Nehemiah Build di Walls Again

Moonlight on top broken stones. One man dey ride slowly round one city wall wey don scatter, with only few people wey follow am. E no tell anybody wetin e dey do. Every few yards e go stop, look di rubble, and make plan.

Some years after di first people return from exile and build di temple again, one Jewish man wey im name na Nehemiah dey work for di Persian palace for Susa. Im work na cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. Na im dey serve di king wine, and dat one mean say di king trust am with im life. One day im brother Hanani come from Judah with news. Di people for house dey for big trouble. Di wall of Jerusalem don break down, and dem don burn im gates. When Nehemiah hear dis one, e sit down and cry.

For many days Nehemiah mourn, fast and pray. E confess di sins of im people, including im own, and e remind God of im promise to gather dem back. Months after, as e dey serve di king wine, di king notice. Why your face dey sad like dis? You no dey sick. Na sorrow of heart be dis. Fear catch Nehemiah well well. Servants no suppose look sad for di king front. But e answer with truth. How I no go dey sad, when di city of my fathers don turn ruin? Wetin you want? di king ask. And then, di Bible talk, Nehemiah pray to di God of heaven, right there, for one moment. Then e ask. Send me make I go build am again.

Di king talk yes. E give Nehemiah letters for di governors wey dey for di road, and one letter for di man wey dey keep di king forest, for timber. When Nehemiah reach Jerusalem, e wait for three days. Then e ride comot for night to inspect di walls. For one place, di rubble bad reach say im animal no fit pass. After, e gather di leaders. Una see di trouble wey we dey inside. Come, make we build di wall again. E tell dem how God hand don dey on top am, and wetin di king talk. And dem answer, make we rise up and build.

No be everybody happy. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem, big men for di area, laugh dem. Wetin dese weak Jews dey do? Tobiah joke say if fox climb dem wall, e go knock am down. Nehemiah pray, and di people continue to build, family by family, each group dey work on one part, plenty of dem near dem own house. Soon di wall reach half im height, because di people get mind to work. Then dem enemies plan to attack. So Nehemiah put guards. Half of di men dey work while half stand ready with spears. Di builders dey work with sword for dem side. One man wey dey blow trumpet stay near Nehemiah. If una hear di trumpet, e talk, run go dat place. Our God go fight for us.

Trouble still dey inside too. Some rich Jews dey collect interest from dem poor neighbours and dey take dem farms. Vex catch Nehemiah, and e make dem stop and return wetin dem don take. Then im enemies try tricks. Come meet us for di plain of Ono, dem talk, four times. Nehemiah answer every time. I dey do one big work, and I no fit come down. Dem spread rumour. Dem try to frighten am make e go hide inside di temple. E refuse. And for di twenty-fifth day of di month Elul, di wall finish. Fifty-two days. Even di enemies see am, di Bible talk, and dem know say na God do dis work.

Sanballat, wey dey oppose Nehemiah, na real official wey get power. One letter for papyrus, wey di Jewish community for Elephantine write around four hundred and seven years before Christ, mention di sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria. Elephantine na one island for di River Nile for southern Egypt. So outside di Bible too, we meet di family of di man wey laugh di builders of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah Build di Walls Again. You go find am for di book of Nehemiah, chapter one reach six. Nehemiah cry, then e pray, then e plan, then e work, and e continue to pray for di whole way. When people laugh and threaten, e no come down from di wall. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Which good work God don give you, wey you need to continue and no come down from?