STUDIES IN THE BOOKS OF EZRA AND NEHEMIAH

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1 The Monthly Mission Messenger Volume IV, No. 47 May 2018 Roy Matlock Ministries The Messenger is free for those who love to study God s Word. The Messenger is supported by free love offerings from those who wish to help spread the Word. Go to web page for purchases or donation. Roy Matlock May God Bless You. My friends, Please send this link to all your contacts. The Monthly Mission Messenger is available on site with all other materials written by Pastor Roy. STUDIES IN THE BOOKS OF EZRA AND NEHEMIAH In our previous studies we have found that after 70 years in captivity to Babylon, Ezra had returned from Babylon and rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. Nehemiah has now returned to build the walls of the city of Jerusalem. After Nehemiah s return and after viewing the conditions of the destruction of Jerusalem, he determines that it is time to announce his plans to the people. Neh. 2:17 Then said I unto them, You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we are no more a reproach. V,18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. After hearing about the grace of God granted to Nehemiah, and the grants of the king, the people are ready to begin the work with Nehemiah to rebuild the city. After the work has begun they are encountered by some of the enemies of the Jews about it. V,19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed at us, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that you do? will you rebel against the king? V,20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem. NEHEMIAH CHAPTER THREE (3) I am not going to print all of chapter three here as is our usual custom of study for the sake of space. You are encouraged to read all of chapter three at this time. This chapter simply names many of the people who took part in the work of rebuilding the walls. It lists the section of the wall that each group worked on. In verse 16 is recorded the section that Nehemiah, the son of Azbuk, led a group of workers to build. V,16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half district of Beth-zur, unto the place opposite the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was man made, and unto the house of the mighty men. At this point I want to share with you the importance of Rightly dividing the word of truth as instructed in 2 Tim:15. If you remember, in Ezra 2:2 we found a man named Nehemiah who went back with Ezra to build the temple. I called to your attention that this was not the Nehemiah who later went back to build the walls of Jerusalem and wrote the book of 1

2 Nehemiah. In the above verse 16, this is the same Nehemiah mentioned by Ezra. Notice his father s name here is AZBUK. Now notice the name of Nehemiah s father, who wrote the book of Nehemiah, in Neh.1:1 Nehemiah 1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, Just thought I would call that to your attention here. Neh. 3:17-32 After him repaired the Levites... The remainder of chapter three names many groups of workers and the section of the wall around the city of Jerusalem they worked on. Please read all the chapter. NEHEMIAH CHAPTER FOUR (4) V,1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we built the wall, he was angry, and felt great indignation, and mocked the Jews. We noted in 2:10 that this man was against the action that Nehemiah was taking in rebuilding Jerusalem. Now he is angry. One of the sons of Eliashib, the high priest, married the daughter of Sanballat and no doubt felt obligated to him. This is, no doubt, why Sanballat had the brazen fortitude to speak out against the actions of Nehemiah as he did. Nehemiah finally was sick of tolerating him of this and ran him off. Nehemiah 13:28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me. V,2 And he (Sanballat) spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they finish in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? V,3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox goes up, he shall even break down their stone wall. We also noted in 2:10-11 that Tobiah was a servant of Sanballat. He stands beside him here in mocking the Jews. We will note that Nehemiah finally gets enough of him in Nehemiah 13:4-5,8 And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah: And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where previously they stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers; and the offerings of the priests. V,8 And it grieved me greatly: therefore I cast forth all the household goods of Tobiah out of the chamber. Nehemiah takes the situation to God. V,4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a spoil in a land of captivity: V,5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before you: for they have provoked you to anger before the builders. Nehemiah prays for God to intercede and take vengeance on their enemies. And they continue to build. V,6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work. The work continues until the different sections were joined together. V,7 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being repaired, and that the breaks began to be closed, then they were very angry, V,8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. Sanballat thought he could gather his allies and 2

3 declare war on the Jews and stop the work, but God heard Nehemiah's prayers and gave the people courage to withstand them. V,9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. V,10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is failing, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall. V,11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. V,12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews who dwelt near them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places where you shall return unto us they will be upon you. The people out in the land heard of Sanballat s plot and warned Nehemiah about it. V,13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people according to their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. V,14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. V,15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, that we returned all of us to the wall, everyone unto his work. V,16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants worked in the work, and the other half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the armor; and the rulers supported all the house of Judah. V,17 They who built on the wall, and they that bore burdens, so burdened themselves, everyone with one of his hands worked in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. V,18 For the builders, everyone had his sword girded by his side, and so built. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. V,19 And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. V,20 In whatever place therefore you hear the sound of the trumpet, come you there unto us: our God shall fight for us. V,21 So we labored in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. V,22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labor during the day. V,23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing. The record of this action is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel about the troublesome times they would have rebuilding the walls and streets. Daniel 9:25. 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 troublesome times. More next month * * * * * * * BIBLE QUIZ FOR THIS MONTH During the time of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem there were two rulers, one over each half of the city of Jerusalem. Give their names and the scripture where they are mentioned. ANSWER TO LAST MONTH S BIBLE QUIZ. What was the P.A. Date when the command was given by King Cyrus to go and rebuild Jerusalem? 3500 Post Adam 3

4 The Christian Walk A Bible study to help you have a closer daily walk with God Before you accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the atonement of your sins, you had no Christian walk at all. You followed after the lusts of the flesh completely. Note the following statements, Rom. 6:20-23 For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. 21. What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now you are made free from sin by His blood. 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his nature remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Of course you must understand the two-fold nature of man to comprehend that. When you accept the teaching of the Scriptures it changes your mind about a lot of things. This is one of them. Did you accept Jesus as your Savior? If you did His blood cleansed you from ALL sin. That s the point of the New Birth. 1 John 5:1 Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and everyone that loves him that begat loves him also that is begotten of him. Look again at verse 9. Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his nature remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. So, But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness. Thus, you have begun your Christian walk. You have a new life before you and that is to live like a Christian. Romans 8:9-10 But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Now that the Holy Spirit dwells in you, you will have joy walking in the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-26 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23. Meekness, self-control: against such there is no law. 24. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. The Apostle Paul is the writer to the Galatian Christians. He instructs them how God would have them live after they have been saved. Gal. 6:1-4 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. 2. Bear you one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3. For if a man thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. Gal. 6:9-10 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 4

5 10. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. As we Christians of today desire to live our lives for God s glory, we go to the Scriptures. We have so much more than those Christians of the early church had. We have all of the Bible to guide us. The Galatians had their letter from Paul. The Ephesians had their letter. The Corinthians had their letter, etc. We have it all. Let s look at the Ephesian letter. Eph. 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. Eph. 4:1-3 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation by which you are called, 2. With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Eph. 4:25-32 Therefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. 26. Be angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27. Neither give place to the devil. 28. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs. 29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32. And be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. Note all the underlined statements in the above passage. 1. Be angry, and sin not: I usually say, This means that when you get mad, don t cuss. He said, Get that straightened out before the day is over. Don t let the devil have his way with you. 2. Steal no more: We all know that it is a sin to steal something that belongs to someone else. 3. Let him labor; This means get yourself a job that you may have the means to legally purchase those things you have need of. 4. Give to him that needs. It is good to be charitable. It always brings a blessing to help someone in need. Jesus said: Mark 14:7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you will you may do them good: but me you have not always. 5. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. How sad it is to hear profanity in public places. It s sad to hear it at all, but we do. This writer was in a public place just a few days ago and some profane person was so vulgarly insulting a lady there that it was sickening. The lady said, I ll pray for you. I spoke with her and assured her that I would pray for the person also. He surely needs God s mercy in his life. Again, Jesus said: Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 6. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Surely it grieves the Blessed Holy Spirit Who lives inside all born again Christians when we do or say 5

6 anything that we know is sin against our God. Christian living is to abstain from those things. 7. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: You have a carnal nature that will allow these kind of emotions to well up inside you. Here you are told by the Scriptures to avoid them, put them away. 8. And be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. There is such joy inside your heart when you do it this way. That s the way God wants you to be. (More next time) * * * * * * * THE TWO-FOLD NATURE OF MAN It is a must for every Born Again Christian to study this subject and to understand it. If you don t understand it, you will never understand the other important doctrines that are connected to it. But when you understand this doctrine, the other fundamental doctrines fall in place and are easily understood. The term Twofold means you actually have two Natures. You only have the second nature after you have been saved. If you have not been saved you do not have these two Natures. The word Nature, according to Webster in the Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, P. 563, has various definitions applying to different things. The original word comes from the Latin Language and means To be Born. But as described of the nature of man It means: His Inherent Character or Basic Constitution. His Disposition. A Spontaneous attitude. A man s original or natural condition: A simplified mode of life resembling this condition. We have studied about the fall of man and found that Adam fell into a sinful condition when he disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Gen. 3:6). When a baby is Born he has this Nature of his father. Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. This Nature is the Doctrine of Total Hereditary Depravity. When a person is Born Again, he gets a new Nature from his new Father, God. The same application as above applies at this birth. The only difference is, this birth is spiritual, but it follows the same patterns. You are Born, you have a new Nature, or Inherent Characteristic or Basic Constitution, a new Disposition, a new Natural Condition, (This time Spiritual), a new Simplified mode of life resembling this condition. All of this Nature is just like the Father of it, God. We now have the definition of the Twofold Nature. Let s look into the Bible and see what is taught about it. First, it teaches that you must have another birth. Jesus said, Marvel not that I said unto you, You must be born again. John 3:7. In verse six He said, That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. In this we see that to be Born Again is to be saved. If one is saved he has been born twice. Therefore, he has two natures. Have you ever heard of someone being born, then becoming unborn? No? It doesn t happen in the spiritual life either. If a person has not been saved, he does not have the Spirit dwelling in him. Rom 8:9 But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. This is where the two natures begin life together. They are the carnal nature and the spiritual nature. The Bible has a lot to say about this. It teaches that you are a child of God at this point. Rom. 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Gal. 3:26. For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 6

7 I John 5:1 Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God Now that you have these two natures you must understand that one of them is sinful and will ultimately die and go back to the dust. Eccl. 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the Earth as it was: and the Spirit will return to God who gave it. The other nature is spiritual and does not sin. 1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his nature remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. This nature is spiritual. At death of the body the spirit will go back to God Who gave it at the new birth. There will be a conflict of these two natures as long as you live. The Apostle Paul has much to say about this in his life. He called it the inward man and the outward man. Rom. 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward Man. II Cor. 4:16...Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. Paul also referred to the two natures as, the old man and the new man. Col. 3:9-10 Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Eph. 4:22-24 That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the Spirit of your mind; And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. These two natures, which we have termed, the flesh and the spirit, the inward man and the outer man and the old man and the new man constitute the Twofold Nature of Man. These two natures fight against each other. The human flesh has all the desires to do the things of the world which the Bible condemns as sin against God. The Spirit of God that indwells always convicts the person of the sin and leads in the direction of being obedient to God. The Apostle Paul tells us quite a lot about this conflict. We will continue with a study of this subject next month. Until then, may God bless as you become stronger to live the Christian life by following the Inner Man * * * * * * * DON T WAIT! If you are reading this and have never been saved please pay close attention to the next few words. Whoever you are, wherever you are, God loves you and He doesn t want you to die lost and go to hell. He has given you the choice. You can choose to accept His plan of salvation or you can choose to reject it. The plan for all who believe that there is a God is 1. That you understand that God loves you and sent Jesus into the world to make a sacrifice for your sins. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2. That you understand that you can t do anything toward being saved but accept the sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross for you. He shed His blood for you. Heb. 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 3. That you go to God and repent of your sins in the Name of Jesus. That you accept the sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. The Bible states: Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved. WILL YOU DO THAT TODAY? 7

8 HELPS AND HINTS FOR DEEPER STUDY OR YOUR SPIRIUAL ENJOYMENT Order info on web page REVELATION COMMENTARY A description of the evil beast. The Antichrist exposed. The woman on the scarlet colored beast explained. Second Coming of Christ. Battle of Armageddon. The Millennial Kingdom. The Holy City and the glories of heaven. THE BIBLE QUIZ Hundreds of Bible questions with an answer section that will guide you to the answers to many things of the Bible. Sharpen your Bible skills. Increase your Bible knowledge. A BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY OF MAN A detailed study of the scriptural links with dates from Adam to the birth of Jesus. HEAVEN, WHERE IT IS AND HOW TO GET THERE Hell, where it is and how to avoid going there. A study about the eternal Holy City and the Ne Earth, about hell, that place that all unsaved people wish, or hope, doesn t exist. THE AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY a study of God s plan for younger children who, for some reason may die from infancy through a very young age when they have not made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A must for all parents with young children. THE MOST POWERFUL FOUR BIBLE DOCTRINES There are certain fundamental doctrines taught in the Bible that are very important and should be known by all believers. This study covers the four most important doctrines for mankind to know in order to have perfect peace with God. MIRACLES AND TONGUES These teachings go into deep detail about what the Bible teaches on these subjects. They give the Old Testament prophecies concerning them and the New Testament fulfillment of them. There is much confusion in religious circles today about these subjects. A good Bible knowledge about them will remove such confusion. MY JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE Roy Matlock: This will begin when and where I was born and covers the highlights of my life. It covers the growth of my family with pictures all through life; somewhat of an Autobiography. 106 pages, many color pictures: P LAW & GRACE NEW A detailed study primarily of why most Christians do not keep the 7th Day Sabbath, but worship on the first day of the week. A VERSE BY VERSE STUDY NEW OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL. All the Beasts of Daniel explained. The Little Horn on the beasts as the Antichrist of the Tribulation Period, explanation of what will happen to Him. Many End Time Prophecies explained. C D I LL SEE YOU SOON Your editor plays the guitar and sings Country Gospel. We have completed our first recording of a CD entitled I ll See You Soon. This is the first of a series of Country Gospel songs written by your Editor. It somewhat tells the story of me and my wife who went to be with the Lord on March 27, Available also on the You Tube App.