Inspecting Walls

Let's imagine something for a minute. Let's imagine that you and I were suddenly captured by a huge army and led as captives to a foreign land. We are held as captives in this land that we don't know, and we've never been to. Then one day we ask to go back to our homeland to inspect Washington D.C. to see how much work needs to be done to fix the destroyed capital. Our captors grant us permission and we begin the long journey back to Washington to see how to fix our capital city.

Politics aside (that's for those of you who think Washington being destroyed wouldn't be that bad), this would be a huge task. But this is exactly what Nehemiah had to go through. Nehemiah was taken into captivity by the Babylonians and led away from his native country of Judah to Babylon. However, while in Babylon God impressed on Nehemiah's heart that he should go to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall that was destroyed when the Babylonians invaded. Nehemiah, the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, found favor with the king and was granted permission to go and inspect the walls of Jerusalem. After a three day journey to Jerusalem, Nehemiah took the next night to inspect the walls of the city and see what needed to be done.

At first glance, this story doesn't seem too applicable to our lives. We don't face the threat of being invaded by a foreign country and sent off to their land. Or do we? You see, as believers we have a "wall" of God's protection around our hearts. This wall keeps our enemies out, in this case evil and sin. This wall provides protection and safety from trials and temptations. However, this wall around our heart needs to be inspected. Unlike most walls, this wall cannot be destroyed from the outside. Remember, God is protecting us, and nothing will change that. However, this wall can be destroyed from the inside. When we fall into temptations, we are slowly but surely breaking down that wall from the inside out. Over time, we eventually will break through this wall, and allow open access to whatever lurks outside in the darkness. This is why Nehemiah's story is so crucial. Nehemiah had to inspect the walls of Jerusalem for holes, cracks, and damage that would allow an enemy to attack. In the same way we need to constantly be inspecting the walls of our own hearts to make sure that we haven't damaged them. By constantly praying, reading our Bibles, seeking the fellowship of others, being around godly mentors, we can be inspecting the walls of our hearts.

Inspecting and keeping watch over the walls of our hearts is not easy. As we see in Nehemiah 4, there will be opposition to our work. Friends can make fun of you for not going to a certain party. Coworkers will think you are "too good for them" if you do not gossip as they do. Your boyfriend or girlfriend could push you to take your relationship farther than you know is right and make you feel guilty for not giving up your morals when you say no. Inspecting and guarding the wall around our heart will lead to persecution. But by keeping our walls well inspected and guarded, we will know when we are being tempted, and with Jesus' help, we will be able to withstand the attack. So just as Nehemiah faithfully executed the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, let us faithfully execute the task of inspecting and rebuilding the wall around our heart.