Nehemiah

I read (or I guess listened to on audio) Nehemiah today while on my way to Seattle. You can find the whole book here. There is a lot of good things in this book, more than I expected. It's been a long time since I read it. I think what struck me most was the fervor for God that is rarely seen in Israel in that magnitude. The whole country was ready to follow God with passion. They listened to God's word being read and interpreted ALL DAY and a quarter of the next day. I've heard talk of long-winded pastors who talk for a whole 45 minutes. Israel was so upset over how they had disobeyed God (this was the first they had heard the law I think) that the whole country was mourning, but God told them to celebrate! He was estatic that they had come home at last. They had been physically home, but now they were spiritually home. God gave them the materials and willpower to come back to Israel and rebuild the wall. They were crazy about Him! They promised to follow everything the law said and were actually excited about doing so! How fantastic. However before 7 years have gone by most people have forgotten how great God is and they are going about their own way (I know this because they never celebrated the Year of Jubilee which happens every 7 years). This seems to be a main reason for celebrations in the old testement. We as humans are so forgetful of what God has done. I often doubt that God will come through, even though He's come through many times in the past and countless times I probably didn't even notice. Either way Nehemiah is a great read, you should give it a read and let me know what you think. Leave it in the comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts!