Nehemiah 2:11-20 - Let's rebuild!

2:11-20

Three days after arriving in Jerusalem, Nehemiah began to inspect the walls. He did so at night, probably not wanting to attract undue attention. He had one or two others with him. He had not told anyone, not even the Jews, exactly what his plans were, not wanting anything to leak out. He was fully aware of the dangers. However after completing his methodical inspection he told them of his desire to rebuild the walls. He also told them how God had enabled him to gain favour from the king. They were keen to get on with his rebuilding plan. However, Sanballat and Tobiah  were not pleased and accused them of rebelling against the king. Nehemiah was not discouraged at all, for he had confidence in God.

Nehemiah 2:1-10 - Nehemiah gains favour

2:1-3

It was about four months before Nehemiah actually approached the king, and this kind of happened by accident. One time when he brought the wine he looked very downcast. This could have been very dangerous, for the king could have viewed it as disrespectful, as if Nehemiah was somehow displeased with the king, and the king inquired of Nehemiah as to why he was so downcast.

Because of the reasons mentioned above Nehemiah was “very much afraid”. He replies, being careful to demonstrate his respect for the king. He does not mention Jerusalem directly, remember that it was the king who, under pressure from others, has given the order for the work to stop. He also mentions that his ancestors were buried there, making the matter more personal, and perhaps more likely to win sympathy from the king.

2:4-6

The king does respond favourably, asking what Nehemiah wants. Nehemiah had no doubt thought about this beforehand, but he also prays to God. He asks to go to Jerusalem (though again not naming the city) in order to rebuild it. The king indicates that he will respond favourably, asking how long his journey will take and when he would get back. The journey would take several months.

2:7-10

Nehemiah had thought about the practicalities. So he asks for letters of introduction, to ensure safe passage there, and also letters to allow him to be given timber necessary for the rebuilding. The king granted his request, and Nehemiah puts this down to “the gracious hand of God”. So Nehemiah set out on his journey armed with the letters. Sanballat and Horonite were disturbed by this development. There will always be those who react against anything that favours Israel, this is still true today!

Nehemiah 1 - Bad news, but a good response

1:1-4

We know very little about Nehemiah’s background, except that he was the son of Hakaliah and one of his brothers was called Hanani. He was with the exiles in Babylon, living in the city of Susa.Hanani had been in Judah and reported about the situation there. The report was not good. The walls of the city were broken down, and the gates had been burned down with fire. The practical situation was important as well as the spiritual circumstances, indeed the two are often linked. Nehemiah was greatly distressed . He wept and fated for several days, and prayed to the Lord.

1:5-7

His prayer starts with a declaration that God keeps his covenant of love, this was not said to remind God, but to build up his own faith. Then he confesses the sin of the nation, at the same time identifying himself with the sins, he did not consider himself innocent.

1:8,9

He then remembers the words of Moses which had foretold the consequences of disobedience and idolatry., but they also told of the promise of return if they repented. The gospel is not just about saying that God loves everyone, and definitely not that we are basically good. Rather it is honest about our sin and sinfulness, but also a call to repentance, and a promise that God welcomes back repentant sinners. If the people returned to God, then even if they had been scattered to the furthest lands, He would restore them. 

1:10,11

Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king, i.e. he tasted the king’s wine before he drank it to ensure that it was not poisoned. It was the king who had been persuaded to order that the rebuilding work be stopped.

Nehemiah - Introduction

Nehemiah - Introduction

Nehemiah and Ezra appear as one book in the Hebrew Bible, though there is evidence that originally they were separate. It is likely that Nehemiah was the author of the book that bears his name. It is one of the post-exilic books. The northern kingdom was exiled by Assyria, and the southern kingdom by Babylon. Both of these events were a result of God’s judgement upon them for their idolatry, something God had warned them about in the Law, and had sent various prophets; there was also a promise of eventual return. We sometimes have a picture in our minds that all the Israelites returned and that it happened all at once. Neither of these things is true.The return actually happened in three stages, Zerubbabel returned to rebuild the temple between 538 and 525 BC, Ezra returned to establish proper religious practice and worship between 458 and 456 BC, finally Nehemiah returned between 444 and 432 BC.  Nehemiah had an influential position, but when he heard of the state of things in Jerusalem his heart was touched and he wanted to return to Jerusalem to help change things.

When he arrived in Jerusalem he was faced with the problems. The state of the people themselves, and the opposition from outside. It is similar to the problems every church leader encounters!

Nehemiah took practical and spiritual action in order to change the situation and the book is a record of how he went about this.

Song of Songs Chapter 8 - Desire

8:1-4

The woman expresses the wish that the man was like a brother, so then she could express affection for him without incurring disapproving glances. People can disapprove of how much Jesus means to us, how much we rejoice in the gospel. We can be tempted not to take Christianity so seriously, yet we must take it seriously, for it truly is a matter of life and death, even eternal life and death. In 8:4 we get the repeated warning, “do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires”.

8:5-7

These verses emphasise the strength of love and desire, their strength is why they should be confined to marriage, for only in that relationship of complete commitment can they be properly directed.  Verses 6 and 7 stress the strength of love.

8:8,9

The “Friends” express their desire to protect their little sister. Answering the warning not to arouse love until the proper time.

8:10-14

The song ends with more expressions of love and desire.

Song of Songs Chapter 7 - delighting in each other

7:1-9

The lover continues to delight in his beloved, in every part of her body. How can the Lord delight in us? There are three key reasons. One is the cross, His blood has cleansed us completely of all defilement. Another if that we were created in His image. Sin has spoilt that image, but that spoiling is being undone. And connected to this is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, His work of sanctification. We should grab on to the cross, and delight in what the Spirit is doing in our lives.

7:10-13

The woman delights in her beloved, in all that He is.

Song of Songs Chapter 6 - I am my beloved and he is mine

6:1-13

The lover delights in his beloved. We then get the lover voicing this, and a return to the flock of goats and sheep analogy.

The beloved is unique in the eyes of the lover. Yes, there are many women, but his beloved is unique. In the same way we are all unique in the eyes of Christ. 

I have said it before, and I will say it again. We find this book very difficult to take, very difficult to associate with Christ's love for us. But it is true! We have no idea just how much God does delight in us. The blood of Christ has washed away all the sin that defiled us. He delights in every aspect of his beloved. 

The beloved belongs to her lover and he belongs to her. In the same way we belong to Christ, and He belongs to us. 

The lover wants the beloved to call on him, he wants to hear her voice. In the same way Christ wants to hear us calling on Him.