Nehemiah Before
the Great King. (Nehemiah 1:1 - 2:7)
 Nehemiah
was a Jew who trusted in God. He lived in Babylon after the time of
Daniel. Jerusalem, the city of his ancestors, was in ruins and the Jews
who lived there were in great trouble. Nehemiah was the servant of a
great king. One day, as he served wine to the king, the king said to him,
"Why does your face look so sad?" Nehemiah told him about Jerusalem and
his people, the Jews. Then the king said, "For what do you ask?"
Nehemiah silently prayed to God, and said to the king, "Send me to the
city of my fathers that I may rebuild it." God answered Nehemiah's
prayer and the king agreed to his request.
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The
king gave Nehemiah building materials and men to help him. They
travelled all the way to Jerusalem. The enemies of the Jews heard about
Nehemiah. They were angry. They did not want anyone to help the Jews.
Nehemiah was not afraid of them. Nehemiah wanted to inspect Jerusalem,
so he rode all around the broken walls of the city. He went at night so
that no one knew what he was doing. The next morning Nehemiah called the
Jews and said, "Come, let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and we will
no longer be in disgrace." He told them that God was with him; they must
not fear their enemies. So the Jews agreed to work with Nehemiah.
Look
at the picture! The Jews began to work. Some cleared away the rubbish
while others built the walls and set up the gates. The enemies of the
Jews became very angry. They threatened to kill the Jews while they
worked. So Nehemiah prayed to God again. He needed God to show him what
to do. Then he placed armed men on the walls to guard the workers.
Everyone took weapons and prepared for war. The enemies were unable to
kill Nehemiah or the Jews. So the work went on and (in only 52 days) the
wall was rebuilt. 
After
the walls were finished, the Jews met together in Jerusalem. Ezra, the
priest of God, read to them from the Holy Books (Scriptures). Some of
the people began to weep because they knew that they had disobeyed the
Laws of God. That was the reason God had let the enemies destroy their
city. The Jews wanted to turn from their sinful ways and follow the ways
of God again. Nehemiah said to the people, "Do not be sad. The joy of
the Lord is your strength." Friends, do you have joy? God gives us joy
(and spiritual strength) when we know God and obey His Holy Book (the
Bible). Let me tell you how you can know the God of Nehemiah too.