Category: Nehemiah

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Nehemiah

When the emotion fades

Mountaintop

When I lived in Hawaii, I would sometimes go to church camps up in the mountains.  And they would be great times of worship and of teaching.

I would usually come back on a spiritual high, ready and willing to serve God.

Then real life hit.  And God who had seemed so close that I could touch him, suddenly seemed to become more distant.

The emotions of the moment faded, and many times, not much in my life ultimately changed.

That’s what happened to the Jews.  They had come off a time of celebrating God’s goodness.  Then they had a real emotional time of repentance.

During that time, they all signed a contract before God.  In the contract, they said that they would obey all the commands of God.

They promised that they would not intermarry with the idol-worshippers around them and that they would keep the Sabbath.

They also promised that they would bring their tithes and offerings to support the priests and Levites in their temple work, and that they would not neglect the house of God.

After all this was done, they had a great celebration, dedicating the new wall they had built.

For a while, things went well.  But then real life hit.  The emotions started to fade.

Not only that, Nehemiah, their governor, had been called back to Babylon to serve Artaxerxes once again.

And when Nehemiah came back later to see how things were going in Jerusalem, what did he find?

The people had stopped supporting the Levites (and the musicians) and so they had stopped serving in the temple and had gone back to work in their own fields.

Not only that, people were working and doing trade on the Sabbath.

If that weren’t enough, the people had started intermarrying with the idol-worshippers from other nations.

What were the priests doing about all of this?  Nothing.

In fact, one of the priests himself had married the daughter of one of the enemies of the Jews (a man named Sanballat) who had tried to stop the building of the wall.

The priest’s father (or perhaps grandfather, the Hebrew word is not clear) Eliashib, the high priest, had allowed another enemy of the Jews, Tobiah, who had also tried to stop the work Nehemiah was doing, to actually live in the temple courts.

Nehemiah was furious when he saw this.

He kicked Tobiah out from the temple courts and had those rooms purified, putting them back to the use they were intended for.

He then kicked Eliashib’s son out from the priesthood.

He also got the people to start tithing and keeping the Sabbath again.

What can we get from all of this?

It’s so easy when we’re on a spiritual high to make promises to God about how we will commit ourselves to him from now on.

But what do you do when the emotion fades?

God is not impressed by promises we make when we’re on spiritual highs.  He’s looking at what we do when we’ve come back down to earth.

Are we still living for him?  Are we still committed to him?  Or have we reverted back to our old patterns?

Are we letting things into the temple of our bodies that we shouldn’t?

Are we marrying ourselves to the things of this world that would lead us away from him?

Are we putting money or work ahead of our relationship with God?

That’s what happened to these Jews.  And it can happen to us if we’re not careful.

How about you? How do you live when the emotion fades?

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Nehemiah

God’s grace in the midst of our unfaithfulness

Nehemiah

In this passage, we see the people coming before God to confess their sins.  And in this prayer, we see two things.  The unfaithfulness of the Jews and God’s grace.

The prayer starts with how God created everything, and then chose one man Abram to start a nation.  It then talks about how the Jews were enslaved in Egypt, but how by God’s grace he delivered them and led them through the desert.

But despite all the miracles he performed, the people wanted to go back to Egypt and return to their lives as slaves.  And instead of worshiping God as he is, they made an idol and called that God.

Yet God showed grace even then, providing them food and water in the desert and continuing to lead them.

He then brought them into Canaan, a land of milk and honey, but there they turned their backs on God once more, killing his prophets and serving their own gods.

As a result, God handed them to their enemies, but when they cried out to God in their distress, once again in his grace he saved them.  But the time came when finally he sent them into exile.  And so the people prayed,

But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces.

Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us.  They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please.  We are in great distress.  (Nehemiah 9:36-37)

Now they came before God with repentant hearts, seeking to renew their covenant with him.

It’s amazing to me that God would show so much grace to them.  If I had been God, I would’ve given up on them.  But he never did.  Even now, he has not given up on these people he has called.

And I think that it’s a good thing.  Because I’m just as bad in my own way as the Israelites.  I stumble in my sin, and I fall.  Like the Israelites, so often I harden my heart, and do what I know is wrong.

Yet though I am unfaithful, God remains faithful.  And he never gives up on me.  For that, I am truly grateful.

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Nehemiah

Joy of the Lord

Joy of the Lord

After the wall was built, the Jews came to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets as commanded by God in Leviticus 23.

And on this day, Ezra the priest read the law of God to the people.  Several things strike me as I read this.

First, the reverence that people had for God’s word and for God himself.

When Ezra opened up the book to read it, everyone stood up.  They then listened attentively while he read.

And when Ezra praised the Lord, they bowed down with their faces to the ground.

How often do we have that kind of reverence for God and his Word?

When we come before him, do we come with the humble hearts that these people had?  And are our hearts turned to what he would to say to us?  Or do we let ourselves get distracted by other things?

I’m also struck by the need of good teachers of God’s word.

In verse 8, it says that as the Levites read from the book of the law, they made it clear and gave the meaning so that everyone could understand what God was trying to say.

That need is still great in the church today:  people who can take God’s word and make it simple enough for all who hear to understand and grasp.

The third thing that strikes me is the response of the people.

When they heard God’s word, they wept as they realized how much they had violated God’s law and brought disaster upon themselves.

Do we have the same response when God shows us the sin in our lives?  Do we weep in repentance?

Or have we become hardened to our sin?

But the final thing that strikes me is that God does not wish us to wallow in our sorrow.

Rather, he wishes us to revel in his joy.

Nehemiah told the people,

Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.  (Nehemiah 8:10)

There would be a time for repentance, and we see this in chapters 9 and 10.

But God wanted the people at that point not to wallow in their sorrow for their failures, but to delight in his goodness and faithfulness to them.

When we sin, we should humbly repent before God.

But let us not remain in our tears and regret.

Let us instead remember the cross and how Jesus took our punishment for us.

Let us remember his grace and how he saved us.

And as we do, God will restore our joy.

God does not give us his word simply to make us grieve for our failures, or to take the joy out of our lives.

Rather, it’s his deepest desire that we would come into close fellowship with him and to know his love and his joy.

As Jesus said,

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  (John 15:10-11)

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Nehemiah

Remaining spiritually vigilant

Nehemiah

The walls of Jerusalem were now completed.  But even so, Nehemiah refused to let his guard down.

He put two men he knew he could trust, his brother Hanani (who had told him of the troubles of Jerusalem in chapter 1) and a man named Hananiah, to watch over the defense of the city.

In doing so, he told them,

The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot.  While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them.

Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.  (Nehemiah 7:3)

The idea, of course, was that no one could attack the city when people were just getting up and were unprepared to defend the city, and to also make sure that people would be extra vigilant since they were guarding the areas near their own homes.

What Nehemiah did in staying vigilant is also important for us.

We may have rebuilt our spiritual walls and be standing strong in our faith.  But we can never let our guard down.

Satan is always waiting for the opportunity to take us down, and he is patient.  He will wait for a time when we are not so vigilant, and then he will attack.

He did this with David, for example, when he fell into sin with Bathsheba.

So as Paul wrote,

If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!  (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Let us also take the words of Peter to heart who warned,

Be alert and of sober mind.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

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Nehemiah

Lies, discernment, and strength

Nehemiah and wall

With the walls near completion, the enemies of the Jews made one last attempt to stop the work.

First, they tried to lure Nehemiah out of the city where they could ambush and kill him.

Four times they tried to get him to come out, and when Nehemiah refused, they threatened to report him to King Artaxerxes, that he was planning to become king  of Jerusalem.

Perhaps they looked at the prophesies of Zechariah (Zechariah 9) and pointed to them as proof that Nehemiah was seeking to become king.

But Nehemiah rebuffed the accusation, secure in the knowledge that one, he had no such plans, and two, that King Artaxerxes trusted him.  So he called their bluff, and indeed, that’s exactly what it was.

Next they bribed one of the priests of God to tell him to hide within the temple for sanctuary against his enemies.  But Nehemiah refused for two reasons.

First, as the leader, he couldn’t be seen as hiding from his enemies as it would have hurt the confidence the people had in him.

Second, it was against God’s law that he enter the Holy Place, and by doing so, he would’ve sinned against God, again discrediting him among the people.

They then tried in turn to weasel their way into his confidence by sending their spies to speak well of them to Nehemiah, and when that didn’t work, to intimidate him.

But Nehemiah prayed to God, saying,

Now strengthen my hands.  (Nehemiah 6:9)

And God did.  Despite all the efforts of their enemies, the wall was completed.  And everyone, even these enemies, acknowledged that it was through God’s help that the wall was rebuilt.

What can we learn from this?

Satan will often try to keep us from God’s work.  He’ll try to throw lies at us to tempt us to sin or to cause us harm.

How do we combat that?

We need discernment and wisdom from God.  And the way we do that is through his Word and through constantly being connected to him through prayer.

As we read his word and pray, not only can we discern the truth from lies, but we can discern what the will of God is in our lives.

And when Satan attacks us and tries to intimidate us, we need to come before God as Nehemiah did, and ask for his strength.

So each day, as we go out into this world to do God’s will, let us seek his discernment and wisdom, and look to him for our strength.

If we do, there is no way Satan can stop us.

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Nehemiah

Division

Nehemiah

Satan wasn’t having any success trying to stop the Jews’ work on Jerusalem’s walls through outside attacks.  So he tried another tactic.  He brought division between the Jews themselves, namely between the rich and the poor.

Essentially, the poor among the Jews were suffering because they didn’t have enough money to buy food, particularly with a famine going on at that time, and also because of taxes they had to pay.

As a result, they were selling off their fields and homes just to be able to have something to eat.  When they no longer had any land to sell, they started to sell their own sons and daughters into slavery.

As Nehemiah considered the situation, he realized that the real reason things were so bad was the attitude of the nobles and officials.

They were taking advantage of the problems with the poor in order to enrich themselves.  Namely, they were taking the pledges people had made for the loans they were giving.

But God had commanded them,

When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. (Deuteronomy 24:10)

Yet despite God’s commands, these nobles and officials had no qualms about taking their neighbor’s land and children when these people couldn’t pay off the debt.

As a result, Nehemiah gave them a major tongue lashing, to which they had no answer.

To their credit, however, they repented and gave back everything they had taken from their fellow Jews.

Nehemiah himself, though he had a right to have a lot more food as governor in Jerusalem, refused to take it because it would’ve been a burden on the people.

Instead, he daily invited 150 people to dine with him.

He also never lorded over the people as their governor.  Rather, he worked beside them to help rebuild the walls around Jerusalem.

What can we learn from this?

If Satan can’t stop us from doing God’s work by directly attacking us, he’ll try to get us to attack each other.

He’ll divide us and get us so busy fighting each other that we don’t have time to do the things that God has asked.

How do we prevent that from happening?  By having the kind of heart that Nehemiah had.  A servant’s heart.

So let us not be looking out only for our own interests.  That kind of attitude leads to division.

Rather let us look to serve one another in love.

Paul put it this way,

Serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command:  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.  (Galatians 5:13-15)

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Nehemiah

Rebuilding in the face of opposition

Nehemiah and the trumpet

Under Nehemiah, work on the walls of Jerusalem began.  But it wasn’t long before the opposition started.

We see this at the end of chapter 2 when the Jews’ enemies tried to accuse them of rebellion.

That accusation no longer had any teeth behind it, however, with Nehemiah leading the efforts under the authority of Artaxerxes himself.

So in chapter 4, they tried to discourage the Jews by mocking them, calling them weak, and questioning their ability to rebuild their walls.

But when the Jews continued to work and had in fact built up the wall to half its height, their enemies tried stronger tactics, threatening to attack them when they least expected it.

In the face of this opposition and the size of the task, some of the Jews began to falter, saying,

The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.  (Nehemiah 4:10)

So Nehemiah took action.

He posted guards to protect the laborers and even armed the laborers themselves.

They also set up a system where if there was trouble, a trumpet would blow and all would rally to defend the people being attacked.

But beyond these practical things, Nehemiah also encouraged the people saying,

Don’t be afraid of them.  Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.  (14)

And with all this, the work continued on.

What can we learn from this?

I think it’s important to realize that Satan’s tactics haven’t changed very much over the centuries.

And when we start to rebuild the spiritual walls of our lives, Satan will first try to discourage us.  He’ll tell us we’re too weak to change.

He’ll say, “What are these feeble Christians doing? Will they restore their walls?  Can they bring their marriages back to life?  Can they bring back to life all the things they tore down because of their sin?”

If that fails to discourage us, he’ll start to attack and bring trials and troubles in our lives in order to stop us.

How do we respond in the face of this opposition?

First, remember that while Satan is strong, God is stronger.  He is “great and awesome,” and he will help and deliver us.

But we have to fight.  We need to clothe ourselves with God’s armor and refuse to surrender to Satan’s attacks.

Second, remember that we have brothers and sisters to help us.

Tell them your struggles.  Ask them to pray for you.  Let them rally around you and support you when you feel under attack.  And do the same for them when they’re under attack.

Satan gets angry when we rebuild our spiritual walls.

Let’s not be intimidated by him.

Rather, in God’s strength, and with the support of others, let us rebuild our walls and become the people God has called us to be.

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Nehemiah

Rebuilding the walls

Nehemiah

Nehemiah had a massive task ahead of him as he looked to repair the walls around Jerusalem.

But it was an important one.  As long as the walls were down, the Jews were defenseless against their enemies.  And so after three days of rest, he started to inspect the damage.

After doing so, he told his fellow Jews his plan to repair the walls.  And taking heart from Nehemiah’s words and the authority they had received from King Artaxerxes, they started to work side by side to repair the walls.

What can we get from these chapters?  I think there are a few things.

First, like Jerusalem, we are people with broken spiritual walls.  And as long as those walls are broken down, we are vulnerable to the attacks of the Enemy.

He has no mercy on us, especially since we have declared war on him by becoming Christians.  He will keep attacking our weak points, trying to get us to fall and to drive us away from God.

For some of us, it’s a struggle with our temper.  For others, it’s a struggle with lust.  For others, it’s a struggle with unforgiveness.  For yet others, it’s a struggle with bitterness.

Whatever your struggle may be, they are broken walls in your life and must be repaired if you are to become whole as a Christian.

Like Nehemiah, we need to take a careful look at our lives in the light of God’s word and see just where the damage in our walls are.

Where are we often falling to temptation?  What are the areas Satan is attacking us in.

Satan isn’t stupid.  He doesn’t waste his time attacking us where we’re strong.  He attacks us where we are weak.

So inspect your walls and see what needs to be repaired.

Second, know that the King is on our side and that he has given us the resources to repair the walls.

Peter put it this way,

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  (2 Peter 1:3)

Finally, not only is God on our side, but we should be working side by side with our brothers and sisters to rebuild the walls in our lives.

James wrote,

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  (James 5:16)

In other words, we ought to be accountable to one another.  Find a Christian you can trust and share your struggles with them.  Have them pray for you.  Do the same for them.

And as you do, you’ll find the walls in your lives starting to be rebuilt.

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Ezra Nehemiah

The power to change hearts

Nehemiah and Artaxerxes

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the book of Ezra, at least by the interpretation I’ve been going by (namely that Xerxes and Artaxerxes are Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I respectively), is not chronological.

Chapter 4 of Ezra gives us the background to the beginning of Nehemiah.

After Ezra came to Jerusalem with the initial blessing of Artaxerxes, opposition arose.

Ezra was told by Artaxerxes to use the gold and silver he had given them in order to buy things for their sacrifices at the temple.

Artaxerxes then told Ezra that whatever was left over could be used for whatever seemed best to them (Ezra 7:15-18).

Under Ezra, the people then started to rebuild the walls and foundations of Jerusalem using the money that Artaxerxes had given them.

But opposition arose.

The enemies of the Jews sent a letter to Artaxerxes telling him that if they were to complete these walls, they would rebel against Persia.

They then pointed to Israel’s “history of sedition,” and requested that Artaxerxes look for himself in the Persian records  (Ezra 4:14-15).

Artaxerxes did look, and came to the conclusion that the Jews would be a threat if they rebuilt their walls, and so he immediately commanded a stop to this work.

And so we come to Nehemiah.

Years had passed, but Artaxerxes was still on the throne, and the walls that Ezra had been building up were now torn down.

The gates were also burnt down, leaving the Jews vulnerable to any attacks by their enemies.

Nehemiah was a Jew who was a cupbearer to the king.  Basically, he brought wine to the king, and tasted it before giving it to the king to make sure it wasn’t poisoned.

Although it may seem a simple job, as a cupbearer, he was considered a high official in the court, and obviously had frequent access to the king.

Also, because of the position of trust he was in, he was often taken into the king’s confidence and had influence with the king.

One day Nehemiah’s brother came with news from Jerusalem about the state of trouble the people were in.

When Nehemiah heard this, he wept, prayed, and fasted before God.  He confessed the sin of his people and prayed for favor with the king, namely that his heart towards the Jewish nation would be changed.

This was no small prayer.

It was Artaxerxes after all that had ordered the stoppage of the work on the walls.

Yet God answered.

Artaxerxes noticed Nehemiah’s troubled face and asked him what was wrong.

Nehemiah was frightened because it was actually a capital offense to come before the king with less than a cheerful face.

But because of the respect that Artaxerxes had for Nehemiah, he was concerned for his well-being.

With that, Nehemiah breathed a quick prayer for help (I hardly think he prayed for an hour before the king before presenting his request) and told him about the situation in Jerusalem.

And God gave Nehemiah favor in Artaxerxes’ eyes.

What changed Artaxerxes’ heart?

There’s no explanation for it except that God had heard Nehemiah’s prayer.

Perhaps having seen Nehemiah’s humble and loyal service over the years also helped sway Artaxerxes.

Maybe he felt with Nehemiah in charge of the situation, rebellion would not happen after all.  Surely this highly trusted Jew would not make this request if he thought rebellion would be the result. 

And with that, Artaxerxes gave his blessing.

What can we get from this?  I think two things.

First, what may seem insignificant to the kingdom of God can turn out to be very significant.

If Nehemiah had proven himself untrustworthy to the king in his position as cupbearer, there’s no way Artaxerxes would have trusted him when he made his request.

But because Nehemiah had been faithful and loyal as his servant, Artaxerxes trusted him.

You may think that what you’re doing at your job has nothing to do with God’s kingdom.

But by serving faithfully, loyally, and with excellence, you show the people around you what a Christian is, and it will make an impact.

If on the other hand you are unfaithful, and give less than your best, it will have a negative impact on how people view God.

Second, prayer has the power to change hearts.

You may look at your husband, your wife, your boss, or the other people around you and think it’s impossible for God to work in them.

But if you pray for them, and you live a consistent example of Christ to them, it gives God a free hand to work in their hearts.

Is there someone in your life that you long to see change in?

Be an example to them of what a follower of Christ is.  Pray for them.

And you will see God work in their lives.