Intermediate Level, Block 8—Recovery
Week 77
The Rebuilding of the Wall
Point to Emphasize: We can be those who finish our work.
Reference Reading: Nehemiah 3—4, 6; 12:27-43
Memory Verse: …This work was done with the help of our God. (Nehemiah 6:16b)
Story Sample
Last week, we heard that the king granted Nehemiah’s request to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, right? So Nehemiah got permission, and the Israelites rose up and were strengthened to rebuild the wall. But it didn’t take long for some problems to start. Two men named Sanballat and Tobiah did not like that the wall was being rebuilt. They wanted to make the Israelites stop their work, so they began mocking the builders. They said all kinds of mean things to try and keep the builders from working.
But do you know what? These two men were not successful. The Israelites persisted in their building work. Who knows what it means to be persistent? [Let the children answer.] To be persistent is to refuse to give up. Nehemiah and the Israelites were persistent, even when their enemies came to mock them and tease them. It might be easy to be persistent when everybody is encouraging you, but do you think it’s easy to be persistent when people are mocking you?
Who here has tried to play a musical instrument? I tried when I was young. I would get so discouraged, because I was not very good at first. Then, to make things worse, people would tell me things like, “You’re no good at it!” But I decided not to give up. I really, really wanted to learn to play. So, instead of listening to the discouraging words, I listened to a friend of mine play his instrument. That friend had been playing the piano for years, and he played so well. I told myself that if I stuck with it, I would get better. One day I would play as well as my friend! But if I quit, I would never be able to play. [Storyteller, insert your own story about being persistent in the face of discouragement.]
The Israelites were persistent, even though they were being mocked. They were not going to stop rebuilding the wall! Well, that made the enemies even angrier, and so they decided to go fight the Israelites.
Nehemiah cared for God’s people and the rebuilding work very much, so he came up with a plan to keep everyone safe and be able to continue work on the wall. He instructed half of his servants to work on the wall and told the other half to guard the builders with spears, swords, shields, and bows. Those who were building would work with one hand and keep a weapon in their other hand. Even the builders were armed—each had a sword strapped to his side. They were ready if they needed to fight, but they were also not going to stop building!
Their persistence paid off! In fifty-two days, the wall was finished! Can you believe they built such a huge city wall in such a short amount of time? Only with God’s help could they have done such a thing! After the wall was completed, they had a special ceremony called a dedication to mark its completion. They called all the Levites to come to Jerusalem, and the city was filled with rejoicing and thanksgiving. There was singing with cymbals, harps, and lyres, and a procession along the wall to give thanks. There was so much rejoicing and thanking that day. Do you think that they were rejoicing just because they had done a good job? No, it was because they knew God had helped them, and that made them full of joy and thanks.