Are there any Christians reading this who have, like Nehemiah, prayed to God for this?
Nehemiah 13:14
Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.
I can't reply the way I used to as I have a problem with my left hand that reduces me to hunt and peck typing and creates a ton of typos I have to fix.
I have been thinking about this for a couple of days now, and I'm leaning towards this being explained by the blessings and cursings found in the book of Deuteronomy. The Bible teaches us that we earn no favor with God by anything other than by faith. So if a passage of scripture seems to glorify personal works we are misunderstanding it for the Bible does not contradict itself.
The situation the Jews were in was one of coming out of an attitude of rebellion against God. This is covered in Deuteronomy Both the rebelliousness and it's punishment and what God promised them if as a nation they returned to worshiping and obeying Him. It is within that context and the context of the entire book of Deuteronomy that we should understand this chapter of Nehemiah. Most likely the entire books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
This is my input on this as something as food for thought and context.
