Crisis Point
In any time of crisis, whether it be the one in which Haggai found himself or one confronting any other group, church or nation, a common factor is likely to be the variety of opinions as to what brought it about and how it can be handled. There will also be one or two lobbyists for a particular line which they firmly believe is the only way and should therefore be given precedence over all others.
Nehemiah is the advocate of restoration. The world that he knew, loved and wanted was a world with walls, whether to keep the enemy out or the faithful in is not clear. They used to have walls. Some (possibly Nehemiah) would say they had always had walls. Walls were crucial to any settlement. No holy city could survive without them. Without walls, identifiable land, rules and regulations on coming and going, with rituals, checks and balances, religion did not have a chance. Somebody, somehow, must hold the line.
Not everybody saw it that way. Imagine someone in the crowd listening to his message who had seen the walls fall down and shuddered at the thought of them being rebuilt. Imagine others who had witnessed the slow disintegration of the walls over many years, maybe feeling guilty because they had done nothing about it, but who had learned gradually to live without them, and who now hear Nehemiah’s utterance after his years of absence as offensive and a personal attack on their integrity. Is Nehemiah suggesting that these people had lost their faith in God?
Ezra took a different view. Civic walls and pride, military security or protection meant little to him. God would always take care of that. What mattered to Ezra was that people learned to honour him and respect his ways, and that meant giving priority to worship and the Temple.