Guidelines For Living

Guest (Male): Take a break from your busy schedule and join Harold Sala for Guidelines for Living.

Harold Sala: Have you ever wondered to do something yet you were faced with all kinds of obstacles? If you answered yes, then you can relate to one of the greatest of all Old Testament characters, a man by the name of Nehemiah.

But to understand the difficulties confronting him, we need to go back in history to the 5th and 6th centuries before Christ. In the 1990s, the world's attention was focused on Iraq and Saddam Hussein. In the 6th century before Christ, the world's attention was focused on the same country, then known as Babylon, and its leader, Nebuchadnezzar, whom was Saddam Hussein's great hero.

Who says history doesn't repeat itself? Both Nebuchadnezzar and Hussein considered the same race of people to be their enemy: Israel. Nebuchadnezzar, though, was a lot more successful than his 20th-century mimic in dealing them a severe blow. You see, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem and it eventually fell. In 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar took the spoils of the city, including many of the finest of the young men, back to Babylon, and they served as slaves and conscripted government scribes and officials.

But what Saddam Hussein never learned is that nations rise and fall. A few years later in 538 BC, Babylon was overthrown by the Medes and the Persians, and the Persian king whose name was Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city. You read about this in the first six chapters of the Old Testament book of Ezra. In 536 BC, work started on the Temple which had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Then the work was stopped before the Temple was completed.

In 520 BC, the work was completed. Now, the Temple was a far cry from the majestic beauty of the Temple built under Solomon. A few years later in 480 BC, the balance of power shifted again. The Persian fleet was defeated by the Greeks in the battle on the Aegean Sea. What a sight that must have been, with the ships maneuvering in battle and the hand-to-hand combat which eventually left the Persians defeated and ushered in the glory of ancient Greece.

But Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, went home to nurse his wounds, and about that time, Esther became the queen. Now enters a man by the name of Nehemiah, one of the greatest of all times. Nehemiah, of course, was Jewish, probably born in Babylon or Persia to descendants of those who trekked across the deserted wastelands in chains from Jerusalem.

As cupbearer to the king, Nehemiah was in a strong position to do something for his brothers back in Jerusalem. In identifying with them though, he risked everything he had. But he did it. At the right moment, he laid his concern before the king, and King Artaxerxes gave him letters of authority that allowed him to go back and to begin rebuilding the wall of the great city.

Now possibly you're thinking, what does the life of a man who lived so long ago have anything to do with my generation or my life? Well, 2,600 years have come and gone, things haven't changed that much. Mediocrity is still clothed in comfort and gain hemmed in with risk.

Had Nehemiah played it safe, he could have said, "Hey, this isn't my fight." But in recognizing he was in a position to do something about a great need, he turned his back on comfort and he became a great tool, a hero God used. Furthermore, he anchored his place in history. May God give us more men and women who will turn their backs on the easy life to walk the hard path and accomplish something lasting.

Guest (Male): You've just heard Guidelines for Living. For more practical and inspirational messages, visit guidelines.org. If you find our devotionals helpful and would like to share them with others, consider supporting our ministry with a donation. Again, that's guidelines.org. Thanks for listening to Guidelines for Living.