We shall conclude
the study of the book of Nehemiah of
the Old Testament this week.
Nehemiah began listing the names of priests and Levites among the batch of returnees that accompanied Zerubbabel and then he extended the list to name those descendants who continued to serve in his time. As much as they were names, most of which are not necessarily familiar to us, let’s quietly read through the list and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us in its reading:
(1) First, in vv. 1-9 he listed the names of the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel and it is important to remember that most of these are family names and should not be confused with the names of individuals. Therefore Ezra in v. 1 would not be the Ezra who returned some 20 years later, but the family name of one of the priest families. With this long list of names, somehow Nehemiah singled out some of them to tell us that they were “in charge of the songs of thanksgiving” (12:8). What might be the reason for such an emphasis? (See 11:23)
(2) Then, in vv. 10-11, he gave us a list of the high priests, from Jeshua to Jaddua, roughly from 538 B.C. to well after 400 B.C. As we have already studied the book of Ezra and are drawing near the end of the book of Nehemiah, consider the following:
a. Can you recall any role or impact any of these high priests had, either in the rebuilding of the temple or the rebuilding of the walls of the city?
b. As the High Priest, what role should they have played?
c. You may want to look up Zechariah 3 to get a sense of the spiritual condition of these high priests, as one of them was confronted by Satan before God.
(3) In vv. 12-21, he then listed the priests serving closer to his time. It is interesting to note that of the 22 family names mentioned in vv. 1-7, the family of Hattush was missing from this current list, probably signifying that by the time of Nehemiah, this family had ceased to yield male descendants to continue their priestly lineage. Food for thought.
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
請慢慢細讀每天指定的經文至少兩遍，然後反複思考問題。
尼希米在此先把第一批與所羅巴伯歸回的祭司與利未人的名單列出，然後把這些人的後裔，與他同期事奉的也列出來。雖然這些名字多是陌生的，讓我們細讀，並求聖靈引導我們：
(1) 12:1-9所列的首批祭司、利未人是家族的名字，並非個人的名字。就如第1節的以斯拉是家族的名字，並非二十年後才歸回的以斯拉。為什麼尼希米特別指出那些利未人是「管理稱謝的事」呢？(可參11:23)
(2) 12:10-11是大祭司的名字，由耶書亞到押杜亞(即主前538-400年左右)。我們既然研讀過整卷以斯拉記，現在讀到尼希米記的末段：
a. 你有否讀到大祭司在聖殿或城牆的重建中發揮過任何作用嗎？
b. 作為大祭司，他們在這時代該承擔什麼位份？
c. 欲加深了解這時代大祭司和以色列人屬靈的光景，請翻到撒迦利亞書第三章，看看撒但對其中一位大祭司的指控。
(3) 12:12-21所列的是與尼希米時代較為相近的祭司名單。試把這裡21個名字，與12:1-7家族相比：有否留意到其中的一個家族，到尼希米時代已沒有後繼的人承接作祭司的事奉呢？你以為可能的原因是什麼？
(4) 請停下來思想今日對你主要的提醒是什麼？你可以怎樣應用在自己的生命中？
“Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada, Joiada the father of Jonathan and Jonathan the father of Jaddua.” (Neh. 12:10-11)
The office of the high priest was established by Moses with Aaron and his sons being anointed to such an office, to be succeeded only by the descendants of Aaron. As much as Aaron was held responsible for the building of the golden calf, he remained as the second most important spiritual leader of Israel during the time in the wilderness.
After the passing of Moses, such an office obviously increased in its importance, fulfilling the functions specified by Moses which included the following:
- He was the only person permitted to enter into the Holy of Holies once a year during the Day of Atonement to make atonement for the sins of the entire nation.
- His special dress also signified his role of intercessor for the people as well, bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on his breastplate and on his shoulders (with the names engraved on the precious stones).
- He was to enquire of the Lord for decision making and for seeking the will of God through Urim and Thummim.
Other functions presumed by virtue of his office would also have included these below:
- The overseeing of all the functions pertaining to the worship and proper operation of the temple.
- The ensuring of the continued worship of the people and their following of the Law of Moses — in this respect, he could even overrule the king in enforcing the law concerning the priesthood — Azariah’s withstanding the encroachment of king Uzziah is a case in point (2 Chr. 26:16-20).
- Supporting the king or God-appointed leader with the force of priests and Levites under his command — the overthrow of the usurpation of Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, by Jehoiada the high priest is a case in point (2 Ki. 11).
However, during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, it appeared that they had little influence over the people whether in their effort to rebuild the temple or in the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem.
The fact that even after the second temple was built, many of the Levites and priests moved away from Jerusalem, causing the malfunction of the temple and the worship of God, clearly showed the total neglect of the office by the high priest. Furthermore, Eliashib, the high priest, sought to undermine the reformation under Nehemiah. The sins of these high priests were vividly depicted in the vision of the prophet Zechariah in which the high priest, Joshua (believed to be the same as Jeshua) “was dressed in filthy clothes” before the Lord and was the object of accusation by Satan (Zech. 3).
However, as weak and sinful as these high priests were, their office was a foreshadow of the Ultimate High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, who only needed to offer up Himself once as “the” atoning sacrifice to redeem us and lives forever to intercede for us (Heb. 7:25, 27).
「耶書亞生約雅金；約雅金生以利亞實；以利亞實生耶何耶大，何耶大生約拿單；約拿單生押杜亞。」 (尼12:10-11)
摩西在設立這大祭司的職份時，是膏立亞倫和他的兒子承擔這職份的。其後都是由亞倫的後裔承繼出任。雖然亞倫帶領百姓鑄造和拜金牛犢，在整個曠野的旅程中，他仍作為僅次於摩西的以色列民領袖。
當摩西的世代過去後，這大祭司的職份就更為重要。按摩西的律法規定：
- 惟有大祭司一人，能每年一次的帶祭牲的血，在贖罪日進到至聖所為以色列全會眾贖罪；(參利16章) ；
- 所穿的聖衣，在肩帶上和胸牌上，鑲上的寶石，刻著以色列十二支派的名字，在耶和華面前作為記念(參出28章) ；
- 他身附烏陵、土明為以色人作決斷，尋求神的旨意。
除這些定規的職份外，按常理和聖經上的例子，大祭司的職份亦包括：
- 管理聖殿一切的操作；
- 領導百姓遵守律法，敬拜耶和華—在這方面，他的權柄是超越帝王之上的(參代下26: 16-20) ；
- 及使用兵權保衛神所設立的王(參王下11:4-16) 。
不過，在以斯拉和尼希米被擄歸回的重建聖殿和重建城牆的時代，大祭司們並沒有盡責，也沒有發揮當有的屬靈的領導和影響力。甚至在聖殿重建後，因著大祭司的失職，很多祭司和利未人遷離聖城，弄至聖殿的敬拜不像樣(似乎所有歌唱的人都離去了) 。
更糟的是，以利亞實這大祭司屢屢成為尼希米的攔阻。在先知撒迦利亞所見的異象中，我們就看到當時以大祭司為代表，以色列人屬靈的光景：「約書亞(相信就是尼希米記的耶書亞) 穿著污穢的衣服」站在耶和華面前，被撒但指控(見亞3章) 。
雖然人間的大祭司是滿有輭弱和虧欠，但他們的位份卻是基督耶穌的預表和影兒。當祂出現的時候，就一次的把自己作贖罪祭的獻上，作為永遠的贖罪祭(來10:11-12) ，更是「長遠活著，替(我) 們祈求」(來7:25) 。
(1) In vv. 22-26, he then listed the Levites serving closer to his time. It is interesting to note that:
a. Their names were required to be recorded during the reign of Darius.
b. These names were also registered in the Book of the Chronicles (which may or may not refer to the Chronicles of the Bible).
c. Again, the fact that some were assigned to sing praises and thanksgiving was particularly mentioned.
What might be some of the reasons that Nehemiah chose to highlight the above?
(2) Vv. 27-30 gives us the connection as to why Nehemiah listed the names above, because these Levites (including priests) were drawn out from their dwelling places, even from outside of Jerusalem, to come back and participate at the dedication ceremony of the wall of Jerusalem. The geographical locations so mentioned indicated that they were spread across the land of Judah and of Benjamin. V. 27 says, “At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived”. What does it mean?
(3) In any case, whether they resided in Jerusalem or elsewhere, all had to purify themselves before participating at the dedication ceremony. For the priests and Levites, it probably meant “fasting, abstaining from sexual intercourse and a sin offering, and for the laymen the washing of garments, bathing etc.” (Fensham, 255/6).
a. Why was such purification required before their participation at the dedication ceremony?
b. What is the message for us today?
c. Have you taken drawing close to God in worship or celebration as seriously as they did?
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
請慢慢細讀每天指定的經文至少兩遍，然後反複思考問題。
(1) 12:22-26所列的是與尼希米時代較為相近的利未人名單。請留意：
a. 這裡指出在大利烏王在位的註冊，似是照王的定規；
b. 記在「歷史」上，可譯為記在「歷代志」上；
c. 再次提到他們「讚美稱謝」的位份。
尼希米這樣的記載，可有什麼用意？
(2) 12:27-30繼而論到眾民把「各處的利未人召到耶路撒冷」來行「告成之禮」。這裡提到的村莊是遍佈猶大和便雅憫地的。民眾要「召/sought out」這些利未人來是什麼意思？
(3) 不論他們是從何處被召來，祭司和利未人都要潔淨自己，才能參與這典禮。對祭司和利未人而言，這是包括「禁食、不與婦女親近和獻上贖罪祭。至於百姓，就包括洗淨衣服和洗澡等」(Fensham, 255/6)
a. 為什麼要先潔淨自己才能參加這「告成禮」？
b. 對我們今天有什麼信息？
c. 你自己有否先潔淨己心才到教會敬拜、親近神？
(4) 今日對你主要的提醒是什麼？你可以怎樣應用在自己的生命中？
“At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem…” (Neh. 12:27)
Yesterday, we were considering the failure of the high priests in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah in that they had exerted little influence over the people in the rebuilding of the temple and the wall of Jerusalem. We also mentioned that they had neglected to properly manage the temple worship to the point that many Levites and priests had moved out of Jerusalem, leaving the temple without enough personnel to function properly.
Now that Nehemiah made an effort (no doubt using his political clout as well) to dig up every single Levite outside Jerusalem and brought them back to participate in the celebration of the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, it appeared that not only the celebration was a great success, but the temple was able to function properly. The description in 12:44 is particularly interesting:
“At the time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, first fruits and tithes. From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions requiring by the Law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah was pleased with the ministering priest and Levites.”
In other words, before this, no one cared to look after the offerings brought to God’s house. Since the priests and Levites were not there to receive them and showed no respect and interest in the business of the house of God, the people did not bother to bring their tithes, first fruits and contributions any more to the house of God. So, the problem began not with the people, but with the clergy.
Now that Nehemiah had ensured that they would properly take care of the people’s offerings, the people resumed tithing because “Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites”.
I am afraid there is a lesson to be learned by the clergy and lay leaders today. Sometimes, there are complaints that the congregation does not care about the business of the house of God — not many people are willing to volunteer their time to serve, and the budget of the church is not met. The problem might have begun not with the people, but with the clergy and lay leaders. We are not there to be man-pleasers for sure, but we have to set an example in our love for people and for God, and in giving of our time and money to the ministry of the gospel.
「 耶路撒冷城牆告成的時候，眾民就把各處的利未人召到耶路撒冷……」 (尼12:27)
昨天，我們思想到大祭司在以斯拉和尼希米時代，沒有盡他們的位份來帶領百姓起來參與重建聖殿或聖城的工作；也提到他們忽略了好好的處理百姓帶來的奉獻，以至極多的利未人和祭司遷離聖城，弄至聖殿的敬拜不像樣。
現在，尼希米，相信是用他省長的權柄，把「各處」的利未人召(或譯找出來)到聖城，使告成禮得以進行。看來，這城牆的告成禮是非常的歡樂和成功的。不但如此，藉此，聖殿的運作也因有足夠的人手而回復正常。12:44的記載是很特別的：
「當日，派人管理庫房，將舉祭、初熟之物和所取的十分之一，就是按各城田地，照律法所定歸給祭司和利未人的分，都收在裡頭。猶大人，因祭司和利未人供職，就歡樂了。」
這一節顯示到，在此之前，因為沒有理會和處理奉獻，百姓也無心把當納的帶到聖殿。故此，問題是始於祭司和利未人這些「神職人員」，並非始於百姓。
現在，因為重新有人管理所收的奉獻，祭司和利未人得到照顧而各守職份，猶大人也因此歡樂(或譯因此喜悅事奉的祭司和利未人/NIV) 。
這事足為我們作牧者和教會帶領的提醒。我們有時埋怨弟兄姊妹缺乏事奉的心志，或不願多作金錢上的奉獻，忽略了神的家。但其實，那問題可能是始於我們作牧者或作領袖的。當然，我們事奉主不是要討人的喜悅，但我們是先要作出愛神、愛人的榜樣，在奉獻金錢和時間上發揮領導的榜樣。
(1) The dedication of the wall of Jerusalem took place both at the wall and inside the temple — the Ezra-led procession went up from the right, while Nehemiah’s procession went up from the opposite end, both were flanked by a large choir. When the two choirs reached the top, they gave thanks (12:40), then took their places back in the temple where more songs were sung and sacrifices were made. Nehemiah remarked that God had given them great joy and the sound of rejoicing could be heard from afar:
a. Put yourselves in their shoes and try to give all the reasons that they should give thanks to the Lord under such a circumstance?
b. What might be the greatest reason for their great joy?
c. Many commentators opine that Psalm 147 in fact originated from this dedication ceremony, especially 147:2 and 13. Read Psalm 147 and see what reasons might be given for their great rejoicing.
(2) After describing the dedication of the people to the strict observance of the Law of Moses, followed by the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, Nehemiah purposely highlighted a few things that they did, obviously in response to the oath they made back in 10:28-39. Let us try to relate these few things back to the oath they made:
a. What part of their oath does v. 44 refer to?
b. What is the significance of such compliance?
c. What does the remark that “for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites” mean?
d. What part of the oath does v. 45 refer to?
e. What kind of a picture does this paint concerning the pre-oath days of worship in the temple?
f. What part of the oath does v. 46 refer to?
g. What kind of a picture does this depict concerning the pre-oath days of the lives of the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers?
(3) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
請慢慢細讀每天指定的經文至少兩遍，然後反複思考問題。
(1) 城牆的告成禮是在城牆和聖殿兩處舉行的—以斯拉所帶領的大隊由右邊上城牆；尼希米所屬的大隊則由另一面行走。兩大隊齊歌唱稱謝後，轉到聖殿，繼續歌唱，眾人亦獻大祭。尼希米告訴我們，神使他們大大歡樂，歡聲傳到遠處：
a. 試想一想，他們在此時此地，當稱謝的該包括什麼？
b. 他們大大歡樂的主因該是什麼？
c. 不少解經家認為詩篇第147篇的背景正是這告成禮，特別是147: 2, 13。請翻到這篇詩篇，看看他們稱謝的原因包括什麼？
(2) 尼希米在第十章把他們嚴肅的與神立約，要謹守律法的詳情告訴我們，繼而在此記載城牆完工後，盛大的告成禮。在此，他特意將他們怎樣實行所立之約的幾樣重點列出：
a. 12:44與第十章那一個承諾有關？
b. 這方面的實行有什麼重要性？
c. 12:44說猶大人因有祭司和利未人供職(NIV譯為pleased with the priests and Levites) 而照律法所定的奉獻，是什麼意思？
d. 12:45與第十章那一個承諾有關？
e. 這意味著許諾之前聖殿的敬拜是什麼光景？
f. 12:46與第十章那一個承諾有關？
g. 這意味著許諾之前利未人、唱詩歌的和守門的是在作什麼的？
(3) 今日對你主要的提醒是什麼？你可以怎樣應用在自己的生命中？
“For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the singers and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.” (Neh. 12:46 )
As a concluding remark, Nehemiah wished to inform us that the oath taken so solemnly by the people of Israel was in fact seriously taken by the people. And so in 12:44, he specifically told us that “at the time”, meaning after the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they did follow through with their pledge, and appointed men (obviously referring to Levites) to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, first-fruits and tithes given by the people. In other words, before this pledge, the people didn’t really care if the Levites and the priests had enough to support their families. This also explains why many of the priests and Levites ended up moving away from Jerusalem and many became farmers. This resulted in the business of the temple being totally neglected as there were not enough priests and Levites to help the temple function properly.
Now that they had pledged “we will not neglect the house of our God” (10:39), one of the first visible differences was that songs of praises were once again heard in the temple with the re-forming of the temple choir—“For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the singers and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” (12:46). Obviously, they did not have a song director for a long, long time. The temple had been a rather subdued place of worship for many, many years.
Indeed, irrespective of how sinful and rebellious we may be, God still deserves our praise and adoration. Every time believers gather before the Lord, it is first and foremost a worship — this is why even in weddings and funerals, I would inform the hosts that we are there to worship God first and foremost. And, with God being the center of our worship, we cannot help but praise and adore Him. Somehow, God has seen fit to give us the great gift of music which has a very unique way of helping us express our heart-felt worship and adoration in ways that nothing can parallel — whether in songs, with cymbals, harps and lyres (12:27), or with pianos, organs, synthesizers and guitars.
Since God deserves the best, let us do our best in preparation for worship every Sunday, including giving Him the best offering in music, not as an entertainment to ourselves, but to the glory and honor of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
「古時，在大衛和亞薩的日子，有歌唱的伶長，並有讚美稱謝神的詩歌。」 (尼12:46)
在城牆告成禮之後，耶利米告訴我們，百姓先前所作出鄭重的承諾，是有實行出來的。
在立約的時候，他們承諾說：「我們就不離棄我們神的殿」(10:39) 。現在，已重新安排人管理和處理百姓帶來的奉獻，利未人因得到照顧，也重回事奉的崗位。聖殿的敬拜也得以回復正常。其中最顯著的是，聖殿重新聽到讚美稱謝神的音樂和歌聲，正如12:46所顯示：
「古時，在大衛和亞薩的日子，有歌唱的伶長，並有讚美稱謝神的詩歌。」
意思是說，他們沒有詩班長，也就沒有唱讚美稱謝神的詩歌多年了。那樣的敬拜實在可憐！
是的，不論人是怎樣的敗壞和輭弱，神仍是當稱頌的。故此，每次聖徒聚在一起，首要當是向神發出讚美和敬拜。因此，無論是婚禮或喪禮，我都盡量的提醒主家，神仍是最重要的一位，是該聚會的主角。神既是聚會的中心，我們自然要向祂發出讚美和敬仰。
音樂是神給我們極大的恩賜。在敬拜、讚美的表達上，音樂能充份的流露我們內心的真情，沒有其他的媒介可以比擬的—不論是藉著「歌唱、敲鈸，鼓瑟、彈琴」(12:27) 或是鋼琴、吉他等等。
神既然是配得我們獻上最好的，自然在崇拜施職的準備上，包括音樂的揀選，預習等等，我們也當把最好的獻上，這才叫神得著榮耀與稱讚。
講到音樂的預習，我希望領詩和彈奏樂器的弟兄姊妹，絕對不要等到聚會那天，才急忙的預習。這絕對不是把最好的獻上！
In this concluding chapter, Nehemiah shared with us that the reform under him was not all smooth sailing; it took persistent (and in some cases, disciplinary) efforts to ensure that the vows so taken would be followed. Commentators in general see all of these corrections as having been made upon Nehemiah’s return after his absence from Jerusalem in the 32nd year of Artaxerxes (i.e. 433 B.C., exactly 12 years after Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem). Here are the incidents cited:
(1) Vv. 1-3 deal with exclusion of any foreigners, presumably from their religious assembly.
a. Read Deuteronomy 23:4-6 to see what was the exact prohibition imposed by the Law.
b. Why did they apply it to all foreigners beyond the Ammonites and Moabites?
c. The prohibition says, “even down to the 10th generation” (Deut. 23:3). Does it mean never? (Note that the Gentiles who aspired to worship Yahweh were presumably allowed to gather at the “court of the gentiles” in the 2nd temple and Ruth was a Moabite.)
d. Why did Nehemiah see the necessity to enforce such laws to their “extreme”?
e. What can we learn from him?
(2) Vv. 4-5 deal with favor given to the enemy of Israel, Tobiah:
a. Who was Tobiah? How did he oppose Nehemiah? (See Neh. 2:19; 4:3, 7-8; 6:1-7, 12-19)
b. How influential was Tobiah (see Neh. 6:17-18)?
c. For what purpose was the room that Eliashib allowed Tobiah to use?
d. If Ammonites were to be excluded from the assembly, what kind of sin was being committed here?
e. Why did the priest (if he is not Eliashib the High Priest, he probably was related to him) do this to a known enemy of the Israelites?
(3) Vv. 6-9 deal with action taken by Nehemiah upon his return from the Persian court:
a. We are not told about his reception by the king after a 12-year absence. What does the fact that he was granted a leave of absence to come back again to Jerusalem reflect his status with the king?
b. Why do you think he wanted to come back to Jerusalem again?
c. How did he deal with “the evil thing Eliashib had done”?
d. What impact would his action have on the priests, the leaders and the people in general?
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
請慢慢細讀每天指定的經文至少兩遍，然後反複思考問題。
在這最後一章，尼希米告訴我們，他所帶領的更新運動，並非一帆風順的，而是需要堅忍，甚至經過處分，才能持久的向神守約。解經家一般把這裡所提的事件，列入尼希米在亞達薛西王第三十二年(即主前433年)到波斯述職後，重回耶路撒冷後所發生的：
(1) 13:1-3似乎是指「斷絕」一切外邦人參加以色列人在神面前的集會：
a. 請翻到申命記23:4-6，看看律法所禁止的條例是怎樣的。
b. 為何在此除了亞捫人和摩押人外還引用到其他外族人身上？
c. 申命記的禁例原意是永久的嗎？(註：路得是摩押人)
d. 為何尼希米這樣嚴格執行這條例？
e. 我們從他身上可以學到什麼功課？
(2) 13:4-5記載以色列人的敵人多比雅獲優待處理：
a. 多比雅是誰？他怎樣抵擋尼希米？(參2:19; 4:3, 7-8; 6:1-7, 12-19)
b. 他對猶大人有多大影響力？(參6:17-18)
c. 以利亞實給他使用的房屋原作何用？
d. 亞捫人既不能進神的會，以利亞實所犯的罪豈非更重？
e. 為何他竟向以色列的公敵作出這事？
(3) 13:6-9特別提到尼希米曾回京述職：
a. 我們不曉得他述職的結果怎樣，但從他能再次帶著權柄重回耶路撒冷來看，你以為他與王的關係有沒有改變？
b. 你認為他為何覺得需要重回耶路撒冷？
c. 他怎樣處理以利亞實所做的「那件惡事」？
d. 你認為他這樣處理，對祭司、貴冑和百姓有什麼影響？
(4) 今日對你主要的提醒是什麼？你可以怎樣應用在自 己的生命中？
“But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I had returned to the king.” (Neh. 13:6)
At times, the reader might be confused by the use of the term, king of Babylon (Neh. 13:6) or the king of Assyria (Ezr. 6:22), in referring to the king of Persia in the Bible. While modern readers are very conscious of the historical shift in power in Mesopotamia, it appears the ancient, especially the Hebrews who served under the successive powers in the region, did not care too much about the ethnicity of the rulers. To them, they were rulers over the same or similar territories controlled by the Babylonians and the Assyrians.
Irrespective of who the ruler was, we know that “In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that He channels toward all who please Him” (Prov. 21:1). As a result, we find that many of these Babylonian, Assyrian and Persian rulers had been used by God not only as instruments of disciplining His people, but also to give them a second chance to return to their God.
Artaxerxes was such a ruler who gave Nehemiah the power to return to Jerusalem with the power of a governor to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and to implement his spiritual reform. Unfortunately, rebuilding the wall of the city in spite of fierce opposition from their enemies was the easy part; to reform the people was the hard part, because he was dealing with the heart of the people. Without transforming the heart, there is no change of behavior. Nehemiah could do all he could under his power to enforce the code of law (i.e. the Law of Moses), but once he left Jerusalem (and we do not know for how long), many parts of law were broken, including those that the people solemnly vowed to keep.
It is a solemn reminder to us as well, as sometimes we tend to push for the enactment of laws in our land so that our society may conform to the principles and teachings of the Bible — whether it concerned the definition of marriage or other areas of significance to the stability of a society. The unfortunate thing is we cannot legalize morality; it is a matter of the heart. If people’s hearts are not transformed by the gospel, there is no hope that they will appreciate, agree with and follow the principles and teachings of the Scriptures.
We should remind ourselves all the time that we are not here to Christianize the world culturally, we are to evangelize the world — one soul at a time. Yes, it is a slow process, but the only process taught by our Lord has promised that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).
As slow as the process has been, it has gone on for over 2,000 years. We have witnessed in our generation that the gospel has indeed reached beyond Jerusalem, in all Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). “The end” is indeed very near. Not that we should give up fighting for what is good and decent, but do understand that when the end is near, as the angel told John in his vision, “Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right and let him who is holy continue to be holy” (Rev. 22:11).
So let us not be discouraged if the world continues to ignore God and His message, we should stick to the sharing and the living out of our testimonies, and leave the results in the hand of God.
「那時我不在耶路撒冷；因為巴比倫王亞達薛西三十二年，我回到王那裡。過了多日，我向王告假。」 (尼13:6 )
讀者可能在讀到以巴比倫王(尼希米記13:6) 或以亞述王(拉6:22) 被稱為波斯王時感到困惑。我們這些現代人當然對政權的轉變，特別是一個佔領了別國的地土尤為敏感；但當時的猶太人對米所波大米政權的轉變的看法，與我們不同。不論政權轉移到那個民族的手中，他們都是不大理會，因為他們都是一樣是被擄的民族。對他們而言，不論是巴比倫王、亞述王、波斯王，他們都是同一地帶的王。
對屬神的人而言，那個王當政都是一樣的，因為知道「王的心在耶和華手中，好像隴溝的水隨意流轉」(箴21:1) 。故此，我們就看到這些巴比倫、亞述和波斯的帝王，多被神用作祂的工具，或是作為管教子民之用，或作為給他們悔改的機會。
亞達薛西王就是其中的一個例子。神使用他給予尼希米權柄，去重建耶路撒冷的城牆，和施行律法改革與更新。誰知，在極厲害的反對之下重建城牆，反而是易事；叫百姓回轉歸向神，重守摩西律法才是難事；因為後者是關乎人心的改變。沒有心的改變，何來行為的改變呢！尼希米最多能做到的，是使用他的省長權柄，立摩西律法為本地法，按此執行。但當他稍一離開耶路撒冷，那些曾起誓謹守律法的民眾，也多有違反了律法的。
這也成為我們的一個提醒。我們常常盼望向政府施壓力，去制定合乎聖經教訓或原則的法律—不論是婚姻的定義等等影響社會穩定的法案。可惜的是，我們是不能以單單立法來維持社會的道德，因為這是人心的問題。若然人的心不被福音所改變，我們怎能奢望社會會明白和同意聖經這方面的原則和教導呢？
我們要常常提醒自己，我們不是要建立基督文化的社會，乃是要傳福音給世人—逐個靈魂的去拯救。對，這是一個很漫長的過程，但卻是所教導和托付我們惟一的方法。神的計劃是長遠的：「這天國的福音，要傳遍天下，對萬民作見證，然後末期纔來到」(太24:14) 。
這看來漫長的使命，經過二千後，到了今天，我們目睹福音確已由耶路撒冷、猶太全地和撒瑪利亞，傳到地極了(徒1:8) 。「末期」實在就在眼前了。這不是說我們不用在社會中為各樣良善、端正的事，按理力爭；但在力爭之餘，不要忘記天使在異象中論到末期時對約翰所說的話：「不義的，叫他仍舊不義；污穢的，叫他仍舊污穢。為義的，叫他仍舊為義；聖潔的，叫他仍舊聖潔」(啟22:11) 。
故此，若然世界仍舊莫視神和祂的話語，我們不要灰心，仍以生命、行為與口傳來為福音作見證，把一切的後果，全交在神的手中。
Vv. 10-14 deal with the neglect by the priests and the Levites in the proper collection and storage of the people’s offering:
(1) Why did “all the Levites and singers” go back to their own fields, meaning that they did not serve in the temple on a regular basis, but returned to be farmers in the fields outside of Jerusalem?
(2) Whose fault was it?
(3) What impact might such negligence have on the people (12:44)?
(4) How did Nehemiah correct the situation?
(5) Nehemiah presumably had to return to the king’s court eventually; how then could he ensure continuous compliance by the people, especially by these religious leaders?
(6) What does his prayer in v. 14 indicate?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
請慢慢細讀每天指定的經文至少兩遍，然後反複思考問題。
13:10-14這段是關乎在收集和處理百姓帶來的奉獻事上對祭司和利未人有所不周：
(1) 為何供職的利未人和歌唱的「俱各奔回自己(在耶城以外) 的田地去」，把聖殿不顧？
(2) 是誰的錯？
(3) 這樣的忽略對百姓有什麼影響？
(4) 尼利米怎樣處理和更正這事？
(5) 相信尼希米遲早總要回到宮廷去，他怎樣才能叫官長、祭司、百姓繼續堅守所承諾的？
(6) 他在第14節作的禱告表明什麼？
(7) 今日對你主要的提醒是什麼？你可以怎樣應用在自己的生命中？
“I put Shelemiah the priest…and made Hanan…their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers.” (Neh. 13:13)
Nehemiah must be very discouraged upon his return from Persia to see that many of the reforms he put in place had not been kept—the re-mingling with their foreign neighbors, the abuse even by the high priest in allowing his number one enemy, Tobiah the Ammonite, the use of the room for storing sacred offerings from the people, and now the neglect by the priests and Levites in providing for the needs of their fellow Levites. It was kind of like a situation of “one step forward and two steps backward”.
Would you not feel discouraged? What can one do, especially when you cannot really trust the leaders who were always working against you!
But Nehemiah pressed on, knowing that as much as he had the backing of the king and he was obviously a very capable leader, only God could hold this reform together and make it last. Therefore, with each of the corrective actions he took, he ended it with a prayer to express his total dependency on God and His mercy.
And so we read
in 13:14 this prayer of helplessness:
“Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its service.”
But the example that Nehemiah left us is not just his total dependency through prayer without taking any action, he exercised his wisdom in appointing men he considered as trustworthy to enforce the distribution of supplies needed for other priests and Levites (13:13).
This combination of prayerful dependency and exercise of wisdom paid dividends for we learn from history that his reform, to a great extent, had steered the entire nation of Israel away from idol-worship to a strict adherence of the Law of Moses in the next four centuries to come.
「我派祭司示利米雅……作庫官管理庫房；副官是……這些人都是忠信的，他們的職分是將所供給的分給他們的弟兄。」 (尼13:13)
當尼希米從波斯回到耶路撒冷，目睹自己幸幸苦苦帶來的更新運動，多已被破壞—百姓重新與外族通婚；連大祭司也與他頭號敵人多比雅結連，甚至給他使用聖殿內的房間；現在更見祭司忽略了利未人的需要—他豈能不灰心呢！
相信若果是你，也會有前功盡費之感。你又能作什麼呢？連那些所謂的神僕，都暗暗的與你作對！
但尼希米沒有因而氣餒。他是知道，雖然有王的撐腰，自己也有領導才能，但惟有神的憐憫，這更新的事工才能繼續、才能得以持久。故此，在每一次處理這些干犯律法的事情上，我們都讀到他是以禱告為終的，表明神是他惟一的倚靠。
13:14就是其中一個完全倚靠神的禱告：「我的神啊，求你因這事記念我，不要塗抹我為神的殿，與其中的禮節，所行的善。」
尼希米給我們留下的榜樣，不單是用禱告來處理他的難處，也運用他的智慧和分辨力，指派「忠信」的人，去承擔重要的崗位(13:13) 。
這智慧的運用，加上完全信賴神的禱告，使他帶來的更新，有極長遠的影響，叫摩西的律法成為及後四世紀的猶太人謹守尊重的。
Vv. 15-22 deal with the breach in their oath to keep Sabbath:
(1) In their solemn oath to observe the Law of Moses carefully, what did they specify concerning the observance of Sabbath? (10:31)
(2) How did they, the men of Judah break the law that they so passionately vowed to keep?
(3) Why would they dare to break the Sabbath:
a. Did they not respect the Law anymore?
b. Were they not afraid of the leaders or the High Priest?
c. Were they not afraid of inviting the wrath of God as their fathers did?
(4) What did the people from Tyre do on Sabbath?
(5) Why did Nehemiah put the blame on the nobles of Judah?
(6) What did Nehemiah do to correct the situation?
(7) Why did he have to put his own men to guard the gates?
(8) What warning did he give to the merchants, likely foreigners? (Presumably, upon his return to Jerusalem, he still was holding the position of governor)
(9) When the threat to breach Sabbath was gone, he replaced his own men with the Levites on a permanent basis. What was the charge he gave the Levites in this respect?
(10) Do you think by so doing, the people, the nobles, the priests and the Levites would truly honor Sabbath?
(11) What does his prayer in v. 22 indicate?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
請慢慢細讀每天指定的經文至少兩遍，然後反複思考問題。
這段是關乎干犯安息日的：
(1) 在向神許諾時，他們曾怎樣承諾要堅守安息日？(10:31)
(2) 現在他們怎樣公然毀約？
(3) 他們為何竟敢如此行？
(4) 是否(經過十多年) 不再尊重摩西律法呢？
a. 是否不怕大祭司和官長的責備，甚至懲罰？
b. 是否不怕像先祖那樣因此招來神的憤怒？
(5) 推羅人在安息日作什麼？
(6) 為何尼希米把責任推到貴冑身上？
(7) 尼希米怎樣處理這些事情？
(8) 為何他要派自己的僕人守城門口？
(9) 他怎樣警告商人(相信是外邦人) ？(這意味著他仍操省長的權力)
(10) 當整頓一切後，他安排利未人來代替自己的僕人。他怎樣特別吩咐這些利未人？
(11) 你以為在這一切的安排後，百姓和官長自然會真正的守安息日嗎？為什麼？
(12) 他在第22節作的禱告表明什麼?
(13) 今日對你主要的提醒是什麼？你可以怎樣應用在自己的生命中？
“In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys…” (Neh. 13:15)
It is quite surprising to read that one of the terms they broke in their solemn vow to God concerned the Sabbath, because they did single out the keeping of Sabbath in their vow, pledging that “When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day” (10:31).
Now, they not only permitted the people from Tyre to bring in goods on Sabbath, they themselves brought grain and other goods to the market as well.
Did they not know that it was a desecration to the Sabbath? Of course, they did!
Did they not fear the rebuke of the high priest or the nobles? Of course, they did not, because many Levites and priests had stopped serving in the temple and left town, and the Sabbath was not really honored as such by these leaders anyway. Who knows whether these leaders also frequented the market to buy things as well on Sabbath!
But did they not fear that the same fate of their forefathers would befall them? Well, to be absolutely honest, they were still under foreign occupation. Whether it was in Babylon or in Jerusalem, the more important question was their survival. As they were definitely not living a life of luxury, there were really not a whole lot of things they could lose. It appears that while most people kind of kept their Sabbath, those who did not obviously had an unfair advantage to make more money. Greed therefore was the real motive as “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10).
However, the Commandment to keep Sabbath was not just a sign of the covenant of God (Exod. 31:16) denoting their uniqueness as a people of God, it was also an expression of their love for God above all else, yes, even money.
As New Testament believers, it is true that we are no longer under the law, including the Law to keep Sabbath. However, we are under the law of love and the test of our love for God does include whether we put Him first in our lives, the most basic test of which is to rest and worship Him on the Lord’s Day.
We are all familiar with the story of Eric Liddell who was willing to forego the chance of winning an Olympic medal by not running the race on the Lord’s Day. However, I have seen many Christians work on Sundays by choice, or go skiing or take children to all kinds of extra-curriculum activities on Sunday and skip worship.
We are really no better than those who were rebuked by Nehemiah.
「那些日子，我在猶大見有人在安息日醡酒……和各樣的擔子在安息日擔入耶路撒冷。」(尼13:15)
在先前發誓立約要重新謹守耶和華的律法時，他們是刻意的提到要守安息日，並特別的承諾：「這地的居民若在安息日，或甚麼聖日，帶了貨物或糧食來賣給我們，我們必不買」(10:31) 。
誰知，尼希米一離去，他們不但容許推羅人帶貨物在安息日出售，自己也在安息日醡酒，並作買賣。
難道他們不曉得這樣是干犯了安息日嗎？他們當然曉得！
難道他們不怕大祭司和官長的責難，甚至處分嗎？當然不怕！因為他們眼見祭司、利未人多已離開聖城，做自己的生意或務農去了。聖殿已無人理會，誰會看重安息日呢！鄰近的城市都在安息日作買賣，自己不這樣做，相信祭司與官長都出城買東西呢！
難道他們不怕像列祖那樣，因干犯安息日而招惹神的憤怒嗎？老實說，他們現在豈不仍是亡國奴嗎？對他們而言，問題不在乎是否仍在巴比倫，或是已回到耶路撒冷，，最重要的是謀生計。在這比各地都較為貧乏的耶路撒冷，還可以有什麼重大損失可言！人人不守安息日，自己卻謹守，豈不是很吃虧的事嗎？對一般猶太人來說，賺錢當然是很重要的事，何況處在較為貧窮景況中的耶路撒冷人呢！
但是，他們遵守安息日這誡命，不單是神與他們立約的證據(出31:20) ；不遵守就等如毀約；這誡命更是他們敬拜神、愛神勝過一切—甚至是金錢—的證據。
作為新約的信徒，我們固然不在律法之下，包括守安息日這誡命在內，但卻仍是在「愛的律法」之下，「要盡心、盡性、盡意，愛主你的神」(太22:37) 。這樣的把愛神放在我們心中的首位，最起碼的試驗仍是到祂的殿中去敬拜，歇息在祂面前。
我們都熟悉Eric Liddell的事蹟，深被他拒絕在主日參與奧林匹克的賽事，甘願放棄贏得金牌的機會所感動。可惜不少信徒就單停在被感動的地步，仍刻意的在主日工作，或去滑雪、打球，甚至接載兒女去參加活動，視敬拜神為等閒。
若是這樣，我們真的如這些干犯安息日的猶太人沒有多大的分別。
Vv. 23-31 end with Nehemiah’s dealing with inter-marriage with gentiles:
(1) In their solemn oath to observe the Law of Moses carefully, what did they specify concerning the separation from the neighboring people? (10:28-30)
(2) How did the men of Judah break this vow?
(3) What had Ezra done previously in an attempt to eradicate this problem in Ezra 10?
(4) Why was Nehemiah so concerned that their children spoke a foreign language and did not know how to speak Hebrew? Was he being nationalistic or were there important ramifications concerning the worship of Yahweh? (See the example he gave about Solomon.)
(5) How did he correct such a situation?
(6) Why would he use force (presumably such authority was conferred upon him in the exercise of the local law as the governor)?
(7) Why was he particularly harsh on the grandson of the high priest (see Lev. 21:14 and his prayer here in 13:29)?
(8) What did he do to restore the neglect of the priesthood and the worship at the temple?
(9) Although the last prayer he said and recorded was brief, what does it reveal about Nehemiah?
(10) What can you learn from his effort not only to rebuild the wall to protect the Holy City, but to bring his people back to the true worship of Yahweh?
(11) What is the main message of this book to you and how may you apply it to your life?
請慢慢細讀每天指定的經文至少兩遍，然後反複思考問題。
這書卷以處理與外族通婚為結束：
(1) 在向神許諾時，他們第一樣提到要堅守的是什麼？(10:28-30)
(2) 現在他們怎樣向神毀約？
(3) 以斯拉先前怎樣處理同樣的罪？(參拉第10章)
(4) 為何尼希米這樣看重這些人的兒女不會說猶大話？這是顯示他的民族意識嗎？還是有更深的原因？(看他怎樣以所羅門為例)
(5) 他怎樣處理這事？
(6) 為何他要用暴力？(註：作為省長，他是有按本地的律法施刑的權柄)
(7) 為何他對大祭司的孫子特別作更嚴厲的處分？
(8) 他怎樣處理忽略聖殿供職的情況？
(9) 雖然結束時所載的禱告極其簡短，卻給我們看到他的心情是怎樣的？
(10) 你對他這麼多年來所付上的心血，不但重建了城牆叫聖城得保護，更重整對耶和華的敬拜，有什麼體會？
(11) 這書卷對你主要的提醒是什麼？你可以怎樣應用在自己的生命中？
“I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled their hair.” (Neh. 13:25)
I am quite sure that when you read of how Nehemiah acted with violence toward those who married foreign women, you were puzzled how such a man of God acted with violence.
We need to bear several things in mind while trying to understand Nehemiah’s rather unusual behavior:
1. As much as he grieved and was angry that they reneged so quickly from their vow to God, breaching the very first promise they made (10:30) by marrying foreign women, he did not force them to divorce their foreign wives and drive out their children as Ezra did (in Ezra 10).
2. There was an earlier edict by Artaxerxes authorizing the governing of Judah by the Law of Moses (Ezra 7:26) which included the power to execute offenders — the beating of these offenders as the governor was well within the proper exercise of his power under the law.
3. Nehemiah’s rebuke fully revealed his grief and fear for the nation. He was afraid that the people would offend God and invite His wrath again. One commentator’s paraphrase of 13:26 aptly depicts the fear of Nehemiah:
“If the powerful King Solomon was powerless to resist the influence of foreign wives, and if he, the beloved (of) God, found in his relation to God no defence against the sin to which they seduced him, is it not unheard of for you to commit so great an evil?” (Keil & Delitszch quoting from Bertheau, 183)
It is also important to understand that Nehemiah did not drive out one of the sons of Joiada the high priest because of personal vendetta, but because of his blatant violation of Leviticus 21:7, 14, which automatically disqualified him as a priest.
In fact, the Jewish historian Josephus (Ant. xi, 7:2 and 8:2-4) told of a similar story not long after Nehemiah: Manasseh, a brother of the high priest, Jaddua, married Nicaso, a daughter of the satrap Sanballat, a Cutheam. The Jewish elders, for fear of God’s wrath, excluded him from the priesthood. However, he established, by the assistance of his father-in-law Sanballat, the temple worship on Mount Gerizim which presumably marked the beginning of the Samaritan worship on Gerizim (as alluded to by the woman who conversed with Jesus at the well in Samaria in Jn. 4).
In other words, the “extreme” but faithful action taken by Nehemiah had impacted future generations in the preservation of the purity of Yahweh worship.
「我就斥責他們，咒詛他們，打了他們幾個人，拔下他們的頭髮……」 (尼13:25)
當我們讀到這愛神的領袖尼希米，竟向那些娶外邦女子為妻的人動粗，會感到意外。但是，我們必須要留意：
(1) 尼希米雖然因他們在他離去後，就快快的毀約，而且是破壞他們所立的約的第一個條款(10:30) ，感到哀傷和憤怒；但是他卻沒有像以斯拉一樣，命令他們立刻休妻和趕遂所生的兒女(見拉10)；
(2) 作為王所委任的省長，他是有權按王的允許以摩西律法在本地執行，甚至包括「速速定他(指凡不遵守你神律法者) 的罪，或治死，或充軍，或抄家或囚禁」的(拉7:26) ；
(3) 尼希米的處理方式，其實已是相當寬容。他對他們責備的說話，更顯出他是為他們的所為而驚懼的。就如一位解經家把13:26這句話用意譯來表達：
「如果連剛強的所羅門王，也沒有能力抵擋外邦妻子的影響；如果這位蒙神所愛的，不能倚靠自己與神的關係來抵擋那引誘他的罪；何況你們呢？豈不會犯上這大惡嗎？」(Keil & Delitszch引自Bertheau, 183)
我們也需要明白，尼希米之趕遂大祭司的孫兒(使他不能當起祭司來) ，並非公報私仇，而是因為他身為祭司而娶外邦女子，是律法所嚴禁的(參利21: 7,14) 。
此事以後，按猶太的歷史家約瑟夫所記，在耶杜亞(12:11) 作大祭司時，有一位名瑪拿西的祭司，是耶杜亞的兄弟，就娶了和倫人參巴拉(13:28) 的女兒。那些猶大的官長(相信是按尼希米這樣的先例) 因懼怕惹神的憤怒，就把他同樣的趕遂出去。不過，這瑪拿西有參巴拉撐腰和資助，竟然在基利心山自建聖殿，自作祭司，成為以後撒瑪利亞人敬拜的地方。
雖然如此，我們看到尼希米這樣竭力的執行律法的條例，是對後世有深遠的影響的。