Nehemiah

Introduction: In my house there is a room that is always messy. It’s the place where when people come over, we throw everything we don’t want anyone to see.

Introduction to the Book of Nehemiah:

In 587 BC, Jerusalem fell and the Jewish monarchy failed from a worldly perspective.

Cyrus sent people to erect the temple in 538 BC (in accordance with prophecy. ()

60 years later, Ezra came to reenact the laws of moses, and the consequences of reenacting the law bring the book to a painful and abrupt conclusion.

But this renewed sense of identity in the Law, made them more distinctly Jewish than at any time of their existence as a sovereign state. One more thing the nation did not have a problem with was idolatry of foreign gods.

In between Ezra and Nehemiah, the Kings of Persia change, but God’s purposes are still moving forward.

God has always used pagan kings as he saw fit to accomplish His purposes. God doesn’t need the leader to be a Christian to bend them to His will.

In 445 Nehemiah was appointed governor of Judah and given free hand to build the city of Jerusalem which is the story that we are picking up now.

King of Persia is moved by God to send a leader to Jerusalem

Leader faces opposition in rebuilding

Strange Anti-Climax

God’s people need a new heart.

Nehemiah 2:17–18 ESV

17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

Now throughout the book of Nehemiah, we’re going to see 3 themes which make up our Big Idea for today’s sermon.

Big Idea: Remember, Restore, Remain.

1. Remember who you are. (1:1-7:73a)

Explanation: The first thing that needed to happen was for Nehemiah to remember who he was. You see, exile had been good to the Jewish people. many of them were highly favored and given high offices in the governments of their captors. They were wealthy and extremely influential.

So you can stay where you are and live the good life or return to the crumbling degenerate wasteland that is your home.

Would Nehemiah really care about the plight of Jerusalem, a city in a country where he was not born, and a place he has never visited? But God broke Nehemiah’s heart for his homeland because in his heart of hearts, Nehemiah remembered not just that he was a Jewish man, a child of Abraham, but also an heir of the promises of God.

Illustration: Some of you who come (or whose families come) from other countries know this feeling. Even if you have never been to the homeland, you have a feeling of affinity with that home.

Nehemiah remembers the promises of God. In effect, Nehemiah has been reading his Bible.

Nehemiah 1:8–9 ESV

8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’

And this calls to remembrance, God’s greater plan for the Jewish people. The Messiah would come to Jerusalem, not Persia. The city needed to be reubuilt in order for the Messiah to come.

nehemiah 1:

Nehemiah 4:14 ESV

14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

And Nehemiah calls on others to remember God.

Nehemiah 4:14 ESV

14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

neh 4

Application: Who are you? Everything comes down to identity. At the heart of Nehemiah was a man who found his identity in God.

If at your heart you are your career, you will care most about your career. If it’s your identity as a parent, you will care most about your kids. If it’s as american, then your heart will break for your country. But if you find your identity as a Christian or a child of God, then that changes things, you will care about the things of God. Your heart will break for the church and for the lost. Your heart will break for the people around the world being killed for their faith.

Its not that you won’t care about those other things, you’ll just have perspective. In fact, Nehemiah used his career and position to make a difference in what really mattered to him.

Now remembering led Nehemiah to go to to Jerusalem and together with the people rebuild to wall of Jerusalem. They did it in 52 days. It’s pretty amazing. And for many of us who have read or studied this book, we somehow think this was the point. The broken wall was a metaphor. And what was broken goes so much deeper than a rebuilt wall.

2. Restore what was broken. (7:73b-10:39)

Explanation: In order to realize what was broken, we have to look at Israel’s history. When they were sent into exile, it was because they refused to submit to God’s word and to His law.

Now from the outside, God’s destroyed the outer trappings of their nation. The cities the temple, burned their pasturelands and all but destroyed their families lines.

Illustration: When I was in school, they were always trying to warn us of the dangers of smoking. And I remember this one poster of this really disfigured and discolored girl with a cigarette in her hand. And the caption read, if what happened on your inside happened on your outside, would you still smoke?

Now the jewish people had an internal problem. On the outside they looked a nation that was blessed by God. They had a vibrant religious system full of tradition and ritual. On the outside they looked healthy.

Isaiah 29:13 ESV

13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

God made the outside look like the inside so that they could finally see the real problem. They didn’t need a new city wall or a temple to be rebuilt so they could go back to the way things used to be.

But in the words of Jesus, on the inside, they were whitewashed tombs

They needed a new heart. And after Nehemiah successfully led the campaign to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem, Ezra began to read the law. And as soon as he did, the people knew what their real problem was.

Nehemiah 9:2–3 ESV

2 And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God.

nehemiah 9:2

Nehemiah 9:38 ESV

38 “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.

Application: So often we look at the outside and think we’re good. We go to church, we may even read out Bibles. We give 10 percent to the church like we’re commanded to. The outside can give us a false sense that we’re ok.

Remaining is harder than you might think. (11:1-13:31)

And then we face trials and tribulations and wonder where is God? Is it possible that God brings these tough times so that we might see what’s really on the inside?

How is your heart? When you are squeezed, what comes out?

If you squeeze a apple, you get apple juice.

Orange you get orange juice.

lemon, you get lemon juice; add sugar and water and it’s lemonade.

squeeze and alligator, you get gatorade.

If you squeeze a true follower of Jesus, you get love, joy, peace patience, kindess, goodness, faitfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

So I say again, how is your heart?

Because the truth is, like the Jewish people would soon realize, realizing that you need a new heart and committing yourself to doing better is easier than staying that way. We naturally drift.

3. Remaining is harder than you might think (11:1-13:31)

Explanation: Chapter 11 teaches us that their are leaders who are tasked with keep the peace in the nation. Chapter 12 teach us that there are spiritual leaders in charge of the spiritual health of the nation. These have always been seperate in the nation. The king was never a priest and the priest was never king. They had to work together. The leaders of Jerusalem were tasked with keeping the covenant in obedience.

The leaders of Jerusalem were tasked with keeping the covenant in obedience.

The priests were tasked with keep the temple and the word of God as well as leading in proper worship.

Now, Chapter 13 is perhaps one of the most depressing chapters in the Bible. After chapter 12, Nehemiah has to go back to persia. Chapter 13 comes 10 years later when he returns. And he finds that the people are almost right back where they started.

The leaders aren’t leading and...

The people of Israel did not remain faithful to their covenant.

Remembering the past, restoring a city, reciting a law doesn’t do any good without a changed heart.

neh 13:15-

Nehemiah 13:15–18 ESV

15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. 16 Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! 17 Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

Nehemiah 13:23–25 ESV

23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Illustration: It is so easy to clean my house. What’s difficult is keeping it that way. It takes discipline and regular maintenance for my house to remain clean. It’s not my wife’s job alone. It’s not my kids job alone. We all have to work together.

Application: Naturally, we are all going to drift from God. People don’t drift towards God. It takes time, energy and discipline.

To make time for God.

To choose God over other things that via for our hearts.

To choose to obey when temptation strikes.

Reflection: How is the condition of your heart? Do you need a new heart?

Nehemiah didn’t rebuild the city for the Jewish people. He reubilt the city because God layed it on His heart. And God had a bigger plan. Because in 400 years,

Galatians 4–5 ESV

1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. 8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. 12 Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. 21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” 28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. 1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. 7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 4:4 ESV

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

Galatians 4:4–5 ESV

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

This is what this has always been about.

Jesus dying on a cross to give each and every child of God a new heart.

This time it’s more than just jewish people. Its any who will call upon the name of Jesus.