PROCLAMATION
“Neither I nor my brothers
nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon,
even when he went for water.” Nehemiah
4:23 (NIV)
EXPLANATION
Chapter three of The
Bible Book of Nehemiah reveals how the Israelites were assigned sections of the
wall to rebuild. (Nehemiah 3:1-32) The
priests and the people went to work rebuilding sections of the wall as they
were assigned. Some of the people were assigned to rebuild the sections of the
wall which was near their homes. (Nehemiah 3:10) Chapter four recounts the opposition they
encountered while rebuilding the wall. Their enemies said that they would sneak
up on them and kill them to stop the work on the wall. (Nehemiah 4:11) Some of the men worked while others stood by
armed with spears, shields, and bows and arrows. In some cases, men did work with one hand and
held a weapon in the other hand. (Nehemiah 4:16-18) They kept their weapons with them at all
times and slept fully clothed. (Nehemiah 4:23)
APPLICATION
There is an old
saying, “Stay ready so you won’t have to get ready.” Preparation beforehand is always better than
waiting until the last minute to get ready. In this case they stayed ready for battle. Today, however, we need to be ready for and
stay ready for the coming of The Lord. The Bible says, “… be ye also ready …”
because we know not the hour or the day when The Son of Man will come. (Matthew
24:44 and Luke 12:40) We need to humble
ourselves, pray for forgiveness, and turn from our sinful ways before Christ
returns. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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