Introduction to Nehemiah

Introduction:

Author:

The first verse clearly states, “The words of Nehemiah the Son of Hachaliah.” This is his personal record of the events of the third return to the promised land.

The entire book of Nehemiah was written from the perspective of a leader. This book is an inspiring account of the Jew’s determination to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, to reestablish worship of the one true God, and rebuild their nation. It seems to me that the author has three distinct purposes in mind:

to show the steadfast faithfulness of the men and women who returned from their captivity and faced severe opposition.

to show the right path to purity and genuine worship of God, the worship of the one true and living God.

lastly to encourage God’s people of every generation, including us, to be faithful in our commitment and service to the Lord as we will face difficult. Such as oppositions, trials, and other difficulties. Lord willing this book will comfort you.

As dictated in our statement of faith we should recognize that there is also a Divine Author too. The Holy Spirit, God-breathed or inspired this book too. Through His inspiration, the Holy Spirit has given to us this inspiring account of the very events God wanted recored about the restoration of the Jew, their return from captivity, their steadfast determination to rebuild Jerusalem and specifically here in this book the wall, and their successful restoration of true/genuine worship of God.

Date:

Most of Nehemiah seems to be from the author’s personal journal. And this account seems to have been written no later than 430 B.C.

Some things that help us determine its dates is the available sources Nehemiah had access too.

Official letters given to Nehemiah by King Artaxerxes of Persia (1:7-9).

The family records of the different tribes (7:5-73).

The records of Nehemiah’s own experiences.

The authors personal contact with Ezra the priest/scribe.

Just after 425 B.C., shortly after the events described in the book and during the time of the great Persian empire. There were three groups of Jews who left Babylonian captivity to return to Jerusalem. Nehemiah being the final group to leave. All three of these groups were from the southern kingdom of Judah.

There is no record of a group that returned separately to the promised land from the northern kingdom of Israel. The northern kingdom called Israel, who had been exiled by Assyria—never returned. 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah were written to, what these returned people would be called from here on out, the Jews as they were from Judah.

The First Group:

In 539 B.C., the Medes and Persians under King Cyrus defeated the Babylonians in a fierce battle for world domination. Just as the prophet Daniel had predicted, the Babylonians were so soundly defeated that the capital Babylon opened its city gates to the Persians without a fight.

In Daniel 5 it gives us a little insight into these events.

Like the Babylonians, the Persians adopted a wise policy of incorporating captured exiles into the society of the nation to which they were deported. These captives were given the right to rebuild their lives despite being exiled to a foreign land. They had the right to secure personal employment, hold property, built homes, and start businesses.

This policy strengthened the nations of Babylon and Persian both economically and militarily. However the Persian king Cyrus went a step further.

One year after his conquest of Babylon in 538 B.C., King Cyrus proclaimed himself as the Liberator of the People. He allowed any exile who wished to return to their homeland to do so. Among those released were the Jews who had been taken captive at the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (48 years prior).

At this first release, Cyrus appointed Zerubbabel governor over Judah and the returning exiles. Almost 50,000 exiles were released to return to their homeland in Judah. When they arrived, the first work undertaken by Zerubbabel was the building of an altar to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Soon after, he and the returning exiles undertook the construction of the temple.

However, opposition soon cropped up from the enemies of the Jews. Their enemies were the surrounding tribes and peoples who did not want to see Jerusalem and the temple to be rebuilt. The opposition was successful in stopping the work for a number of years.

But in 520 B.C., the building of the temple was resumed. It was completed four years later 516 B.C.

But, tragically, these first returnees under Zerubbabel soon began to drift back into the sins that lead them into exile to begin with. Just as their fathers had done, they too turned away from the Lord, committing sin after sin, such as:

Intermarriage with unbelievers

Malachi 2:11 NKJV

11 Judah has dealt treacherously, And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, For Judah has profaned The Lord’s holy institution which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god.

Ezra 9:1–2 NKJV

1 When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.”

God does not want His people to intermarry with unbelievers, as it will cause division within the marriage. One will want to serve and honor the Lord the other does not. One will want to take the children to church… the other doesn’t see the need to do those things. This is a much bigger and more serious problem then one might expect. God does not want you to be unequally yoke. A yoke is what is placed over a pair of oxen to place the burden on both. If you are unequal the whole load is placed on one of them, making the work much more difficult.

Neglecting the worship of the Lord

Malachi 1:6–7 NKJV

6 “A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’ 7 “You offer defiled food on My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’

Where are your priorities when it pertains to worshipping with the saints? If we place a high priority on something like a baseball game and are willing to spend adequate time to make sure we were on time… how much more so for the things of God?

Failing to offer sacrifices to the Lord as commanded by Him

Malachi 1:8–14 NKJV

8 And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts. 9 “But now entreat God’s favor, That He may be gracious to us. While this is being done by your hands, Will He accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts. 10 “Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, So that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you,” Says the Lord of hosts, “Nor will I accept an offering from your hands. 11 For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts. 12 “But you profane it, In that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled; And its fruit, its food, is contemptible.’ 13 You also say, ‘Oh, what a weariness!’ And you sneer at it,” Says the Lord of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?” Says the Lord. 14 “But cursed be the deceiver Who has in his flock a male, And takes a vow, But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished— For I am a great King,” Says the Lord of hosts, “And My name is to be feared among the nations.

While we no long are required to offer the burnt offering of animals before the Lord. The Bible clearly teaches we are to be living sacrifices to the Lord:

Romans 12:1 (NKJV)

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Participating in witchcraft and sorcery

Malachi 3:5 (NKJV)

5 And I will come near you for judgment;

I will be a swift witness

Against sorcerers,

Sorcery pertains to not only the occult, it also has a lot to do with drugs too. As drugs open an individual up to the spiritual realm.

Bearing false witness and using profanity

Malachi 3:5 (NKJV)

5 And I will come near you for judgment;

I will be a swift witness

Against perjurers,

God doesn’t want you to lie or to speak provocatively. A good verse to memorize is

Ephesians 4:29 NKJV

29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Playing the harlot physically and spiritually

Malachi 3:5 (NKJV)

5 And I will come near you for judgment;

I will be a swift witness

Against adulterers,

The idea here is that you have made a covenant with another that you will be faithful to them, and that is a sacred bound that is not to be broken. The people turning to other god and serving them… they were playing the spiritual harlot. Let us not be found guilty of these either.

Oppressing and stealing from people, even the wages due widows and orphans

Malachi 3:5 (NKJV)

5 And I will come near you for judgment;

I will be a swift witness

Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,

God calls us to protect the orphan and the widow because they are the most vulnerable. These were essentially stealing from them. We don’t want to be looking to take advantage of people at all.

Mistreating people

Malachi 3:5 (NKJV)

5 And I will come near you for judgment;

I will be a swift witness

And against those who turn away an alien—

God had called Israel to be a light to the nations and they were to not turn away the alien or the sojourner.

Failing to fear and show reverence for the Lord

Malachi 3:5 (NKJV)

5 And I will come near you for judgment;

I will be a swift witness

Because they do not fear Me,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

Proverbs states:

Proverbs 1:7 NKJV

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

“This is not abject fear. It is the reverential fear spoken of in 1 Peter 1:17-19, the sensitive dread of hurting the One who loves us so.”

Disobeying the commandments of the Lord

Malachi 3:7 NKJV

7 Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’

[Story of Samuel and King Saul]

1 Samuel 15:22 NKJV

22 So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

Stealing the tithe that belonged to the God

Malachi 3:8–9 NKJV

8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.

As Christians we should tithe a portion of our income. And when we are not obedient then we are stealing from God. Stealing from the what the Lord wants to accomplish within the local church.

The Second Group:

About 80 years after the first group returned to Judah, Ezra would secure permission from the Persian king Artaxerxes to lead a second and smaller band of exiles back to Jerusalem. It was the year 458 B.C., and Ezra had a purpose for returning to Jerusalem, and that was to carry out spiritual and religious reforms, essentially to stir a revival among the nation.

Revival and reformation were desperately needed because of the people’s sin and apathy. They had slipped and turned away from the Lord. In stating his reason for returning, Ezra clearly says that he had prepared his heart, that he was determined to study and obey the law of the Lord and to teach the law and commandments of God to the people:

Ezra 7:10 NKJV

10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Only about 1,800 exiles chose to return with Ezra. Leading that small band, he and they struck out and traveled over 900 miles, reaching Jerusalem some four months later (458 B.C.)

Application:

The Third Group:

445 B.C., Nehemiah was visited by one of his brothers and a number of other men who had just returned from Judah. Interesting in how the those who returned were doing, Nehemiah asked about them. When they reported that things were not going well, that the people were suffering severe affliction and reproach from the surrounding people and nations and that the wall and gates of the city had been destroyed, Nehemiah was heartbroken. Scripture states that the wept and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the Lord.

Nehemiah held an official position in the royal court of the Persian king. He was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes:

Nehemiah 1:11 NKJV

11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.

Nehemiah 2:1 NKJV

1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.

The cupbearer was a royal official who personally served wine to the king and who was sometimes required to taste the wine before serving it in the event an assassination attempt was being made upon the king. The cupbearer was a man who was greatly trusted by the king, a man in whom the king put a great deal of confidence.

Thus, a close relationship was sometimes formed between a ruler and his cupbearer, which was obviously the case with Nehemiah and Artaxerxes.

The heartbreaking news about the returnees had a devastating effect upon Nehemiah. Grief and sorrow gripped him for days. In fact, the next time Nehemiah served wine to the king, he still exposed a sad countenance—so much so that the ruler asked him why he was so sad. Using the opportunity to share the affliction and distress of his people back in their homeland, he requested permission to personally return to Jerusalem. Expressing the desire to rebuild the wall and make other improvements to the capital. Now having been granted permission, Nehemiah was going to Jerusalem!

After arriving, he would spend three days in Jerusalem, and privately surveyed the wall of the city at night in order to study the situation and determine what needed to be done. The next day, he called a meeting with the rulers of Jerusalem and shared with them how God had moved upon his heart when He heard about their distress. After sharing the decree of the king and the local rulers, he organized them to rebuild the wall of the city.

Under his capable and courageous leadership, the construction project was, surprisingly, completed in 52 days.

Nehemiah 6:15 NKJV

15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.

Throughout his stay in Jerusalem, he supported the efforts of Ezra to stir the revival among the people and to reform temple worship. In particular, Nehemiah supported Ezra’s efforts to teach the law and commandments of the Lord to the people.

Nehemiah 8:1–18 NKJV

1 Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. 3 Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 And 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. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place. 8 So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading. 9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them. 13 Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law. 14 And they found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, 15 and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the mountain, and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” 16 Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. 17 So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness. 18 Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner.

Purpose:

The Historical Purpose:

To document the return of the Jews from captivity led by Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem.

To document the restoration of the Jewish nation.

To show how the Northern and Southern Kingdoms merged into one nation during their exile.

To trace the genealogy of those who returned.

To show that God had preserved the lineage of the Messiah.

The Doctrinal or Spiritual Purpose:

To point out that God’s plan for Israel was not void. In His sovereign power, God moved on the hearts of kings to allow His people to be released and to rebuild the temple. Honoring the covenant He made with Abraham and King David. God’s presence would still dwell in the midst of His people.

To teach that believers must be united in their efforts to serve the Lord. Those who do the Lord’s work must be willing to work diligently to overcome all opposition by the enemy. They must be faithful in performing even undesirable job, remaining committed to the task God has given them.

To teach all that God is a God of restoration.

To teach all God’s guiding hand is with the believers in all situations, good and bad.

To teach that repentance and obedience always bring God’s blessing. Peace, provision, protection, hope, victory, safety, the fullness of God’s presence and more are available to the genuine believer.

To inspire all readers to stay full committed to the Lord.

To teach that there is spiritual rest and assurance for all who trust in the Lord. For the Jews and promised land, and for us believers heaven.

The Christological or Christ-Centered Purpose:

Jesus, our Lord and Savior, did come through David’s family line. These Genealogies contained in Nehemiah show us the survival of the Jews and, therefore, the preservation of the family line through which the Messiah came.

All genuine worship in the OT times celebrates forgiveness of sins. All true worship pointed forward to the sacrifice Christ so willing made on the cross. There He shed His life’s blood to free us from sin.

Everything is restored in the book of Nehemiah except the king on the throne. But the kingly line is very much alive, pointing forward to the true King… the King of kings, Jesus Christ.

Application:

As we study these events it should reveal our need for devotion to the Lord, for a lasting and close relationship with the Lord, and that we should be pursuing holiness.

Why? Because:

God is worthy of all worship

God always fulfills His promises

God gives us favor and authority

God has His hand upon all believers who trust in Him

God gives us mercy and protection to complete our commissioned task

The faithful service of the Jews and their commitment to the Lord and the rebuilding of the wall point to one very significant conclusion—Jesus Christ is worthy of all worship. We are to worship God and God alone, the Eternally Existent One, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Family, as we go through this book please note that this book is written as both a warning and a promise to every reader. We are going to continue to be challenged let us pray that we have soft and moldable hearts so that we learn what God is trying to teach us through this book as well as are obediently following those convictions.

Jude 24–25 NKJV

24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.