Nehemiah 9:1-38 - Recommittment to the Lord

9:1-38

Fasting, sackcloth and ashes was a traditional way of expressing repentance. So the Israelites gathered to express their repentance, both for themselves and for their ancestors. Mingling with, and marrying foreigners was one of their sins. They read from the Law, confessed their sins and worshipped the Lord. Not marrying non-Christians is still a good recommendation for Christians.  The objection may be that by doing so they may bring the unbelieving person to faith. Sometimes this may happen, but more often than not it is the other way round. The Levites led the people in worship, the worship recounted how God had faithfully saved and led the nation over many years, The Lord had given them regulations and laws, the observing of which would have blessed Israel, and other nations as well. However, the people “became arrogant and stiff-necked” and did not obey the commands.And so they ended up in exile, but God was gracious and compassionate, and eventually brought them back to the land. Note that it says “you gave your good Spirit to instruct them”. Part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to instruct us in the ways of the Lord.

The people had many opportunities to repent. The Lord sent numerous prophets, but they killed them. Time and time again (see Judges) God delivered them from an enemy, only for them to turn back to their evil ways again.

The people admitted all this, and committed themselves to the Lord. Their commitment was backed up by the leaders, Levites and the priests.

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.

Song of Songs - Chapter 4 - Altogether beautiful

4:1-7

The lover now delights in his beloved. The terms used are not ones we would use today, indeed it might be very unwise to use some of them. Nevertheless, it is worth looking at one or two of them. "Your hair is like a flock of goats". The goats of Canaan were usually dark. Now remember that the beloved was dark and the society of the time did not consider dark to be desirable. So the lover finds beauty in some aspects of the beloved that society mocks. We need to be careful not to allow society to mould how we view ourselves, for society's values are often complete nonsense and worthless. And there are things about us that other people mock, but that the Lord delights in.

"Your teeth are like sheep". Remember that dentistry wasn't then what it is now! To have good teeth would be a rare blessing.

The lover finds no flaw in her. Society urges us to spot faults in people (and in ourselves). If we are married we should delight in our wives or husbands. The Lord also delights in us. Have we got faults? Yes. Have our wives or husbands got faults? Yes. But God sees us as perfect because of Christ. 

4:8-15

The lover continues to delight in his bride. Note the use of the term "sister" in v9. To use brother or sister in the love poetry of the time was quite common and did not indicate anything of an incestuous nature.

"You are a garden locked up" (v12). There were many delights in the beloved that had not yet been opened up. We need to realise in a marriage that a mutual self-giving relationship opens up features of each other, it nurtures positive qualities and develops new gifts. People sometimes wonder if they have married the right person. The more important question is "how do we love the person we have married". It is not just about the person you marry, it is about the person that they (and you) will become within the marriage.

And the Lord sees all sorts of hidden potential within us. And we need the Lord to come into our lives to awaken all this hidden potential.

4:16

The woman invites her beloved into her life. We need to invite Christ into all aspects of our life, to realise its true beauty and potential.

Song of Songs Chapter 3 - Seek and you will find

3:1-5

The beloved yearns for her lover and goes seeking for him. Remember that Jesus said, "seek and you shall find". We should long for the Lord and go looking for Him. Maybe you are going through some things in life just now and know that you need the Lord, and are searching for Him desperately, yet he seems far off, or otherwise elusive. Be encouraged, for this is normal, and the promise is that we will find Him. Note that it is her heart's desire that motivates and drives her. We need to have a passionate desire for the Lord. The woman finds him fairly quickly, then holds him and will not let him go.

3:6-11

Verses 6-11 may have been spoken of by the friends, but it doesn't really matter. She has longed for her lover, thinking she would not find him. Now when she hasn't just found Him, but he is there with a wedding procession, and not just any old wedding, but a king's wedding. We go through times when the Lord seems far off, but take heart, we will find Him, and when we do it will be a million times better than it was before.

We need to appreciate just how much the Lord is for us, and the splendour He has waiting for us.