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Nehemiah (Part 1) - The Setting

Dec 1, 2012 by: Viji Roberts| Series: Nehemiah

Nehemiah 1:1 “The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace..”
We begin a new series from the book of Nehemiah. This Sunday will be introductory, and we will look at the SETTING in which Nehemiah came to be one of my favorite role models, and a very relevant example for us Christians in this 21st Century.

How many of us have known people with the name ‘Nehemiah’?
His is not the sought after name for new born babies. They are named after a woman monger (Samson); polygamist (Solomon); adulterer (David); first murderer (Cain), but not Nehemiah. And yet, he is among the few in the Bible about whom nothing wrong is said or written. Surprise! Surprise! His name is missing from the Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11. Or it may be that he is part of the, as the Hebrew writer puts it, “And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of…” Nehemiah is not even mentioned outside of his own book.

Nehemiah begins with “The words of Nehemiah…” These are the words of Nehemiah, not a vision or a prophetic word that came to him. The only other book that begins this way is the book of Ecclesiastes with “The words of the Preacher…” (Jeremiah and Amos though they begin with the same phrase, they are rehearsing or forth telling the Word of God as you will see in the next few verses).

If we were to skim over the book of Nehemiah, you may only catch the story about a group of despised and dejected people, led by an exiled alien (who probably had never seen Jerusalem before), and who were trying to build a broken wall from burnt down rubble piled up for over hundred and fifty years. That is the total time from Nebuchadnezzar’s first Jewish exile till the walls were being built.
As we delve deep, we will realize that it is more than a narrative. The words of Nehemiah are his testimony of the graciousness and providence of Jehovah God. These are deep lessons that drip of strong faith and stern courage.

Nehemiah means 'Jehovah comforts'.
It is comforting to know when the walls are down; it is only in Jehovah that we find true and lasting courage.

An imagery of Jesus.
The life of Nehemiah models our Lord Jesus Christ, doesn’t it?

Nehemiah willingly gives up everything to follow a call on his life that Jehovah God willed for him. He leaves the comforts of the Palace and associates himself with the ‘remnant’. He comes to Jerusalem as a servant-leader. Once in Jerusalem he is not brandishing his royal prominence, but demonstrates dependence on the LORD God of Israel.

Warren Wiersbe writes in his book “Be Determined” - “In my estimation, when it comes to leadership, Nehemiah stands with Old Testament heroes like Moses, Joshua, and David. It has done my heart good to study this book afresh and learn from Nehemiah the secrets of resolute leadership and successful service”.

Not just for Christian Leaders: Hailed as one of the greatest Leadership book written, the book of Nehemiah has a direct correlation to every Christian because of its reality check that Nehemiah provides. When we talk about Leadership principles we are not focusing on the Christian Leader – an elder, pastor, ministry leader, but as relevant to every Christian, who is by his or her very calling, expected to lead, encourage, build-up, influence, counsel, prompt, prod and even provoke to good works.

What does the world say about “leadership”?
• Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. Peter Drucker.
• Absolute identity with one’s cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership. Woodrow Wilson
• Leadership is influence. John C. Maxwell
• Example is leadership. Albert Schweitzer
• The price of greatness is responsibility. Winston Churchill
• The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. Kenneth Blanchard
• To be a leader means to have determination. It means to be resolute inside and outside, with ourselves and with others. Lech Walesa.
(www.positivityblog.com and http://www.brainyquotes.com. Accessed: Feb 9, 2012).

What does the Bible say about “leadership”?
Mathew 5:13-14“Ye are the salt of the earth: (influence; character; difference; impact) but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world (coach; doing the right thing; directing; leading). A city that is set on a hill (a looking up to or role model; example; mentor; being visible) cannot be hid.”
1 Peter 4:10 “Serve one another with the gifts each of you received, thus becoming good managers of the varied graces of God.” (Use the resource to benefit the other to be the good leader of God’s grace).
Matthew 20:25-28 “Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” (Serve one another to be God’s leader)
True, God has placed leaders in churches, society, family and government, and these principles are applicable to them; however, in God’s economy there are not just titles, but by the mere fact that we are His children we are to be leaders.
If you are a Christian, you function as a leader. You have a role of influence, example, and building-up.

Reasons why we must study the book of Nehemiah:

1. Canonical Reason
Nehemiah and Malachi represent the last of the Old Testament canonical writings. This is true both in terms of the time the events occurred (Mal. 1–4; Neh. 13) and the time when they were recorded.

The next messages from God for Israel occur with the announcement of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ 400 years later (Matt. 1; Luke 1, 2).

The book of Nehemiah records for us as it were the last words of the Old Testament.

2. Historical reason
a. Attitude
Let us go all the way back to the time of Moses.
In Deut 28:15, 36-37 and 41, Moses says of the curse that will follow if the children of Israel were to reject their LORD, the Jehovah God. The period of Nehemiah and the exile, exemplifies the truth of God’s judgement on those who reject Him.
Deut 28:47 is explicit in defining the scope of this rejection.
“Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all [things];”
That is a strong indictment to us Christians isn’t it? Our gladness of heart over things, and the satisfaction we derive from the abundance of material gain, has seeped our joy in serving the Lord.

We say we live under grace and therefore are not to be obligated. Our lives are lived out as the King’s children, but our attitude is that of the servant of the Lord. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…”

“Serving the Lord with gladness” is becoming a dangerously extinct Christian virtue.

b. Appropriation
How do we treat the things that belong to God?

• The Sabbath year was not kept by the children of Israel. Consequently the curse and the fulfillment of God’s Word becomes evident in the exile.
The requirement: Lev 25:4 – “But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.”

• The verse that confirms the consequence of disobedience:
The consequence: Lev 26:34-35 - “Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lies desolate, and you be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.”

• The prophecy of Jeremiah:
Jer 25:11 – “And this whole land shall be desolation, [and] an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”
The occurrence: 2 Chron 36:20-23 – “He [Nebuchadnezzar] carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you–may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.’”

Accuracy that doesn’t dampen grace.
The Assyrians deported the 10 northern tribes and scattered them all over the then known world. (2 Kin. 17) Several centuries later the Babylonians take Judah into exile. (2 Kin. 25)

The ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel were carried to Assyria never to come back to their homeland. Their land is filled by people from other nations and so the ten tribes lose their identity. They are later known as the Samaritans and were despised by the Jews.

Though the land of the ten tribes was resettled by Assyrians (2 Kings 17:24), Babylonians never resettled Jerusalem when they took Judah captive. Jerusalem lay fallow just as the Lord said.

• The return
Jer 29:10 “This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.””
At the time when 70 years were up God raises Daniel and Cyrus - Daniel to pray and Cyrus to issue the decree.
Dan 9:1-2 “In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom– in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.”

Cyrus conquered Babylon, and then, in the very first year of his reign, he permits the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple. This fulfilled both Jeremiah’s prophecy, and Isaiah’s. Isa. 44:28 - “Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid”.
(approximately 100 years before Cyrus was born. Wikipedia).

The first group of Jewish people returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the second group was led by Ezra and the third group was led by Nehemiah.

Ezra and Nehemiah list the tribes of Benjamin, Levi, and Judah as exiles who returned from Babylon. Probably some others came too (Anna of the tribe of Asher as an example). God in His grace preserves the genealogy through Judah through whom Lord Jesus the Messiah is born.
(The Bible ends in Revelation with the tribes being restored attesting the grace of God).

A willingness to obey: Neh 10:31 – “And [if] the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, [that] we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and [that] we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.”

3. Prophetic Reasons
Not just for its canonical and historical reason but also for prophetic reason too.
Daniel 9:24-25 “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”
This 70 looks ahead to the Messiah. Earlier it was 70 years of sabbath rest for the 490 years or so of entering the promise land.

When we did the book of Daniel we saw how Daniel’s prophecies of seventy weeks is broken into 69 weeks, followed by an indefinite break, and then the 70th week. We also saw that from the time of the decree of the building of the wall till Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, it is exactly 69 weeks or 483 years.
We now live in the period of the break between the 69th and the 70th week. The 70th week or the 7 years of tribulation will begin when the Church will be caught up. This is at best our understanding of the prophecy. The event is therefore critical in the calendar of Biblical eschatology.

4. Spiritual reasons
From the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy to the building of the wall is approximately 150 years. Time does not waiver God’s promise. Nor does He allow the experience to be wasted.
When God’s children disobey, sure He chastises but praise God He doesn’t chide forever. Time and time again we have seen how He converts the most bitter and most trying of Christian suffering for His Glory.

J. B. Tidwell summarizes the benefits of the captivity for the Jewish people (Introducing the Old Testament, p. 178).
1. The Jews became a separate people who did not want to become like their neighbors ever again. The Pharisees came from this era of Jewish history.
2. They became purely monotheistic, giving up idolatry completely.
3. They developed theological literature and a renewed interest in the Law of Moses.
4. They repented of their sins against Yahweh.
5. The synagogues were established as a place of worship centered on God’s Word, prayer, praise and study.
6. Judaism became personal rather than a formal ritualism.
7. They became a missionary people to all the nations.
8. During this time God placed a longing for the coming of the Messiah in their hearts. The Pharisees were especially instrumental in keeping the Messianic hope before the eyes of the people.

What’s the big deal about building a wall?
What importance does the Bible give to walls? Interestingly, the Bible begins with the gated Garden of Eden and ends with a walled city of New Jerusalem. There is an imagery that the Bible creates when it speaks of Walls and Gates. (We will look at the details of the various walls in Jerusalem later in the series).

• Walls keep the wrong people out, and the gates let the right people in.
• Walls show separation between the people of God, and the world.
See how Nehemiah sees the broken walls of Jerusalem:
Neh 2:17 - “Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.”
The bad news that Nehemiah perceives is three fold: remnant, ruin, and reproach.

• If lack of walls speak about ruin and reproach, presence of walls speak to us about strength and challenge, something that cannot be easily conquered. Remember the time when the spies went into spy the land of Canaan?
In Num 13:27-28, the spies return with a despairing report. “Nevertheless the people [be] strong that dwell in the land, and the cities [are] walled, [and] very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.”
The imagery falls apart when we have God on our side and the wall is put up by the enemy.
Remember Jericho? Also in Deut 3:5 “All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many. And we utterly destroyed them.”

• Control and protection
Prov 25:28“Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”

• Provides Peace and Prosperity
Ps 122:7“There is peace within this wall. Peace be within thy walls, [and] prosperity within thy palaces.”

• Proves the good will of the Lord and that sin is forgiven. This Psalm is written when David sinned and he felt as if the very walls were down.
Ps 51:18 “Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.”

• Talks to us about safety. God says you will be in my thoughts continually when I see the broken walls.
Isa 49:16 “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of [my] hands; thy walls [are] continually before me.”

• Walls represent salvation.
Isa 60:18 “But you will call your walls salvation and your gates praise.”
Isa 26:1-2 “He sets walls… for security (salvation). Open the gates that the righteous may enter, the one that remains faithful.”

“Walls do not simply keep unwanted people out; in ancient times they set boundaries and therefore gave identity to a city and its people”.(How to Read the Bible Book by Book, Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart, p. 110).

Nehemiah the Man
So what do we know about Nehemiah himself? For one he has a good idea about his God.
1. Sovereign (Neh 1:5). He is God in heaven. He frustrates the ways for those who oppose Him (Neh 4:15) and turns a curse into blessing (13:2).
2. Covenant Keeper (Neh 1:5; Neh 9:32).He keeps His covenant to those who love Him and obey His commands.
3. Holy (Neh 1:3-4). More than anything, man needs to be forgiven regardless the situation.
4. Forgiving (Neh 9:17,26,31) He pardons His children’s sins.
5. Restorer (Neh 1:8-9). Not just forgives but also prospers.
6. Gracious (Neh 2:8,18): ‘the gracious hand’ of God.

Since he had a good idea about his God, he could have a good attitude about his God.
1. Fear and reverence of God was his motivation. (Neh 5:15; Neh 7:2).
2. Personal closeness of God was his comfort. (Neh 2:12; Neh 6:12; Neh 7:5).
3. He relied not on his weakness but on God’s strength. He is a man of prayer- on his knees, or on his feet; whether in the palace or ruined streets. (Neh 1:11).
I believe that was Nehemiah’s daily prayer for the next four months as he waited on the Lord to move.

Neh 1:11“O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.”
Getting a group of weak, defeated people to work is never easy. To top that, Nehemiah motivates those who have never seen the majesty of the former city and temple (not even Nehemiah had seen it). They grew up seeing the rubble – the rubble was their status quo.
Great indeed was the task and greater still a man who is willing to be used by God in accomplishing it.

Application
This will become clearer as we work through the series.

1. Availability not ability
Imagine you are at the helm of a huge ship moving forward at high speed. You’re the driver; you control the direction of this ship. Now, how is it possible for a single, small person to change the course of something so massive?
To change the ship’s course, you move a steering wheel that operates a rudder, which then turns the ship. But the rudder itself can be enormous, perhaps even ten stories tall on some ocean liners. So what moves the rudder?
A tiny second rudder called a trim tab, which is attached to the big rudder.
Through the marvels of engineering, when the trim tab swings to one side, it creates just enough vacuum to pull the big rudder around. The trim tab is tiny compared to the size and weight of the ship, yet it is the trim tab that determines the ship’s course.http://www.franklincovey.com/blog/trim-tab-work.html. Accessed: 10 Feb 2012.
God asks if we’d be willing to be a trim tab for Him. The captain of the ship, God Himself, is willing to use you as the trim tab that can turn the whole ship around.

2. Repair not despair
[From The Ant Philosophy by Jim Rohn (only the relevant passage chosen)]
Ants never quit. That’s a good philosophy. If they’re headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they’ll look for another way. They’ll climb over. They’ll climb under. They’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy-to never quit looking for a way to get where you’re supposed to go.
Ants think winter all summer. That’s an important perspective. You can’t be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants gather their winter food in the middle of summer.
Ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won’t last long; we’ll soon be out of here.” And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they’ll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can’t wait to get out.
http://jimrohn.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=1247. Accessed: Feb 10, 2012.

Learn from Nehemiah. Shoulder to the wheel, feet on the ground and face forward. There may be difficult times and yet through this we have the guarantee of victory in our Lord. Think summer. The Lord is coming soon.

Rev 21:7 – “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”

3. Watch and Pray
In the coming weeks, God willing, we will see how Nehemiah did both. His plans went with prayers. He was a man who knew how to wait, and yet he was a man of action. He knew how to pray and yet he did not use prayer as an excuse for indifference, and laziness. He was not immobilized by prayer, but dependant on the Lord.

Mathew 26:41 – “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.”