Bricklayers 6Muestra

Today is going to look very different. Instead of looking at a parallel with Jesus, we are going to take a look at the side of the opposers. Who are they, really? Did you know that there were Jews living in Jerusalem who didn’t get sent to exile? These Jews were looked down upon by the ones who did get exiled into Babylon (for more, check out Bricklayers 1 if you haven’t already).

Ezra, the book before Nehemiah, used to be combined with the book of Nehemiah. The beginning of Ezra starts out with hope from fulfilling the words of the prophets. There are the same themes in Nehemiah, and with the words of the prophets being an undertone of these accounts, we have to consider another prophet, Zechariah. Zechariah had a prophecy about Jerusalem NOT having a wall. What? Nehemiah’s enemies COULD have seen him as the actual enemy for causing disunity and building a wall around a city that wasn’t supposed to have any. 

We often read and watch stories from the perspective of our protagonist or hero, and sometimes forget that there is another side to the story. That other side does not need to change your mind. The other side of the story is meant to bring perspective and understanding. Nehemiah most likely knew of both prophecies, and still decided to go and build the wall. It is apparent that God’s hand was working with Nehemiah in this task showing us that standing ground can also be good. Even with a different perspective.

Whose side of the story do you need to listen to? What perspective can you gain? What are things you could reassess, and what things do you need to stand firm on?