DCLM Daily Manna 2024: DCLM Daily Manna 25 September 2024: Field Survey Before Work
Text: Nehemiah 2:9-18 (KJV)
9 Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well*, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
KEY VERSE: Nehemiah 2:13
“And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.”
More than 1,200 years separate the periods of the ministries of Joseph, the son of Jacob, and Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah. Yet, the Holy Spirit, not bound by time and territory, repeatedly revealed precious wisdom to succeeding generations as they faced critical moments of decision-making. When Joseph was given a national assignment to save Egypt, he first did a country-wide survey. Many years later, as Nehemiah got set to rebuild Jerusalem, he depended on the Lord’s guidance to first scan the environment before embarking on the work.
No matter the enormity of work envisaged by Nehemiah in Jerusalem and regardless of the preparations he had made before his trip to Israel, he still must match them to a first-hand knowledge of the terrain. The Lord directed him to go alone through the city, getting information about the extent of damage and destruction done to the walls of the city. Such scrutiny would help to draw an effective plan of action.
The Lord’s strategy for Nehemiah worked because he and his group of faithful Jews eventually rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, despite the hostilities mounted against them. When we are enlisted for any service, we must never overestimate our skills, education and resources against the counsel of God. We must still ask the Lord to show us the way.
Sadly, today, many people rush into the day without spending quality time with God and His word. All believers must emulate Nehemiah who, in spite of his connection to the palace in Shushan and the great royal provisions he got for the work in Jerusalem, still humbled himself to ask for divine guidance before starting his project.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The most brilliant ideas are doomed to fly low without God.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Hebrews 10-13
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Daily Manna 25 September 2024
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