Nehemiah - Numbering the people

7:1-3

The work was completed with walls rebuilt and the doors set in place. The musicians and Levites were then appointed. Nehemiah put his brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem. He was chosen, not just because he was his brother, but because he was a man of integrity and who feared the Lord “more than most people do”. These are vital characteristics for any appointment, for a man with these characteristics is (i) less likely to go astray; and (ii) more likely to make the right decision in key circumstances. Nehemiah also took practical steps to ensure the safety of the city.

7:4-63

Relatively few people had returned to Jerusalem, partly because few houses had been rebuilt. Nehemiah set about compiling a list of the returnees. God had put this in his heart to do this, so it was not like the census that David had carried out and which caused so much trouble. There are some discrepancies with equivalent lists elsewhere in the Bible, particularly in Ezra 2. These may be due to copyist errors, or other reasons.

7:64-73

The purity of the priesthood was considered to be of particular importance. AFter the numbers had been obtained Ezra read the Law.

Nehemiah 6:10-19 Discernment

6:10-15

Next we come across Shemaiah who proved to be a rather foolish individual. He suggested a meeting inside the temple, saying Nehemiah's life was in danger. Either way this would have been bad for Nehemiah, and his cause. Again Nehemiah demonstrates his insight, recognising Shemaiah as a false prophet. If he had gone along with it, Nehemiah would, at best, have looked weak, at worst he would have been accused of desecrating the temple, he would have sinned, for he was not a priest. As usual Nehemiah prays to God, and puts his enemies in God’s hands. So the work continued and the wall was completed.

6:16-19

The nations and Israel’s enemies were afraid, on hearing of the completion of the wall.. They realised that God was helping Israel.The nobles were rather naive and stupid, sending letters to Tobiah. The same sort of thing can happen today within churches. We can have the equivalent of Lenin’s useful idiots. They tried to make out that Tobiah was really a rather good man, when the truth was that he was an enemy of Israel. Some supposedly godly people can lack discernment.

Nehemiah 6:1-9 Oh no to Ono.

6:1-4

The opposition does not just attack once, but will try several times. If we repulse one attack we should not become complacent, another attack, or attacks, may follow on, and that is what happened here. Sanballat Tobiah and Geshem learnt that the wall had been finished, though the gates still needed to be put in place. Sanballat and Geshem sent Neehemiah a message suggesting a meeting.Nehemiah realised that this was a distraction. We need to be wise, not always thinking the best of people. So he declined the invitation, saying he had more important things to be attending to. They sent the message four times. Sometimes we need to be persistent in resisting temptation, so Nehemiah gave them the same answer each time. 

6:5-9

They now modified the attacks, now accusing the Jews of plotting a rebellion. We should not be surprised if unfounded accusations come our way. There was some plausibility to the attacks,for Nehmiah was governor, maybe he fancied even more power!. Rebuilding the wall could be in preparation for the rebellion. Nehemiah knew he wasn’t planning any rebellion, so dismissed the charges out of hand. Sometimes we should treat false accusations with contempt. Nehemiah also prayed to the Lord for strength. Accusations maybe utterly false, but they can still take their toll.

Nehemiah 5:1-19 - Doing it right

5:1-5

So far we have read of problems from without, now we come to internal issues.  It is important that we as individuals and as congregations act in accordance with God’s ways. The people were having financial problems, and this was highlighting other issues. They were struggling with “the cost of living”, to put it in terms that we use today. They were having to mortgage fields, vineyards and homes in order to survive. They were having to borrow money in order to pay the king’s taxes, they were even having to sell sons and daughters into slavery. Now the system of the day allowed this, but the Law expressly forbade Jews taking other Jews as slaves. Just because something is common, even normal and legal, does not mean that we should do it.

5:6-11

Nehemiah was very angry. He called a large meeting and told the well-off people (nobles and officials) that they should not be charging fellow Jews interest. Note that even though they had a higher position in society, the poorer Jews were still their fellow Jews. Nor should they take JEws as slaves. They could find nothing to say about Nehemiah's rebuke. Instead they should walk in the fear of the Lord. Nehemiah and his men would stop charging interest, and return anything taken as surety. Note that they would not charge even one per cent interest. Now this seems to be a very low rate of interest. Our economy in the West is based on borrowing, and this calls into question the whole basis of our society.

5:12,13

The nobles and officials agreed to follow Nehemiah’s instructions. Nehemiah then had them all take an oath, this would make the commitment more real.The people did as they had promised.

5:14-19

Nehemiah was appointed governor over the land of Judah. There were many privileges, or perks, that he could have taken in that role, but these would ultimately have been paid for by the people, so he refuses to take them. We do not have to take everything we are entitled to.Nehemiah genuinely sought to work for the benefit of the people.

Nehemiah 4:16-23 - Always ready to fight

4:16-20

Nehemiah split the men into those who did the work, and those who provided the armed protection. The builders also carried a sword. Nehemiah also had a man who stayed with him, and was ready to blow the trumpet to rally people, probably if an all out attack was happening.

4:21-23

Nehemiah had everyone ready to fight off any attack, and he provided a good example himself, always ready to fight. In a church everyone should be equipped to defend themselves and others, not just leaving everything to the leaders.

Nehemiah 4:1-15 - Opposition and overcoming

4:1-8

Sanballat was angry that the rebuilding had started, even today people have an irrational reaction against Israel doing anything. Sanballat was supported by Tobiah, their first attempt was to use mockery, casting doubt on the Israelites’ ability to do anything useful. Nehemiah’s first reaction was to pray. The result was that the wall was built to half its original height. The people worked with all their heart. On hearing that good progress was being made, Sanballat and Tobiah became even more angry. Anger seems to have been their default response. Seeing that mockery had not worked, they decided to take a more direct approach, planning to fight against them.

4:9-15

Sanballat and Tobiah’s default response was anger, Nehemiah’s was prayer and planning. So he prayed to the Lord and posted Guards on the wall. The people (v10) were finding things hard going and were discouraged, fearing attack. Nehemiah posted the people carefully, and organised them by families, so they would have every incentive to fight hard. He encouraged them by reminding them who God was, and encouraging them to fight for their families. This seemed to deter  the enemies, and the work continued.

Nehemiah 3:1-32 - Let's be organised!

3:1-32

We now read about how Nehemiah planned the work. Nehemiah was both a thoughtful, spiritual man, but also a very organised one. He thought about what was needed when he heard of the situation in Jerusalem, and organised the work carefully. There is a map of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s time here.The work is carefully laid out. People, generally, did not have far to travel, and often worked on parts near their home, so they would be motivated to defend it against any attacks. The Sheep Gate was where animals for sacrifice were brought in, hend the priests worked on this section. All sorts of people were involved in the work, including the daughters (v12) and the priests.