The biblical account of Nehemiah's return to Jerusalem and his triumphs over his enemies and their stratagems (see Neh., Chaps. 1-6) has inspired countless church members throughout the ages as they have drawn a parallel between their own problems and those confronting that staunch patriot.
Jerusalem's wall, which Nehemiah was instrumental in rebuilding, had served the city as a protection against alien forces. It had protected the sanctity of the people's place of worship)—their temple—located at Jerusalem. They believed that this temple was the only place in which to worship.
Later on, Christ Jesus presented the truth concerning worship when he said to a Samaritan woman who believed that a certain mountain was the place to worship: "The hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. . . . The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth." John 4:21, 23. And then Paul, who carried the Master's teaching to places far beyond that mountain of worship or Jerusalem itself, showed that worshiping the Father in spirit and in truth is an individual experience that takes place within; "Ye are the temple of God," I Cor. 3:16. he said.
