Nehemiah 9:33-34 — Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.

I long for the day when we will have a leader who will lead the nation to repentance, and will stand before God to confess our sins. I long for it, but I very much doubt that I will see it.

Inspired by God, Nehemiah, the young cup bearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes boldly petitioned for resources and led his troop of supporters fifteen hundred miles to Israel to drive the rebuilding of Jerusalem to completion.

Nehemiah didn’t just rebuild the city walls. He rebuilt the Judaean community that lived within them.

The rebuilt community recommitted to the law and to their God — and was the foundation of a renewed Judaean state over succeeding centuries.

The people were persecuted, and eventually determined to find a new home, in a new country. In that new country, reached after many perils, there were many hardships but eventually the people overcame them all. And became a great nation. Sadly the nation, having risen to great heights fell to great depths. The people turned away from God and His laws. They descended from religious neglect to moral depravity. A patient God, eventually punished them with devastation and banishment.

The people were devastated, and banished — but the covenant still stood. God would not punish His people forever, and the young leader was called to lead them back to their roots.

How I wish that the story of Judaea was a true prophecy of the future of America. Unfortunately, the differences under the surface are much greater than the similarities. Judaea may have neglected it’s God, but it didn’t forget Him — and there was no deliberate attempt to drive Him away. The Judaeans knew that their sufferings were, in the end, their own fault. 

There is no doubt that America needs a leader to call the people back to repentance and to rebuild the walls. To be sure the walls are not city walls, but the walls of law and morality — but they are in increasingly desperate need of repair. If a leader arises we must take care. It would be easy to fall for the shiny attractions of a charismatic star. We need to return to the roots, but it must be a fair return, built on a foundation of repentance and built to God’s plan. Accept no substitutes!