Nehemiah 1
Nehemiah 1:1-3 Roughly eighty years after Cyrus’ decree and the first return of exiles to Jerusalem, one of Nehemiah’s brothers returned from visiting Israel. Nehemiah (whose name means YHWH comforts) asked about the conditions of God’s chosen, but remote place. Since the rebuilding of the Temple had been top priority earlier, the report focused instead on the walls of the city, which had not been rebuilt. While the earlier returnees in the days of Cyrus, and Ezra who had gone there thirteen years earlier (Ezra 7:8), had focused on trusting God for protection, Hanani and his fellow travelers identified the trouble and disgrace that came from the walls and city gates having been burned.
Nehemiah 1:4 Nehemiah cried, mourned, fasted, and prayed for several days, grieving as for a lost relative.
Nehemiah 1:5-11 Nehemiah’s recorded prayer was based on recognizing that if anything was going to change, God would have to changes hearts and minds, and he trusted Him to do it. He owned up to his own failures. He quoted the Law and Solomon’s prayer regarding God’s promise to restore repentant people. (Leviticus 26:33, Deuteronomy 30:4, 2 Chronicles 7:12) He refers to ‘this man’ in whose eyes he wanted favor, since he was a personal servant to king Artaxerxes. Perhaps he recognized that by placing him in this job, God had opened the door to the blessings that follow.
Nehemiah 2
Nehemiah 2:1-3 Nehemiah first went to God, as described in chapter 1, then went to king Artaxerxes. Despite trusting God and having appealed to Him, he was still afraid of the immediate boss who had authority over him. Nevertheless, he gave the king the appeal for the burden of his heart.
Nehemiah 2:4-6 When the king asked, Nehemiah prayed before he answered. Would that I would always pray before speaking, asking the Lord for wisdom, appropriate God-honoring words. The king’s response to Nehemiah’s request was apparently based on knowing that he was a trustworthy servant. Nehemiah’s answer pleased the king, so he made an immediate decision to empower him.
Nehemiah 2:7-8 Nehemiah was very bold in his requests. He asked for letters of safe transit, and royal lumber to build the walls. Implicitly he asked for permission to leave the king’s presence and go far, far away. He must have sensed that God had moved the king’s heart.
Nehemiah 2:9-10 The trip of several months is not recorded, other than the note that the king sent an armed guard along with Nehemiah. Perhaps the king knew about the on-going discord among the various ethnic groups in that part of his empire. Sanballat and Tobiah are mentioned several times in the rest of this book as stirring up trouble. This is probably not the same Tobiah mentioned in the initial return under Cyrus ninety years earlier, who could not prove that he was a descendent of Israel, but could possibly have been related in a later generation. Or perhaps it was just a common name, meaning YHWH is good.
Nehemiah 2:11-16 Nehemiah went on a night horseback ride, doing a secret site survey. To this point, he kept his calling from God secret. He inspected both walls and gates. Evidently the ruins were still there, 140 years after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. That he left and returned through the Valley Gate suggests that enough of the remnants existed that its location was identifiable.
Nehemiah 2:17-18 After this, Nehemiah initiated the rebuilding project. He spoke to the Jews, priests, nobles, and/or officials about the burden God had laid on his heart for the sad state of the city of Jerusalem, and the call God had given him to rebuild. Destruction by fire spans the Bible, from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis , Luke 17:29) to the final judgment of the earth (2 Peter 3:7). In the case of Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 36:19), it was carried out by human agents, but still had the effect of cleansing. Now, both walls and gates needed to be rebuilt, and they were the ones to do it. It is sad that Jerusalem was once again destroyed, by the Romans, in 70 AD.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(70_CE)
Nehemiah 2:19-20 Three of the nearby pagan rulers were obviously not happy with this, but recognizing that Nehemiah had official authority from Artaxerxes, they could do no more than mock and ridicule. Opposition to God’s work is not unexpected, and is in fact pretty much the norm in this world. The devil must have had some inkling of the first steps of setting the stage for the Incarnation and the Atonement, which were roughy 483 years away. (Daniel 9:25) Nehemiah gave an official answer.
Nehemiah 3
Rebuilding the walls and gates was truly a community project. People from all walks of life did manual labor together. They are listed by name. This record links architecture and archaeology to generational virtue and genealogy. The mention of David (3:15) invokes their desire to make Jerusalem once again a safe haven, a refuge, for God’s people. The details of names and locations are doubtless interesting in their own right, but the point is that God arranged through Artaxerxes to restore Jerusalem when the Jews repented, as He had promised.
Nehemiah 4
Nehemiah 4:1-3 Of course there was opposition to God’s work, which sprang from both human and spiritual sources. The ridicule by the rulers of the nearby pagan nations indicated their contempt for the Jews. Satan has opposed the work of God through His chosen people since God first called Abraham.
Nehemiah 4:4-5 Nehemiah’s prayer wasn’t exactly gracious. God may not approve of cursing one’s enemies, but at least Nehemiah took his situation and feelings to Him, and prayed about the situation. The curse was to ask God to deny any chance of grace, but let them reap what they sowed, and not allow them any chance of coming into His presence. We don’t know about the outcome of this prayer, other than what is recorded as regards rebuilding the wall.
Nehemiah 4:6-10 The people worked hard and were halfway done, so their enemies conspired against them. Apparently aware of the danger, the people posted a guard. This drained labor away from the rebuilding effort, and the people were feeling overwhelmed with the size of the task, along with the danger and need to spread resources. Rubble being in the way perhaps is symbolic of working on building our lives in Christ, and finding how much detritus of sin we have - so much that we might despair of ever being whole. But God will persevere in any effort that He has commanded us to. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy.
Nehemiah 4:11-15 More details about the dynamics of threats and guards. Nehemiah organized the guards by families and stationed them strategically. Their enemies’ plans were frustrated.
Nehemiah 4:16-23 The duties were split 50-50 between building and guarding, but the builders also carried weapons, just in case. They worked from first light to last light of the day. A few verses later, instead of splitting duties, it appears they did double duty, with the builders working as guards at night. They must have been exhausted.
Nehemiah 5
Nehemiah 5:1-5 It isn’t entirely clear if the financial difficulty that the people were experiencing was due to them devoting all their effort to rebuilding the wall. What is clear is the practical implications of poverty. Mortgaging their property, borrowing money to pay taxes, selling their children into slavery are all manifestations of a two-class society, of rich and poor. This was an agrarian society, and it is likely these were subsistence farmers on family farms.
Nehemiah 5:6-11 Nehemiah’s anger lined up with the Law of Moses, which forbade usury, at least in lending to fellow Israelites. (Exodus 22:25-27; Leviticus 25:35-37; Deuteronomy 23:19-20, 24:10-13) The interpretation of usury is perhaps debatable. Is this a prohibition against any net return on investment, or a prohibition of excessive interest (e.g., loan sharks)? Does it also apply to investment dividends? Our whole modern economic system is based on this, except in socialist and communist countries, where government control or ownership of the means of production basically results in uniform poverty, except for the politicians. Most likely, this rule in the law is a call to generosity to fellow believers, and a warning against the love of money. (Matthew 6:3-4, 19-33). I would infer that Nehemiah’s actions and instructions were based on fear of God, and trust in Him outweighing any other concerns or priorities about finances. He did not want to see God’s work in rebuilding the wall compromised by sinful lifestyles.
Nehemiah 5:12-13 The practical outcome of God working in the hearts of the people is their response of ‘yes’ and ‘amen’. They did as they had promised. Perhaps Nehemiah’s metaphor of shaking his robe resonated. The people praised the Lord.
Nehemiah 5:14-19 Nehemiah’s own actions also lined up with his words to the people. He lived out his faith. For twelve years, 544-532 BC, he was governor, and did not put heavy taxes on the people. He focused on building the wall. Somehow he fed 150 Jews and officials daily with an ox, six sheep, and some poultry. I have to wonder where he got the resources for all this, since he never demanded the food allocated to the governor. Did he spend his own personal money that he brought with him from Persia? The cost of this meat (one ox plus six sheep) would have been somewhere in the range of $4,000-$5,000 daily, adding up to about $1.6 million per year, or about $230k for a 52 day period.
Nehemiah 6
Nehemiah 6:1-4 The enemies of Jerusalem were not happy, but tried to hide their evil opposition under a diplomatic cover. Nehemiah recognized this and refused their invitation. His response - the work of God was too important to leave for lesser reasons.
Nehemiah 6:5-7 The fifth time they gave a veiled political threat that they would tell Artaxerxes that Nehemiah was plotting a rebellion, to make himself king in Jerusalem. The real king would enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, approximately 476 years later, and Satan was not pleased with that, either. He used the same political ploy, getting people to tell the Romans that Jesus was going to lead a rebellion against them by the Jews.
Nehemiah 6:8-9 Nehemiah’s reply to Sanballat was politically blunt. ‘You are making this up.’ He recognized empty threats. He prayed for strength, so that the people would not be frightened, since Sanballlat’s letter had been open.
Nehemiah 6:10-14 Sanballat had hired Shemaiah to subtly lure Nehemiah into fright, by suggesting they meet inside the temple and close the doors. Their goal was to discredit Nehemiah in the people’s eyes by getting him to run and hide, to succumb to fear that the people would see. Nehemiah did not; his prayer was essentially to ask God to remember their actions.
Nehemiah 6:15-16 The wall was completed in fifty two days. An amazing record for a major construction project built completely with manual labor. The completion caused Sanballat et. al. to lose their self-confidence. Doubtless they were also amazed at the efficiency and speed. Nehemiah inferred that they recognized the hand of God in empowering His people. Even pagans cannot avoid this.
There are areas in our lives where we need walls to protect us from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Typically this involves exercising self-discipline, in setting up routines in our lives that enable us to turn away from inevitable temptations, and exercising perseverance to endure with faith the trials and tribulations of daily life without losing faith. In a word, we need grace, the grace that is provided by God through the blood of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, Ruach HaKodesh. The devil was defeated on Calvary two thousand years ago, but he still tries to ensnare us.
Nehemiah 6:17-19 Tobiah’s role is extremely convoluted. Some of the nobles of Judah were related to him by marriage of children, so they exchanged letters. They also tried to convince Nehemiah that he was really a good person who did good deeds, while at the same time telling Tobiah what Nehemiah was doing. And Tobiah also sent letters to Nehemiah to attempt to intimidate him, like Sanballat.
Nehemiah 7
Nehemiah 7:1- 4 After the walls were completed, Jerusalem was a city. Nehemiah being the governor appointed his brother Hanani as mayor of the city. (1:2) Most likely the reason for limiting the hours the gates were open was to give everyone time to get up and be dressed and ready, just in case there was an attack. In our lives, we develop defenses as believers to protect us from the world, the flesh, and the devil, but we need more than that. We need to have a flourishing spiritual life on the inside so that we can experience the exuberant joy of His presence. So too, beyond staffing the city’s defense forces, Nehemiah had a vision for the restoration of Jerusalem as the center of faith.
Nehemiah 7:5-73 Nehemiah’s effort to revive the city involved assembling the leaders of the people in the land, and remind them of the first returnees, recorded by Ezra, in the time of Cyrus’ decree. And so he quotes this census verbatim. (Ezra 2:3-63)
Nehemiah 8
Nehemiah 8:1-2 The people assembled and asked Ezra to read them the Law of Moses. This was on the first day of the seventh month, which is the date we now call Rosh Hashana, or Yom Teruah. (Leviticus 23:24) There is no mention of that festival until later (8:9). Instead, the focus is on the people - all who were able to understand.
Nehemiah 8:3 All the people listened attentively. We must pay attention to what God said, not what we want to hear. We must strive to understand what it means. Ezra made provision for this. (8:7-8)
Nehemiah 8:4-6 Just like a modern church service, Ezra opened the book, but first opened with worship. The fervency almost sounds like a modern Pentecostal meeting.
Nehemiah 8:7-8 The Levites read from the book and explained its meaning to the people. It is unclear if they had never had this teaching in Babylon or Persia, or if they had not been allowed to assemble there for this purpose.
Nehemiah 8:9-12 When the people heard and understood God’s word, they realized how far short they were of living according to His revelation, and they wept. Nehemiah and Ezra then had to tell them to rejoice, famously quoted “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” They needed to grasp that God intended His word to bring life, not condemnation. This was the same theme that Paul articulated to the Romans, where the condemnation of the Law is then trumped by the of the Sprit of life. (Romans 8:1) Neither Ezra nor any of the other Levites could explain the coming of Christ, but they had a glimpse of God’s heart.
Nehemiah 8:13-18 As they continued to hear the Law read, they learned of the feast of booths. (Leviticus 23:42) So they all went out to gather branches to build temporary shelters to live in them. This was a reminder of the Israelites living in tents for forty years during the exodus. Their celebration was more intense than any since the days of Joshua. No doubt this was because they had experienced exile and had returned to the promised land by God’s intervention. They did not observe the great Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), since that would have required the Ark of the Covenant, which they no longer had. (Leviticus 16:13) But they could have great joy in God’s persistent goodness.
Nehemiah 9
Nehemiah 9:1 The 24th day of the month would have been the day after the last day of the eight-day feast of Sukkot. The previous chapter recorded their joyous celebrations. Now they fasted in sackcloth and ashes. This was a return to mourning their sin, where they had been (spiritually) before Nehemiah told them that the joy of the Lord was their strength.
Nehemiah 9:2-6 The assembly begins like many church services, with confession of sin, reading of God’s word, and worship. This liturgy is rather lengthy and detailed. The first major point is to recognize God’s creation, and thank Him for creating all this (heaven and earth and sea and all they contain) for His children.
Nehemiah 9:7-8 The liturgy continues with recalling God’s grace and promise to Abraham of giving the land of Canaan to his descendants. The subsequent passages reveal that this is not a place of ease and comfort, but would require work and overcoming opposition. The six tribes to be displaced that are listed will require effort, which would also help test them and form their character.
Nehemiah 9:9-12 God delivered them from Egypt and Pharaoh and his army, and led them through the Red Sea and the Sinai wilderness. His supernatural power and care for them was displayed.
Nehemiah 9:13-15 God gave them His law on Mount Sinai, and fed them with bread from heaven.
Nehemiah 9:16-18 Despite all this miraculous care, they rebelled against Moses and God, and made and worshipped a golden calf. Even then, God did not desert them, although they were disciplined.
Nehemiah 9:19-21 They wandered in the wilderness for forty years. There, He led them and fed them with daily manna.
Nehemiah 9:22-25 They conquered kingdoms in the wilderness and in Canaan. God gave them victory, they destroyed fortified cities, and received a fruitful land.
Nehemiah 9:26-28 In the time of the judges, they repeatedly repeated the pattern of turning their backs on God, being disciplined by Him through the hand of their enemies, repenting, and being delivered, only to repeat.
Nehemiah 9:29-35 Ultimately, He let them be conquered and carried into exile because of their rebellion against Him. But even there, He did not allow them to be completely obliterated, or absorbed into their conquerors’ cultures.
Nehemiah 9:36-37 They have returned to the land promised to Abraham, but they were still slaves to foreign kings. They reaped what their ancestors had sown, but they still had hope.
Nehemiah 9:38 Keeping in mind all the foregoing, they put in writing a binding agreement. The specifics of this agreement are detailed below. (10:29-39) They were still under the Law, so this was a legal transaction. What a blessing we have under the new covenant to be saved by grace through faith, not through works, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit to empower us to live out what God has called us to!
Nehemiah 10
Nehemiah 10:1-27 The text lists everyone who put their seal on this document. This includes the priests, the Levites, and the leaders of the people. Putting one’s seal is a commitment much stronger than just signing it, probably more like having a signature notarized today.
Nehemiah 10:28-29 Everyone else bound themselves with a verbal oath, and a curse, paralleling Moses’ closing statements before Israel entered Canaan. (Deuteronomy 30:19) The commitment was to obey the Law of God. Even though we are now empowered by the Holy Spirit under the new covenant, it is just as much a decision to say ‘yes’ to Him; the huge difference is that He is not a lawyer to accuse us but a spirit of power to help us. (Romans 8:1-17)
Nehemiah 10:30 They promised not to allow their children to intermarry with the pagans.
Nehemiah 10:31 They promised to observe the Sabbath. (Exodus 20:8-11)
Nehemiah 10:32-39 They promised to bring the commanded tithes and offerings to support the temple and its offerings, and to support the priests and Levites. This included financial offerings, as well as wood, crops, fruit, cattle, flocks, meal and grain, new wine and olive oil. Malachi is believed to have written very shortly after this (444 BC to approximately 440-430 BC), with his famous lines about robbing God and the promise of reward for those who fully tithe. (Malachi 3:8-10)
Jesus’ words about finances in the Sermon on the Mount focus on the heart. (Matthew 6:19-34) He revealed God’s perspective that He is able to and will take care of us if we trust Him. Trust goes beyond obeying commands for tithes and offerings. It goes to generosity and being fully devoted to Him, not to the world and its ways. Maintenance of God’s house goes far beyond financial and physical provision. (Romans 14:19; 1 Corinthians 10:23; Ephesians 4:16)
Nehemiah 11
Nehemiah 11:1-19 As noted earlier, very few people lived in Jerusalem even though the walls were completed and secure. Jerusalem was the holy city, and the leaders needed to have regular people live there as well, so the people drew lots to select 10% of the population to move there. Most of them had been settled, and moving again was a major inconvenience. Nevertheless, the people did so. Of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin there were 468 and 928 men, respectively. Presumably their families also moved but women & children weren’t counted. There were 242 priests, 284 Levites, and 172 gatekeepers. The total count of men adds up to 2,094. A small town by today’s standards.
Nehemiah 11:20-36 A census without numbers identifies the locations of the rest of the people living in Judea, and their occupations. They mostly lived on their ancestral properties.
Nehemiah 12
Nehemiah 12:1-26 A listing of the names of the family heads of the priests, Levites, and gatekeepers. In a culture and people that were created and defined by God’s direct action, these were far more important than politicians and rich people. Unlike today, when ministers only make the news when some scandal is revealed or there is theological controversy. Sadly, it is rare that a minister or politician is mentioned in connection to an exhortation to do what is right and good. And our decennial census enumerates people solely for governmental purposes, to set voting districts for representatives, or allocate governmental funds.
Nehemiah 12:27-30 For the dedication of the wall, Levites and musicians came from the entire land. And they purified themselves before going up to Jerusalem. Ritual purification involves washing the body with water. In our day, with the avalanche and flood of modern media (broadcast and social), with all the filth that brings, how can we purify ourselves to come into God’s presence in church?
Nehemiah 12:31-43 The ceremony was a carefully scripted liturgy and musical worship service, with two choirs walking on top of the wall being dedicated. They sang under direction of the choir director, but worship broke out so loudly among the people that they could be heard from far away. Possibly the pagan rulers who opposed the Jews felt the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, knowing that the people of the one true God were joyously celebrating His work.
Nehemiah 12:44-47 Provisions had been brought by the people to the storerooms according to the law of Moses, for the priests, Levites, musicians, and gatekeepers. This continued through all the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, except as noted below.
Nehemiah 13
Nehemiah recounts three reforms that he implemented for which he asks the Lord to remember him. These all line up with specifics that were identified earlier in the dedication of the wall.
Nehemiah 13:1-9 Excluding foreigners had been previously discussed. Nehemiah here cites the instructions given by Moses. (Deuteronomy 23:3-6) The Israelites included this in their dedication.(Numbers 24:11) Excluding the Moabites raises a question about Ruth, who was in the lineage of David and of Jesus. Moses’ instructions were limited to ten generations, but David was far fewer than that removed from Ruth.
Nehemiah mentions in the middle of this passage that he had returned to Artaxerxes’ court after twelve years in Jerusalem. He does not say how long he was gone, but he found, on his return, that the Eliashib the priest had provided Tobiah a room in the temple property. This was most likely related to intermarriage through their children (13:28). It is not said why Tobiah wanted a room there. But it was a mixing of the sacred with, not just worldly, but those opposed to God and His work.
The commitments made at the dedication of the wall had been broken. The Israelites had forgotten the law of Moses that Ezra had taught them, and their promises to follow it.
Nehemiah 13:10-13 In his absence, the instructions and commitments given earlier had not been followed through. (12:47) Nehemiah repeated his instructions to provide for the priests, Levites, and musicians. The people brought their wine and olive oil, and Nehemiah put a management team in place.
Nehemiah 13:14 In the first of four requests to the Lord to remember, Nehemiah asks for his service to the house of God to be remembered.
Nehemiah 13:15-22 The people were once again doing business on the Sabbath, and Nehemiah put this to an end. (10:31-39) Christians no longer observe the Sabbath (except for 7th Day Adventists), but I sometimes wonder if all of the activities that we fill Sunday, even including shopping or going to restaurants, distracts us from finding rest in the Lord. Jesus made it clear that God works on the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath was created for man and not the other way around. (John 5:5-12; Mark 2:27) The millennial reign of Christ is often thought to be a fulfillment of the Sabbath, a time of peace, and therefore rest, on the earth. But in our own lives, in modern society and culture, is there so much pressure that we cannot find rest and peace for our souls in the hour or two we spend at church every week?
Nehemiah 13:22 In the second of four requests to the Lord to remember, Nehemiah requests that He show mercy to him according to His love. Not because he earned it, but because God is loving and merciful.
Nehemiah 13:23-28 Marrying foreigners comes up again. The commitment recorded earlier (10:30) had been broken by some. He rebuked the men who had married foreign women. Children raised by foreign women were likely to grow up speaking some language other than Hebrew as their native tongue. But perhaps more important than words, learning to recognize the hand of God in our lives is a priority, and a Godly wife is the key to this. Pagan wives would turn the children’s hearts to idols and the false gods (demons masquerading as gods) they represent.
Nehemiah 13:29 In the third of four requests to the Lord to remember, Nehemiah requests that God remember the priests and Levites who defiled the office to which they were appointed.
Nehemiah 13:30-31 Nehemiah purified the priests and Levites of foreign wives, and arranged for the contributions to support them. He closes with the fourth of four requests to the Lord to remember all that he had done.
