Nehemiah is a book found in the Old Testament that focuses on the lives of a group of people who traveled back to Jerusalem from the Jewish communities exiled in Babylon and Persia. Their ancestors had been forcibly removed from the land of Judah and forced into a new land where many were placed into work camps. The characters in the book of Nehemiah undertook the important task of repopulating the Promised Land and cleaning it up so they could return to their old way of life and worship God in the temple.

Throughout the book, we see these Jews really giving it their all to return the land back to its former glory. The lands of Israel and Judah at one point were places of bustling commerce—these were cultural and religious epicenters for the people of Yahweh. The Jewish people coming out of exile were proud of the people they once were, and they wanted to honor God by rebuilding the country.

Returning to “normal” was difficult. While the walls of Jerusalem were re-erected, the temple was pieced back together and the fields were farmed once again, the country was never physically the same as it once had been. 

The people also tried to recapture how their ancestors once worshiped. They prioritized looking to their faithful predecessors and tried to emulate the way they followed God. Throughout the book of Nehemiah, we see the people returning to and considering the covenants between Israel and God. They also root themselves in the story of the Exodus which is the foundation of the Jewish faith. By calling upon their faith heritage and aligning themselves to a larger tradition, they honor their ancestors’ faithfulness and claim the story as their own for a new generation.

However, no matter how faithfully they rebuilt, tilled and planned, the country was never going to look the same. It was never going to reclaim its former glory, because that was all in the past and they had to create a new present and future.  

Something about this story in the book of Nehemiah gives us permission to respectfully let go of aspects of the past and move forward into something new. The Jews coming back from exile honored where they came from, but realized they were going to have to make some strategic and practical shifts in order for them to succeed as a country and as a people of God.  

Individually and collectively, we need to intentionally examine ourselves and our churches for the things from our past that deserve honor, but that should be—respectfully—left behind. Individually and collectively, we need to examine our society and way of life to see what no longer is effective.  Perpetuating the past for the sake of perpetuating the past doesn’t honor God or those who came before us.

• August 1: Nehemiah 1
• August 2: Nehemiah 2:1-10
• August 3: Nehemiah 2:11-20
• August 4: Nehemiah 3
• August 5: Nehemiah 4:1-9
• August 6: Nehemiah 4:10-23
• August 7: Nehemiah 5
• August 8: Nehemiah 6:1-10
• August 9: Nehemiah 6:10-15
• August 10: Nehemiah 6:16-19
• August 11: Nehemiah 7:1-3
• August 12: Nehemiah 7:4-73a
• August 13: Nehemiah 7:73b- 8:12, Ezra 1:1-11
• August 14: Nehemiah 8:13-18, Ezra 2:1-70
• August 15: Nehemiah 9:1-36
• August 16: Nehemiah 9:38-10:1-39, 
• August 17: Nehemiah 11:1-36, Ezra 3:1-6
• August 18: Nehemiah 12:1-26, Ezra 3:7-13
• August 19: Nehemiah 12:27-30, Ezra 4:1-5
• August 20: Nehemiah 12:31-37, Ezra 4:6-26
• August 21: Nehemiah 12:38-43, Ezra 5
• August 22: Nehemiah 12:44-47, Ezra 6:1-12
• August 23: Nehemiah 13:1-9, Ezra 6:13-18
• August 24: Nehemiah 13:10-18 Ezra 6:19-22
• August 25: Nehemiah 13:19-31, Ezra 7:1-10
• August 26: Ezra 7:11-28
• August 27: Ezra 8:1-35
• August 28: Ezra 8:15-36
• August 29: Ezra 9
• August 30: Ezra 10:1-17
• August 31: Ezra 10:18-44