We shall continue
the study of the book of Nehemiah
of the Old Testament this week.
(1) In spite of the scorn and ridicule, the people were able to continue to rebuild; in fact, they built the walls to half of its height. That means the work was 50% finished. The Bible told us the reason and that was they “worked with all their hearts” (4:6).
a. Why were they so different from before (as in Ezr. 4:4)?
b. What lesson might they have learned from the rebuilding of the temple?
c. What had Nehemiah meant to them? (Note his prayer in 4:4-5 which probably was said in public.)
(2) Though the work was only half done, the gaps were closed. What did it mean to the neighboring enemies? (Note: The description of the neighbors serves to remind us that Israel was basically surrounded on all sides by enemies.)
(3) The enemies did resolve to take real action. How did the people respond to their threat? (Note that in v. 9, Nehemiah used “we” and not “I”.)
(4) While they faced external pressure, internal troubles were also mounting. What was the internal trouble mentioned in this passage? The work had taken its toll which was just human, just natural! What do we normally do at church when the people feel tired, burned out, or, the task or burden is getting too heavy?
(5) In the meantime external threats continued and 24-hour protection was needed. What did Nehemiah do apart from posting armed guards at the lowest or still exposed points?
(6) You have the posted guards, you have workers with one hand on the sword, plus the supervisor and Nehemiah who was flagged by trumpeters―what kind of a scene was being depicted, and how may we apply it today to our spiritual warfare in the work of the Lord?
(7) From how Nehemiah handled the latest external threat, would you agree that he was a great strategist? However, have you also noticed what kind of attitude permeated his use of strategy all the time?
(8) How did he address the first internal complaint or did he?
(9) It was clear that Ezra greatly contributed to the re-establishment of the Law of Moses among the people, but Nehemiah definitely complemented him in areas that he was lacking. What might those areas be?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
We have learned about the first internal trouble back in 4:10 and now more troubles surfaced:
(1) What was the first great outcry about in 5:2? Whose fault was it?
(2) What was the second outcry about in 5:3? Whose fault was it?
(3) What was the third outcry about in 5:4? Whose fault was it?
(4) To sum up the above outcries, what kind of social condition were the people living in?
(5) What risk was Nehemiah taking in confronting the nobles and the Jewish officials at this critical time of the rebuilding, especially in view of the violence threatened by their enemies? Why did he not wait till the work was completed before confronting them?
(6) What important lessons can we learn from him?
(7) How serious was their sin in this respect, according to vv. 7-9?
(8) It appears that even Nehemiah also lent money to the poor, but his loans to them were different. How different were they?
(9) How much were the rich charging the poor?
(10) What did Nehemiah ask them to do?
(11) Did the nobles and officials comply? Why?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) It is interesting to note that the peasants did not raise these problems until now. They had been totally focused on participating sacrificially to rebuild the wall, until they found themselves not being able to sustain their families any more while giving the bulk of their time to work under Nehemiah. If you were Nehemiah, would you not be asking yourself why you were not aware of these problems the whole time? Food for thought for all of us, especially those in Christian leadership!
(2) How did Nehemiah make this act of repentance binding on the rich?
(3) What was the shaking of robe about? What kind of spiritual leader would normally do this in the time of the Old Testament?
(4) What did previous governors and officials do to the people?
(5) What kind of an example was he setting before the people as a governor? How different was he from his predecessors?
(6) In having others eat at his table all the times, was he not flaunting his wealth and power? Did he have a higher purpose in so doing?
(7) How important were all these actions in not trying to deal with the outcries of the people cosmetically? How may you learn from his example?
(8) What was Nehemiah’s ultimate purpose in doing all these “good deeds” according to 5:19?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Now that the walls were rebuilt, what would it mean to the enemies if the gates were also installed?
(2) What was the first tactic that was used by the enemies in response to the almost completed work of securing the city of Jerusalem?
(3) How did Nehemiah deal with this plot, diplomatically or forcefully? Why?
(4) What was the next tactic used by the enemies? How potentially damaging was this tactic? How might you respond to it, if you were Nehemiah?
(5) Apart from rebutting the enemies’ false accusation, what did Nehemiah do?
(6) Why were the prophets or prophetesses of God willing to be hired by the enemies?
a. Did they not desire that Jerusalem be rebuilt?
b. Were they not afraid to be found out?
c. Were they not afraid of God?
d. What might be the real reason, if money was not the chief reason?
(7) What kind of trap did they set for Nehemiah? How did Nehemiah deal with it and why? What kind of an example did he set for us?
(8) What might be the reason that the neighboring nations realized that "this work had been done with the help of our God"? Would it have anything to do with their change from timidity to courage or the speed with which it was accomplished?
(9) As a footnote, Nehemiah was retelling us the internal betrayal he faced while the rebuilding project was going on (and yet the work was finally completed):
a. How influential were these people?
b. Can you imagine how exasperating it had been to Nehemiah?
c. From the accounts given in the previous chapters, can you tell how Nehemiah dealt with such a situation?
d. What might be the messages to us today concerning doing the work of God?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
This is a long passage, we shall focus on the first five verse. The rest is almost an exact copy of Ezra 2.
(1) Although the doors to the various gates were now in place, it did not mean that the threat of attack by the enemies was gone. Therefore, Nehemiah appointed, of all people, the gatekeepers, the singer and the Levites to guard the gates. What might be the reason, given the complaints lodged by the poor who presumably were the majority of the residents of the city?
(2) Now, Nehemiah appointed two persons to govern over the city: The appointment of his brother is understandable, because Nehemiah could trust him (given the ties many of the local Jewish leaders had with their enemies):
a. What was the reason he appointed Hananiah?
b. Have you come across someone in Christian leadership who fits the same description?
c. Do you fit such a description?
(3) The exiles had been returning to Jerusalem for many decades now. Why were there “few people in it”?
(4) Why did most of the returnees choose to live outside of the city (a condition that Nehemiah sought to correct, see 11:1)?
(5) If you live in a place in the US similar to Jerusalem (as in the time of Nehemiah) where there had been a massive exodus away from the inner city (called “white flight”) in the last few decades:
a. What was the reason for such a phenomenon?
b. How similar might the reasons be for the flight away from the inner city to those of the returnees of Jerusalem?
c. What did Nehemiah decide to do as a result?
d. What did Nehemiah give as the reason for so doing, according to v. 5?
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
The list given here by Nehemiah was similar to the one listed in Ezra. While commentators give various reasons for the differences in the number, I believe the more logical and simpler reason is that the list in Ezra was compiled at the time of the first returnees which undoubtedly got updated over time (for the purpose of a more accurate allotment of land) before it was filed away for record purposes.
(1) It appears that Ezra’s reformation which began in 458 B.C. did not last long due to political pressure, leading to the ruin of Jerusalem. Now in the 7th month (which is the month of Tishri), one month after the completion of the wall (on 25th of Elul, the 6th month, in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, i.e. 445 B.C.), the people all assembled in Jerusalem. The first thing they did was that “They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses…”.
a. How important was the word, “they” in verse 1? (Emphasis, mine)
b. What does this bringing out of the Book of the Law signify, after perhaps 13 years since Ezra’ reformation?
(2) What does the statement, “those who were able to understand” tell us about the culture and spiritual conditions of these people?
(3) How long was Ezra’s first reading?
(4) If you had moved away from Jerusalem, say, for ten years now, and this was the first time you heard the Law being read—with the walls restored, enemies held in check and with hundreds of thousands of other people of God gathered beside you “as one man”, can you describe your feeling at the time?
(5) While scholars debate whether the Levites were translating the Law read by Ezra into the languages that these returnees from exiles could understand, or they were expounding it in Hebrew further, the important thing is that the Law was not just read as a ritual, but it needed to be understood (8:8):
a. How then does this speak to those who insist on reading the scripture in a version that is no longer understandable by the people (and especially those in the Roman Catholic Church who insist on using Latin only in their liturgy)?
b. What can your church do to make the Scriptures more understandable to the people?
c. What can you do to help yourself understand the Scriptures better?
(6) What was the result of the reading and the understanding of the Law to the people?
(7) Why should Nehemiah stop the people from mourning? Is weeping upon hearing of the Word not a sacred moment too?
(8) According to v.12, what was the basis of the joy of the people?
(9) Does the reading and understanding of the Word today bring you joy? Why or why not?
(10) What then should the mark of the worship of the Lord be?
(11) Is your Sunday worship marked by joy too? Why or why not?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) With this new-found joy, what did the heads of the families do on the second day?
(2) Upon this smaller setting of “giving attention” to the words of the Law (not unlike a small Bible study group), what did they discover? (see Note below)
(3) What was the original intent for observing the festival of living in booths, according to Leviticus 23:42-43?
(4) What might be the special meaning to these exiles who returned to Jerusalem to celebrate this festival of harvest by living in booths or tents?
(5) The Apostle Paul was a tent-maker and he uses tent-living as an analogy in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 to talk about our earthly life. As we are considering this joyous occasion celebrated by the Israelites in Nehemiah 8, read also Paul’s reflection in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10:
a. Can you identify with the joy of the Israelites who now celebrated the completion of the transition from their sojourn into their permanent home in Jerusalem?
b. Are you living with a vivid sense that you are only living in transition — of tent-living only? Do you share Paul’s sentiment of tent-dwelling in your life?
c. Do you look forward to the day when your transition ends and you arrive at your permanent home in the New Jerusalem? Why or why not?
d. Can you imagine the joy that will be celebrated with on that day?
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
The feast of Tabernacles was celebrated usually on the 15th of the seventh month, and so they had almost two weeks to do their preparation. While the Israelites did celebrate this festival in the past (as recent as one recorded in Ezr. 3), it appears that they had not celebrated it since the time of Joshua, with living in booths as a whole congregation as instructed in Exod. 23:16; 34:22; Lev. 23:33-43, Deut. 16:13-15; Num. 29:12-38.