BYBC Nehemiah Lesson # 1

Day 1 Theme: THE BIG NEWS!

Text: Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah 1 KJV 1900

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, 2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, 5 And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: 6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. 8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. 10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.

Today, I want to introduce you to a man who live a couple thousand years ago. His name is Nehemiah. He lived in a place call Shushan in a palace of a king. That King’s name was King Artaxerxes. Now, Nehemiah was not from this area. Nehemiah’s people were from the land of Judah very far away; about 750 miles away and a 3 to 4 month journey. Nehemiah’s job in the palace was that he was the cupbearer to the king. That meant that he tasted all food and drink for the king before the king at it to make sure it wasn’t poison. What a job!

There was a day when things seemed to be like any other day, when one of Nehemiah’s friends came to him all the way from Judah. His friend’s name was Hanani. Nehemiah asked him how the Jewish people were in Jerusalem. Hanani told Nehemiah that things were NOT good. Hanani said the people that were left in Jerusalem were in great affliction and reproach. Nehemiah’s people were sad and miserable!

Not only were the people in affliction and reproach, but the wall that surrounded Jerusalem was broken down and the gates were burnt with fire! In the Bible days, the walls around the city were a big deal! A wall meant protection from the enemy. Without the wall, the enemy could enter at any point anywhere in the city and attack. The people would have been worried about an attack and they would not be able to relax. There was always the fear of who may attack.

Nehemiah’s response to this terrible news about the people and the walls of Jerusalem was:

He sat down

Wept

Mourned certain days

Fasted (did not eat or drink, but prayed instead)

Prayed before the God of heaven

That day, Nehemiah desperately came to God with a great burden on his heart. Have you ever felt bad for someone else? Maybe something happened to someone else and you felt bad for them. You wished there was something you could do to help them. Well, this was Nehemiah’s own people. He wanted to be able to do something about this. So he took this great burden to God and asked for God’s help. When you have a problem, do you ask for God’s help?

Build up for tomorrow:

What will God allow Nehemiah to do about this great problem in Jerusalem?

What can he do as a servant boy from so far away?

Will the people in Jerusalem be killed?

Come back tomorrow to find out what happens next!