CLXXX - Nehemiah

{Note:  I'm going to try to make these posts a bit shorter, so as to hopefully enhance effectiveness.}

Nehemiah was one of the very last History books of the Old Testament, which is why a clear understanding of the timeline up to this point is helpful.  The author of this book of the Bible is not known for certain.  Some scholars believe it to be Ezra.  Some believe Nehemiah himself wrote this book.  I am inclined to think it was Nehemiah, mainly because much of the text is written in the first person.  As mentioned before, Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one book.  Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah were three individuals God used for a number of things, not the least of which was initiating a revival among the Israelites in learning the Scriptures.  I happen to think this was their biggest impact on the History of civilization.  Remember, it had been almost a century since Israel had lived under Mosaic Law, and over five centuries since it had been done properly, nation-wide.  To bring the timing into perspective, let's examine the pertinent events and their timing as follows:

>  722 BC - Israel falls and is taken captive by Assyrians
>  607 Babylon destroys Assyrian Empire for a brief dominance of the region
>  586 Judah falls and is taken captive by Babylonians
>  539 Persia destroys Babylonian Empire and begins world dominance
>  537 First exiles return from 70 years captivity under the leadership of Zerubbabel, authorized by Persia's Cyrus the Great
>  516 Temple in Jerusalem rebuilt and dedicated    
>  458 Second exile group returns to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra
>  Now in the book of Nehemiah, we are at the year of 445 BC, approaching the 400 years of silence preceding the birth of Christ.

Nehemiah was the Persian king's cup-bearer.  This itself speaks highly of Nehemiah.  Nehemiah was not a Persian, but rather an Israelite.  A foreigner occupying such a position was indeed rare.  The principle duty of the king's cup-bearer was to personally taste of everything before the king consumed it.  This was done not only to approve of the flavor, but more importantly, to make certain the food or drink was not poison.  For centuries prior to this and for centuries ever since, Kings had personal cup-bearers.  Being the king's cup-
bearer was not only a position of importance,  it also offered a life of ease and honor.  Thus Nehemiah holding this position of cup-bearer makes me think he possessed many favorable characteristics, much like his ancestor Joseph.

Chapter 1  -  Nehemiah's Prayer

Although Nehemiah lived in ease, he was often discomfitted by his inquiries about Jerusalem.  He was most bothered by the fact that the walls of Jerusalem were in shambles.  {Back in those times, walls were protection against violent intruders, thus Nehemiah feared for their safety more than anything.}  He actually wept for those residents, as well as fasting for them, which brings us to his prayer in verse 5.  This man knows the Scripture and the Mosaic Law.  He references it in his prayer.  He confesses to God his own sins plus the sins of the people Israel.  Carefully read vss 8 and 9.  Nehemiah is calling on God to honor His own words.  {We find this often in both the Old and New Testaments.  Let's remember this.  Quoting Scripture to God in prayer is a powerful thing.}  

Chapter 2  -  The Opposition

A lot happens in this chapter.  In the very first verse we see how highly the king (Artexerxes) thought of Nehemiah.  The king notices that Nehemiah was sad and preoccupied about something.  The king asks him about it.  {Quick lesson to be learned here:  When we notice someone is "down", we should inquire, in a non-intrusive way, as an expression of concern.}  Nehemiah very briefly shares his concerns with the king (although he was fearful of doing so).  Artexerxes felt compassion for Nehemiah and simply asked in verse 4, "What is it you want?"  Nehemiah then mustered the courage to make a large request:  Allow him to go to his homeland and rebuild the walls and serve his people.  Not only did Artexerxes honor his request, but provided him timber and other materials with which to rebuild the wall.  Also the king provided him soldiers for protection during his journey back to Jerusalem.  In verse 10 we see an old evil name many of us are familiar with:  Sanballat.  Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem leaders of non-Israelites who did not want Nehemiah to succeed.  The Israelites at this time were weak and without leadership, thus represented no serious threat to Sanballat, who was nothing more than a bully in this region.  Sanballat wanted nothing to change.  He saw Nehemiah and his organized group as something that could disturb his self-proclaimed kingdom.  Evidently, Sanballat has been instrumental in Israel's failure to organize itself into the nation God had originally intended it to be.  Zerubbabel and Ezra are no longer on the scene.  Adding to Sanballat's concerns was the fact that Nehemiah had the king's blessings.  In verses 11--> Nehemiah chose a few trustworthy men and secretly at night inspected the entire wall surrounding Jerusalem.  His findings were as he suspected:  The walls lay in ruins; the gates had been burned to the ground.  Nehemiah proceeds to fire up and embolden all of the Israelites to begin rebuilding the walls.  {Nehemiah must have been a charismatic leader to have been able to encourage these people to such an undertaking.}  This chapter ends with Sanballat and his partners making threats and mocking the work of rebuilding the walls, but in the last verse (20) Nehemiah told them that "God will give us success".  He also told Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem
that they were no longer in charge of Jerusalem.  It was going to return to its proper Owner:  God.

Next post  -  Rebuilding the Wall