August 26, 2010 – Nehemiah 7 - 7:38

Here we see them trying to figure out exactly who they have left.  A nation was taken into exile and now they are here to start again.  I don’t know if it is exactly the same, but a similar feeling might have taken place after the Holocaust with the survivors.  I guess  in thinking about it, it is the same feeling anyone would have after a tragic event, where when it is over, you have to take stock of what is still there.  After any war, after 9/11, after a house fire for a family.  Here we see the Israelites taking stock.  This would seem to be a time of mixed emotions.  You need to feel grateful for what you have, yet in taking stock, you begin to realize what you really lost.  The city was wide but population was small.  Imagine empty streets that at one time were full of life.  Help us remember to be thankful in those moments for what we still have.  It is ok to be upset or even grieve over a loss, but we must remember God has a use and a plan for it.  We may not understand it or think that it is right, but it is and it is for our own good.  Maybe not here on Earth, but in the view of eternity.