The Jews had been taken captive because of their disobedience. Here, they return to the Promised Land and begin to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. They begin with the Temple—the place of worship. Later, Ezra restores spiritual purity to their obedience. Finally, Nehemiah rebuilds the walls for protection.
God gave His word to man in perfect form. If this was important to Him, He must also be concerned about passing that word to later generations in identically perfect form.
This verse deals with building and battling (“keep the city”). These two actions describe much of our life and they certainly describe the Christian life.
The Christian life is pictured in the Bible as a race to run; a course to finish. The Apostle Paul was determined to finish his course with joy and the ministry which he had received of the Lord (Acts 20:24). Shortly before his death, he could give this testimony: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2Timothy 4:7). Notice, he had finished his course.
As Christians, there are some things that God used in the generations before us and it's high time we dig afresh some of those wells.
