Throughout history, when kings built their castles and cities, foundations were laid, walls were built and gates were constructed to keep the enemy at bay. The enemy’s strategy was to isolate the city to cut off needed supplies, build siegeworks that helped breach the walls and destroy the gates to gain access.
Dads today still work to build castles and be kings in their families and circles of influence. As with historical kings, protection, safety and security are the drivers for the building project. And the enemy is still alive and well with the age-old strategy to isolate, breach the walls and destroy the gates.
And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and disgrace, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire.” … Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burned by fire. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a disgrace.” … So the wall was completed … in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they realized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. – Nehemiah 1:3, 2:17 & 6:15-16. The wall around Jerusalem was not a wall of isolation but a wall of delineation. It secured the uniqueness of Jerusalem as the Holy City established by God and it protected God’s people from the influence of foreigners and their gods. With the wall in ruin, this delineation was lost. Men were marrying foreign women and worshiping their gods. People and business flowed in and out of the city as if it was no different than the surrounding lands. What Nehemiah observed suggested that the physical absence of the wall had led to the spiritual absence of God in the hearts of men. He prioritized the physical rebuilding project as the first step in reestablishing Jerusalem as the Holy City, different than the surrounding lands.
My encouragement to you is to take on a building project this summer – build a spiritual wall that will provide the protection, safety and security needed to raise a godly generation. The charge is to be different than the current culture and be a Kingdom influence in this world. The building project is Faithful Fathering’s Nehemiah Initiative. In this six-week study you will firm up a foundational relationship with Jesus the Christ, build walls of Christ-likeness and construct gates that are spiritual disciplines to keep the enemy at bay. Download our free pdf of the study HERE and access video teaching of each session HERE.
Prayer guide: Lord, thank You for Your word and the example of Nehemiah. I confess that I have let worldly influences flow into my home effectively unchecked. The world has been more of an influence on my family than we have been an influence in the world around us. Forgive me. Help me firm up my foundational relationship with You. Provide clarity for a life focused on becoming more like You in this world. And grant me the discipline needed to open spiritual gates in love but to close them tight against temptation in my life and home. Give me strength to complete this building project for the sake of the next generation. That is the dad You call me to be, and that is the dad my kids need to see. Amen.
A faithful father builds a spiritual wall to protect his family.
