Joel M Bradshaw

28Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house.–Nehemiah 3

1. Nehemiah had gotten permission to lead the rebuilding process after the Babylonian Exile. They started with the wall around the city.
2. I love how the priests are the leaders in the process.They started by repairing major gates on the wall, but then they return to their houses.
3. Then their focus was on the area of the wall outside of their own houses.
4. Rather than focusing on “more religious” matters, they saw their role as rebuilders of what was broken.
5. Honestly, there was no temple to maintain, so the priests led by helping to establish safety and security with the wall.
6. Each outside his own house. Each one with a responsibility to maintain the area nearest to him and his influence. There’s a lesson there somewhere about staying in your lanes and rocking those lanes.
7. In a chaotic time, the priests led by doing hard physical work. No excuses. Their influence was seen at the gates and then by their own homes.–JMB