For anyone who has found themselves despairing over life; I implore you to look at a nation who experienced great highs and ultimate lows as they learned to follow a God who loved them. The people of Israel were consistent in their inconsistent devotion to God. When life became easy they would stay from God only to remember him in the midst of despair. God was compassionate to the cries of his beloved, “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Isaiah 60:15,16

Can you see the brilliance that is contained in the words of God? Hope is not dependent upon our ability or the luck we have. We cannot rely on anything but God for our hope. ”Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.” Isaiah 60:20  Hope built on anything other than God is truly not hope. We cannot presume to believe that we can attain hope apart from God. ”The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it.” Isaiah 60:22  We are made whole and complete in God and there is no want or desire when we are in God because He is our everything.

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.” Isaiah 61:10,11  Some two thousand years ago God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, Our Hope, came to earth to pay the complete penalty for our sin and restore our fellowship with God. God lavishly bestowed grace upon us so that we could live. We are a part of His great story and plan to restore creation. Will you join in this great adventure? Will you trust in the death of Jesus Christ? Will you depend on a dependable God?

The world will do everything to prove to you that God is impotent and incapable of helping you. The idols of the world proclaim that they are wholly enough to meet your every need and desire. Do you listen to this chorus of voice that vies for you soul? The lies that are thrown at you will be tailored to attack your inadequacies in the moment you are most vulnerable. You are unloved. You are worthless. You have not hope. If you only trust in yourself enough then you will succeed. The lies continue to build against you. What do you do? The choice is simply to stand and fight of  give in to the lies.

How are you able to fight? Will you turn to the true source of help and hope? ”O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD.” Isaiah 37:16-20 We must always turn to trust and rely on God to bring us through every circumstance we face whether it is an army seeking to destroy us or the equally powerful sense of inadequacy you may feel within your heart. God is the wellspring of hope and healing that our souls crave. We must remember that God who wove us together knows us fully and He helps us. Will you trust in God’s sufficiency? Let God fight the battle of life for you. Fix your eyes on Him alone.

The blessing of God was removed from the people of Israel. When the people faced an insurmountable foe they chose to run to their prowess and luck instead of trusting in God. “He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago. In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’” Isaiah 22:8-13

Isaiah 22 continues to tell of the events that were set in motion because of the peoples unfaithfulness to God. “The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: ‘Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,’ says the Lord GOD of hosts.” Isaiah 22:14 The disobedience of the people caused God’s anger to be kindled and the leaders of the city were cast down. “In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 22:25 Is there a lesson that we can apply to our lives today from this story of God’s anger being kindled? The lesson of Isaiah 22 is one of great hope to all mankind. The will of God cannot be stopped or thwarted by the schemings of man. We cannot change the will of God. What He purposes to accomplish will be brought to completion. The journey of faith we travel on will be completed by God because He is always faithful. The doubt and fear can have no hold on us because it is God who has set this journey of life in motion. Rest in the unstoppable will of God.

For everyone who has received God’s salvation through Jesus Christ this time of coming judgement will be a moment of fulfilled hope and expectation. We are no longer under the weight of judgement because Jesus Christ has born all of our iniquity. We can shout joyfully and sing praises to God because of His wondrous salvation. Those who have not received Jesus Christ as their savior will be overwhelmed with dread at the thought of God’s judgement. In futility they try with all their might to find a means of salvation apart from God. The pursuit of idols can never quench the innate desire we have for fellowship with God. Only the atoning blood of Jesus Christ will be able to make the sinner whole and clean before God. Are you able to sing of the wonderful salvation of God? Has the fear of judgement lost it’s sting?

We are reminded by Moses in Psalm 90 to not fix our minds upon the things of this world but to set our eyes upon our eternal home with God. Only when we set our hearts resolutely upon following God will we have lasting purpose in our short lives. ”Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17  When we have the ability to know that the works of our hands are what God would have us do we gain all the motivation to work with excellence and to press on for a lifetime.

Why does hope arise by trusting God? In Psalm 56 David is expressing his trust in God despite of the fear that is pressing against him. David knew that God was aware of all that was happening in his life, “You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears on your bottle. Are they not in Your book?” Psalm 56:8  Knowing that God is aware of our struggles helps us overcome and endure because of His faithfulness. Will you place your trust in God’s faithfulness?

In Job 41 God proclaims how great he is compared to the things of the world that we deem mighty and powerful. God is the almighty creator and we cannot presume to understand Him. Job had so much head knowledge that he had obtained throughout his life but the moment when he truly saw God all he knew became foolishness. “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5,6  When we see God we are transformed and the things we held in high regard fade away in light of His greatness.

When we go through difficult moments of life will there be a future beyond the circumstances we dwell in? We cannot know what the future will bring. We can look to Job 42 and see that God restored Job but will that happen in our circumstances? There is no guarantee what will happen as we push through the calamities we face but we can know that God is in control and working. When we behold God all that we gain and lose in life will mean nothing compared to knowing Him.

To start the picture of these people who were rebuilding the wall you need to know that this remnant of Israel was facing persecution from the inhabitants surrounding Jerusalem. In Nehemiah chapter 4 we find that Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites were all angry because the Israelites were seeking to rebuild the wall. Insults and ridicule were hurled at the people working to rebuild the wall. How would you feel if you, having escaped captivity, returned home to a razed city and persecution looming for anyone who sought to improve the welfare of the Israelites? This would have left a prevailing sense of fear within the workers as they were exposed working on rebuilding the wall.

Nehemiah chapter 3 gives the account of the people who worked on the rebuilding the wall and the actual spots they rebuilt. There are many people listed who took up the responsibility of rebuilding the wall. Many people looked at the wall across from their home as the point where they started to rebuild. A group of men that I found inspiring were Mermoth, Hananiah, Hanun, Meshullam, Malchijah, the Tekoites and the priests because these people all repaired multiple sections of the wall. What motivated these people to take up greater responsibility? The fact these men took up more work after they finished a segment presents the picture that the rebuilding of the wall was ongoing in some areas while others waited for work to be accomplished. Did the people within Jerusalem feel any security inside the city?

As work progressed on the wall of Jerusalem the persecution from Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites did not cease. In fact these people who sought the ruin of the Israelites were plotting to attack and kill them. Did this fear of attack cause the workers along the wall to become befuddled? Nehemiah acknowledge the fear of the people and reminded them that it was God who truly fought the battles. “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and houses.” Nehemiah 4:14 This call by Nehemiah was for leaders to rise up and defend the people of Jerusalem while it was weak and in danger as they clung to God for their deliverance. There would be no hope for Jerusalem if leaders would not rise up and defend the city from attack.

Work rebuilding the wall continued despite the threat of attack but everyone was not waiting for an attack to take up arms. There was an urgency for the people to come together as one and defend themselves. “At whatever place you heart the sound of the trumpet, rally to use there. Our God will fight for us.” Nehemiah 4:20 The people were holding fast to God as they took up the defense of Jerusalem.

How does this story of a wall being rebuilt thousands of years ago apply to us today? Why should I care about these men who toiled to defend a ruined city? Is there a lesson found in the story of the wall being rebuilt for leaders today? We need leaders to rise up within the church today who are willing to acknowledge the threats that face the church and stand ready to defend her. These shepherds need to strengthen what is already within the church and continually seek to challenge everyone to remain steadfast in their faith. People need to be ready to enter battle armed with the truth. We may not need to take up a physical sword to defend our homes but there is a spiritual battle that requires us to take up the Word of God to be prepared. What would happen if men today neglected their role of defender and leader of the church? Do men truly take up the burden of leadership today? What if men rose up to defend the church and home?

Abner is accused by Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul and king of Israel, of sleeping with a concubine of Saul’s in 2 Samuel 3. Did Abner truly sleep with the concubine? Was Ish-bosheth afraid of losing his authority as king making him not trust Abner? Was it so easy for Ish-bosheth to forget that it was Abner who established him as king over Israel after Saul’s death? Why did Abner seek to establish Ish-bosheth as king? What motivated thes men? Why do people so quickly turn upon the ones who truly care for them when their personal security feels threatened? After these accusations were made Abner chooses to no longer support the lineage of Saul as king and he seeks out David to make a covenant to serve him and help establish his rule as king. What motivated Abner to make peace with David? Was it spite of Ish-bosheth or a desire for renown that prompted Abner t?

In 2 Samuel 2 Abner killed Asahel, the brother of Joab and Abishai. When Joab hears that Abner has come and made peace with David he has a choice to make. Will he forgive the man who killed his brother or will he seek revenge. Joab speaks out against Abner to David in his distress attempting obtain the justice he feels he deserves. When David doesn’t give Joab the answer he wanted Joab seeks out Abner and kills him. Does any man have the right to seek resolution for a wrong on his own terms? Did the bitterness and hate Joab had for Abner overwhelm him to the point where the thought of revenge consumed him? How is it possible to express love to someone when they have hurt me? I believe that there is no conditions place on the command to love God and love our neighbors so there has to be a way to love a person who has hurt you.

After the death of Abner becomes known to Ish-bosheth he and all of Israel become discouraged and afraid. In 2 Samuel 4 Rechab and Baanah, two commanders in Israel, decide to seek renown and praise by killing Ish-bosheth. These two men choose to act on what they thought would be best for everyone by killing Ish-bosheth in his home. When these men filled with pride over what they had done reach David with the head of Ish-bosheth they were looking for a reward for their actions. It can be easy to justify our actions by thinking that they are the easiest solution at the moment but the overall outcome may not be for the best. David continually put his pride aside when he had opportunities to kill Saul because he knew that it was God alone who orchestrated the lives of men. When these men arrive seeking profit for killing Ish-bosheth David has them killed because of their evil intent.

Why are Rechab and Baanah both immediately killed for their deed but Joab is not? David leaves the fate of Joab in God’s hand saying, “May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil.” 2 Samuel 3:39b  I have no idea why there is this difference in how David reacted but I wonder if it has to do with the overall intentions of the men. In times of war how did men handle the deaths of loved ones? Would a City of Refuge have been any help to Abner? It is easy to think that the motivations of men have become tainted in greater ways since the time of David but anger, fear, pride, hate, and discontent were as active then as they are today.

What recourse is there for us today to avoid falling? When we seek humility and forgiveness before God and extend the grace we receive from God to those around us we can find the daily strength we need. If all the men of Israel and Judah were following Moses’ and Joshua’s exhortations to love God and love people would there have been these conflicts? If we are able to put aside our differences and love God more than ourselves what kind of change would happen? Change will only occur one person at a time as they seek to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone and begin the journey of faith the God has laid before them.