The settlements of cities is something we don’t think about much anymore. Just like the Israelites eventually will do, we take for granted our surroundings and blessings … because we forget how they got there. Heck, we may not even know or consider how they got there. This chapter in Nehemiah gives us a super depiction of what life may have been like when Jerusalem was being settled at this point in history, and in knowing this, we might get a little different vibe about our modern surroundings and what it took to get that McDonald’s on the corner.
Put yourself in the Israelites’ shoes at this point in Nehemiah. There are about 50,000 of them. They have no proper housing. They have few tools. They have little community wealth. And they have a whole bunch of other problems I’m not even considering. But what they do have is a wall that they built together as a community, a few animals and the mightiest God. Now, have you ever started a project like this? Consider this factor, also: this was an impossible task, as is establishing about any city. To accomplish this, they needed willing people, helpers, business people, construction people and all kinds of volunteers. And there would be fights and arguments and days that people wanted to give up and move into a city that already had a McDonald’s. Fortunately for history, we had a lot of folks who just might have stomped out for a few hours but got a burger to-go before heading back to what I’m sure looked like no-man’s land.
Writing prompt: established
What year was the city in which you live established? Look up your city’s history, and write about its founders and describe what it may have looked like in its earliest days.
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