Bible Stories from Kids Corner - The Story of Nehemiah

Welcome to Kids Corner Bible Stories, listening and learning God's big story.

Today, the story of Nehemiah.

God calls the right people to do His good works.

One example from the Bible is the story of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah was a Hebrew in Persia.

The Jews had spent many years living in exile away from their homeland

because they had been unfaithful to God.

At long last, they were allowed to return home to rebuild.

One day, some men returned from the land of Judah with news for Nehemiah.

Hello, Nehemiah.

Greetings, Nehemiah.

Hannah and I, my brother, and Hannah and I, it's so good to see you again.

How did you know where to find me?

Where else to find the King's Cup Bear than in the capital city?

What better time to come here than in the fall of the year

when things begin to grow again after the summer heat is over?

Hopefully, it is a sign that things are thriving again in Judah.

How are the people?

How is the Holy City?

Are things well in the land?

Jerusalem is in trouble, Nehemiah.

That's putting it mildly.

Jerusalem is a disgrace.

No.

The wall of Jerusalem is broken down.

And the city gates have been burned with fire.

The people are completely unprotected from their enemies.

When he heard the bad news, Nehemiah sat down and wept.

For some days he mourned and fasted and prayed before God.

Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God,

let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you.

Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant,

who delights in your name.

Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of the King.

As the King's cup bearer, Nehemiah's job was to serve the wine to the royal table.

Since King's worried about plots to poison them,

cup bearers had to guard the cup carefully and would sometimes taste the drink before serving it to ensure it was safe.

Due to the responsibilities of such a position,

a cup bearer had to be trustworthy and loyal.

Live forever, O King.

I have brought your wine.

Nehemiah, I have not seen you like this before.

Why does your face look so sad?

I know you cannot be ill.

This can be nothing but sadness of the heart.

May the King live forever.

Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins

and its gates have been destroyed by fire?

What does this you want?

If it pleases the King and if your servant has found favor in his sight,

let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.

I am pleased to send you.

Thank you, my King.

I'll provide letters to the regional governors so you may have safe passage.

The keeper of the royal force shall provide you timber for rebuilding the city gates.

I shall also send army officers and soldiers with you.

And I hereby appoint you as governor over the land of Judah.

Go and return to Jerusalem.

And so Nehemiah set off to Jerusalem.

He did not tell anyone right away why he had come.

Three days after he arrived, Nehemiah took a few other men and by night went out to inspect the city walls.

You can all see the trouble we're in.

Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire.

Come.

Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace.

God has been good.

His gracious hand is on me.

The King has sent me here to rebuild the wall.

Then let us start rebuilding.

Yes.

God of heaven will give us success.

All right, men.

Good moving.

All right.

Get those stones over there.

Come.

Let's get this wall rebuilt.

Nehemiah divided the work of rebuilding the walls among the families and citizens of Jerusalem.

Work had begun in earnest.

But not everyone was happy to see the walls repaired.

Princes of the Samaritans and Ammonites began to ridicule and threaten Nehemiah and the workers.

What are those feeble Jews doing?

Will they restore their wall?

Will they offer sacrifices?

Will they finish it a day?

Will they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of burned out rubble?

Just looking with their building.

Even a fox climbing up on it would break down their little wall of stones.

When Nehemiah learned of the mocking and threats from the enemies of Judah,

he did what he had always done when faced with difficulty.

Nehemiah prayed to God.

Hear us, our God, for we are despised.

Turn their insults back on their own heads.

Give them over as plunder in the land of captivity.

Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight.

For they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.

The city wall was quickly restored to half its former height.

Seeing the progress that the builders were making,

the enemies of Jerusalem recruited other nations to revolt against the city.

Nehemiah quickly decided a course of action.

Nehemiah, what shall we do?

The people are frightened, a sign half of the people to continue work on the wall.

I and the rest shall take up weapons to defend the city.

The work is extensive and spread out.

We are widely separated from each other along the wall.

So wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there.

Our God will fight for us as you have instructed Nehemiah.

By the strength that God gave the people and the wisdom he gave to Nehemiah,

the city wall was completed in just 52 days in spite of the threats to stop the work.

When the surrounding nations heard about this, they were afraid,

because they realized that only God could have helped the people in such a short time.

Nehemiah called the people together to dedicate the walls to the glory of God.

The people heard the books of God's law read aloud,

and they recommitted themselves to live their lives God's way.

If you would like to read more about Nehemiah and the return of Israel from captivity,

check out the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

You'll find them in the Old Testament part of your Bible.

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