daily reading 43.2 (Nehemiah 2:17–20)

5-days-a-week through Daniel and other late OT books in 2023


Our opening prayer for this week:

Sing to the Lord, you distant lands, You tribes of every tongue;
His new-discovered grace demands A new and nobler song.
Say to the nations, “Jesus reigns— Once dead, now King alone—
His power the sinking world sustains, And grace surrounds his throne.”

Let heav’n proclaim the joyful day, Joy through the earth be seen;
Let cities shine in bright array, And fields in cheerful green.
Let an unusual joy surprise The islands of the sea.
You mountains, sink; you valleys, rise; Prepare the jubilee.

Look! Yearn! He comes, he comes to bless The nations as their God;
To show the world his righteousness, And send his truth abroad.
But when his voice shall raise the dead, And bid the world draw near,
How will the guilty nations dread To see their Judge appear! Amen.


Nehemiah 2:17–20

  • So I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned. Come, let's rebuild Jerusalem's wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace."
  • 18 I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me, and what the king had said to me. They said, "Let's start rebuilding," and their hands were strengthened to do this good work.
  • 19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, "What is this you 're doing? Are you rebelling against the king?"
  • 20 I gave them this reply, "The God of the heavens is the one who will grant us success. We, his servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem."
Helpful notes on Nehemiah 2:17–20 



For yourself pray:

  • That by his Spirit God gives you hope in the face of mockery and ridicule

For others pray:

  • That God gives your congregation united, loving purpose

A psalm to listen to and ponder, as time allows:

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