Nehemiah

Theme: The return of a third group of Israelites, with Nehemiah, to rebuild Jerusalem.

Chapters

Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah, cupbearer to the king of Persia, learns of the dreadful state of things in Judah; He prays for his people

Nehemiah 2

King Artaxerxes sends Nehemiah to Judah to help his people by rebuilding Jerusalem; Nehemiah arrives and views the ruins

Nehemiah 3

Registry of those who led the work on the wall

Nehemiah 4

Sanballat of Samaria and Tobiah the Ammonite plot to stop the work; The people guard while they build

Nehemiah 5

Nehemiah reforms the system whereby Israelites were charging their brethren interest and forcing them to be sold into slavery; Nehemiah’s generosity toward the people

Nehemiah 6

Nehemiah thwarts the conspiracy of Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab; The wall is completed in 52 days

Nehemiah 7

Registry of those who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel

Nehemiah 8

Ezra reads the law to the people; Israel keeps the Feast of Tabernacles

Nehemiah 9

The people confess their sins and the sins of Israel throughout its history

Nehemiah 10

A covenant sealed, to ensure faithfulness and provision for the temple service

Nehemiah 11

Registry of those dwelling inside and outside Jerusalem

Nehemiah 12

Registry of the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel; Nehemiah dedicates the wall

Nehemiah 13

Purification of Ammonites and Moabites from among the people; Nehemiah’s reforms in the following areas: (1) Reversing the priest Eliashib’s alliance with Tobiah; (2) Giving the Levites their due portion; (3) Collecting the people’s tithes; (4) Stopping the buying and selling on the Sabbath; (5) Condemning and stopping intermarriage with pagans

 Key Verses

Nehemiah 2:4-5

Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.”

Nehemiah 4:6

So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah 4:16-18

From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

Nehemiah 6:2-3

Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”

Lessons

The Lord expects His people to work in His service (Nehemiah 4:6; James 2:14-26), and great things are accomplished when the Lord’s people are determined to do His work (Nehemiah 6:15; 1 Peter 1:3-7).

Each person must do his own share in the Lord’s work (Nehemiah 3; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 6:5). The dedicated service of each individual is valuable in the Lord’s sight (e.g., 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; 2 Corinthians 9:7).

Watchfulness against the devil’s attacks is essential (Nehemiah 4:16-23). We must be ready to resist the devil no matter how he attempts to bring us down (e.g., Ephesians 6:10-20; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8).