50 First Dates. Nehemiah

The book of Nehemiah covers the return of more exiles and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, the city of God. It is the last of the History books, chronologically. But it echoes what Joshua told the people in the first of the History books: "Consecrate yourselves, and tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you" (Joshua 3:5). It repeats what many leaders have done throughout Israel's history, like Hezekiah and Josiah leading their people to repent. Nehemiah leads the returnees to once again consecrate themselves (and their cities and land) for the service of God.

Consecration is the setting apart and the 'cleaning up' of life so that it is worthy of God. It's turning away from sinful practices. It shows expectancy and hope that God will work, displays the humility of a repentant heart, and is a response to the grace of God already shown. The renewal led by Nehemiah is just one of the many times this happens throughout the Bible. One of the common factors each time, and perhaps the leading cause, was the reading of the Word of God.

It's kind of like the movie 50 First Dates. (Minor spoiler alert) It's the story of Henry, who falls in love with a lovely girl named Lucy. But some time ago, Lucy had been in a car accident, and cannot remember anything since that day. In her mind, it's just October 13 (the day of the crash), and she wakes up ready to do October 13th stuff. So everyday she wakes up and drives to get breakfast as she did on that day. She watches an American Football game, celebrates a birthday, and goes to bed, before waking up the next day to do it all again, completely oblivious. So every day, when Henry meets her, it's as though she is meeting him for the very first time.
Then one day (yet every day), she wakes up and sees a video by her bed and a note saying 'watch this'. The video was made by Henry, and describes the crash and her amnesia. It tells of the state of their relationship, and so they can continue from where they left off. Each day (apparently the same day to Lucy) she plays it, so she can re-remember her story and their story.

The Israelites, and us, are kind of like Lucy. We forget who we are. We forget who God is. We forget what he has done for us. And the Bible is like the video to play each morning. It reminds us who God is. It reminds us what he has done for us. It reminds us who we are.