One day while Nehemiah was working the king noticed that he was very sad. He noticed this because Nehemiah had never been sad around him before. He asked him why he was so sad. Even though Nehemiah was afraid, he spoke up and told the king about the danger the people were in.

The king thought about it and asked Nehemiah what he wanted to do about it. Nehemiah prayed a quick prayer, and then answered the king, “If it is okay with you, and you have been happy with my work, send me to the city so that I can rebuild it.”

The king was pleased with Nehemiah and let him go. Even though Nehemiah was scared he asked the king to write a letter to the governors telling them to let him pass through their land safely, and to write a letter to the keeper of the king’s forest to give him timber so that he could make beams for the gates. The king did as Nehemiah asked.

Nehemiah went to Jerusalem and talked the people there into helping him rebuild. But when they started rebuilding some of their enemies found out about it and began to make fun of them. They said that they would never be able to rebuild the walls because the damage was too great. But the Jews didn’t listen to them and worked hard on rebuilding the wall, gates, and towers. It was very hard work but just about everyone pitched in, even the girls. Some of the men refused to do their part, but the people ignored them and did as much as they could. They worked side-by-side all around the city. The priests, goldsmiths, perfume-makers, rulers, sons and daughters, countrymen, servants, guards, and merchants worked with all their hearts.

When their enemies heard about all the repairs they were making they became very angry. They made fun of their work and said, “If a fox climbed up on the wall, it would break down their walls of stone!” But when they saw that the wall was halfway built they became even angrier. They plotted to come and fight the people to stop their work. But Nehemiah heard of the plot and posted guards to protect the workers.

The workers were getting very tired and began to complain, “We are too tired and there is no way we can rebuild the wall because there is too much damage, and our enemies are threatening to kill us.” Nehemiah posted more guards and told them not to be afraid, ‘Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives and your homes.”

When things got hard for Nehemiah and there seemed to be so many problems, Nehemiah didn’t quite, he prayed to God to give him strength.

From that day on the builders wore their swords at their sides as they worked. They worked from first light until it was too dark to see and were able to complete the wall in only 52 days!

What Can You do to Help a Bad Situation?

1. Pray and Fast – Nehemiah prayed and fasted. Ask God to give you strength, wisdom about what you would do, and success in helping others.

Before doing anything you should always pray about it.

2. Tell Others and Ask for Help – Nehemiah told the King about the problem and asked for help even though he was scared.

Let other people know about the situation because they may be able to help.

3. Get Involved – Nehemiah got involved. He said, “Send me.” He knew he could make a difference with God’s help.

You can get involved in many ways. You can go to where help is needed or you can help from your own home or country. Put up flyers, collect money, send cards, food, gifts, etc.

4. Organize – Nehemiah talked to the people and persuaded them to help build the wall. He organized them into groups and made sure everyone had something to do. When some of the men refused to help, he didn’t let it get him down. He concentrated on the ones who would help.

You can also get other people to help, organize them so the work can be done. Encourage them, support them, and protect them.

5. Don’t Quit When Things Get Hard – Nehemiah didn’t give up when things got hard. When the people began to complain and his enemies were trying to stop the work, Nehemiah continued to pray and encourage the people to continue. He listened to them and tried to protect them.

Helping people in need isn’t always fun or rewarding. Realize that it is a lot of hard work. Ask God to give you strength when it gets hard.

Directions

1.Have the kids put a small layer of icing around Jerusalem and use mini marshmallows to see how high they can build the wall!

Directions:

1. Have children cut out the bricks and glue them to the wall, matching the shapes, to reveal the Bible verse.

• Relay Team Style: Divide your children up into teams and give each team a set of Dominoes with Bible verse words on them. Have each team work together to set up the Dominoes in order to spell out the verse, relay style! This is where each team lines up and when you say go one person from each team will run down and grab one piece of the verse. This will continue until all pieces have been retrieved and then the group will work together to order them to create the verse. The first team to do this wins!

• Older Children Option:Use the Dominoes with the words taped to them from the opening activity. Break your children up into teams and give each team a set of Dominoes with a set of words that spell out the complete verse. Have each team turn over all the Dominoes so that the words aren’t showing. See which team can be the first to place all the Dominoes in order in a row to spell out the verse without knocking over any of the Dominoes. Players in each team take turns turning over one Domino at a time. If a player finds the first word in the verse, he or she gets to set up the Domino to start the row. If the word is not the first word, he or she turns it back over and the next player tries to find the first word. Once the first word has been found, the players begin to look for the second word of the verse. If a player knocks down the Dominoes before the team has set up all the Dominoes, the player must set up the fallen Dominoes before they can continue. The player on the team that finds the last word to complete the verse gets to knock down the first Domino so that the whole row falls. (This game works best if you have the children set up the Dominoes on a separate table from where they are playing the game.)

• Younger Children Option:Write the verse or part of the verse on the board or sheets of paper so that all the children can see it. Review the verse, word for word. Divide your children up into teams and give each team a set of Dominoes with Bible verse words on them. Have each team work together to set up the Dominoes in order to spell out the verse.

Review Game Style

Divide your children up into teams. Take turns asking each team questions from the lesson and from previous lessons. If a team member gets the question correct, he gets to add a block to he team’s wall. The team with the highest wall at the end of the game wins.

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(Younger Children Option)

Give your children blocks and small people figures. Tell them to build a wall around the people to protect them.

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(Older Children Option)

Remind your children about the story and how Nehemiah had each worker protected by a guard as they worked. Tell them that they are going to play a game relating to this part of the story.

Divide your children up into two teams. Pick two people from the opposing team to be the enemy. Have the building team pick one person to be the guard. The guard should sit on the opposite side of the table in front of the wall that is being built to protect it from the enemies. Have the building team build a wall as high as they can in 30 seconds while the “two enemies” try to knock down the wall or slow the building using small beanbags or other soft balls. The “enemies” can only throw the beanbags at the wall, not the builders. Also mark a place on the floor where the enemies must stand at all times.The team that builds the highest wall after 30 seconds wins.