Nehemiah had been very young when he and his father had been taken to Susa. His father had been a stone worker and had done much work for the empire. Hacaliah was very talented with all sorts of stonework. He knew the correct tools to work with harder or softer stones. He truly was a master. His real specialty though was the building of walls. As a young man, Nehemiah had assumed that he too would live a life of back-breaking stonework. This was the destiny of all young men of his era; they would follow in the footsteps of their father. This was an incredible system. Nehemiah would work alongside his father and learn the trade but also learn much about the character and virtue that his father presented. Each day he would see how his father would handle conflict, difficult challenges and also victory. In quiet moments, Nehemiah’s father would tell him stories of the history of their people.
Nehemiah knew that he was Jewish. The empire did not really seem to mind any of the religions of the conquered peoples. From time-to-time people would look upon these people as strange because they were focused on one God. But really, they were mostly left alone, at least during Nehemiah’s day. They kept the Sabbath. Celebrated the fasts and the feasts. In the evenings, the stories from creation to the dark days of the final kings of Judah would be shared.
Those stories were not only history, but they were also real-life parables that shaped Nehemiah’s mind and character. The family knew that it was unfaithfulness to God that had caused them to be conquered and for many of their people to now be living in exile. The stories ended much like the annual Passover supper, “Next year in Jerusalem.”
Life went on day after day. Unlike many of the children of the empire, the Jewish people encouraged their young men to read and study. As a professional worker, Nehemiah’s father had his own copies of the Holy scrolls of the Torah. This was a rare and unique privilege. Joy filled the soul of the young man as he read about Moses, Joshua and Caleb. Daily he mediated upon the words that he read. Throughout the workday Nehemiah looked for opportunities to live out the words of Torah.
Everyday life for Nehemiah was great during this time, at least as grand as it can be when you are living as an exiled people. Business was booming as the Empire continued to grow and expand. New and interesting people were constantly in the capital and Nehemiah learned pieces of culture and language that others would never experience. As he prepared for his Bar Mitzvah by studying and having deep discussions with his father, Nehemiah could not imagine life being much better.
As often happens, that is when life made a dramatic turn.
Nehemiah and his brother were goofing off and so were running late. Their father had a project that needed the help of two strong young men. Building a wall is difficult on the best of days, but this wall was being built around the house of a local official. Everything had to be perfect. The official had ordered the heaviest and strongest stones he could find. When the two arrived, they knew they were in trouble since their father was silent. That was always a bad sign. His brother tried to apologize but was waved off. The focus was on the wall. The goal for the day was to lay the foundation stones all the way around the property. This was exacting work, and when done with the precision needed to ensure that the wall would be level and strong, would be a long slow process.
The boys would maneuver the heavy stones close to their destination. Their father would inspect the quality of the stone and then take some time to determine the best location for that particular stone. Sometimes it would take several minutes for him to figure out how he wanted to use it. Oh, how he wished that he had been there when the stone was selected. This whole process would have been so much easier. The official had a brother who was selling him the stones. This was an all-too-common occurrence. Because the empire was paying the expenses, there was sure to be corruption. Nehemiah’s father had talked about the issue many times but there was little he could do.
