Yes, we will!

Nehemiah 5:13 Everyone gave a wholehearted, "Yes, we'll do it" and praised God. And the people did what they promised.

Wow. This Nehemiah really has his heart and mind in the right place -- on the things of God -- and yet he is shrewd and wily as a snake. He has come back to Jerusalem, with other exiles of the Babylonian captivity, now taken over by the Persian empire. He inspires the people to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, in rubble after the long exile, and works right along beside them. When the poor protest against the unfair practices of the nobles and officials who are gouging their fellow Israelites with high interest rates, taking over their lands and selling them into slavery, Nehemiah calls these nobles and officials to account, charging them to lower interest rates, stop seizing lands and selling their fellows into slavery. And they agree, and follow through and actually change their behavior! Enemies try to lure him away, to get him to quit, and he evades their traps. And he doesn't even use the full allowance accorded to him as governor, because he doesn't need it and doesn't want to add to the people's burdens.

All in all, these are some very eery parallels to our own times: the need to rebuild infrastructure, people falling prey to high interest rates and mortgage foreclosures, foreign enemies who continue to want to terrorize us, and most likely this new administration will have plenty of doomsayers who will decry his every move. More important than any of these things, though, will be his ability to call all of us to account, to inspire our participation in his vision of a rebuilt community. We know that Obama is not the Messiah or some other Godlike figure; he is just a human like you and me. So was Nehemiah. We need a Nehemiah to bring all the scattered flocks under one shepherd, to forge the unity of purpose we need in this nation to meet the challenges of this new century. Freezing staff salaries in the face of climbing unemployment may have more symbolic value than actual impact, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Prayer: Dear God, I pray that Barack Obama may be the Nehemiah we need. So many are hurting in this country and in the world. We are only as strong as our weakest members. Give our president the power to strengthen us as a community so that nothing can really threaten us. Amen.