on the construction team are half-soldiers, one hand laboring at the task and the other hand holding a weapon (4:17). Midpoint calls for multiplication, not multitasking, but circumstances won’t allow that kind of focus, and, under such conditions, it’s no wonder that they became half-hearted half-way through.
I don’t know what project God has called you to for the sake of his people, but don’t be surprised if you arrive at the half-way point, only to doubt the whole idea because you’re divided in all directions. The Enemy will hurl the same five insults at us that he threw in the face of Israel all those years ago (4:2):
Who are YOU to do this? You’re ill-equipped.
You think God can help you? You’re all alone.
Is your goal really achievable? You’re dreaming.
How long will this take? You’ll never finish.
Don’t you see how bad things are? You don’t have the resources.
Even if all that you have is halved, “the Lord is great and awesome” (4:14). He frustrates the Enemy’s plans and fights for His own (4:15,20), doubling down when we’re forced to divide.
It could be Today
Nehemiah 2
When we were newly married and fresh out of college, Nate accepted a job as a pastoral intern. Apparently we didn’t hide our age or naïveté very well, because the pastor looked at the two of us and said kindly, "Being in ministry is the ministry of preparation.”
I’m not sure how many times over the past two decades that phrase has been both motivating and consoling to me. It’s motivating, because it begs the question, “What ministry are you preparing for right now?”, and it’s consoling, because when there is no tangible position, title, or opportunity that I can see, God is preparing me. Often, my own act of preparing and God’s act of preparing me, coincide.
Without preparation, there is - at best - less to contribute.
With preparation, there is - at best - a life to contribute.
Chapter 1 of Nehemiah closed with his expectant prayer, “Give success to your servant today…”
I wonder if Nehemiah prayed that prayer every day during the four months that passed between the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2. How many days did he wake up thinking, “it could be today that God gives me success”? And 120 days went by.
No doubt, expectation was building, and as it did, preparations for rebuilding took shape. This was Nehemiah’s ministry of preparation: untold hours calculating supplies, manpower, and legalities; late nights, distracted daydreaming, and the risk of being misunderstood when it all started to show.
Since it could be today, let’s embrace the ministry of preparation like Nehemiah did:
Pray to God
Plan the details
Present the idea
Discerning a Calling
Maybe you’re familiar with the concept that whatever breaks your heart could be the difficulty, situation, or topic where the world needs your voice and presence the most. It’s the idea that when you find yourself deeply grieved by a situation, and you hear yourself saying, “It shouldn’t be like this”, God might be calling you to change things.
I see this process at work in the life of the Old Testament prophet, Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was exiled a thousand miles from his Jewish homeland, serving a Persian king. If you’ve ever lived far from your native country, your hometown, or your family, you know that distance stirs up questions about the people and places you love. These questions range from curiosity to concern, random to persistent.
Question marks are heavy. Not knowing what’s going on, not having an answer, and not hearing a word, are burdens hard to bear. Whether questions linger about physical, spiritual, or emotional matters, they feel like carrying around a backpack of bricks or walking under storm clouds, thick with rain.
For Nehemiah, the only way news traveled was by foot - a reality we can barely imagine today - so when a band of brothers arrived in Susa from Jerusalem, he went straight to them for updates about escapees, survivors, and the capital city.
What they shared only weighed Nehemiah down further, as they unloaded on him all the trouble, shame, brokenness, and destruction in Jerusalem. But how Nehemiah responded to the news, can serve as a template for us; when our hearts cry out, “It shouldn't be like this”, Nehemiah shows us what to do about it:
He sat down
He wept
He mourned for days
He fasted
He prayed
If you’re bearing a burden of “it shouldn’t be like this,” follow Nehemiah’s five-fold response, found in chapter 1, and see how God might actually open doors to a calling on your life.
For more on fasting, check out this article.
A body, a kingdom, a family, and a building
Body
Kingdom
Family
Building
What do these share in common?
Each one is composed of smaller units, coming together to make the whole, and through Christ, you’re invited into every one of them. His body. His kingdom. His family. His building.
At different seasons in our lives, we might resonate with the invitation to identify with one of these more than the others, or we might feel inadequate about involvement in one more than the others. I want to fully embrace what God has for me, but often, I need encouragement to respond with a yes in all four of these areas. Here’s mine to you:
His body. You’re an essential body part in Christ’s activity on earth. Christ lives through you, and often, your best contribution to His whole body is something you shrug off as “no big deal”.
His Kingdom. You share royal citizenship in His everlasting kingdom. If you feel out of place living out his culture here, let that be a signal that you truly belong somewhere else.
His family. You are loved as His favored child. Your Father delights in you like the finalizing of a long-awaited adoption.
His building. You were intentionally created to fit into the design and structure of his building. Your life was shaped from the very beginning for a specific place in God’s bigger construction project.
May King David’s wonder at God’s desire to include us, be ours today:
“But who am I and what are my people that we should be able to offer willingly? For all things come from You and of Your own hand have we given you. For we are strangers before You and sojourners as all our fathers were. Our days on earth are like a shadow and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building You a house for Your holy name comes from Your hand and is all Your own.”
1 Chronicles 29:14-16