Purpose 39
King Hezekiah also knew the power of ritual in establishing purpose:
‘‘As the offering began, singing to the Lord began also, accompanied by
trumpets... The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers
sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of
the burnt offering was completed.’’ (2 Chron. 29)
Anyone who has ever been to a sales meeting or corporate ‘‘pep
rally’’ can see some parallels here. The clothes are different (Brooks
Brothers and Armanis rather than linen robes), as are the musical instru-
ments, and hopefully there are fewer live sacrifices. But the major com-
monality remains: dedication to and celebration of purpose.
Nehemiah was another biblical leader with a purpose: to rebuild the
wall of Jerusalem, and with it the will of its people. The wall had been
destroyed while the Hebrews were in exile. In rebuilding the wall,
Nehemiah would also be rebuilding the symbol and fabric of a nation.
‘‘Then I said... ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins,
and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall
of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.. .’ They replied,
‘Let us start rebuilding.’ ’’ (Neh. 2:17–19)
This could be the battle cry of any corporation or team that has
suffered a disastrous setback (like IBM in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
or the Chicago Bulls after Michael Jordan).
OBSTACLES:TESTS OFPURPOSE
But few great purposes are accomplished without obstacles or opposi-
tion. Nehemiah encountered both. The colonial officials in Jerusalem
ridiculed and opposed Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild the wall. Tobiah
the Ammonite chortled, ‘‘What they are building—if even a fox
climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones.’’ And
Sanballat the Horonite chimed in, ‘‘What are those feeble Jews doing?
... Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—
burned as they are?’’ (Neh. 4:2–3) Which just goes to show you that if
your purpose is good and worthwhile, you will probably have some
vocal opponents.