mini-study of nehemiah as parable

jerusalem was re-built, but the walls were "broken down" and the "gates were burned"... sometimes, a marriage is saved, but the relationship is broken down, in ruins, and burnt...

i see the first six chapters of nehemiah (a book supposedly too dull to read) as a parable of a modern marriage on the rocks...

nehemiah was not a prophet; he did not hear God's voice directly, but "heard" God through His Word (as we do today)...nehemiah was emotionally crushed when he learned that jerusalem's walls and gates remained unrepaired even after the temple had been rebuilt by zerubbabel as reported by ezra...

so the temple or the marriage may be rebuilt or saved, but its "walls" and "gates" may remain in disarray and in a state of destruction...

nehemiah wept, fasted, prayed... asking God to open His ears and open His eyes to hear; he confessed his sins and the sins of the people, and reminded God to keep His covenant with those who love and obey Him...

just as nehemiah did, i believe persons today in the midst of marital turmoil must weep, fast, pray, confess sins, remind God of His covenant; then plan and work... within the gathering of christians called the Church...

nehemiah, once he received permission from his boss; he was the king's chief aide or cupbearer, went to jerusalem and walked around within it, inspecting it in the dark for three days...

in this parable, perhaps the three days of dark inspection are those days that the husband and wife inspect the damage, assess the situation... keep the rubble around the marriage quietly in their hearts...

afterwards, however, with a clear plan nehemiah openly tells the people that he intends to re-build the walls and gates. for nehemiah, it is not enough to have the temple back up; he wants the whole; he wants the walls and gates restored...

he tells the people; and they rally to him, each person building his part of the city wall...

a marriage is two people joined together by God, but they are also a couple among couples within the gathering of people who follow the Lord...

today, a marriage that has had its "temple" destroyed is not usually re-built at all; and when it is, it is most certainly the work of the Holy Spirit... but, the individuals within that re-built marriage may still find that its "walls" and "gates" are broken down and burnt in a manner so complete that it appears impossible to repair...

nehemiah faced extraordinary and constant opposition to his efforts to rebuild the walls of the city! he even armed the people, asking them to carry a spear or staff in one hand while building with the other!

a marriage with a recently re-built "temple" that is in the long process of having its "walls" and "gates" restored will be under attack; and the individual husband and wife must bind themselves to a body of christians who will weep, pray, fast, confess, and remind God of His covenant...