Chapter three begins the recording the names of the people and the areas of the wall repairs. This seems trivial to us, because most of the names are unknown to us and some of the areas described are not excavated today, so verification is difficult.

So why do we care? The short answer is the names and places carry a much greater importance to those of Nehemiah's time than ours. But there are also some matters of interest in the details given, so it is worthwhile to look at such chapters with care.

Chapter four, on the other hand, is of huge importance. The things which Nehemiah had to ask of God, given their enemies looks nothing like what we would pray today. The spiritual world of Nehemiah's time looks so much different from ours in the New Testament. Now that we have been shown grace and mercy, none of us, if we understand scripture, would wish horrible things on those who hate us.

Nehemiah was such a noble and admirable man, that would have loved to live with the full knowledge of God's grace and mercy. This is a challenge for the church to grasp too, though scripture makes this so clear.