I haven’t talked with Nehemiah for awhile. I miss him. And there are so many things that I want to know about him.

I want to understand why gates mattered so much to him. They are mentioned many times. They were burned. They were barred. Why did he care?

I want to understand why Sabbath mattered so much to him. It’s a theme throughout the book.

I want to understand more about the piles of wood. We talked a bit in the last chapter, but there is so much more I think.

And I want to know how he felt after spending his whole life working on a great work, only to watch everything fall apart. Because it did fall apart. Although Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament, Nehemiah’s words are historically the last words. And the wall was breached again, the temple profaned and then rebuilt by Herod.

Someday we’ll talk again. Face-to-face. Until then, I’ll pay attention to the work in front of me. I invite you to do the same. In the meantime, I’d love to talk with you. Drop me a line at jon@anewroutine.com.

Cordially,

Jon