Nehemiah 1-2

“If it pleases the king ... let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it” (2:5). Like Ezra and Esther, Nehemiah was a Jewish exile who had risen to prominence in Persia. He grieved to hear that Jerusalem’s walls were still in ruins (1:3), and God had placed him in a position to do something. With the king’s approval, he left his position, safety, and good life to go help God’s people rebuild.

“Lord, the God of heaven ... who keeps his covenant of love” (1:4). The God who keeps his covenant of love calls us to offer ourselves, whatever he has given us, to be part of his reconciling, restoring work.