So Nehemiah and the men of Jerusalem (and their daughters! see 3:12) rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem.  That was in 444 BC.  It was a very big project.  To give you an idea of how big – have a look at the present day walls of the Old City of Jerusalem:

Those are some serious walls there!!  Now, you may remember that the walls Nehemiah built in 444 BC were mostly destroyed when the Romans sacked Jerusalem in 70 AD.  Through the following centuries Jerusalem was ignored, ruled by the Byzantines, ruled by the Muslims, briefly ruled by Crusaders, and then ruled by the Ottoman empire.  The Jerusalem walls in these recent pictures were built in the 16th century by Sulieman the Magnificant, Sultan of the Ottoman empire.

So, the placement of the walls has changed, as has their general height and invincibility… But these pictures should give you a pretty good idea of what kind of building project Nehemiah embarked upon.

Fifty-two days — that’s how long it took Nehemiah and local residents to rebuild the walls (6:15).  Amazing!  I cannot wait to see how God worked through this “cupbearer to the King” to accomplish such a monumental task.

* Photos: Wikipedia.