Repairing the Wall – Nehemiah

Nehemiah was a cupbearer at the court of King Artaxerxes, a position of high honour. The news about Jerusalem made him very sad. This sadness could not be wholly hidden and the king detected it. The Jews were back home for almost a 100 years, but had made no attempt to build Jerusalem beyond the restoration of the Temple, because their enemies made it almost impossible. He was loyal enough to his people to leave the luxury of a king’s court and go back to rebuild Jerusalem, the capital of his homeland. The king gave consent. Of course, we find even today Jews everywhere long to see Jerusalem flourish, and they turn their faces there as their homeland.

When Nehemiah reached Jerusalem in 445 B C, Ezra had been there for 13 years. Ezra was a priest and had been teaching the people the word of God. But Nehemiah was a civil governor. He had come with the authority of the king of Persia to build the walls of Jerusalem. After he had been there only 3 days, he went up and viewed the walls at night. When he saw their dilapidated condition, he encouraged the people to begin building immediately. The work was accomplished in 52 days by assigning a portion of the wall to each family. Their attitude was expressed in the sentence. “The people worked with all their heart” (Nehemiah 4:6).

First the Samaritans, the enemies of the Jews, derided them. They hindered their work so that the Jews had to keep watch night and day. Their decision turned to anger and Nehemiah divided the men into 2 groups, one keeping watch while the other worked. Then opposition rose within the ranks. Some of the Jews became tired and complained that there was so much rubbish that the walls could not be built. All this rubble had to be removed in a thick canvas pad on the carrier’s back; there were of course, no wheelbarrows or, cars to convey the material. Then, the complaint arose that the rich were demanding usury that the poor were unable to pay. Again the enemies tried to craft to bring Nehemiah away from his building, but Nehemiah only prayed and again he foiled his enemy.

From Nehemiah 8 to 13, all the people gathered in the street before the water gate in the city of Jerusalem and requested Ezra the scribe to bring out the book of Law of Moses. He stood upon a pulpit of wood and read and explained the Law to the people (Nehemiah 8:1-13). This public reading brought true repentance to the people and a great revival broke out. Same way when you check the history of reformation, when Martin Luther read the Bible, the Protestant Reformation began. We need to have the Word read every day. 

Remember, Nehemiah left a life of ease and luxury and security for a life of toil and danger and heartbreaks. He was a reformer. He was also a man of prayer. We do not find a blot on his character. He was fearless and courageous. In Nehemiah 9, we find a prayer of him. Prayer is the most important privilege of a Christian. Let this servant of God inspire you to pray and have a real character like him and be courageous to take God’s love to the world.

Rebuilding the Temple – Ezra

As the book opens (Ezra 1:1-6), we find Cyrus, king of Persia, making a proclamation throughout his kingdom permitting the Jews who were captives in his kingdom to return to Jerusalem. 200 years before, God had prophesied that he would do this.

At Cyrus’s first call in 537 B C (Ezra 1:1-4), no more than 50000 Jews availed themselves of the opportunity of returning to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel. Cyrus gave back to Zerubbabel the golden vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5-11). They started back over 700 miles of barren desert from Babylon to Jerusalem. Everything was taken care by God who is in charge. Not only money for rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem, but also travelling expenses and all other needs were provided by God at Cyrus’s direction (Ezra 1:4,6).

The names of those who returned are given in chapter 2. They laid the foundation of the Temple. It is interesting to notice that before they built homes for themselves they first thought of a house for The Lord. They did not build the Temple first, but the alter (Ezra 3:2). Read about the hindrances to all the work (Ezra 4:1-22). The opposition disheartened them. Haggai and Zechariah, the prophets, encouraged the people from within the ranks (Ezra 4:23 – 5:17), and within 4 years the Temple was completed and dedicated (Ezra 6).

Ezra appears in the 7th chapter. 60 years after the Jews had first returned to Jerusalem, he led a second expedition from Babylon to reinforce the struggling colonists in Judah. We can find in Ezra 7:25, how impressed the king was with Ezra’s love of God’s word. Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel (Ezra 7:10). Under Ezra we see a great revival.

Ezra and Nehemiah tell the history of the return of God’s chosen people after the exile. They give the record of one of the most important events in Jewish history – the return from exile in Babylon. The purpose of God may sometimes seem delayed, but they are never abandoned. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell us how God remembered and how He brought back his people from exile. If you trust in God and live accordingly, the blessings and promises God provides to you may delayed. It may be because of your disobedience or even God’s plan. But when you call upon Him and plead your submission, He will hear and answer all your desires according to His riches and glory in Jesus Christ.

In Ezra, we see the first thing what they did was to build an alter to offer sacrifices for their sins. The place where sin must be dealt with must come first in every life. The heart must be right if God is to bless. The alter was the center of the Jewish people, the Cross the center of the Christian faith. If you are urging for a miracle in life, first thing is to repent your sins before God and accept the salvation.

May the Spirit of Lord guide you in repentance and salvation, to grow in Christ and live a holy life.

The BOOK – Repairing Morals

Nehemiah was the cupbearer at the court of King Artaxerxes. This was a position of high honour. But in this position of familiarity with the King, he had not forgotten his people. The news brought to him about Jerusalem made him very sad. This sadness could not be wholly hidden and the King detected it. The Jews had been back home for almost a 100 years, but had made no attempt to build Jerusalem beyond the restoration of the Temple, because their enemies made it almost impossible. 

He was loyal enough to his people to leave the luxury of a king’s court and go back to rebuild Jerusalem, the capital of his homeland. The King gave consent. We find even today Jews everywhere long to see Jerusalem flourish, and they turn their faces there as their homeland. 

When Nehemiah reached Jerusalem in 445 BC, Ezra had been there for 13 years. Ezra was a priest and had been teaching the people the word f God. But Nehemiah was a civil governor. He had come with the authority of the King of Persia to build the walls of Jerusalem. After he had been there only 3 days, he went up and viewed the walls at night. When he saw their dilapidated condition, he encouraged the people to begin building immediately. The work was accomplished in 52 days by assigning a portion of the wall to each family. Their attitude was expressed in the verse – “The people worked with all their heart” (Nehemiah 4:6)

First the Samaritans, the enemies of the Jews, derided them. They hindered their work so that the Jews had to keep watch night and day. Their derision turned to anger and Nehemiah divided the men into 2 groups, one keeping watch while others worked. Then opposition rose within the ranks. Some of the Jews became tired and complained that there was so much rubbish that the walls could not be built. All this rubble had to be removed in a thick canvas pad on the carrier’s back; there were, of course, neither wheelbarrows nor cars to convey the material. Then the complaint arose that the rich were demanding usury that the poor were unable to pay. Again the enemies tried by craft to bring Nehemiah away from his building, but Nehemiah only prayed and again he foiled his enemy. 

He stood upon a pulpit of wood and read and explained the Law to the people (Nehemiah 8:1-13). This public reading brought true repentance to the people and a great revival broke out. 500 years ago, when Martin Luther read the Bible, the Protestant reformation began. 

I pray that you also read the Bible daily so that you will know the will of Lord in your life and live accordingly, Amen.

The BOOK – Rebuild and Reform

Ezra opens (Ezra 1:1-6) with King of Persia, Cyrus, making a proclamation throughout his kingdom permitting the Jews who were captives in his kingdom to return to Jerusalem. At Cyrus’s first call (537BC), (Ezra 1:1-4) no more than 50,000 Jews availed themselves of the opportunity of returning to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel. Cyrus gave back to Zerubbabel the golden vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5-11). They started back over 700 miles of barren desert from Babylon to Jerusalem. Not only money for rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem, but also travelling expenses and all other needs were provided by God at Cyrus’s direction (Ezra 1:4-6).

We can see the hindrances to the work of the Temple (Ezra 4:1-22). Hindrances to all the real work for God are to be expected. The Church or men of God may not have the help of the world. The opposition dishearted them. They needed Haggai’s message. Haggai and Zechariah, the prophets, encouraged the people from within the ranks (Ezra 4:23-5:17), and within 4 years the Temple was complete and dedicated (Ezra 6)

At least 60 years after Jews had first returned to Jerusalem, Ezra led a second expedition from Babylon to reinforce the struggling Jews in Judah. The King was so impressed with Ezra’s love of God’s word (Ezra 7:25). This shows that we must live in such a way that others would learn to have respect for God’s word.

The Old Testament history closes about 100 years after the Jews returned from their captivity. Alexander the Great (336-325BC) broke the Persian hold and world power passed from Persia to Greece. He showed consideration to the Jews. 

Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel (Ezra 7:10). In addition to Ezra’s outstanding ministry of the word, he probably wrote portions of 1 and 2 chronicles, and Psalm 119, which is a wonderful poem about the word of God. Under Ezra we see the great revival of Bible study. 

In Nehemiah 9 we find prayer of Nehemiah. Prayer is the most important privilege of a Christian. Nehemiah’s prayer began where Ezra ended – with utter surrender to God.

The names of those who returned are given in Ezra 2. They laid the foundation of the Temple the first thing upon returning. It was a time of great rejoicing. It is interesting to notice that before they built homes for themselves they first thought of a house for the Lord. They did not build the Temple first, but the altar (Ezra 3:2). 

The place where sin must be dealt with come first in every life. The heart must be right if God is to bless. The alter was the center of the Jew’s religion and the Cross is the center of the Christian faith. 

May God help you to keep your faith first above all other things and live a life pleasing to God, Amen.

The BOOK – Never Abandoned

Ezra and Nehemiah, which were one book in Hebrew Bible, tells the return of God’s chosen people after the exile. They give the record of one of the most important events on Jewish history – the return from exile in Babylon.

·         Both books begin at Persia and end at Jerusalem

·         Both center around the man of God who wrote them

·         Both begin with a Persian Kings decree

·         Both tell of building as their chief theme.

·         Both books contain a long prayer of humiliation and confession

·         Both end with the purification of the people.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of how God remembered and how he brought back his people from exile. During the captivity, the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel told the Jews of their restoration and predicted that they would return to their own land and rebuild Jerusalem.

In accordance with time, 2 periods are important

·         23 years (537-517 BC) from the 1^st year of Cyrus to the 6^th year of Darius when the people under Zerubbabel, the governor and Joshua, the priest, rebuilt the temple.

·         25 years (458 – 433 BC) when Nehemiah, the governor, and Ezra, the priest, rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem and restored the city. Malachi was the prophet of this day.

Ezra gives the record of both of these periods. Nehemiah tells of the second period, building the walls.

The 10 northern tribes (The Northern Kingdom) were taken captive first by Assyria (2Kings 17), then the two southern tribes (Benjamin ad Judah, the southern Kingdom) by Babylon (2Kings 25). They were restored to their own land under the Persian Empire. The Babylonians had been conquered by the Medes and Persians. The ten Northern tribes who were carried away to Assyria never returned.

·         In 537 BC, the first Jews returned to Jerusalem from Babylon

·         In 516 BC, the Temple was restored.

·         In 479 BC, Esther became queen of Persia (wife of Xerxes)

·         In 458 BC, Ezra led second expedition from Babylon

·         In 445 BC, Nehemiah rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem.

The purposes of God may sometimes seem delayed, but they are never abandoned. If God has promised you something, he will certainly fulfil it, even if it may delay because of you. May God bless you.