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The following is an impromptu article. It is not something which I had planned on writing. However, given the great attention which this subject is currently receiving in the mass media, on the social networks, etc., I believe that what I have to say here is very timely. If you agree with my comments below, I encourage you to share this series with your online friends by tapping or clicking on the "Share" links or buttons which are found on this page for the social networks in which you are personally involved. Let's all do our part to add a Biblical perspective to this important issue, so that our fellow Christian brethren are not misled by the lopsided debate which has engulfed the nation. Thank you so much!

As many of my readers will already know, normally, I do not involve myself in political discussions on my Facebook timeline, on my Facebook page, in the Bill's Bible Basics Facebook closed group, or on any of the other eight social networks to which I currently syndicate my blog posts. For over two decades now, I have strived to focus this online ministry on sharing God's Word, because the truth of the Scriptures is what convicts people's hearts. The Spirit behind the words of the Bible is what can truly change a person's life, and ultimately lead to their Salvation.

As the following verses reveal, when we share the Word of God with people, it is like a sword in our mouths, and it will cause people to make a decision either for or against Jesus Christ. Likewise, God's Word is spiritual nourishment which will feed their hungry souls. Reading the Bible will increase their faith, and help them to grow spiritually. Furthermore, the Word is a light which will lead them along the path of righteousness, if they choose to obey it:

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."


"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."


"If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin."


"‭‭Now when they heard ‭this‭, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men ‭and‭ brethren, what shall we do?‭"


"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"


". . . and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword . . ."


"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations . . ."


"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."


"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."


"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:"


"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."


"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."


"BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word."


". . . Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."


Clearly then, there is nothing like God's Word. Returning to our main discussion, based on my own experiences, and what I have observed online over the past two decades, I think it is safe to say that many of us Christians realize how easy it is to become detoured by political discussions. They can very easily become distractions and time wasters which keep us from our primary job, which is sharing Biblical truth. Similar to doctrinal debates, political debates often become very heated, and sooner or later, someone eventually becomes offended. Such discussions reach a point where people are no longer talking to each other, but rather at each other with closed minds, hearts and ears.

As I point out in the article "Should Christians Engage in Doctrinal Debates?", that is why I personally view debates as being exercises in futility. So to reiterate one of my opening points here, sharing God's Word is what I am all about. For the most part, I leave political discussions to other parties who populate the social networks. While I do refrain from online debates and political discussions, as some of you will know, I do hold certain political views, and at times I will discuss politically-oriented issues in some of my articles and series. Such is the case with this current series. So . . .

The wall, the wall, the wall! There is so much talk about it. Everywhere you turn, you will find people discussing it. And, of course, the biased mainstream media is certainly letting their positions be known in no small way. It has become such a major issue during the last two years, that at this present time, the American government is partially shut down because of it. Everyone on both sides of the American political isle, from President Trump, to the Democrats, to the Republicans, has become so deeply entrenched in their positions, that Washington has basically become paralyzed, and will probably remain so into the new year, 2019. No one seems to be very willing to budge even the slightest bit when it comes to the issue of the border wall.

I find the vitriol which is currently occurring between the various factions quite disgusting. The hatred and animosity which is on display at this present time is outrageous. The clear lack of respect for the office of the president is mind-numbing. Has such a high level of hostility ever been leveled against any former U.S. president? Has the nation ever been so divided? I have lived a long time, and I can honestly say that I don't recall the situation ever being quite this bad. The Vietnam War era was pretty ugly, but in my view, the current political situation is more dangerous, because it tears at the very fabric of the U.S. government. I am reminded of a warning that Jesus gave in the Gospels:

"And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:‭"


"And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ‭‭And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.‭"


"But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house ‭divided‭ against a house falleth.‭"


So the question we all need to be asking ourselves is this: Regarding the construction of a more imposing wall or fence along the southern border of the United States, what is the right perspective for a Bible-believing Christian to have? Should we support such an endeavor, or does it go against our Christian values and the Biblical pattern?

Yesterday morning I came across a certain Facebook comment thread where one Christian brother has apparently adopted the view which has been embraced by a lot of Democrats and liberals. That is, that there should be no wall. This man seemed to be trying to convince another brother that out of Christian love, we should just let everyone come into the country, and then deal with the situation accordingly. After reading their comments, I took a moment to reflect on my own position regarding this issue. In fact, I began to write a response to them, when I realized that I had a lot more to say than could easily be fit into a Facebook comment. So, since yesterday afternoon, I have been doing what I normally do when I am faced with a question: I have been researching the Scriptures.

The first thing you should know is that the idea of building walls around human habitations is nothing new. The practice is literally thousands of years old. There is ample evidence to be found in the Old Testament which suggests that walled cities were the norm, rather than the exception. In fact, to build a city, and not construct a wall around it was a clear invitation to trouble. Namely, attack by foreigners. Many people, even a lot of non-Christians, are familiar with the story of the siege of Jericho by Joshua and the Israelite army. I remember when I was a young boy, my father used to sometimes sing a popular song about that event. Following is an excerpt from the Book of Joshua:

"And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, ‭and‭ the mighty men of valour.‭ And ye shall compass the city, all ‭ye‭ men of war, ‭and‭ go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.‭ And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.‭ ‭‭And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long ‭blast‭ with the ram's horn, ‭and‭ when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him . . . So the people shouted when ‭the priests‭ blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.‭"


Even before the actual conquest of the land of Canaan began, laws were discussed by Moses and the Israelites concerning the walled cities which they would conquer. Consider the following two sets of verses:

"And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; ‭within‭ a full year may he redeem it.‭ And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that ‭is‭ in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile.‭ ‭‭But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile.‭"


"And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan ‭near‭ Jericho, saying,‭ Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give ‭also‭ unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them.‭ And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.‭ And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, ‭shall reach‭ from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.‭ And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city ‭shall be‭ in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.‭"


In the Books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, after Joshua, Caleb and the other Israelites returned from spying out the land of Canaan, consider what they said regarding the walled cities of the giants which they found there:

"And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.‭ And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.‭ And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this ‭is‭ the fruit of it.‭ Nevertheless the people ‭be‭ strong that dwell in the land, and the cities ‭are‭ walled, ‭and‭ very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.‭"


"Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God:‭ And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. ‭‭‭Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people ‭is‭ greater and taller than we; the cities ‭are‭ great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.‭"


The city of Jebus -- later to be known as Jerusalem -- in fact had a double-wall around it, as modern archeology has revealed. Consider the following verses which confirm this point. You will discover even more verses which mention the walls around Jerusalem, if you take the time to dig into the Scriptures:

"And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.‭"


"And the city was broken up, and all the men of war ‭fled‭ by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which ‭is‭ by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees ‭were‭ against the city round about:) and ‭the king‭ went the way toward the plain.‭"


"After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.‭ And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,‭ He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which ‭were‭ without the city: and they did help him.‭ So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?‭ Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised ‭it‭ up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo ‭in‭ the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance . . . Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' speech unto the people of Jerusalem that ‭were‭ on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city.‭"


"Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.‭"


"Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.‭ And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.‭ Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.‭"


"And it came to pass, ‭that‭ when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain.‭ But the Chaldeans' army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him.‭"


"And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth ‭day‭ of the month, ‭that‭ Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about.‭ So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.‭ And in the fourth month, in the ninth ‭day‭ of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.‭ Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which ‭was‭ by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans ‭were‭ by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain.‭ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.‭ Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him."


As some of you will no doubt already know, and as I amply discuss in articles such as "The Seven Heads", following the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem and the Seventy Years of Captivity in Babylon, the Jews were permitted to return to Jerusalem, where they repaired the city, rebuilt the temple, and repaired the broken down walls which surrounded it. As the following verses reveal, Zerubbabel was the leader of the first group of exiles who returned from Babylon. He was eventually appointed Governor over Judah. Along with men such as Ezra, Nehemiah, Joshua and the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah, he was responsible for overseeing and inspiring the construction of the Second Temple:

"And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;"


"Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God . . . Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD."


"And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God . . . Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts . . . In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts."


It was precisely in the twentieth year of his reign that Artaxerxes Longimanus ordered Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem as Governor of Judah, in order to rebuild the street and the retaining wall, as we can determine by the following groups of verses:

"The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,"


"And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time."


Not only did Artaxerxes comply with Nehemiah's wishes, but the king also granted him all of the materials that he would require in order to complete such a monumentous job, as we see by the following two verses:

"Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me."


After secretly surveying the walls of Jerusalem by night, Nehemiah finally made his construction plans known to the elders of Jerusalem, as we can determine by the following two verses:

"Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work."


Ironically, similar to the situation which exists at this current time in the U.S.A. in regard to the construction of a southern border wall, and as had occurred years before, the enemies of the Jews became privy to Nehemiah's plans. So, they immediately began to mock the Jews, and to oppose them, and to stir up trouble, as the following group of verses clearly indicate:

"But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall . . . But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it."


As a result of this opposition from their very determined enemies, rather than surrender to intimidation, those brave Jews began working in shifts with their weapons positioned next to them. In fact, they didn't even take off their clothes except for washing them, as we see by these verses:

"They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us. So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day. So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing."


From his own record, we known that Nehemiah served as governor of Judah for at least twelve years. Considering that Artaxerxes reigned for some forty years in Babylon, it is possible that Nehemiah may have remained governor for at least another eight years beyond what is recorded in the following verses:

"Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor. But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God."


Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

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