Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:
In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said:
“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
“They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
I was cupbearer to the king.

• Nehemiah 1:1-11

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.
By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.
They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”
I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

• Nehemiah 2:1-20

For a link to Ezra 3, click HERE.

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Nehemiah 1:1 ‘The words of Nehemiah’: “The personal records of this famous royal cupbearer, whose name means ‘Jehovah comforts’ (cf. 3:16; 7:7; 8:9; 10:1; 12:26, 47), contribute greatly to this book. Unlike Esther and Mordecai, named after Mesopotamian deities Ishtar and Marduk, Nehemiah was given a Hebrew name. Hachaliah. Nehemiah’s father is mentioned again in Nehemiah 10:1, but nowhere else in the OT. Chislev. This is in November/December 446 B.C., four months before Nisan (March/April), when Nehemiah came before the king to get permission to go to Jerusalem (2:1). twentieth year. The twentieth year (c. 446/445 B.C.) in the reign of the Persian king Artaxerxes (c. 464-423 B.C.; cf. 2:1). Shushan. Also known as Susa, this city was situated east of Babylon, about 150 miles north of the Persian Gulf. Shushan was one of the Medo-Persian strongholds, a wintering city for many officials and the setting of Esther.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Nehemiah 1:3 ‘wall of Jerusalem … gates’: “The opposition had successfully thwarted the Jews’ attempts to reestablish Jerusalem as a distinctively Jewish city capable of withstanding its enemies’ assaults, which could possibly lead to another destruction of the newly rebuilt temple (c. 516 B.C.; cf. Ezra 4:7-23).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Nehemiah 1:4 ‘a man who had a concern …’: “When the Israelites returned from Babylon, God spoke to a man who cared, a man with a concern, who was cupbearer to the king. The king said, ‘What’s the matter with you? You haven‘t been gloomy like this before.’ Nehemiah responded, ‘Your majesty, pardon me please, but I can’t help it. My heart is broken. My father’s city is in rubble and the foxes run over the walls. The glorious temple where we used to worship Jehovah has been razed to the ground and the religion of Israel is gone into decay.’ King Artaxerxes, not knowing that God was working in his life, said, ‘You go back to rebuild Jerusalem.’ That was the beginning of the return from Babylon.
“Since Bible times we have had these periods of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. I just happened to notice a comment in a book l was reading today on this subject. The writer said, ‘God added a postscript to that.’ Here it is: ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God’ (Revelation 2:7).”

• A. W. Tozer, Rut, Rot or Revival

Nehemiah 1:4 ‘The Rebuilding Process, Step 1: Concern’: ” The text describes a five-step process that drives Nehemiah’s action—a process that is relevant to any life: (1) concern, (2) confession, (3) commitment, (4) courage, and (5) caution. Let’s look at each of these five steps.
The first step in the rebuilding process is given in chapter 1: Nehemiah’s concern about the ruins. While in the citadel of Susa, serving as the king’s cupbearer, Nehemiah learns from travelers (including his brother Hanani) that Jerusalem’s wall was broken down, her gates had been burned, and the few surviving Jews in the region were suffering persecution.
“Rebuilding the walls begins with concern over the damage. You will never rebuild the walls of your life until you have mourned the ruins of your life. Have you ever stopped to compare what God wants to make of your life versus what you have allowed your life to be? Have you examined the potential God created in you? Have you grieved the possibilities and opportunities you have already squandered?
“Like Nehemiah, you have been informed of the desolation and ruin in your life—and a normal and fitting response is to mourn, weep, and pray to God. But don’t let your remorse harden into paralysis. Realize, as Nehemiah did, that the desolation in your life is not a call to give up, but a call to wake up! It’s a call to action, a challenge to rebuild.
“When Nehemiah hears the report about Jerusalem, he weeps and prays for days, demonstrating his intense concern and burden for God’s dwelling place, which has tumbled into ruin. His grief is a necessary first step, but he doesn’t stop there.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 1:5 ‘keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You’: “After seventy years of captivity in Babylon, God kept His promise to restore His people to the Promised Land. The promise appeared to be failing, and Nehemiah appealed to God’s character and covenant as the basis by which He must intervene and accomplish His pledges to His people.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Nehemiah 1:6, 8-9 ‘Step 2: Confession’:  ”In chapter 1 we hear Nehemiah’s powerful prayer as he confesses that the nation had forsaken God and that His discipline of Israel is just. Fully identifying himself with the sins of his people … ”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 1:8-9 ‘God’s Land Covenant with Israel’: “Having heard devastating news about Jerusalem’s current state of disrepair, Nehemiah couples a representative confession of Israel’s sins with a fervent plea for the Lord’s aid in restoring the status of both His people and His holy city. Nehemiah bases his appeal on prophetic content contained within Israel’s Land Covenant with God, recorded by Moses (Deuteronomy 28:64; 30:1-5).
“Although the prophecy did not receive ultimate fulfillment within the narrative of Nehemiah, his inclusion of prophetic content within his prayer serves as both a helpful reminder of God’s faithfulness to His covenants and a personal prompt concerning the potential content of each believers own personal prayers.”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

Nehemiah 1:11 ‘not the only one’: “In this one respect I like Nehemiah better than Elijah. Both were noble men, greatly concerned for the highest welfare of their fellow countrymen; but, at one time at least, Elijah did not have a true or a fair estimate of things as they really were. He even presumed to say to God, ‘I alone am left’ (1Kg 19:10). Nehemiah, however, acted on another and a more hopeful principle. When he had presented his own personal supplication, he felt certain there were others who were also praying to the Lord, so he said, ‘And to that of your servants who delight to revere your name.’ There are other good people elsewhere in the world, and there are other people who are as earnest in prayer as we are. If we begin to suppose that we are the only ones left who hold sound doctrine, we will become bigots. And if we think we are the only praying persons on the earth, we will most likely prove to be self-righteous. If we fancy we are the only ones who have a deep spiritual experience, probably we will be doing a great wrong to the Lord’s other servants and speaking evil of those he has accepted. It is far better to believe with Nehemiah that our prayerful voice is not a solitary one and that there are many who, like ourselves, cry day and night to God. If we take a hopeful view of things, we will more likely be near the mark than if we judge others severely and imagine ourselves to be the Lord’s only faithful servants.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Nehemiah 1:11 ‘Step 3: Commitment’: ”These words of confession are followed immediately by commitment …
“A plan is already forming in Nehemiah’s mind even while he prays. This often happens when we spend time with God in prayer: He speaks to us and gives us insight, ideas, inspiration, and empowerment to solve the ‘impossible’ problems we bring before Him. Here, we see that God has given Nehemiah the beginnings of a plan.
“By the end of the prayer, Nehemiah has something definite he wants to ask of ‘this man.’ What man? The answer is in the last sentence of verse 11. …
“The king! So Nehemiah, the servant of the king, commits himself to a project in far-off Israel. He asks God to begin moving the king’s heart. This is always the process by which we return to the grace of God. We demonstrate concern. Then we confess. Then we commit ourselves to action and ask God to act on our behalf. Because we face obstacles and factors beyond our control, God must arrange the circumstances that will lead to success.
“I once heard a man give his testimony at a men’s conference. He said that, in the early days of his Christian experience, someone encouraged him to pray about problems that he was having in the workplace—strained relationships with his boss and with other employees. He said, ‘I didn’t think praying was the right thing to do at first. I didn’t even want to pray for people who were making life difficult for me. But I began to pray for them, almost against my own will, and soon I saw changes in the way these people related to me. Looking back, I think we Christians have an unfair advantage over those who don’t know the Lord! We have instant access to the One who created the universe! How can those who don’t know God ever hope to compete with that?’ …”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 2:1 ‘Nisan’: “March/April 445 B.C. twentieth year. when wine was before him. The act of tasting wine to ensure it was not dangerous to the king strengthened the trust between king and cupbearer. So this was the appropriate time for Nehemiah to win Artaxerxes’s attention and approval. Not surprisingly, kings often developed so much trust in their cupbearers that the latter became counselors to the kings. Now I had never been sad. Sadness was a dangerous emotion to express in the king’s presence. The king wanted his subjects to be happy, since this reflected the well-being brought about by his administrative prowess.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Nehemiah 2:2 ‘dreadfully afraid’: “Nehemiah feared that either his countenance, his explanation, or his request would anger the king, and lead to his death (cf. Esth. 4:11 with 5:1—3).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Nehemiah 2:4-5 ‘a prayer of the moment in a moment’: “Nehemiah had made inquiry as to the state of the city of Jerusalem, and the tidings he heard caused him bitter grief. He resolved to set apart a time for prayer. It never left his thoughts for nearly four months. Then God gave him an opportunity. The king asked, ‘What is your request?’ Here we are surprised to find that though he had given himself up to prayer and fasting, this little parenthesis occurs—’So I prayed to the God of the heavens.’ He had been asked a question by his sovereign. But before he answered it, he prayed to the God of the heavens. Probably the interval was not long enough to be noticed, but it was long enough for God to notice it—long enough for Nehemiah to have sought and obtained guidance from God as to how to frame his answer to the king. It is all the more surprising that he should have deliberately prayed just then because he had been already praying for the past three or four months concerning the same matter. It was introduced—slipped in—sandwiched in between the king’s question and Nehemiah’s answer. The prayer must have been offered like an electric flash, rapidly indeed. As drowning people, when rescued and recovered, have been heard to say that while they were sinking they saw the whole panorama of their lives pass before them in a few seconds, so the mind must be capable of accomplishing much in a brief space of time. Thus the prayer was presented like the blinking of an eye—it was done intuitively, yet it was done—and it proved to be a prayer that prevailed with God. Artaxerxes never knew that Nehemiah prayed, though he stood, probably, within a yard of him. He did not even move his lips as Hannah did, nor did he deem it right even to close his eyes. The prayer was strictly within himself offered to God. The duty and privilege of every Christian is to have set times of prayer. But there is another valuable sort of prayer—namely, the short, brief, quick, frequent prayers of which Nehemiah gives us a specimen. I recommend this because it hinders no engagement and occupies no time. The advantage of such a way of praying is that we can pray often and always. If we must prolong our prayers for a quarter of an hour, we might possibly be unable to spare the time, but if it only needs a quarter of a minute, it may come a hundred times a day. God does not hear us because of the length of our prayer but because of the sincerity of it. Prayer is not to be measured by the yard or weighed by the pound.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Nehemiah 2:8 ‘and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest’: “Lumber was a precious commodity. This is illustrated in a document from one ancient city in Mesopotamia in which a forest official is taken to court for cutting down a tree. Forests were carefully guarded, and written permission from the king would assure Nehemiah of the lumber he would need to build the citadel, wall reinforcements, and his own residence from which he would administrate the reconstruction. citadel. This edifice located next to the temple on the northwest side was a fortified building for the purpose of guarding the temple. It was subsequently rebuilt by Herod and named Antonia. the good hand of my God upon me. This refrain is common in both Ezra and Nehemiah. It is a frequent reminder in these inspired books that God works through His servants to accomplish His will (cf. Ezra 1:5; 7:6).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Nehemiah 2:9-10 ‘Step 4: Courage’: ” The next step in the program of reconstruction is courage. …
“Pay close attention to those names, Sanballat and Tobiah, and note the nations they come from, the Horonites and the Ammonites. Whenever you read of the Ammonites, Amorites, Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites, Perizzites, or any of the other “ites,” you have a picture of the enemy of God in the flesh. These various tribes symbolize satanic agency within human beings. They are led by Satan to oppose and resist the work of God. Sanballat and Tobiah are no different; they are enemies of God and enemies of Nehemiah.
“We immediately see that courage is necessary to rebuild the walls of God’s dwelling place. Whenever someone like Nehemiah says, ‘I will arise and build,’ Satan always says, ‘Then I will arise and destroy.’ Satan always places roadblocks in our way when we start returning to God.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 2:11-16 ‘Step 5: Caution’: ”Finally, we see in Nehemiah’s program the importance of caution. When Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, in 2:11-16, he doesn’t simply pile bricks on top of one another. He doesn’t rush out and get the people excited about building the walls. If he did that, he would fall into the trap of his enemies. First, he arises at night and goes out secretly to inspect the walls of the city and survey the ruins. He makes careful, cautious plans of exactly what needs to be done.
“These five steps are fundamental to the task of rebuilding walls, whether they are the walls of a city or the walls of a human life: concern, confession, commitment, courage, and caution.
“In chapter 3 we learn how Nehemiah went about the task of reconstruction. If the walls of your life are broken down, if your defenses have crumbled, if the enemy is surrounding you on every hand, if you easily fall prey to temptation, then pay special attention to Nehemiah’s process of reconstruction.
“We learn two key insights: (1) the people were willing to work, … and (2) they immediately became involved and sprang into action. Nehemiah, in his God-given wisdom, set each worker to the task of rebuilding whatever part of the wall was nearest to his own house, his own family. In this way, Nehemiah ensured that each worker had a personal stake in the work of rebuilding.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 2:20 ‘Nehemiah’s Assurance of God’s Help’: “Facing harsh opposition in his restoration efforts (2:19), Nehemiah, speaking prophetically, solemnly affirms his unreserved confidence that his community’s endeavor would result in unqualified success. He bases this confidence not on his plans, his people, or their perseverance, but on the merciful aid of God Himself.
“This prophecy found fulfillment upon the completion of the restoration project a mere 52 days later, much to the consternation of the Jewish people’s opposition. ‘The wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God’ (6:15-16).”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

Nehemiah 3:1-2 ‘The Sheep Gate’: ”The rest of Nehemiah 3 centers on the ten gates of the city of Jerusalem. As you read through this chapter, you find the names of these gates, and each gate has a specific symbolic significance. We can draw an important practical lesson from each gate.
“The Sheep Gate … is the gate through which the sheep were brought into the city to be sacrificed at the altar. The Sheep Gate signifies the Lamb of God, whose blood was shed on the cross for us. So this gate reveals the principle of the cross of Christ. The cross is always the starting place for personal strength. You have to begin by recognizing the principle of the cross. You must crucify your ego, your plans, and your self-interest—nail them to the cross of Christ. The cross puts human pride to death. We cannot save ourselves. Only the Lamb of God, slain for us, can save us. The cross, represented by the Sheep Gate, is the starting place and the source of our strength for the task of rebuilding.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 3:3-5 ‘The Fish Gate’: ”What does the name Fish Gate suggest to you? Do you remember the Lord Jesus saying to His disciples, ‘Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men’ (Mark 1:17)? The Fish Gate suggests the witness of a Christian. Has that gate broken down in your life? Has your witness for the Lord fallen into disuse and disrepair? If so, this gate and its surrounding wall needs to be rebuilt and restored. The Lord Jesus tells us that every Christian is to be a witness for Him. If this wall is broken down, the enemy will have a wide-open avenue through which to enter your life again and again.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 3:6-12 ‘The Old (Jeshanah) Gate’: ”This gate represents truth. For many of us, this gate is broken down, and we no longer rest upon the truth of God, which is settled and eternal. Old truths, established and enduring, provide the base upon which everything new must rest. Somebody has well said, ‘Whatever is true is not new, and whatever is new is not true.’ These are the days when old truths are being forsaken—not only in our culture but also within the church. Many people say that the old truths and values are unnecessary, invalid, and obsolete. But if a thing is true, it is never obsolete. If we allow truth to go by the wayside, we find that our walls quickly crumble and our enemies gain access to our souls. God’s truth never changes; it is eternally true.
“A man went to visit an old musician. He knocked on the musician’s door and said, ‘What’s the good word for today?’ The old musician said nothing, but turned, took a tuning fork from his shelf, and struck the tuning fork against the shelf. A note resounded through the room. The musician said, ‘That, my friend, is A. It was A yesterday. It was A five thousand years ago, and it will be A five thousand years from now.’ Then he added, thumbing over his shoulder, ‘The tenor across the hall sings off-key. The soprano upstairs flats her high notes. The piano in the next room is out of tune. But the note from that tuning fork is A. And that, my friend, is the good word for today.’
“That is the nature of truth. Many voices around us will claim to speak the truth, but if their ‘truth’ does not conform to the ultimate tuning fork of God’s truth, they are out of tune. Their ‘truth’ is a falsehood. God’s truth never changes. In our churches and our individual lives, we must rebuild the Old Gate of truth.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 3:13-14 ‘The Valley Gate’: ”The symbolism of this gate is obvious: It is the place of humility and lowliness of mind. Throughout Scripture, God says that He opposes human pride. He seeks out and lifts up the lowly, the humble, and the contrite. Our goal should be to have a humble opinion of ourselves and an exalted opinion of God.
“The dominant attitude of our age is one of arrogance and pride: ‘I can do anything I want!’ But the attitude God wants to build in us is one of humble dependence upon His infinite resources: ‘I can do everything through him who gives me strength’ (Phil. 4:13). When ego and pride dominate in our lives, our gate is broken and shattered. Our Valley Gate—our sense of humility before God—is in need of repair.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 3:14 ‘The Dung Gate’: ”This gate has an unpleasant name, but it serves a necessary function. This is the gate for the elimination of the rubbish and corrupt things in the city. The refuse was taken through the Dung Gate and flung into the garbage dump in the Hinnom Valley.
“Our lives need an elimination gate as well. Paul urges us to ‘purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God’ (2 Cor. 7:1). We need to daily purge ourselves of secret sin and private corruption. The failure to purge our sins will ultimately produce misery and ruin in our lives.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 3:15 ‘The Fountain Gate’: ”The name of this gate reminds us of the words of the Lord Jesus to the woman at the well: ‘Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life’ (John 4:14). This gate was located at the end of the Pool of Siloam. It symbolizes the Holy Spirit, which is the river of life in us, enabling us to obey His will and His Word. Notice that this gate comes immediately after the Dung Gate. After our inner corruption is purged by our active consent, then the cleansing fountain of the Spirit washes us clean.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 3:26 ‘The Water Gate’: ”Water is always a symbol of God’s Word. It is an interesting coincidence that, in our own nation’s history, the term Watergate is etched as a symbol of governmental crisis, scandal, and disgrace. At the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., a presidential administration ran aground, foundered, and sank. Yet, out of that terrible national tragedy, one Watergate figure—Charles Colson—discovered the Word of God. After confessing his role in the Watergate affair and turning his life over to Jesus Christ, he emerged a changed man, and to this day he is a vital full-time witness for God.
“Note that the Water Gate in Jerusalem did not need to be repaired. Evidently it was the only part of the wall still standing. The text mentions that people lived nearby, but it doesn’t mention that the Water Gate needed repair. The Word of God never breaks down. It doesn’t need to be repaired. It simply needs to be re-inhabited.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 3:28-29 ‘The East Gate and the Horse Gate’: ”The East gate … faced the rising sun and is the gate of hope. It is the gate of anticipation of the coming day when all the trials of life and the struggles of earth will end, when the glorious new sun will rise on the new day of God. This gate needs to be rebuilt in us when we fall into the pessimistic spirit of this age and are crushed by the hopelessness of our times.
“The horse in Scripture is a symbol of warfare or, in this case, the need to do battle against the forces of darkness. ‘Our struggle is not against flesh and blood,’ the apostle Paul writes, ‘but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ (Eph. 6:12). Life is a battle, and each of us is a soldier in a mighty struggle against evil—and we are in this war for the duration.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 3:31 ‘The Inspection Gate’: ”This was evidently the place where judgment was conducted. We need to stop and conduct a thorough self-inspection. We need to ask God to sift our consciences, to remove the buildup of toxic sins, false attitudes, and bad habits from our lives. Then we will be able to strengthen the protective walls of our souls.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 3:32 ‘going full circle’: ”Verse 32 brings us full circle, back to the Sheep Gate, the gate of the cross. The cross must be at the beginning and the end of every life. Through these beautiful symbolic gates, the book of Nehemiah has shown us how to rebuild the walls in our lives.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Nehemiah 3 ‘Challenge’: “This is to remind us that we must fight for what we have. Our little field of God’s planting must have the necessary weapons and plenty of watchmen out there to drive off the crows and all sorts of creatures, to say nothing of the little insects that destroy the crops. We have to keep after them. We must keep our field healthy, and there is only one way to do that, and that is to keep true to the Word of God. We must constantly go back to the grass roots and get the Word into the Church.”

• A. W. Tozer, The Counselor

My Thoughts

When working on Ezra, I spent a lot of time trying to wrap my head around the timeline and the historical kings of Persia.  Among the scholars, there seems to be discrepancies.

Rev. Stedman talked about all the “ites” being trouble, but that was sloppy, in that the Israelites were the Chosen People, and their tribes are mentioned as “ites”, at least some of them.  And although the Ammonites were not Canaanites, they were enemies at various times.  The Horonites were probably people from one of a few towns, a couple mentioned in Joshua and Horonaim.  In something not quoted, Rev. Stedman said the queen was Esther, which should have been one generation behind, she being Artaxerxes’ step mother.  And you cannot have Nehemiah starting the renovation, when Esther was a generation before Ezra, although the book of Ezra starts much earlier, and Ezra had been in Jerusalem for 10-15 years when Nehemiah spoke to the same king that sent Ezra to Jerusalem early in his reign.

But that being as it may, I quoted much of Rev. Stedman’s study.  The five steps in getting our lives rebuilt is an important lesson.  We need to realize that we need help, show concern. We then confess, commit ourselves to cleaning up our act, show courage and show caution.

Rev. Stedman’s spiritual journey around the gates of Jerusalem reminded me of an experiential artistic experience that came to our church.  The artist built a worship experience for each gate illustrating much of what Rev. Stedman discussed.  We made things, we wrote things down, we burned incense, we rubbed scented oils on our chin and hands.  We sang songs.  And we did a lot of praying with the same focuses that Rev. Stedman mentioned regarding each of the gates.  Without the artwork, you could still do the same thing.  Sometimes we need to see the same thing we have heard before presented in a new format.

But there are many key factors in the first two chapters.  Nehemiah’s prayer shows that he humbled himself, but he mentioned that there were others that were praying too.  He did not feel alone in his prayers.  Rev. MacArthur talked about how Esther may have influenced the following king and queen, but the biggest influence should not be taken away from the Holy Spirit.  This is the same king that the Holy Spirit moved to send Ezra.  And the pride of Artaxerxes might have been hurt, knowing that the peace that he thought he had assured had been violated.

Nehemiah hears the news and prays.  Then, with a heavy heart, he serves the king.  His being sad was natural, but his fear was real.  Note that Queen Esther feared that the king might dislike her interruption and kill her.  Nehemiah felt the same way.  So, after all the fasting and prayer, Nehemiah says a short prayer before speaking.  The Holy Spirit had already done the hard work.  Artaxerxes was ready to listen.

Now we have a cupbearer who becomes a project manager.  He asks the king for two letters, one for safe passage (but the king adds foot soldiers and cavalry for his protection, unlike Ezra who insisted that the Lord would protect his group of returning exiles) and a letter to Asaph who ran the king’s forest.  Timber was a precious commodity in that part of the world.  You could not just simply cut down a tree.

Again like Ezra, there is resistance, but it is fleeting.  Nehemiah basically says that the true God will protect them, and the enemies can do nothing about it.  But then, before announcing his intentions, Nehemiah inspects the wall by night.  Then each family repairs what is near their home, and the work is done in 52 days.

These days, it would probably take 52 weeks to get the drawings done and maybe 52 months to get all the permits.  Yes, cupbearers often became counselors and advisers to the king, but Nehemiah only relied on God and God provided the knowledge and skill he needed to accomplish the work.  He was not a “natural.”  He relied totally on God and God gave him the wisdom to get it done.

The only really fast project, much smaller in scope, that I was responsible for was building the cantina for the unionized German employees of the US Army in Karlsruhe, Germany.  But I already had the drawings, and the construction was one building, about the size of a large ranch style home, took about six weeks to two months to build, I think.  And the brigade staff started calling me the Whiz Kid as a result.  But one building compared to a wall around an entire city?  No one miracle pointed to God putting the stones in place.  It was all manual labor, but the short span of construction was breathtaking.  The miracle was in an untrained cupbearer knowing what to do and how to use diplomacy to do it.  And then, other than a few dissenters, the entire population of the city went to work.

God takes our weakness and accomplishes great things, and us knowing that we could “not really do what we did” means that we have to acknowledge God as the author of the success.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Nehemiah 1: 1. How grieved are you about the physical and spiritual state of God’s people? Enough to pray? Fast? Act?
“2. When news from around the world of exiled people, brokenness and famine hits you, do you react anything like Nehemiah?
“3. Do you tend to despair over what is? Accept what is? Or pray for what should be? Why is that?
Nehemiah 2:1-10 Artaxerxes Send Nehemiah to Jerusalem 1. Can others read what you are thinking or feeling, almost like an open book? Or is your heart under lock and key? Why is that?
“2. If someone could read what you feel right now, what would they see?
“3. How can you make your needs known to your King? Do this as a group.
Nehemiah 2:11-20 Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Wall 1. When is it hardest for you to act: (a) When your project lies in ruins? (b) When your workers are few? (c) When others mock you? (d) When you must ‘buck City Hall’ to get a permit?
“2. How do you know if God is with you in some enterprise?
“3. Where are you looking for God’s ‘Yes’ to help you overcome others’ ‘No’?
Nehemiah 3: 1. What attitudes and actions from Nehemiah‘s team of wall-builders fit Christians who want to build the church? Which ones should Christians avoid?
“2. Which one do you think is primary to all the others? Which one could you demonstrate at home? At school? At church?
“3. Do you know anyone like the nobles from Tekoa who want the benefits of a project without having to work for it (no names)? From Nehemiah, what do you learn about how to deal with them?
“4. Who in your small group can you get ‘next to’ for the sake of teaming up to tackle some project bigger than the two of you? Might the group help you tackle some project at church which remains undone for lack of volunteers?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There is one set of questions each for Nehemiah 1 and Nehemiah 3.  Nehemiah 2 has two sets of questions as noted.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.