Today’s passage: Nehemiah 8

Helpful thoughts:

• The command to read the law before the whole assembly of people was given in Deuteronomy 31:10-13.
  • This reading took about six hours (Verse 3).
• After the reading to the whole assembly, other teachers/leaders went and read the Word of God and “gave the sense” of what was written.  The people were hearing the preaching and teaching of God’s Word!
• As the people heard of all the ways the nation of Israel had disobeyed, how God had been merciful and gracious to them, and how they would seek to move forward in obedience to them, there was reason for mourning, then for gratitude, and then for rejoicing.

Questions to consider:

1. How does verse 8 stand as a model for preaching and teaching still today?  Whose words do we need to hear and read?  Where does the Spirit work to teach us truth and cause us to grow (2 Timothy 3:16-17)?
2. In what ways should conviction and repentance look the same today as it did for these returned exiles?  Why can we progress from grieving our sin, to having hearts of gratitude, to being filled with the joy of the Lord?  How has Christ provided this for us?
3. As a people with repentant hearts, what did they want to do the next day and for the rest of the week after having gone so long without the Word of God (Verses 13, 18)?  How can our knowledge of God and the gospel drive our desires to know His word more?

Today’s passage: Nehemiah 7

Helpful thoughts:

• Nehemiah’s commands for when the city gates would be opened and closed, and the security that was to be posted was more strict than the typical practices of cities in that area in that time.  Jerusalem was open, but with precautions.
• Most of this chapter is a repeat of Ezra 2.  (Click the link for other info and questions)
• By the end of the chapter and the recounting of all the Jews who had come back to the region, the wall is built, the work is done, and the people were able to settle in their hometowns…but there will be a greater work to do in the following chapters.

Questions to consider:

1. Who does Nehemiah acknowledge as the driving force behind his actions in this book (Verse 5)?  Why is it right to praise the Lord when great things are accomplished?  Whom do we start to praise when we forget all that God has done?
2. Why was Hananiah chosen to lead the people along with Hanani (Verse 2)?  How does the right fear of God make a person grow in faithfulness?  How does that right fear help a person become a good leader?
3. What do you think needs to be “built up” in the hearts of the people now that the wall has been built? (Look ahead to the next chapter for clues?  Churches have buildings, but what did Christ mean when he promised to “build” His church?  How can we participate in that building project today?

Today’s passage: Nehemiah 6

Helpful thoughts:

• Make no mistake, the letter read to Nehemiah in verses 6-7 is a threat.  It basically says, if you do not meet with us, we will accuse you of treason against the king of Persia.
  • Perhaps the most cutting of the lies is the idea that Nehemiah would have hired false prophets to lie about God’s will…that he should be king.  That accusation is worse than treason against any human king.
• Sanballat’s and Tobiah’s main method of undermining the work was to induce fear.
  • The final letter came to Nehemiah “open” (Verse 5) as a sign of disrespect and to signify that it’s contents were public knowledge.  They wanted Nehemiah to think “everyone” believed he was a traitor.
• After the wall’s completion the Gentiles outside begrudgingly realized God had given favor to the Jews while the Jewish nobles continued to undercut the work!
  • The pagans had a better perception of what was going on than some of the Jews.

Questions to consider:

1. Who was ultimately to receive the credit for the completion of this major project, over and above Nehemiah (Verse 16)?  How does the mention of the surrounding people (Even enemies) drive this point home even further?
2. Who were Sanballat and Tobiah trying to stop?  Who had they truly picked a fight with?  Was Nehemiah their biggest adversary?
3. How does the victory we already have guaranteed in Christ give us confidence to move ahead when we see opposition and lack of approval in this world?

Today’s passage:  Nehemiah 5

Helpful thoughts:

• The Jews were not only dealing with challenges from without, but also challenges and injustice from within during a difficult economic time.
• The Jewish nobles (Who had also refused to help with the building and allied themselves with Sanballat and Tobiah) took advantage of their people’s struggles.  Charging high interest for loans and taking their people’s land and even children as slaves when they couldn’t pay the debt back. (Leviticus 25:36-37)
• In contrast, Nehemiah did not take the same taxes from the people during his time as governor and helped feed 150 on a regular basis from his own resources.  As the leader of the people, he set the tone and set an example which he could then expect from others in leadership as well.

Questions to consider:

1. What kinds of desires began to prevail in the nobility that threatened to derail the building process?  Who were they fighting for and trying to benefit?
2. What does a desire to please self (Self-centeredness) do in any community of people?  How can it negatively impact the church?
3. How has Christ’s love set the tone for the church (1 John 4:19)?  How can you give of yourself for the benefit of others in our church and the your community today?

Today’s passage: Nehemiah 4

Helpful thoughts:

• In today’s chapter, we see the methods of the adversaries to slow down or stop the building process.
• When the people had a mind to work they guarded the builders and continued working on building the wall, not arguing and defending their decision to build it against those who mocked and threatened.
• Some might be tempted to apply this passage in a way that motivates them to push forward in spite of any criticism no matter what.  But, if the criticism is correct and founded upon truth, repentance is necessary.
  • Nehemiah and the Jews were doing the right thing.  Therefore it was right to reject these criticisms.
  • King Ahab (for example) was often very wrong.  It was wrong for him to reject the criticisms/rebukes of the prophets of the Lord.

Questions to consider:

1. Ultimately, who are we to fear and seek to please?  If the whole world disagrees with us but we are pleasing the Lord, what must we do?  If only one speaks the truth in loving rebuke and the rest of the whole world agrees with us, but the Word of God says we should repent, what must we do?
2. To whom did Nehemiah turn in the face of opposition and mockery?  He had the approval and authority of the Persian king against any army that Samaria could assemble, but who was truly watching over the people of God?  How can you be confident in walking and resting under the Lord’s will?
3. What would be some key components to the command in 1 Peter 3:15?  What would be the subject matter of that kind of conversation?  Were Sanballat and Tobiah interested in asking those kinds of questions?  When we are asked and when we do answer, how does the Word of God instruct us to proceed?

Today’s passage: Nehemiah 3

Helpful thoughts:

• In chapter 3, the description of the building of the wall around Jerusalem begins.
• This chapter serves as an overview, giving the highlight locations and names of people building all the way around.  It starts at the northeast corner and wraps around counter-clockwise.
• Some of the “nobles” would not “stoop” to serve the Lord (Verse 5).  They will also later be shown to be working together with Tobiah, who opposed the work of building back up the wall (6:17-19)

Questions to consider:

1. What insight is given to the orderliness and organization of this project?  Did they just start, every man for himself?  Or would they have had to work together with a mutual understanding and mutual submission?  What do groups of people have to do to see success (Ephesians 4:16)?
2. What is the irony of the nobility’s disinterest in “stooping” so low to serve the Lord?  What would the Lord later do? (John 13:12-14, Philippians 2:8)
3. How are you and how can you work together with your brothers and sisters in Christ to serve and love one another today as Christ builds the church?

Today’s passage: Nehemiah 2

Helpful thoughts:

• The kings of Persia expected their servants to be happy at all times.  Their happiness was considered a direct result of their magnificence in ruling the kingdom.  Nehemiah risked his life in showing his emotion and in making this appeal.
• Nehemiah had certainly prayed much in the last four months (As we see in 1:5-11).  The Lord also heard the short prayer he must have prayed in verse 4.  The Lord hears our long prayers and our short prayers.  Our sincerity is what matters most.
• If Artaxerxes was in the hands of the Lord to do as He pleased, Sanballat didn’t stand a chance.  Verse 18 and verse 20 articulate that truth.

Questions to consider:

1. Though everyone who had been present would have been astonished at the king’s kindness toward Nehemiah that day, who had granted his requests (End of verse 8)?  How does this remind us of the sovereign control of God (Proverbs 21:1)?
2. If Nehemiah was going to set his sights and efforts on doing what was right and pleasing to God, where was he going to have to find his comfort and encouragement?  Was this going to be easy?  Was unanimous support to be expected?  In whom can we take heart as we follow hard after Christ in this world (John 16:33)?

Today’s passage: Nehemiah 1

Helpful thoughts:

• The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were formally considered one book (Sometimes, what we call “Nehemiah” has also been called, “2 Ezra”).  Though there are passages in which Nehemiah gives first person accounts, the book is attributed to Ezra (Ezra often serving as the editor).
  • The events contained in the book and the writing of it would all have been completed before 400 B.C.
• Still in Persia, Nehemiah gets a report from his brother, who had journeyed back to Judah and Jerusalem.  The rebuilding had been thwarted and the people were in distress.
  • Four months would pass from the time Nehemiah received this news to the day he would make his appeal to the king.
• Much like Esther would in the next book of the Bible, Nehemiah realized God had potentially put him in this position of a cup-bearer for “Such a time as this.”
  • As a cup-bearer, Nehemiah would have continually laid his life on the line for the protection of the king of Persia, testing food and drink for poison before the king would partake.  This relationship often developed due to the trust and sacrifice shown.

Questions to consider:

1. What different aspects do you see in Nehemiah’s prayer?  What is he confessing?  What is he requesting?  For whose cause is he pleading?
2. How might God have used Nehemiah’s job leading up to this moment to prepare his heart for what he was about to do?  How would his willingness to sacrifice continue to show itself?  How was this sacrifice a picture of the love of Christ for us (John 15:13)?
3. How could God use your job (Or your studies, relationships in the community, etc.) to show His love and sacrifice to others?  What does working hard and working well do for your testimony and the testimony of Christ?