ROUTE 66 - NEHEMIAH Bring the Book Dr. Jon McNeff, Senior Pastor January 30, 2013 Note: The following are the pastor s notes used in teaching this message. This is not a complete, word-for-word transcription of what was taught. These notes serve as a companion to the complete message, which is available by listening to the audio version. Bible quotes are primarily from NASB and ESV, respectively. Some say the theme of Nehemiah is leadership. It certainly models that, but it s not the main theme. Ezra and Nehemiah are written together both by Ezra. They record the second and third waves of returnees from captivity in Babylon. If Ezra was about the ingredients necessary in rebuilding a culture, Nehemiah is about the core building on God s Word. Field of Dreams failing farmer hears a voice If you build it they will come. baseball field in Iowa cornfield dead ballplayers come to play only family and a disgruntled author can see the players brother-in-law sees economic reality and tells him to sell the farm daughter almost chokes on hot dog saved by player who crosses over the line between the players and the real life takes on real life persona of a doctor to save the girl brother-in-law now sees the players now declares, Don t sell the farm At times it seems like the church is a Field of Dreams we can t see the players but when we see the array of God s forces behind the scenes it transforms us Don t sell the church short Augustine in 410 A.D. upon learning that Rome had been sacked All earthly cities are vulnerable. Men build them and men destroy them. At the same time there is the City of God which men did not build and cannot destroy and which is everlasting. I. PRINCIPLES OF SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP A. Understanding This occurred in 20 th year of Artaxerxes (464-423 B.C.) so this was in month Chislev (November/December) of 446-445 B.C. two previous waves of Jews had returned to Israel: With Zerubbabel in 538 B.C. by the decree of Cyrus (92 years previous) With Ezra in 458 B.C. (13 years previous) Work on the Temple had stopped (Ezra 4:21) because of discouragement under Zerubbabel Work was resumed and completed (Ezra 6:1-15) under encouragement from Haggai and Zerubbabel Nehemiah 1:2...Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. his brother had returned with Ezra 13 years previous to this Nehemiah was a Jew born in captivity still had intense desire to know about home as cupbearer to the king he had a comfortable position didn t have to inquire, yet he did he was asking about Jews who had returned to Israel under Zerubbabel and Ezra - assumed the completion of the Temple would restore the culture of the people Nehemiah 1:3-4 The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire. When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Some people just don t get it godly leaders have an understanding of the issues B. Prayer Nehemiah 1:5-11 I said, I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against 1
You; I and my father s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell. They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man. This was the longest prayer but not the only time he prayed prayer was a regular practice: Nehemiah 2:4 in response to Artaxerxes request, What would you request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. quick, eyes-open prayer for clarity and favor Nehemiah 4:3-4 after Tobiah ridiculed them saying, Even what they are building if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down! Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have demoralized the builders. retribution on their enemies asked that their sin not be forgiven Nehemiah 4:9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night. prayed for protection after their enemies threatened to fight them and they set up a guard and armed themselves with swords and spears (Nehemiah 4:13) Nehemiah 5:19 first of four times he prays for himself with the words, Remember me Remember me, O my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people. Nehemiah 13:14 Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my loyal deeds which I have performed for the house of my God and its services. Nehemiah 13:22 And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the sabbath day. For this also remember me, O my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness. Nehemiah 13:31 last vs. in Nehemiah Remember me, O my God, for good. Nehemiah 6:14 Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these works of theirs, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the rest of the prophets who were trying to frighten me. prayed against his enemies by name - Another prayer is recorded in Nehemiah 9:5-37 it is not Nehemiah s prayer but he obviously thinks it is important it is a prayer that reflects God s gracious provision through the history of the nation C. Spiritual maturity True leadership knows that there is something more at stake than merely getting a job done. Nehemiah exhibited a godly understanding and wisdom in discerning what was actually going on at various times. 1. Understood the sin of the people Nehemiah 1:5-11 in Nehemiah s initial prayer he demonstrated that he understood the core of the problem for his people was their sin Nehemiah 1:6-7 he was confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father s house have sinned. We have acted corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 2. Overcame discouragement Nehemiah 4:10 Thus in Judah it was said, The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubbish; And we ourselves are unable To rebuild the wall. he understood the voices of opposition brought discouragement a leader can t show discouragement because the people will see it too the leader has to have confidence in the Lord 2
Seen also in Nehemiah 5 Nehemiah discovers many of the people were so poor that they were being forced to sell their children into slavery just to pay bills and taxes! strong reply recognized this was wrong and did away with the practice 3. Discernment Nehemiah 6 after Sanballat and Tobiah tried to lure Nehemiah to Ono to parlay, he encountered a false prophet who brought a false message trying to lure him into the temple under the guise of trying to protect him Nehemiah 6:12-13 Then I perceived that surely God had not sent him, but he uttered his prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He was hired for this reason, that I might become frightened and act accordingly and sin, so that they might have an evil report in order that they could reproach me. 4. Understood the need for the book Nehemiah 8:1-8 This is the apex of the book the children of Israel had gone into exile because they had disobeyed the laws of God (Nehemiah 1:7) even though the temple had been rebuilt, the people were still not living by God s law this is evidenced by: Nehemiah s awareness of their sin in Nehemiah 1 The accusations of Sanballat and Tobiah and the resulting discouragement give evidence of the lack of a functioning society The usury in Nehemiah 5 that violated God s laws From Nehemiah 8 forward, the people react to hearing the law: Nehemiah 8:3 He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law. Nehemiah 8:5-6 Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen! while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Nehemiah 8:8 They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. LXX good hermeneutics Nehemiah 8:9 they celebrate and worship Nehemiah 8:9-12 Nehemiah understood the balance between confessing sin and celebration in God s goodness Nehemiah 8:13-18 Feast of Booths rediscovered and obeyed Nehemiah 9:3 it brought confession While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God. Nehemiah 9:38 they were willing to put their names on a sealed document that expressed their desire to live by the law of God Nehemiah 9:28-39 this included commitments to orthodox worship, paying of tithes, supplying for the temple and the priests Nehemiah 12:27 at the dedication of the Temple they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps and lyres. Nehemiah 13:1-3 they excluded all foreigners from life in Israel because of past corruption On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. So when they heard the law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel. D. A motivator Nehemiah 3:17 Then I said to them, You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will not longer be a reproach. I told 3
them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, Let us arise and build. So they put their hands to the good work. E. A man of courage 1. Before the king Nehemiah 2:3 going to the king to ask if you can rebuild a foreign territory that he has inherited which had been conquered 90 years ago could have been interpreted as insurrection especially if you were as close as the cupbearer and the king could have killed him on the spot! 2. The threats of Sanballat and Tobiah Nehemiah 2:10 Sanballat was the governor of Samaria possibly placed there by Assyrians he was from Horon which was in Moab he was a mercenary Tobiah the Ammonite was from east of the Jordan possibly also placed there by foreign powers but now they were under the rule of Persian king Artaxerxes they were the exact kinds of leaders Judah needed security from they couldn t overtly attack Jerusalem because Nehemiah had the official stamp of approval from Artaxerxes all they could do was shake their swords and intimidate probably the same ones who caused work on the temple to be stopped in Ezra 4 these guys tried: Intimidation and mocking (Nehemiah 2:20) Ridicule (Nehemiah 4:1-3 if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down. - prayed) Threats of violence (Nehemiah 4:8 he armed them all with swords, spears, and bows they worked with trowels in one hand and swords in the other) Luring Nehemiah into a false peace conference at Ono (Nehemiah 6:2 he said Oh no to Ono!), sending false prophets to dissuade warn him (Nehemiah 6:12 Nehemiah perceived that surely God had not sent him Infiltration Nehemiah 13:28 Nehemiah kept his word and returned to Artaxerxes after the time he had requested returned 12 years after his first arrival (32 nd year of Artaxerxes Nehemiah 13:6) found that Eliashib the priest had given Tobiah a room in the Temple Nehemiah 13:8 threw him and his possessions out and cleansed the room 3. Restores order Nehemiah 13 After his return he finds the people have returned to their sinful ways he: Confronts the leadership Throws the perpetrators out of the Temple Restores worship F. Overcomes adversity 1. Distance and materials He was 800 miles away from the problem and he had no materials devised a plan asked the king included written permission to get what he needed 2. The favor of the king Nehemiah 2:1-8 He had some indication of what the king might think Cyrus had already issued the decree for Jews to return to Israel and rebuild their Temple 90 years before but the king could still deny him he was not afraid to act because he had involved God s help and had adequately prepared a reasonable plan need both 3. Devised a plan in advance 4
Nehemiah 2:2 when Artaxerxes asked him, Why is your face sad though you are not sick? Nehemiah had a plan this was in the month Nisan (March/April) four months after he first heard the news (Nehemiah 1:2 the month Chislev November/December) he prayed and he was ready with a plan when the King asked him: Nehemiah 2:5 Send me to Judah he was appointed governor (Nehemiah 5:14) Nehemiah 2:6 knew how long it would take Nehemiah 2:7 knew he needed proper introductory letters with official permission Nehemiah 2:8 request for necessary lumber and materials gutsy! 4. Ascertained the scope of the problem Nehemiah 2:12-20 He had no idea what he was getting into preliminary reports were no substitute for being on the scene and surveying the damage pessimists would only see the mess the glass is half full people but optimists and people with the gift of faith see the upside and are able to visualize what can be done surveyed the damage at night so no one would influence him kept the initial plan to himself Nehemiah 2:16 didn t tell the officials what he was doing until he had it figured out 5. Massive organization needed Nehemiah 3:1-32 Nehemiah 3 is a profound statement of his ability to put faith into action the overall project could have been intimidating but dividing it up into small bites for each part of the wall brought the task under control organized families to work on specific sections in front of them each one worked next to him... or after him all the way around the wall massive organization effort 6. Negative people Sanballat and Tobiah pop up in everyone s lives these men would have physically stopped the project and killed Nehemiah if he hadn t had the authority of the king but they did everything they could to stop the project mocked him (Nehemiah 4:1) belittled his efforts (Nehemiah 4:3 if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down! ) Nehemiah 4:8 they conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it. 7. Fear and discouragement Nehemiah faced a perceived threat from Sanballat and Tobiah they couldn t attack him because he had the protection of the King but they could intimidate and threaten the work people were scared Nehemiah 4:14 When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses. practical response Nehemiah 4:16-23 passed out swords, spears, and bows some stood guard while the others worked 8. The problem of usury Nehemiah 5:1 Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. evidently there were wealthy Jews who took advantage of their poorer brothers Nehemiah 3:5 Moreover, next to him the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their masters. some of the nobles had some kind of contractual arrangement with Tobiah Nehemiah 6:17-19 Also in those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah s letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Moreover, they were speaking about his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. Then Tobiah sent letters to frighten me. they were preying on their brothers simply to make money The nobles who refused to work had divided loyalties brought on through mixed family relationships: Tobiah was a Jewish name, but he was Ammonite (Nehemiah 2:19) 5
He had married into a respectable Jewish family (before Nehemiah arrived) his father-in-law was Shecaniah (Nehemiah 6:18) this means Tobiah s brother-in-law was Shemaiah, who worked with Nehemiah as the keeper of the East gate (Nehemiah 3:29) his son Jehohanan was the son-in-law of Meshullam who also worked with Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:4, 30) Eliashib, the high priest was also related to Tobiah (Nehemiah 13:4) The laws of the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25) that prevented poverty through property reverted back to original owners every 50 years weren t practiced many were poor farmers working on the Temple in the city left their means of food supply in the country lacked money to pay their taxes had to borrow many were forced to sell their homes and children to pay taxes with no ability to redeem them back Usury referred to interest could be as much as 50% in ancient nations interest could be charged to foreigners, but not to fellow Jews they were to give aid as a gift if the person could pay it back, they would but never with interest (Leviticus 25:36, 37; Deuteronomy 23:19, 20) excessive interest was impossible to repay caused loss of all family assets at times, people were forced to give their children to pay forced permanent slavery to their own Jewish brothers Nehemiah 5:7-8 I consulted with myself and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, You are exacting usury, each from his brother! Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. I said to them, We according to our ability have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us? Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. Nehemiah held a public assembly Publicly chastised them Pointed out his own practice of redeeming some Jews in Babylon from slavery Humiliated them Appealed to them to walk in the fear of God (Nehemiah 5:9, 11) and to stop the practice of charging interest and Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are exacting from them. Evidently, even some of the priests were involved in this (Nehemiah 5:12) The nobles concurred took huge financial burden off the people Pronounced strong curse on any who would not fulfill his promise Nehemiah 5:13 I also shook out the front of my garment and said, Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied. And all the assembly said, Amen! And they praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise. 9. Oversees spiritual revival Nehemiah 8-10 Feast of Booths Nehemiah 8:13-18 a. Brings the book Nehemiah 8:1-8 b. Restores worship Nehemiah 8:13-9:38 Confessed sin Nehemiah 9:3 While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God. Nehemiah 12:47 after the dedication of the wall So all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the portions due the singers and the gatekeepers as each day required, and set apart the consecrated portion for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the consecrated portion for the sons of Aaron. c. Made public covenant Nehemiah 10:1-39 6
G. Celebrated victory Nehemiah 12:27-47 Nehemiah 12:27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps and lyres. Nehemiah 12:31-43 two choirs on top of the wall music great joy dancing women and children included everyone heard it! H. Accountability Nehemiah 13:1-31 Nehemiah left Israel to return to Persia as he promised the king in Nehemiah 2:6 he left in the 32 nd year of Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 5:14; 13:6 433 B.C.) during his absence the people returned to their sinful ways 1. The main problem Nehemiah 13:1-3 The main problem for Israel all the way from the exile to the end of their existence was inter-marriage Exodus 34:15-16 God warned against taking foreign wives lest they are prompted to play the harlot with foreign gods 1 Kings 3 Solomon married Pharaoh s daughter then 700 wives and 300 princesses Here they returned to the same problem Nehemiah 13:3, 23 2. The failure of leadership This was led by Eliashib the high priest Nehemiah 13:4, 5 Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah, had prepared a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings... He had allowed worship to cease no tithes Nehemiah 15-19 temple turned into a flea market! 3. He restores order Kicked Tobiah out cleansed the temple restored priests kicked merchants out of the temple Greatest grief Nehemiah 13:23-25 In those days I also saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them was able to speak the language of Judah, but the language of his own people. So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 4. Old Testament history ends 7
OUTLINE OF NEHEMIAH I. Nehemiah s First Term as Governor (Nehemiah 1:1 12:47) A. Nehemiah s Return and Reconstruction (Nehemiah 1:1 7:73a) 1. Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:1 2:20) 2. Nehemiah and the people rebuild the walls (Nehemiah 3:1 7:3) 3. Nehemiah recalls the first return under Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 7:4 73a) B. Ezra s Revival and Renewal (Nehemiah 7:73b 10:39) 1. Ezra expounds the law (Nehemiah 7:73b 8:12) 2. The people worship and repent (Nehemiah 8:13 9:37) 3. Ezra and the priests renew the covenant (Nehemiah 9:38 10:39) C. Nehemiah s Resettlement and Rejoicing (Nehemiah 11:1 12:47) 1. Jerusalem is resettled (Nehemiah 11:1 12:26) 2. The people dedicate the walls (Nehemiah 12:27 47) II. Nehemiah s Second Term as Governor (Nehemiah 13:1 31) 1 Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah The walls of Jerusalem during Nehemiah s time 1 The MacArthur Study Bible, ed. John MacArthur, Jr., electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997). 8
Reduced footprint of Jerusalem from Hezekiah to Nehemiah Present dig of Nehemiah s wall 9
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