When I came to preach and teach on the book of Nehemiah, a friend of mine -David Crawford-Bixby- suggested the word "Blueprint" and I've found it an illuminating suggestion. For not only was Nehemiah a capable project manager who must have dealt with some ancient version of the blueprint in his construction work, but the word itself forms a parable of how God dealt with him. As we shall see, the character of Nehemiah is at the heart of the book that...