Commitment and Consecration
Building a lasting foundation.
Hi friends! Welcome to the fourth and final post in the series, ‘From Ruins to Restoration’. I hope Jesus is guiding you and filling your hearts with love every day. I am rounding off this series with the ‘Commitment and Consecration’.
As we now know, Jerusalem was a derelict city that was resurrected back into the home of God’s people. Following Ezra and Nehemiah’s leadership, the people were stirred to pack up their belongings in Egypt and return home to the place their Father meant for them. In 3 remnants, young, old, men, women and children willingly returned to their rightful home; for most of them, this was a home that they had no recollection of. A foreign land.
Repopulating Jerusalem: Sacrifice for the Mission
Chapter 11 is one of those chapters where you start reading to find that it’s just a list of names. I’m not the first one to say that it doesn’t make for an exciting read, but it does an important job.
Real history
Real people
Real events
It’s these lists that give the Bible credibility.
There were 3 groups of people that we can identify in verses 1-2.
“Now the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities. ² And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.” - Nehemiah 11:1-1 (NKJV)
We quickly understood they needed a strong community of believers to dwell in Jerusalem to make it a capital. To solidify national identity and a strong foundation. The attitude towards the people who voluntarily moved is something to note. Blessed. Potentially a great sacrifice, uprooting their home and life to somewhere foreign, but they were blessed. Dedication often means personal sacrifice and stepping out of comfort for the sake of God’s kingdom.
Are we willing to go where we’re needed, not just where we’re comfortable?
Dedicating the Walls: Joyful Worship and Communal Praise
The wall was so much more than a wall. More than bricks and mortar, the wall was an outward sign.
A sign of:
Healing
God’s favour
God’s faithfulness
Dedicated with music, processions, and great joy, the people celebrated God’s provisions. In chapter 12, the Israelites commit to this deeply spiritual and communal act, creating a firm reminder that we are called for joy, for celebration. As we celebrate God’s faithfulness, our trust in His ongoing faithfulness is fuelled.
Worshipping is a brilliant response to Christ’s goodness.
When we accept Christ, we become ONE in Christ. Equal in every way, no matter your background. Just like the building of the wall, everyone fulfilled their specific tasks in the praise walk as well.
NO competition
NO ego
NO jealousy
NO aggression
Different jobs, same goal, one God.
“⁵ Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Romans 15:5-6 (NKJV)
Reading this passage, I am reminded that many people still struggle during festive times. Whenever we celebrate, there are a tragic number of people suffering.
We must remember those people amid joyful times.
Just like we remember Christ dying on the cross at Easter, our brothers and sisters and those yet to find Christ deserve our prayers. Our thoughts and pleads for healing should be overflowing as Christ’s love overflows for us.
Anchored in Gratitude
In joy-filled worship, we become anchored in revival of gratitude and shared purpose. The gratitude that we see from the Israelites comes from their praise walk. The detail we read in this section is astounding, and to my earlier point, credibility to the history the Bible provides us with. Led by the spiritual leaders and accompanied by choirs…
…they walked upon the wall giving thanks to the Lord.
The wall they built with their own hands, they now serenade for God’s glory.
What stands out to me is their need to be purified. In their gratitude, the desire to be made clean was not only for necessity, but for a burning desire to thank God with all they have.
“Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.” - Nehemiah 12:30 (NKJV)
When we truly love Jesus with all our hearts, the once ‘necessary’ things we may have struggled with start to become easy through our desire to be His faithful disciples.
Although we are redeemed through Jesus’ blood, we are not exempt from the act of sinning, so it is crucial that we always come back to our Heavenly Father in confession. As 1 John 1:9 says…
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The gratitude that pours out from the praise walk is the same gratitude that we should nurture in ourselves every day. We should testify to God’s goodness by extending mercy and grace to others and living in dedicated joy and thanksgiving to our Creator.
Joy is contagious.
Confronting Compromise: Nehemiah’s Final Reforms
Despite earlier revival and gratitude, in chapter 13, people slipped back into compromise.
Breaking the Sabbath
Intermarriage
Temple neglect
It’s hard to believe, after all they have endured and being so blessed by God, that this could happen… although are we any better today? A thought to mull over.
One of the most tangible ways we know that God loves us is through our free will. Only the most loving God would let us make our own decisions. You know that saying ‘If you love me, let me go’?
God loves us so much that He will never force us into anything.
HOWEVER, that means that the people who choose Jesus will have to protect themselves from those who mean harm. That can involve taking bold actions, confrontations and re-establishing holiness.
There is roughly 13 years between chapters 1 and 13. Nehemiah, a man of integrity, goes back to King Artaxerxes of Babylon, leaving a thriving new community obeying God's law. On his return to Jerusalem, he learns that High Priest Eliashib had provided Tobiah a room in the courts on the house of God.
Let’s refresh our memories…
"Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.” - Nehemiah 4:3 (NKJV)
“⁷ Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, ⁸ and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.” - Nehemiah 4:7-8 (NKJV)
In further regression, the Sabbath was broken. It is important to note that the Sabbath is ALWAYS relevant. We should not be so consumed with work that we forget God. Man was not made to slave every day.
Nehemiah took action…
Throwing out Tobiah and his belongings
Purifying the rooms
Closing the gates
Posting guards to keep watch
Nehemiah had authority, and he used it to glorify God. This is the only right way to use your God-given authority. If we ask God to remember us, we should be serving faithfully.
Nehemiah felt anger. Righteous anger.
In the face of a broken covenant, he was bold for God.
In sincere prayer, he pleaded with God to remember his good works.
In confrontation, he did not let sin slide, taking action to restore Jerusalem.
We are reminded of what Jesus did in the Temple when He saw the house of His Father being turned into a ‘den of robbers’.
Revival requires vigilance and continual reform.
What compromises need to be addressed in our lives or communities today?
Revival is Sustained by Ongoing Commitment
Not a one-time decision but a daily dedication to God’s ways.
Nehemiah ends not with celebration, but with resolve—because true transformation is a process.
Lasting change comes through continual dedication.
Choose daily faithfulness, even when the initial excitement fades.
In comparison to King Solomon…
“Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women.” - Nehemiah 13:26 (NKJV)
…we are struck with the thought - ‘if he couldn’t keep true, how can we?’
We shouldn’t view the Bible as ‘What does it mean for me?’
The truth remains the same for everyone for all time.
TRUTH IS TRUTH.
So, the question is…
Will you commit to lasting change?
Thanks for reading through this series with me. I hope it has blessed you in some way. I’m going to be taking a few weeks off from the series posts, but I’ll still be writing on Mondays with ‘Around the Coffee Table’ and Fridays with devotionals and poetry. See you all soon! God bless,
