Category: Nehemiah

These are the final chapters of Old Testament history! You have made it through the Old Testament – every bit of it, including some obscure prophets that people may be tempted to feel justified in overlooking, those dull genealogies, and Leviticus! I hope and I have prayed that you have gained insight and found meaning in each book and will never give in to the temptation to skip over certain books or disdain the Old Testament as unimportant. I have also prayed and will continue mentioning my Bible readers in my prayers, that you will continue to read systematically through your Bibles beyond this year, expecting to grow in your understanding, depth of insight, and love for God’s word, and that your expectation will be rewarded.

I will not be posting daily as we read through the New Testament. The purpose of my writing has been to share some insights to help your understanding, and to cheer you on through some of the more difficult passages. None of that is needed in the New Testament, is it? This is easy reading that delights most of us. The relatively easy reading in the New Testament does not justify the strain of my writing virtually daily while working two jobs, in my opinion. At a minimum, I will give introductions to books to help you fit them into the bigger picture. I also want to provide coaching for you to finish this good work to the end, because I want you to have that victory. And of course I will be praying for you.

It’s interesting to me that the history of the Old Testament ends as it does, with Nehemiah’s reforms he found necessary to steer the wayward Jews back on the track of obedience to the covenant they had made with God in yesterday’s reading. Returning to Judah after an absence of “some time,” he found that they had strayed back into some of the very habits that had led to their forefathers’ downfall. Would those Old Testament people of God never get it right?

Nehemiah’s efforts at reform must have been something to witness, as he rebuked, called curses down on them, beat some, and pulled out their hair! And he expected God to remember him with favor for that! It must have gotten through to them, because the next time we see God’s Old Covenant people, in the Gospels four hundred years later, we will see them still keeping the Sabbath faithfully and refusing to intermarry with Gentiles. That’s a good thing, right? The problem is, we will see that they had gotten carried away in establishing rules for the Sabbath that made it a burden. Their Sabbath rules and inflexibility were a frequent source of friction between them and Jesus. They maintained such a distinction between themselves and Gentiles that they wouldn’t talk to some people whom they considered undesirable. Even when they obeyed God’s commands they couldn’t get it right! They lacked God’s heart! Clearly rules didn’t fulfill the need created by man’s sin; God’s Old Covenant plan was simply not effective at restoring man’s relationship with Him to what it was meant to be.

So rules didn’t fulfill the need created by man’s sin; the need was for transformation. That is the work God promised to do, the new work He spoke of in Isaiah, and new hearts He spoke about in Ezekiel. The Old Testament has established beyond a doubt man’s need for transformation, his inability to bring about that transformation himself, and his desperate need for Messiah, that son of Eve who God promised in Genesis 3:15 would crush Satan’s head. Bring Him on!

Isn’t it interesting that the people of ancient Judah needed instruction in the Law of Moses as Ezra read it to them? If they needed help understanding the Law, how much more should we need it? There is a reason it’s difficult for us to understand.

What is even more interesting is that what was read to them caused the people to weep in grief for their failure to obey. That grief led to confession of their sins and a renewal of the covenant between them and God. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that “the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” That sharpness was demonstrated in the people’s sorrow for their sin. But notice that their confessions and subsequent commitment to obey God’s covenant demonstrated that they were not just listening to God’s word; they were hearing. Remember how God described His Old Testament people as hearing but not understanding? They understood at the time of Ezra’s reading because they were hearing as God intend His words to us to be heard: heeding followed the hearing.

Are we willing to hear the truth God gives us as we read His word and hear it preached and taught in our churches? What if that truth reveals a need for us to confess our failures or sins? I believe that if we are not willing to confess, if we are so confident that we’ll hear nothing that will require us to confess, we are demonstrating that we don’t have ears to hear. Further, if we aren’t willing to commit to God what is needed to heed His word, we demonstrate that we don’t have ears to hear. He only comes on the thirsty ground. If we want to experience the transforming power of God’s word, we must hear prepared to confess how we are not conformed to it, and to commit to conform.

Don’t think that Nehemiah was a weakling, for he actually would have been an impressive person. The job of cupbearer to the king of Persia required more than simply presenting a cup; it was a security position of highest rank which would have given him the respect of the king. However, Persian kings were intolerant of anyone who caused them any displeasure. It was unlawful to appear sad or be sad in the presence of the king; breaking that law was punishable by death. Nehemiah was justified in being concerned when the king noticed his sadness. The king’s notice and tolerance of him was an indication of his respect for Nehemiah, as well as God’s answer to Nehemiah’s request.

Have you ever felt a burden for another person or a cause so profoundly that it caused you great pain? That explains why Nehemiah was so moved to hear that the wall surrounding Jerusalem was in ruins. The condition of a city’s wall was a cause for its people’s honor or humility. The rubble surrounding Jerusalem shamed the Jews. Nehemiah’s sorrow was God’s call for him to take action. He had many obstacles to overcome in order to take action: he lived too far away from Jerusalem to do anything about it. He was not free to go; the king’s cupbearer didn’t just tell the king he wanted a reassignment. He could have used these to justify not going. Instead, he asked for God’s help in overcoming the obstacles, and God helped. That obviously didn’t make it easy, but it made it possible. Simply dealing with the rubble left by the Babylonian soldiers who destroyed the walls about 150 years earlier would have been an overwhelming task, given the conditions in Jerusalem. The Jews were living very simply and lacked resources for doing that kind of work, even for that day. How much experience do you think a goldsmith or a merchant or a man and his daughters had for that kind of work? Imagine how the ridicule of the opposition would have stung in the face of these realities. They didn’t let any of these stop them.

Has God given you a burden for some person or some cause that might be His call to you to take action? Today’s reading presents a good opportunity for you to talk to God about it and ask Him to give you favor and whatever help you need to make it possible. Don’t expect it to be easy, but don’t let difficulty stop you. If He made it possible for Nehemiah to lead the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls, He can certainly make possible the fulfillment of any need for which He has given a burden.