ArticleBlog | What can Nehemiah teach us about grieving?
What can Nehemiah teach us about grieving?
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 17.09.21
It’s no exaggeration to say that over the past 18 months, the whole world has gone through a crash course in grief and mourning. Whether we have lost loved ones to Covid, stood socially distanced at a funeral or been faced with the daily death toll on our televisions, it has been inescapable. While over the past century I believe we have shrunk grief, so that we think of it only in terms of mourning death, the pandemic has brought grief into sharper focus as we have felt the losses all around us. Loss of freedom, livelihoods and any sense of normality have weighed heavy on our hearts.
In scripture, we see rhythms of grieving for the people of God; from their despair at the destruction of the Temple [2 Kings 25:8-17] to the practices of sitting Shi’vah, similar to Job mourning for seven days [Job 2:13]. But grieving isn’t limited to the death of loved ones. Prophets like Nehemiah wept and grieved over their city and their people. It’s easy to understand grief when it involves the death of someone we love; there are rhythms and expected rituals to accompany that kind of grief – but the truth is not all grief involves bereavement. We need to grieve all our losses – whether it be the loss of a person, a place, a position or a system.
