Restore

This is part 2 out of 3 in a devotional series based on the book of Nehemiah, written for New Horizon Church Camp 2018.

Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people. (Nehemiah 5:19)

Works - When Nehemiah discovered that the governors had been taxing the people unjustly, he immediately put things right and restored justice. In addition, he served food to over a hundred people each day at his own expense. Similarly, God desires us to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). There are many injustices in the world today and we have a mission to restore justice in the places that He sends us to.

Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. (Nehemiah 7:1-2)

Worship - The first thing Nehemiah did once the wall had been completed was to install the priests and musicians in order to restore the worship of God. We were created to worship and serve the Lord with our whole lives, hence we need to restore a heart of worship expressed through everything we say and do.

So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. (Nehemiah 8:2-3)

Word - The next major step taken was to restore the reading of the scriptures before all the people. The people started crying (Nehemiah 8:9) when they realised how they had neglected God’s Word. It is not enough just to hear about God from others, we have to read and study God’s Word diligently in order to know and experience Him ourselves.

Questions for reflection / discussion:

1. What are some of the injustices that you see around you? What could you do to make things right and restore justice?
2. Apart from singing songs of worship, how else could you worship God in your daily life?
3. Do you have a regular Bible reading plan? If not, how could you make the reading and study of the Bible a staple of your routine?