Nehemiah and the Rubbly Walls
Nehemiah 1–6
You will need one sign saying ‘Yes, hooray!’ and one saying ‘No way!’
I’m going to tell you a story, but I’m going to need your help. Are you ready to help? Hmm… I think you might need some help with your helping… Can I have two volunteers to hold signs, please?
Shall we practice?
Good!
Does anyone else always want to pronounce Nehemiah Ne-hem-ee-ah?
Fair enough, just me then!
Are you all ready for a story?
Great, let’s start!
This is the story of ‘Nehemiah and the Rubbly Walls.’
Once upon an Old Testament time, Nehemiah was busy carrying King Artaxerxes’s cup when his brother, Hanani, came to visit. Nehemiah hadn’t seen his brother for aaages.
Do you think he was pleased to see him?
Clever you, you’re quite right!
Nehemiah was excited, and started asking him how things were going for their people at home, but Hanani hadn’t brought good news. He told Nehemiah that the people were suffering, the walls of Jerusalem were a rubbly heap and the city gates had burned down fto ashes.
Do you think Nehemiah was happy?
Clever you, you’re quite right!
Nehemiah sat down and sobbed and sobbed, and then he sobbed some more. In fact, he felt so sad that he didn’t even eat!
Yes way! He stopped eating and started praying. He prayed:
“God, our God, our awesome, faithful, promise-keeping God. Please turn your eyes and ears towards me and hear my prayers. Our people, the people of Israel, have really messed up and need your help. And I need to talk to the king. Please give me success. Amen.”
And do you think God heard Nehemiah?
Clever you, you’re quite right!
Nehemiah went to work feeling very glum. When he took King Artaxerxes his morning coffee, the powerful, scary king took one look at Nehemiah and said,
“Cheer up, mate, it might never happen.”
And Nehemiah knew this was his chance. His knees knocked and his heart thumped as he stood before the powerful king.
Then he took a deep breath, prayed a quick prayer and started telling the King all about the rubbly walls, the burned-down gate and the suffering people.
Then King Artaxerxes asked Nehemiah, “So what do you want, then?”
Nehemiah’s knees knocked and his heart thumped and he prayed another quick prayer, and said, “Please can I go to my people and rebuild the ruins?”
And do you think the king let Nehemiah go?
Clever you, you’re quite right!
God heard Nehemiah’s prayers, and against all odds, the king said yes!
But Nehemiah wasn’t finished yet…
His knees knocked and his heart thumped and he prayed another quick prayer, and said, “Please can you write a letter saying I can travel safely, and also please can we use your wood to build with?”
Cheeky Nehemiah! But what do you think the king said?
Clever you, you’re quite right!
So, Nehemiah set off on his travels.
But, when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite heard about Nehemiah’s plans to help the people of Israel they were NOT happy. They were angry and grumpy and said a very loud,
Hmmm, I think we’d better watch out for them.
When Nehemiah arrived at Jerusalem, he did a little tour of the city at nighttime, in secret, so he could see it as it really was. And it was bad. Very bad. Very, very rubbly.
So in the morning Nehemiah gathered all the officials together and said,
“(Sucks teeth) Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Well, the bad news is Jerusalem’s in a proper mess. But the good news is, God is on our side! So let’s do this. Let’s build this wall together! Are you with me?”
What do you think the people said?
Clever you, you’re quite right!
But… Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite laughed and mocked and said, “Ha! You’ll never do it! You should just give up. Do you really think you can rebuild the rubbly walls?”
And Nehemiah was like,
And Sanballat was like,
And Nehemiah was like,
And Tobiah was like,
And Nehemiah said,
“… because God is on our side. We’re doing this for Him and we will rebuild the rubbly walls. So keep your noses out of God’s business. We will rebuild!”
And do you think they did keep their noses out?
Clever you, you’re quite right!
Sanballat and Tobiah stuck their noses in whenever they could.
But do you think God helped Nehemiah and the people of Israel rebuild the walls anyway?
Clever you, you’re quite right!
Nehemiah and the people didn’t give up. They prayed together and worked together and prayed together and worked together and prayed together and worked together. And with all the praying and working, the rubbly walls and burned-down gate were rebuilt in record time.
In fact, you won’t believe how quickly they finished!
Working as a team, with God on their side, they finished building everything in 52 days!
The End
