Matthew - Introduction

Matthew is the first gospel that appears in the New Testament. It is very comprehensive, giving a pretty full account of the birth of Jesus (Luke giving somewhat more information), and covering, of course, the cross and resurrection. It includes the Sermon on the Mount. Perhaps its main feature is that one of its aims is to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament, and it was possibly aimed at Jewish Christians. It was probably written by Matthew the apostle. T is one of the synoptic gospels, some believe it used Mark as source material, along with the supposed source Q (a collection of Jesus’ sayings, though its existence has not been proved. Date for the gospel range from  the 650s and 60s to the 70s, though no one really knows. The gospel was written in Greek, and includes numerous references to the Old Testament, commensurate with his purpose.There are various ways of looking at Matthew, but many take five main discourses of Jesus as the framework. So we have:

Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7)

Commissioning of the apostles (chapter 10)

Kingdom parables (chapter 13)

Kingdom life (chapter 18)

The olivet discourse (chapters 24,25)

While writing these notes I am reading the following commentary:

TNTC commentary on Matthew - Rt T France, IVP (2015)

Esther 9 & 10 - Remembering

9:20

Mordecai saw this as a great time for rejoicing in how God has saved them.  Haman had sought to destroy the Jews, but had failed utterly. The people were to remember what God had done for them. One of the great dangers is that we forget what God has done for us. Remembering what He has done is vital for having a right relationship with Him. Esther cooperated with Mordecai in establishing this as a key time of celebration.

10:1-3

King Xerxes also remembered and honoured Mordecau, his acts were written in the official records, he was held in high esteem.

Esther Chapter 9 - Tables turned

9:1-4

In response to Esther’s request the king’s edict was carried out. On the day when the enemies of the Jews had hoped to attack them, it was they who became the victims. They were attacked by the Jews. The nobles, satraps and governors helped the Jews. Mordecai also became more powerful.

9:5-19

Many people were killed by the Jews. Now we might have an element of revulsion about this, but the key point is that Satan’s plan was turned completely around.  It is dangerous to attack Israel, for God will act on their behalf. At times He will judge them, as he did with Assyria and Babylon, but God always wants to bring them back to himself. The king reported the news to Esther and invited her to make another request; she asked for the Jews in Susa to be allowed to repeat their actions. This request was granted. There is emphasis on the fact that the Jews did not lay their hands on the plunder. After the killing they had a day of feasting and joy.

Esther 8 - Freedom for the Jews

8:1-17

Haman’s plans and work were completely undone and reversed, just as one day Satan’s plans will all be undone.The king gave Haman’s estate to Esther. Mordecai was also honoured. Esther’s prime concern was for the well being of the Jews, and this too was granted. So the Jews were allowed to protect themselves against anyone who might try to attack them. 

The edict was sent throughout the land and there was great rejoicing among the Jews. “And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them,

Esther 7 - Haman gets his just deserts

7:1-10

So the king and Haman went to Esther’s banquet. During the banquet the king asked Esther what her request was. She asked for her people to be spared, talking about the edict to kill all the Jews. The king wanted to know who had issued such an edict. Esther revealed that it was Haman. The king was angry and Haman was afraid, knowing where all this was going to lead, he pleaded with Esther for mercy. This just made the king even angrier. So Haman ended up being impaled on the gallows he had set up for Mordecai, so Haman was killed.

Esther 6:1-14 - Mordecai is honoured

6:1-14

God was working in the situation. The king could not sleep and decided to read the book of the chronicles. There he read about how Mordecai had exposed a plot to kill the king, and then found out that nothing had been done to reward Mordecai. Haman happened to be around and the king called him in to ask how a man who the king wants to honour should be honoured. Haman thought the king was talking about him. Pride distorts our thinking. So Haaman answered thinking that he was choosing a reward for himself. The king then tells Haman to do all these things for Mordecai. Haman followed these orders. However he was distraught and went home and told his wife and friends what had happened. His advisors and wife warned him against doing anything stupid, for it was futile to oppose the Jews. 

Esther 6 - Haman gets angry

5:1-8

So Esther went to see the king. He was pleased to see her, and asked what her request was, indicating that he would be willing to grant it. She did not ask directly for the Jews to be saved, but to have a banquet, and that Haman should be there. The king was agreeable. So the banquet went ahead, the king knew that Esther the banquet was not the real request. She said she would make known her “real” request at the banquet,

5:9-14

Haman was happy, but this changed when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate. As usual Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, but Haman restrained his anger. He felt honoured to be invited to the king’s banquet, and boasted about it to his family and friends, he also vented his anger about Mordecai. His wife urged him to set up an enormous gallows for Mordecai. Haman was pleased with the suggestion.

Esther Chapter 4 - For such a time as this

4:1-8

While Esther is the star of the show, Mordecai is perhaps the real star, working in the background. He became aware of what was being planned and was naturally deeply upset. In fact all the Jews became aware of the edict and were equally upset, fasting and weeping. Esther learnt about Mordecai and was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to wear, not realising why he was in sackcloth and ashes. She cared for Mordecai, but did not understand the bigger situation. So she sent one of the king’s eunuchs to find out why he was so distressed. Hathak was the one who went out and Mordecai told him everything. \he also told \hathak to tell \esther to go to the king and plead for her people.

4:9-14

Hathak did this. Esther did not think it was possible for her to go to the king without being summoned, for she could be put to death. Now Esther was also a Jew so she too would be liable to be killed under the edict. Mordecai understood that God had placed her in this position for such a time as this. Haman had been planning, but God also had been planning, and Esther was part of that plan. We also are part of God’s plan.

4:15-171

Esther listened to this, and asked Mordecai to get all the Jews to fast and pray. She would indeed go to the king, “If I perish, I perish”. Mordecai carried out Esther’s instructions.

Esther Chapter 3 - The order goes out to kill all the Jews

3:1-15

The other key event leading up to all that happened was the honouring of Haman the Agagite, this happened about four years after the installation of Esther. The king had also commanded that everyone bow down to Haman. Maybe he was a bit like the Peter Mandelson of his day. Mordecai, however, would not bow down to him This caused talk among the royal officials, they encouraged him to comply, but he refused. tHis was reported to Haman.

Haman was enraged. He was a very proud and hateful man. He also learnt that Mordecai was Jewish, and so he was determined to destroy all the Jews. Haman sought the King’s permission to pursue his vendetta against the Jews, even offering to pay money to the royal treasury. Xerxes agreed, but declined the money. So an order was written out to go to all the provinces to kill all the Jews, and the order was sealed with the king’s seal. So the fate of the Jews seemed to be all set.

Esther 2 - A beauty contest won, and an assasination plot foiled

2:1-18

After he had calmed down a little, Xerxes decided he needed to look for a replacement queen. The prime characteristic of this new queen was that she was to be beautiful. So he appointed commissioners to gather together a harem of beauties, they were to be somewhat pampered, and then Xerxes would choose the one he liked best as the new queen. Mordecai was a Jew who had been carried into exile by Nebuchadnezzar; he was in charge of bringing up a cousin, Esther, who happened to be very beautiful. Esther was one of the bimbos taken to the palace. Esther ended up winning the beauty contest. She had kept her ethnicity secret, under Mordecai’s instruction. While she was in the palace Mordecai did his best to keep an eye on her.

Esther followed the guidance of Hegai, the king’s Eunuch who was in charge of the harem. Xerxes made Esther queen and held a great banquet in order to show off his new queen. A national holiday was declared.

2:19-23

So Esther was installed in the palace. While Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate he became aware of a plot to kill the king. He told Esther and she reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai, so the plot was foiled and the plotter were put to death, details of the matter were recorded in the official records.

Esther 1 - Rebellious women!

1:1-22

The book starts by setting the scene for how the situation arose.Xerxes was the ruler over a vast empire, based in Susa. He was proud of his wealth, and held a vast banquet demonstrating his wealth. Today we still see many proud rulers. It seems that this banquet was just for men, and Queen Vashti held her own banquet for the women. It seems that Queen Vashti was something of a “trophy wife” and Xerxes wanted to show her off, but she refused to come. This made the king furious. He consulted his advisers and they agreed that she had done a terrible thing, and there was a danger that the women in general would become rebellious. So Vashti was effectively deposed from her position, and he sent out an edict to all the people that “every man should be ruler over his own household”. Women could not be allowed to get too uppity!

Esther - Introduction

Introduction

Esther, like the Song of Songs, does not mention God explicitly. However, the hand of God is definitely present. The Jews’ very existence is threatened, by people who hate them, just as many today still hate Israel and the Jews. God rescues them through Esther winning a beauty contest! God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform. Just because there is no obvious move of God (i.e. no prophet, no godly leader) it does not mean that God is not at work.

We don’t know who wrote the book, It is set in the period 483-473 BC. As well as God not being mentioned, the book of Esther is not quoted in the New Testament either. Nor have any copies been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Moreover, there is no reference to practices of the Law, though I guess it would have been difficult for them to follow Jewish practices in Persia.

Then there is the question of why the book was written. It was probably written in Israel based on reports of what had happened, or by someone who was actually an eye-witness. The purpose may have been to encourage the people in Israel that God was still working among their fellow Jews in far off lands.

Nehemiah 13:10-30 - Putting things right

13:10-13

He also learnt that there were other problems, the Levites had not been receiving their proper allocations, and so some had abandoned their duties and returned to their fields. We can sometimes take the attitude that those who work “full-time” for God should be happy to be poor for the sake of the Lord, but this is not a Biblical attitude. God’s workers still need to live and to look after their families, and the rest of us should ensure that they are properly provided for. Of course, this can be taken to excess, but this is not often the problem in the UK, though it can be in the USA.

13:14-30

Another problem Nehemiah discovered was the breaking of the Sabbath. Again Nehemiah took firm steps to eradicate the problem. So he put guards on the gates, and the doors were locked on the Sabbath. Nehemiah took steps to ensure the purity of the nation.

Nehemiah 12:1-9 - Deadling with problems

13:1-3

We now get more consequences of the Law having been read out. After the exodus The Ammonite and Moabites had refused to help Israel, but had hired Balaam to curse them. However, God had turned the curses into blessings. However, Their refusal to help was still held against Israel, and Ammonites and Moabites were to have no part in Israel, the people decided to expand this and to exclude all who were of foreign descent. It is still a mistake to treat Israel badly. Various Western nations should remember this!

13:4-9

As well as overt enemies, churches all have “useful idiots”. Eliashib was one such person in Israel. He had been put in charge of the storerooms in the house of God. He was also a close associate of Tobiah. If you remember from earlier parts of the book, Tobiah was one of the enemies of Israel. Eliashib provided Tobiah with the use of one of the storerooms, the storeroom had been used for offerings and tithes. All this happened while Nehemih had returned to Babylon for a time. He learnt of these things after he returned and took firm action to sort them out. He ejected all of Tobiah’s goods from the storeroom and had the rooms purified, and then returned to their proper purpose.

Nehemiah 12 - Priests and Levites

12:1-26

The lists continue with the priests and Levites, and the heads of families.

12:27-47

The wall was dedicated to the Lord, the Levites and musicians were brought in to lead the joyful singing. The priests and Levites purified themselves, then purified the people. Two large choirs were assigned to give thanks. Note the importance given to worship throughout the old testament. One of the features of this chapter seems to be a concern about doing things the way that David had set them up, or wanted them done. In a way, David was the focal point of life in the Old Testament. They knew that God had promised that he would always have someone on the throne. Now Jesus is the focal point of life under the gospel. The two choirs wen in opposite directions around the walls.

Nehemiah 11 - Repopulating Jerusalem

11:1-36

Jerusalem was relatively sparsely populated, partly because of the rubble and the state of the walls. Now the walls and gates had been repaired it was time to set about repopulating the city.  The leaders were settled in Jerusalem, setting an example. We then get a list of those who had settled in Jerusalem. These included descendants of Judah and Benjamin, the two tribes of the southern kingdom, priests and Levites and gatekeepers. Musicians were also provided and play an important role in the daily activity. Jerusalem was seen as an important place, and still is today,

Nehemiah 10 - Commited to the Lord

10:1-39

Israel, under Nehemiah, had decided to confess their sins and to commit themselves to the Lord. This commitment was made more certain by having it sealed. So in this chapter we get  a list of all those who sealed this commitment. Nehemiah is the first mentioned, the list that follows is presumably a list of officials. This is followed byLevites and priests., then the “leaders of the people”. There was a  mass binding of themselves to the Lord. two particular ordinances of the law are highlighted. One is not marrying non-Jews, and the other is the observance of the Sabbath, including the sabbath years and jubilees. They had not been doing this, so the exile had ensured that the land would get its sabbath rest. It is estimated that the seventy years in exile would account for the sabbath years the land had filed to have.

“We will not neglect the house of God” sums up the whole process. The people had seriously committed themselves to God.

Nehemiah 8 - Hearing the word of the Lord

8:1-18

Ezra had returned some fifteen years before Nehemiah, his task was to teach the people the Law. So the wall and gates had all been concluded, now the task was to complete the walls in peoples’ lives, so they all gathered to hear the Book of the Law of Moses. It was read to both men and women, and children who could understand it. The people listened attentively. On hearing the word Ezra and the people praised the Lord. and responded “Amen! Amen!” and worshipped the Lord. There were also Levites who instructed the people. Ezra was on a raised platform, so everyone could see and hear him. On hearing the word the people wept, perhaps because they realised that they had sinned against God, and so were in big trouble. However, the people were told not to mourn for the day was a day holy to the Lord. Instead they were to “enjoy choice food and sweet drinks”. The joy of the Lord was their strength. The gospel is about us being saved from our sins. So there is a two part realisation, first realising the reality of our sins, and then realising the effectiveness of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Joy in our salvation is a key part of our lives.. The people learnt from the word of the Lord and enacted it. So they celebrated the festival of shelters.

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.

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.

Song of Songs Chapter 5

5:1-16

Verse 1 is about the man delighting in his beloved.

The beloved also longs for her beloved, but then he is gone and she cannot find him. Indeed the watchmen of the city beat her up as she searched for him. There are times in life when Christ seems so close, then He is gone. Once we felt God so close, so aware of His love for us, then nothing! We long for a return of the closeness of the Lord, we go and seek Him out, we pray, we praise, we read the Bible, we cry out to Him, but nothing happens. Worse than that, the circumstances of life, the thoughts and emotions within us just seem to beat us up.

The friends ask what makes her lover so special. She then goes into a rhapsody of his great qualities. If God seems far off just now, consider why it matters so much to you. Why do you seek Him, why do you long for Him? Why not just get on with life like most of the world does with worrying about whether you are close to God or not? It is because he is so wonderful. We know that He is the only One who gives meaning to our lives, He is perfect in every detail, He is the One who can restore us.