Maranatha Grace Church

Nehemiah

Outline: ( From  Hunger's Bible Handbook)

Nehemiah's Restoration of the Walls, Ch. 1---7

Ezra's and Nehemiah's Reform, Ch. 8---13

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 12  Nehemiah 1 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁸ “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, ⁹ but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

¹⁰ “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. ¹¹ Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer to the king. (Nehemiah 1:8-10)

Prayer must be from the heart and from the mind. Christians who want success in their prayer life need to know the Bible, the word of God, so that they can pray according to the will of God revealed in the Word. Nehemiah knew the promises of God to the people of Israel, he based his prayer on the faithfulness of God and his unfailing love for his people.  He was very successful in prayer.

The best success is success in prayer. Nehemiah ended his petition by asking to the Lord success because he knew that his success had to be from the Lord. “Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man (v. 11).” We don’t need to play office politics, trying to please our boss beyond proper measure, putting other co-workers down so we can get ahead. The Lord will give us success and promotion when we please him above all men.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 13 Nehemiah 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, ² so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

I was very much afraid, ³ but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

⁴ The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.” (Nehemiah 2:1-5)

God is more interested in our joy than in our sadness. Nehemiah was not supposed to be sad in the presence of King Artaxerxes, since the king treated his closest servants very well, he did not want to have a malcontent serving him his food. For the king, a sad face was a sign of ungratefulness with a bad intention. That is why Nehemiah became frightened (v. 3).

If an earthly king can demand a joyous countenance from his servants, even more so God wants us to be joyous in his presence. He commanded us to rejoice always, “Rejoice, I repeat rejoice.” Why? Because he has done great things for us, he saves from destruction, he gives us eternal life, he fills us with the Holy Spirit, and “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3).

The only tears that really move God are tear of JOY. Yes there is a time and a place for tears in our lives, even in our churches. But what God expects from us is a daily joyful service out of gratitude.  

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 14 Nehemiah 3 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel. ² And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them^[a] Zaccur the son of Imri built.

³ The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁴ And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired. ⁵ And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord. (Nehemiah 2:1-5)

Before the invention of computer people used to doubt or scoff at the words of the Psalmist in Psalms 139 which imply that every human being who ever lived on planet earth has a book which contains the record of his entire life. How big this book would be, they used to say. But now we know, the book of our lives could easily fit in our shirt pocket, it could even be smaller than an Iphone with Terabytes of compressed videos data of every single moment of our lives.

We all have books of our lives in heaven. What are we writing on it by our deeds and our attitude? Nehemiah 3 starts with a list of names of people who gave themselves wholeheartedly to the service of the Lord in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Men and women worked diligently on the construction (v. 12). But sadly, we also find people who did not want to be bothered with the work.

“And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord (v. 5).” They did not assist in the service of the Holy One, to build the wall of the city. I don’t want my name to be recorded as such, do you?

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 15 Nehemiah 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁰ In Judah it was said,^[d] “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” ¹¹ And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” ¹² At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”^{[e] 13} So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴ And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”(Nehemiah 4:10-14)

Although the fight that Christian men are called to fight is not a literal physical fight, nevertheless it is as serious or even as deadly as it were for the Israelites who were to fight, “for their brothers, their sons, their daughters, their wives, and their homes (v. 14). We are living in a very difficult time. If Christian men do not fight on their knees, praying to the Lord, for their brothers, their sons, their daughters, their wives, and their homes, we risk to see total destruction of society.

In this fight, we must remember the Lord, his love, his compassion and all the good things he has done for us. Second, we must remember that the Lord is great and awesome, he is fighting besides us; therefore our victory is assured. Lastly, we must remember, if we don’t fight for our brothers, our sons, our daughters, our wives, and our homes, no one else will.

God has called us to be the spiritual leaders of our families, to be intercessors on their behalf. He wants to cooperate with us for their salvation, and we must take this responsibility very seriously.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 16 Nehemiah 5 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. ² For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” ³ There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” ⁴ And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. ⁵ Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.” Nehemiah (5:1-5)

God always shows special attention to the poor because he understands their heart, and the poor look up to him for their very existence. In the OT, God instituted the Jubilee laws so that everyone would have a chance to regain their freedom and their properties. Also, God’s special concern for the poor is shown in Isaiah 58, where he equates proper fast with showing kindness, compassion, mercy, and love towards others.

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
 to loose the bonds of wickedness,
 to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed^[b] go free,
 and to break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
 and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
 and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? (Isaiah 58:6-7)

The Jewish leaders of Jerusalem were wrong to treat the poor unfairly while pretending to be serving God (v. 5). Fortunately Nehemiah was able to see through their hypocrisy and confronted them about doing the right thing.  A great spiritual revival ensued from the nobles’ obedience to the recommendation of Nehemiah, by freeing and cancelling the debts of the people the nation became united again.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 17 Nehemiah 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁰ Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” ¹¹ But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?^[c] I will not go in.” ¹² And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³ For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. ¹⁴ Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid. Nehemiah (5:1-5)

“And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him (v. 12).” There had always existed false prophets, there will always be prophet. What should one do? Avoid all prophetic utterance, or gullibly accept all such utterances.

We cannot throw away the baby with the bath water, no matter how spoiled the water is. We cannot just ignore direct prophecies, because of false prophets. We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21, “Do not despise prophecies, ²¹ but test everything; hold fast what is good.” Direct prophecies are special gifts of God to the people of God, but they need to be tested by the standard of the word of God.

Nehemiah easily understood that the prophet Shemaiah was a false prophet because his prophecy contradicted the word of God. God is not a God of confusion, the prophetic word cannot contradict the written word.  

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 18 Nehemiah 7 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁶⁶ The whole assembly together was 42,360, ⁶⁷ besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female. ⁶⁸ Their horses were 736, their mules 245,^{[a] 69} their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.

⁷⁰ Now some of the heads of fathers' houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics^[b] of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests' garments and 500 minas^[c] of silver.^{[d] 71} And some of the heads of fathers' houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. ⁷² And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests' garments. Nehemiah (5:1-5)

Throughout the Bible we see God counting his own people. He counted them because they are precious to him.  The counting shows that is a faithful God who knows us collectively as his people, but also as individuals. One of the parables of Jesus was about a shepherd who had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them. How did he know that one was lost? I suppose, because he counts them day after day, seven days a week.

God cares so much for us that not only he counts each one of us, he even counts every hair on our head. Jesus told his disciples, “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30). That means every facet of our lives, every event of our lives are not too trivial for God’s attention. If it matters to us, it also matters to God. We don’t have to be ashamed of going to God with requests that seem to be unimportant, God is concerned about our whole existence.  

^“Their horses were 736, their mules 245, their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720 (v. 69).” Even our possessions are counted by God. Why? For protection. Because everything we have has been given to us by God, our earthly possessions are blessings from the Lord that must be used for his glory, not for the adversary’s destruction.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 19 Nehemiah 8 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁹ And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ¹¹ So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹² And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. Nehemiah (8:9-12)

This passage shows clearly that the Lord delights more in our happiness than in our sadness. Even when we have gone astray as the people of Israel did, our repentance should not lead us into depression and despair. Instead we should rejoice in the Lord who shows us our sins and who leads us into the right path. “The people wept as they heard the words of the Law (v. 10).” But then they were told, “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength (v. 11).”

To rejoice in the Lord is a choice, otherwise the word of God would not have commanded it. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice,” we read in Philippians 4:4. We can be mistaken thinking that our feelings must determine our actions. However in the spiritual life, our actions determine our feelings.

Back home, we used to say “C’est en mangeant que l’appetit vient.” Because the people of God had engaged themselves in joyful  and selflessness acts, they experienced the joy that only the Lord can give. “And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing.”

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 20 Nehemiah 9 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. ² And the Israelites^[a] separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ³ And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. ⁴ On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. ⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Nehemiah (9:1-5)

“And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers (v. 2).” Most Christians would agree that it is necessary to confess our sins. But what about the inequities of our fathers? Should they also be confessed by us Christians?

When Maurice Sixto’s radio drama, “Ti Saintanise,” burst on the political landscape of Haiti, I was quite young, but the story stirred my consciousness. I believed it made a big impact on the whole population as well. For the first time, the Haitian society was confronted with the awfulness of the system of “Restavek” that had been practiced in the country for a long time. If the parents were part of that system, were the children innocent? The first born of the Egyptians died because of the wickedness of the country against the Israelites?

I believe that anyone who benefited from an unjust system of exploitation should confess the iniquities of their fathers once they become aware of the situation. And when possible make restitution. Haitian Christians should find out and help those whose exploitation in the Restavek system had helped them to be who they are today.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 21 Nehemiah 10 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

²⁸ “The rest of the people—priests, Levites, gatekeepers, musicians, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand— ²⁹ all these now join their fellow Israelites the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the Lord our Lord.” Nehemiah (9:1-5)

We love to say the verse Jeremiah 29:11 in our church, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We say it with gusto, it resonates with our deepest longings, our needs for security, prosperity, longevity and happiness.

It is great to know that the Lord cares so much about us. He has great plans for us. What about us, do we have great plans for the Lord? In this chapter, we see that the returned exiles had great plans for the Lord. They needed the Lord’s help, they also understood that the Lord needed their help. Pay attention to the great “We” decisions of this chapter.

 “We promise (v. 30).” “We assume the responsibility (v.32). “We also assume responsibility (v.35).” “Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God (v. 37).” That tells us that serving the Lord cannot be left out to chance. We must make up our minds. The will has to be activated. We must have a plan for the Lord. The “We” statements culminated on this last one: “We will not neglect the house of our God (v. 39).”

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 22 Nehemiah 11 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten^[a] remained in the other towns. ² And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

³ These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants. ⁴ And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez; ⁵ and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, son of the Shilonite. (Nehemiah 11:1-6)

Chosen, drafted, and volunteers. Since the leaders were chosen by God to lead his people they had no choice in whether or not they should live in Jerusalem. They had to live in the city, to face the perils and the troubles of the people. Pastors, deacons, leaders cannot withdraw from the fellowship of the people of the Lord in church. They are expected to be there. They have to show up.

Others had to be drafted to live in the city, “And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city (v. 1).” To live in the city was a privilege with the responsibility to defend it against the enemies. We are called to be intercessors, to defend the people of the Lord through our intercession.

“And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem (v. 2).” There is a special blessing for those who willingly and without reservation seek to serve the people of God. They receive double blessings, blessings from the Lord, and blessings of the people.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 23 Nehemiah 12 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

^“And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.

⁴⁴ At that time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits and tithes. From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions required by the Law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites. ⁴⁵ They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did also the musicians and gatekeepers, according to the commands of David and his son Solomon. ⁴⁶ For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the musicians and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷ So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the musicians and the gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron.” (Nehemiah 12:43-47)

Everything we have comes from the Lord. Our power to get wealth comes from the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:18). At the dedication of the walls of the city of Jerusalem, the people offered great sacrifices since God had blessed them abundantly. Even their rejoicing was a gift from God, “they were rejoicing because God has given them great joy (v. 43).” The joy of the Lord was the engine behind their success.

When the people were tired from the hard work of rebuilding the temple, Nehemiah reminded them “The Joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10). This truth is also our truth. The Bible tells us that joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The love of God leads us into joy. The joy of the Lord then leads us unto the peace of God, peace that the world cannot give, peace which surpasses all understanding, which guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

We have reached the end of the Book of Nehemiah Challenge, tomorrow we start the Book of Esther Challenge.

Book of Nehemiah Challenge – Day 24 Nehemiah 13 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁰ I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. ¹¹ So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. ¹² Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. ¹³ And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. ¹⁴ Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service. (Nehemiah 13:10-14)

Throughout the Bible we see that salvation is a free gift of God. We cannot earn or deserve our salvation. We read in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Further in Ephesians 2:8-9 we read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Still there are works to be done for the Lord, and we will be compensated for our good deeds. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). The Bible makes it clear that the principle of sowing and reaping for the farmer also applies to the spiritual life. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6).  

Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service (v. 14).

May the Lord richly bless you!