The Book of Nehemiah is the second book in the Rebuilding the Kingdom series. It applies the lessons learned by Nehemiah as he rebuilt the nation of Israel to our own challenge today as we rebuild the Kingdom of God. The other books in the series apply the messages and activities of Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the king of Persia, daily testing the cups to determine whether they contained poison. He was a fearless man, a character he needed when he was daily threatened with death by his enemies when he went to Israel for several years to rebuild its walls and administration. He was more than an administrator, having a gift of wisdom, combined with a zeal to complete the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
John uses the New Living Translation (NLT) of the bible to give fresh revelation to what Nehemiah teaches us today. Like Nehemiah, he has a call to rebuild the Kingdom of God. Although Nehemiah was building a physical kingdom, he faced the same challenges that we face today as we build the spiritual Kingdom which Jesus gave us. Nehemiah did not wait for someone else to build the wall of Jerusalem, he volunteered to oversee the task himself. We also cannot wait until Jesus returns to rebuild His Kingdom. He asks us to do the work. John helps us to understand what we must do.