L & D CLASSICS:
BIBLE QUESTION NO. 020 - WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF NEHEMIAH?
By Ezekiel Kimosop
[This article first appeared on L & D forum on 27/08/2015]
Q. WHO WROTE THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH?
The book of Nehemiah is commonly believed to have been written by Nehemiah in its entirety. This is by reason that Nehemiah speaks in the first person in most of its passages.
Some Bible scholars have however advanced the view that it may also have been written by Ezra the priest, given the similarities between Nehemiah 7:5-73 and Ezra 2:1-70.
Q. WHEN WAS THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH WRITTEN?
Bible scholars believe that the earliest that the book could have been written is 425 BC given the historical events that it captures that historians place between 458-420BC during the reign of Arterxerxes I.
The book can be divided in two major divisions with their outlines which for the purposes of this article shall be ignored.
The rebuilding of Jerusalem walls captures a significant portion of the book. This is the task that informed Nehemiah's vision. The rebuilding account lies between Nehemiah 1:1-6:19.
The second part of the book is dedicated to the religious and spiritual restoration of the Jewish community in Jerusalem. This effort was shared with Ezra. It appears that the two men may have agreed on their respective tasks or that each received their specific mandates from God. The restoration effort is recorded in Nehemiah 7:1-13:31.
Q. WHO WAS NEHEMIAH?
Nehemiah's royal position is indicated in Nehemiah. 1:11 where he declares that he was the King's Cup Bearer.
This was certainly a senior royal position through which he could serve and interact with the king. He was probably in charge of royal banquets. This suggests that Nehemiah, like Daniel, may have been of royal Jewish descent. It was the practice among ancient kings to use members of the royal family or senior officials in the imperial service because of the training and public relations skills they had received. Little is known of Nehemiah outside his book.
NEHEMIAH'S BURDEN AND INITIATIVES
The book of Nehemiah opens in a dramatic way by depicting a shaken Nehemiah reacting to a disturbing report from one of his brothers called Hanani who had just returned from Judah, perhaps having been sent by Nehemiah.
The report depicted a grim state of affairs. The walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed and the gates were burned with fire and the Jews were living in great reproach.
It is not clear from the report who had committed this heinous act but we can clearly rule out Arterxexes under whose administration Nehemiah served.
The damage may have been inflicted by the enemies of the Jewish people for the purpose of humiliating the remnant.
Nehemiah was pushed to his knees and he broke down and bitterly wept and mourned and interceded for his people. After his mourning days were over, he rose up and took deliberate steps towards resolving the problem.
We can break down the action steps as follows:
Step 1: Prayer confession and supplication.
Nehemiah took time to pray. We too need to earnestly pray.
Step 2: Petition to the king for royal assistance.
Nehemiah's timing was perfect and shows that his standing with the king was good.
Notice that he meticulously took time to pray before making his petition to the king. We need wisdom whenever we approach kings and leaders so that we may present our petitions well.
Step 3: Petition is graciously granted.
This reveals that God was with Nehemiah on this matter in the same way that He was with Esther and Daniel before him.
Step 4: Logistics and travel to Jerusalem and the assessment of the damage.
Nehemiah 2:11-20 reports on Nehemiah's arrival in Jerusalem and his immediate assessment of the damage. The emergence of opposition to the work began at this point.
Step 5: Action: Repair effort commences.
Nehemiah mobilizes the people into action amid opposition from the enemies of the Jews led by Sanballat the Horonite and Tobias the Amonite. Both these men were non Jews but appear to enjoy some powers and protection from the enemies of God's people. These men belonged to Canaanite communities who were brought in after the deportation of the Jews in 586 BC. They opposed Jewish religious worship. Make no mistake, Satan opposes the works of God's people and celebrate their humiliation and disgrace. They had done nothing to assist in the rebuilding work but rather stood in the way.
Nehemiah placed his trust in God and consistently prayed during discouraging moments.
Do you blame others or do you turn to God in your moments of distress?
Step 6: Dealing with the opposition.
There arose organized resistance to the works leading to suspension or cessation of the work at some point.
The work was finally completed after 52 days. (Neh. 6:15-19). The opposition to Nehemiah however continued with threatening letters sent to him by Tobiah (Neh. 6:19). Nehemiah was not cowed but soldiered on till he accomplished the task that God had laid in his heart.
We should not be discouraged by the distractions of the enemy who seeks to derail our spiritual focus. Instead, we should purpose to walk with the Lord all the way.
Step 7. Religious Reforms.
The next part of the book records the religious restoration of the people.
Ezra the priest then leads this noble effort. It appears that the priesthood had totally collapsed after religious life was neglected.
Nehemiah finally dedicates the finished wall and concludes the religious reforms began by Ezra (Nehemiah.12:27-13:31). The two reformers worked hand in hand. This shows that political and religious leadership can and should work together to accomplish God's purposes.
We see this unity in the Book of Haggai where Zerubabbel the governor joined hands with Jehozadak the High Priest in leading the people to restore the ruined Temple. Before then things were "normal" until God rebuked the people for neglecting the ruined temple (Haggai 1).
So what do we learn from the life and ministry of Nehemiah?
1) THE POWER OF A DIVINE VISION AND A PERCEIVING HEART.
Nehemiah was far from Jerusalem but his heart was with his people. He clearly perceived the pain and disgrace of his people because he was in the Spirit. We don't need to be physically close to people to perceive their pain. We need a discerning heart that clearly hears the voice of God. We don't even need to gather a large number of people around us to get things started. It begins with a burden bearer and moves on to draw others in the effort.
Do you perceive the pain of dying souls or broken homes around us? Do you grasp the extent of the spiritual decay in our communities? Start somewhere! You may not solve all problems but you can at least make a difference by the grace of God.
2) THE POWER OF A BROKEN HEART.
Nehemiah was broken before God and he touched the heart of God when he confessed that the ruins were the result of sin and rebellion of his people. He counted himself as part of the sinful society.
It is easy to see others as the cause of the problems around us. That is the spirit of self righteousness! The truth is that God is looking for men and women who are willing to stand in the gap by first owning up the guilt and crying for their nation (Ezekiel 22:30). God will never despise a contrite and broken spirit which pours out before Him. (Psalm 51:17).
Do you sense the spiritual burden?
3) THE POWER OF DIVINE CONNECTIONS
Nehemiah wisely used his royal connections to seek assistance for his people. Joseph and Esther did the same in their time and God used them to save their people.
Never despise the connections that God has placed at your disposal. It may be your employment environment or your business community or even family or social or political networks. Use them to advance God's kingdom.
4) THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL UNITY.
When God's people unite together in spirit God will lead them to accomplish things beyond their wildest dreams (Psalm 133). Not even the discouraging voices of our enemies can break their will.
Could there be a condition or situation that has perpetually stood in the way of your ministry?
Pray and rally God's people to accomplish it. Don't listen to the enemy's voice!
5) THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL REVIVAL.
God always works with a few people to introduce and sustain spiritual reforms in all church ages.
These reforms are perhaps most needed by our church communities today more than ever. Secularism and relativism is destroying our faith!
If there is something that Satan fights, it is the much needed revival in the church. The "status quo" mentality makes us feel that all is well and leads us to succumb to religious legalism. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Some of the greatest revival movements were started by men and women who just got fed up with the religious order of things and God used them to bring spiritual transformation in their time.
Revival must be sustained so that we don't slip back to legalism and fall from grace (Gal.5:1-17).
Do you feel the sense that we need change today and not tomorrow?
You are not alone! Nehemiah and Ezra were in that state. Jabez too was "sick and tired of being sick and tired"! He cried to God and things were never the same again (1Chron. 4:9-10)
Will you take the first step of faith and cry to God? That is where true change begins.
May we all be seized with the reform vision for our immediate community of context!
Shalom.
© Ezekiel Kimosop Teaching Series 2018
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