September 15, 2010 – Nehemiah 11

Another step in the plan to rebuild Jerusalem.  It makes me think about New Orleans a little bit.  That is the closest thing I can think of to the destruction of a city.  And people have really gotten together to rebuild it.  The way I read this chapter, it is like taking every American family, at least groups of extended families, and picking a smaller section of each of those families to go and live in New Orleans to rebuild it.  I don’t know if it correlates completely, but can you imagine the tensions and growing pains of all the different groups being thrown in like that.  Here, they are at least all Jews, but some have been separated for years, either by divisions in Israel or during the exile.  So, even though they all shared certain beliefs, you are still getting a lot of different ideas and experiences all thrown into one walled in city.  I am sure they had their growing pains as well.