The Book of Nehemiah

The name Nehemiah actually means “The Comfort of Yahweh". I wonder if God sent Nehemiah as a literal comfort to the Jews.

In the past, God disciplined His people for their disobedience. The Israelites had seen three periods of captivity, under the Assyrians, Babylonians and Medo-Persians. King Artaxerxes I issued the decree for Nehemiah to lead the 3rd group of Jews to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. The physical rebuilding of the wall represented a spiritual restoration of the people. Nehemiah’s reform helped preserve the Israelites’ identity, protecting them from Pagan beliefs and culture.

Nehemiah lived prayerfully and boldly. The Book of Nehemiah contains the longest recorded prayer, comprised of prayers for many situations and feelings. Nehemiah desired God’s approval more than people’s. His walk was a blend of prayer and action: pray AND. Through the Book of Nehemiah, we learn that opposition and spiritual warfare are inevitable. Satan used ridicule, oppression, discouragement, demoralization, distraction and physical threat. Nehemiah fought with continual prayer, single-mindedness (focus on 1 goal), wisdom and righteous living — weapons of spiritual warfare. He never folded. Remember, compromise can lead to sin easily, escaping is hard.

Historical Context: The Book of Nehemiah is the last recorded history of Israel in the Old Testament before the intertestamental period, or 400-year gap between the Old and New Testaments. During these “silent years,” the Pharisees and Sadducees emerged and power shifted from Persian to Greek to Roman rule. Imagine the kind of world Jesus was born into, the kind that needed His divine saving.

Nehemiah 1

• The Jews from the first two expeditions before & under Ezra were in great danger spiritually and physically. They may not have even known the depth of the trouble they were in.

• The wall of Jerusalem was down — the Israelites lacked defenses, but it was also a source of disgrace to God. Nehemiah wept for God.

• Nehemiah’s prayer was God-centered. It was full of adoration, confession, a reminder of God’s covenant with Israel and petition. He knew God would accomplish His plan through ANYone, so he asked for favor in the presence of the king, reducing him to “this man” while speaking to the the King.

• The Power of Proximity: The chapter ends with “I was cupbearer to the King. Nehemiah was given proximity. He had access and was in the room. He could get close.

Nehemiah 2

• Nehemiah’s proximity to the king put him close enough for the king to see his sadness and ask him about it.

  • Proximity: Close enough to be noticed

  • Favor: The king cared enough to ask

• Nehemiah was afraid. His “Arrow Prayer” (Neh 2:4) was a short prayer said between the king’s ask and his answer. It was short, direct and to the point. He didn’t hesitate. He prayed and answered the king, despite his fear.

• Preparation: Nehemiah had an issue, an ask and an answer (a set time).

  • Sometimes it has to be you. The king trusted Nehemiah. He had the status and the proximity to make it happen. He didn’t just ask for the basics, he asked boldly for all that he needed.

• Again, we see confidence & credit to the hand of God for making things happen — all His requests were granted. Again, a zero-balance God.

• The enemies heard and were disturbed. Tobiah the Ammonite may have been part Jewish. It be your own people, man.

  • The enemies believed Jerusalem & parts of Judah belonged to them. It bothered them that someone came to rebuild. People can be letting what they have sit dormant, and be mad when God uses it as your blessing. They’ll believe that your blessing belongs to them, but only what God assigns has rightful ownership.

• Like Ezra, Nehemiah stayed 3 days, representing divine perfection and completion, setting things apart for a specific purpose.

• He set out in the night and told no one what God put on HIS heart, not even his workers. He acted as a leader and a man of prayer.

• The enemies surrounded them from the north, east and south. Their first attack wasn’t physical, it was ridicule and slander.

• Nehemiah rebuked past, present and future claims to Jerusalem. It belonged to the Israelites because God gave it to them, and no one else had ever or would ever have rightful claim.

Nehemiah 3

• The rebuilding of the temple began with Eliashib the high priest and a dedication, and the wall was repaired.

• As a skilled leader, Nehemiah had people working “opposite his house” or in their neighborhood, giving each person ‘skin in the game.’ They were inspired by direct benefit, which allowed for simultaneous progress at various points of the wall.

• Women are constantly present in the Bible. They participated in the rebuilding, despite the danger involved.

Nehemiah 4

• When the enemies heard that the wall was actually being rebuilt, it angered them. They ridiculed and publicly embarrassed the Israelites, calling them weak — but it didn’t work. Sticks and stones, right?

• Nehemiah prayed to God to be unmerciful with them. The enemies of God’s people were the enemies of God.

• Under Nehemiah', the people worked with all their heart (Neh 4:6). This made their enemies angrier. More faith/obedience, more problems.

• Nehemiah prayed AND posted a guard day & night

• The enemies became even angrier and plotted to kill them. It got even worse — don’t expect better in battle. Nehemiah reminded the Israelites of God’s greatness AND to fight: the balance of faith.

• Nehemiah let with a plan of continued work and protection. The sound of the trumpet was an alert to come together to pray. It was a battle cry, except God was doing the fighting. (Neh 4:20)

• Nehemiah stayed ready so he didn’t have to get ready. Again, Godly leadership. He slept with his clothes and carried his weapon always.

Nehemiah 5

• The burden was heavy. So heavy, even the wives were complaining — and if the women back then were complaining, things were bad. The Israelites were mortgaging their land, borrowing money, selling their kids to slavery. Those who had it were charging their own people interest, violating the guidelines of Levitical Law.

  • If they lended money, they weren’t supposed to charge interest (Exodus 22:25-27)

  • If they hired their fellow Israelites, they weren’t supposed to enslave them (Lev 25:39-40)

• Nehemiah called them out and even admitted his own role in lending money. He is immediate admittance was followed by solution and action.

• Out of reverence for God, he didn’t take every benefit he could have like governors before him. He devoted himself to working on the wall: what he was sent to Jerusalem for. He never demanded what he could’ve, because he considered the burden on the people.

Nehemiah 6

• He completed the wall and not a gap was left. Zero. Balance. God.

• The enemies were scheming to harm Nehemiah, but the project he carried was too great. He couldn’t stop.

• The enemies resorted to lies and slander to pit the king against him. They understood Jewish religion, and tried to use it. The enemy will use what they know about it. He studies you, so you can’t tell the difference between friend or foe. They used one of his own as a secret informer, but God gave him discernment to see the plot.

• Only priests could go into the Holy Place, so going into the temple wouldn’t have saved him. It would’ve have led him to sin and face consequences of God.

• The wall was completed in spite of. It was done in 52 days, a clear supernatural feat. The enemies became afraid and lost confidence because it was clear it was done with God’s help. God will make sure you and your enemies know who got it done.

• Tobiah was part Jewish and married into an influential Jewish family. Intermarriages provided conduits to the enemy. The Jews reported back to him constantly.

Nehemiah 7

• Nehemiah hired men of integrity, who feared God more than most. The responsibility was given to the one who was faithful.

• Nehemiah’s decisions as a leader came from God: God put it on his heart and gave him the desire. He was to make a list, and to do it by their record. The consequence of not making the list was exclusion.

• Again, the Urim & the Thummim are mentioned: used for getting decisions from God.

Nehemiah 8

• Ezra brought the Book of the Law of Moses and all heard

  • Women and children were present, though they usually weren’t. Everyone was meant to receive the word of God, if they could understand it.

• Ezra stood while reading and the people stood as soon as he opened the Book. They showed reverence to the Word of God, bowing and worshipping with their faces to the ground.

• Conviction. We see the Israelites being convicted; they grieved as they listed because they knew they were wrong.

• “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10)

  • Ezra and Nehemiah brought back public reading of Scripture. The Israelites hasn’t celebrated a festival like this in decades.

  • “Their joy was very great” - the Israelites were connected, converted and revived. Ezra read day after day and they celebrated and assembled. Have you every been in a situation where things were so bad, you should’ve been down and depressed, but instead you felt unexpected joy and peace? Yep, that’s the joy of the Lord.

Nehemiah 9

• Following their conviction, the Israelites were in deep mourning, because of their sin. They separated themselves from foreigners and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They read the Word, confessed and worshipped.

• The Levites’ Prayer: the longer prayer recorded in the Bible. A prayer centered on God’s faithfulness: He keeps His promises because He is righteous.

  • Prayers that talk to God about Himself build your faith, because you can see yourself in relation to Him

• God continued to the people despite what they did. God is forgiving, generous and compassionate. He is slow to anger and abounding in love. (Neh 9:17)

  • “Therefore you didn’t desert them”

  • Because, and in spite of. Because of His great compassion; in spite of their sin. They lacked nothing.

• Merciful God: in His great compassion, He gave the Israelites deliverers to rescue them from their enemies. He delivered them time after time. He didn’t put an end to them , because of His grace and mercy. He continuously warned and forgave the Israelites.

  • “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight” (Neh 9:28)

  • God is mighty and awesome.

• Because of their sin, they were slaves in the land that was given to them. Their blessing became their curse.

• The Israelites had to make a binding agreement. They put it in writing: write it down, make it plain.

Nehemiah 10

• The leaders and priests signed and sealed the agreement. Nehemiah also sealed it.

• The Israelites bound themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God and to carefully obey all His commands, regulations and decrees. They promised not to intermarry, and to keep holy the Sabbath.

• The Israelites assumed the responsibility of carrying out all offerings and to bring the first of everything to the Lord’s House. This included crops, fruit, cattle, wine, oil and even their sons.

• The Levites brought a tenth of the tithes to the House of God and the people of Israel brought their contributions.

• The Israelites declared: “We will not neglect the house of our God anymore” (Neh 10:39)

*Notes on Intermarriage

• The Bible warns against interfaith marriage because of the dangerous compromise involved, and the potential abandoning of our commitment to God. This ultimately leads to worshipping other gods, which leads to our demise. Other gods can include people, money, activities, alcohol, sex, work, gym, etc. Anything you put before God, you are worshipping.

• Even the wise king Solomon didn’t rule his heart wisely. He had foreign wives and concubines that caused him to worship other Gods

• Interfaith marriage caused the Israelites a loss of national identity, which caused them to lose access to the Scripture and God’s laws, which were the people’s moral code.

• The New Testament cautions us against marrying outside the faith. “He must belong to the Lord.” (1 Cor 7:39)

Nehemiah 11

• The Israelites cast lots to see who would stay in Jerusalem. 1/10 of every Israelite who volunteered was chosen… everyone couldn’t stay. Jerusalem was the holy city, and needed to be kept so. The lots meant that God chose who stayed.

• The leaders who settled were the descendants of Judah and Benjamin, priests and Levites, and the gatekeepers.

• The people (Israelites) actually lived around Jerusalem, in Judah

Nehemiah 12

• The descendants of Eliashib and Meshullam (priests) both married into the families of the enemies: intermarriage.

• The Israelites celebrated the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem with music: instruments and choirs.

• Nehemiah assigned two choirs: one led by Ezra, and one led by him.

  • The choirs went in opposite directions and met at the temple.

  • The people encircled the city in praise and could be heard far away. They were no longer afraid of being heard.

• The Israelites followed the directors for musicians and songs of praise left by David. The people contributed daily for the musicians, so they would be taken care of. Music was always an integral part of their praise.

Nehemiah 13

• Outsiders were prohibited from the Israelite community because some hired Balaam to curse them. God turned the curse into a blessing for His people, and all foreigners were thus excluded.

• Eliashib the priest was fraternizing with the enemy, giving Tobias space in God’s House. This angered Nehemiah, and he displayed a righteous anger similar to when Jesus flipped the tables in the temple.

• Evil is never so content as it is when firmly lodged in the very heart of the work of God.

• “Why is the House of God neglected?” (Neh 13:11) The Israelites had just declared that they would no longer neglect the house of God (Neh 10:39). They signed, sealed and delivered the agreement. Why was Eliashib putting their oath at risk?!

• Several times, Nehemiah asks God to remember what he has done, remember him for doing good. He boldly asks God to put his good deeds and obedience on his record.

• There is an overarching theme of keeping the Sabbath holy. Nehemiah drives out the merchants selling on the Sabbath and employs new people to guard the temple.

• Intermarriage bred children who didn’t even speak the language, which meant they wouldn’t have access to the Word, and thus were losing both their cultural identity and their faith. This was the reason Solomon sinned.

• The sons of high priests were to take on the family business and become priests themselves. By marrying into the enemies’ family, Eliashib’s grandson made a treasonous alliance. Because of his willingness to go anything to protect the faith, Nehemiah drove him away.

• The Book of Nehemiah ends with a plea, and the only request Nehemiah made for himself through the book: “Remember me with favor, my God” (Neh 13:31)

  • Nehemiah is known for his desire to preserve the faith, his boldness and his Godly leadership and spiritual warfare. But above all, Nehemiah desired God’s approval.