Reading for December 8th

Read Nehemiah 4.1-9. In 4.1-23: Opposition and the community's response. Though written as a first-person narrative, presumably from Nehemiah's view, the focus is on the community. The account alternates between the scorn and plots of the adversaries of the rebuilding, and the community's determination to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? The taunt relates to restoring Jerusalem to its former glory, a task that would take a great deal of time. The coomunity's enthusiasm maybe strong at the moment, but as time passes, Sanballat believes they will give up the task. The issue of sacrifce relates to dedicating the walls at the completion of the project (see 12.43). In verse 6: All the wall was joined together to half its height: it is unclear if this was half the original hieght, or half of its planned height (which may have been considerably less, given the restricted resources). In verse 8: All plotted together to come and fight, maybe not as an "offical" military force, but perhaps in a series of raids designed to destablize the building project. Comments or Questions..