Work with God

The back half of this series has been focused on Nehemiah and the Israelites who have returned from captivity to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which they did.  Then they returned “home.”

So my God gave me the idea to call together all the nobles and leaders of the city, along with the ordinary citizens, for registration. I had found the genealogical record of those who had first returned to Judah. This is what was written there...a total of 42,360 people returned to Judah. (Nehemiah 7:5, 66a NLT)

They were accused of rebuilding the wall because they wanted to rebel against the current occupation and king.  That wasn’t their motivation at all, though.  They simply wanted to walk together with God in the way that God had commanded in the Law.  They couldn’t do that without the Temple.  They couldn’t do that without the Levites and priests.  They could do it in safety with the wall.

In October, when the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had given for Israel to obey. So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law. (Neh. 7:73b-8:3 NLT)

Much of the Bible makes no sense unless we understand this principle.  The people of God want, more than anything else, to be with God.  They want to walk with God.  When there’s work to do, they want to work with God.  When heaven is described to us, it begins with these people getting what they want: being in the presence of God.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them.” (Revelation 21:1-3 NLT)

How about you?  Do you want to be in the presence of God?  Do you want to walk with God?  Do you want to work with God?  Do you look forward to someday seeing, face to face, God?