Nehemiah 4:1-6 / Prep

Preparation

Pray

Lord, thank you for the privilege of sharing your word with your people. Give them solid food. Fill them up to be energized for your mission. Consecrate me for this work. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Just Meditate

Questions for the passage / first illumination

Who is Sanballat and why is he so upset?

Some prefer the ruble

We have an enemy that jeers at us

By sight alone, it would have been easy to be discouraged

The enemy wants to stop you at the start

He turns to prayer

Can a Christian pray this way?

How does this relate to God’s attributes of mercy and being slow to anger

They talked to God instead of talking to the enemy

Sometimes the best solution is to keep building

They had a work mindset, not a conflict mindset

Mood/Emotion of the Passage

Dramatic, tense

Word-studies

None for now

Cross References / Passages that illustrate

We do not wrestle against flesh and blood

Designer and builder is God

Commentary

Context / Overview

“These verses in the Hebrew Bible are a continuation of chap. 3 (3:33–38).” Carl R. Anderson, “Nehemiah,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 725 (m)

Versus

1

f

2

“Feeble Sanballat seems to be describing the Jewish people as a dying people group—one that is languishing or in the last days of its existence. “ John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Ne 4:2.

“Will they offer sacrifices? Perhaps the sense was that the Jews would offer enough sacrifices to God to persuade him to help them rebuild the city.” Carl R. Anderson, “Nehemiah,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 725.

“Ironically, the answer to this and Sanballat’s subsequent mocking questions will be yes.” - ESV Study

“Sanballat may be referring to his desire to see religious activity cease in Jerusalem; sacrifices were already being offered (Ezra 6:12–18). He could also be referring to sacrifices that may be offered after the wall rebuilding project was a success (compare Neh 12:43). It could have also been that sacrifices had temporarily ceased, because of the intensity of persecution.”John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016)

“The jest regarding bringing back to life the burnt stones was a recognition that the Jewish people had no time to quarry new stones but had to make do with the rubble left over from the destruction of 586 BC.” Carl R. Anderson, “Nehemiah,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 725.

3

They mocked the people (“feeble Jews”), the plan (“will they finish in a day?”), and the materials (“stones and rubbish”).” Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), Ne 4:1–6

4

“Note that the people still worked as they prayed, for prayer is no substitute for work.” Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), Ne 4:1–6.

5

“the motive is not mere revenge but rather the honor of God, who is the real object of the enemies’ insults and whose purposes they do not understand.” ESV Study

6

“One aspect of God’s blessing on this project was that he gave the people a deep desire to do the work, and he sustained that desire throughout the time that the wall was being built.” ESV Study

Application

Relational application (love your neighbor)

Thinking application (mind)

Feeling application (heart, soul)

Action application (strength)

Illustration

Verbal Illustrations

Visual Illustrations

Audience

pains/problems

passions/purposes

Questions/arguments they may have for the text

Pre outline

Main Ideas of the text

So what?

What would this look like lived out?

Title ideas

Potential Outlines