2564.) Nehemiah 4

Nehemiah 4   (NRSV)

Hostile Plots Thwarted

Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he mocked the Jews. ²He said in the presence of his associates and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish—and burned ones at that?”

³Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “That stone wall they are building—any fox going up on it would break it down!”

Nehemiah’s leadership:  Determination.  When confronted by scorn and threats, he did not waste his energy in a war of words. Instead he prayed and the work continued.

⁴Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their taunt back on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. ⁵Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from your sight; for they have hurled insults in the face of the builders.

Nehemiah’s leadership:  Patience.  He did not pray for revenge. Instead, he prayed that God would see that justice was done.

⁶So we rebuilt the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height; for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah’s leadership:  Confidence.  His calm response to the enemies encouraged the people to persevere and accomplish their task.

⁷But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the gaps were beginning to be closed, they were very angry, ⁸and all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. ⁹So we prayed to our God, and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

Nehemiah’s leadership:  Courage.  In the face of “rumors of war,” he combined fervent prayer and thoughtful planning. 

¹⁰But Judah said, “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, and there is too much rubbish so that we are unable to work on the wall.”

¹¹And our enemies said, “They will not know or see anything before we come upon them and kill them and stop the work.”

¹²When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, “From all the places where they live they will come up against us.”

¹³So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴After I looked these things over, I stood up and said to the nobles and the officials and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

Nehemiah’s leadership:  Enthusiasm. When the people were daunted by the amount of work and the opposition, he reminded them to keep their eyes on the big picture and to continue working on behalf of those who were dear to them.

¹⁵When our enemies heard that their plot was known to us, and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. 

¹⁶From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and body-armor; and the leaders posted themselves behind the whole house of Judah, ¹⁷who were building the wall. The burden bearers carried their loads in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and with the other held a weapon. ¹⁸And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

¹⁹And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. ²⁰Rally to us wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God will fight for us.”

Nehemiah’s leadership:  Decisiveness. He set up a system where half the men worked while the other half stood guard. Furthermore, he set up a communication system — “the sound of the trumpet” would alert people that there was trouble. Then they could concentrate on their work, without looking over their shoulders all the time.

²¹So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from break of dawn until the stars came out. ²²I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night inside Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” ²³So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me ever took off our clothes; each kept his weapon in his right hand.

Dr. Alan Redpath said, ‘The Jews in Nehemiah’s day were successful in their work and in holding the enemy at bay because they had a mind to work (v.6), a heart to pray (v. 9), an eye to watch (v. 9), and an ear to hear (v.20).’  What a good motto for us to keep in mind during our daily lives!

_________________________

Music:

Good leadership in this chapter, but good teamwork, too!

HERE  is something (funny) about teamwork from Johnny and Chachi.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

LaRoyce Jones, 2003.    http://www.reformingculture.com/v2/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/nehemiah.jpg

Hand me another brick!   http://home.hiwaay.net/~wgann/powerpoint/screen_6aa.jpg

building and guarding.    http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/Pictures/Captivity%20and%20Return%20Artwork/images/nehemiah,_the_king%27s_cupbearer.jpg

2563.) Nehemiah 3

Nehemiah 3   (NRSV)

Organization of the Work

Then the high priest Eliashib set to work with his fellow priests and rebuilt the Sheep Gate.

The first gate mentioned is the Sheep Gate, where the sheep and lambs used in the sacrifices were bought into the city. Jesus is “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” The Sheep Gate, then, speaks to us of the cross and the sacrifice that was made for our sins. It is the starting point of everything, but the Sheep Gate is also mentioned at the very end —  we have come full circle. Everything starts and ends with Jesus’ death on the cross. (All the gate descriptions in this chapter are adapted from the “Jesus Plus Nothing” Christ Centered Bible Study.)

They consecrated it and set up its doors; they consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred and as far as the Tower of Hananel. ²And the men of Jericho built next to him. And next to them Zaccur son of Imri built.

³The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate;

The Fish Gate is so named because the fisherman of Galilee would bring their catch in to be sold through this gate. It speaks of evangelism as it reminds us that we have been called to be ‘fishers of men.’ It is a natural progression in our Christian life — after seeing that Jesus died for our sins, we would want to tell others about it. 

they laid its beams and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁴Next to them Meremoth son of Uriah son of Hakkoz made repairs. Next to them Meshullam son of Berechiah son of Meshezabel made repairs. Next to them Zadok son of Baana made repairs. ⁵Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord.

⁶Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate;

The Old Gate speaks to us of the old ways of truth that never change. Jeremiah 6:16 states ‘Thus says the Lord, Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls.’

they laid its beams and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁷Next to them repairs were made by Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite—the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah—who were under the jurisdiction of the governor of the province Beyond the River. ⁸Next to them Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs; and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. ⁹Next to them Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. ¹⁰Next to them Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house; and next to him Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs. ¹¹Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. ¹²Next to him Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.

Dr. Viggo Olsen, who helped rebuild ten thousand houses in war-raved Bangladesh in 1972, derived unexpected inspiration from reading a chapter ordinarily considered one of the least interesting in the Bible: ‘I was struck . . . that no expert builders were listed in the “Holy Land brigade.” There were priests, priests’ helpers, goldsmiths, perfume makers, and women, but no expert builders or carpenters were named.’”

¹³Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate;

Sooner or later the Valley Gate must come. The Valley Gate speaks to us of humbling and trials – valley-type experiences used by the Lord for our personal growth. Nothing really grows on the mountain tops, but it certainly does down in the valleys. So it is in the spiritual.

they rebuilt it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall, as far as the Dung Gate.

The Dung Gate is the gate used to take all the refuse and rubbish out of Jerusalem, down to the valley of Hinnom to be burned. This is what happens in our own life. Valley experiences are used by the Lord to clear away the rubbish so that true faith, refined by the fire, can come forth and produce fruit.

¹⁴Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate; he rebuilt it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

¹⁵And Shallum son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate;

The Fountain Gate is located extremely close to the Dung Gate. In other words, after a valley type experience where rubbish in our lives is cleared out and true faith comes forth, then the fountains begin to flow — and it doesn’t take long! The fountain speaks to us of the living waters of the Holy Spirit that cleanse our lives and empower us for our Christian life.

he rebuilt it and covered it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars; and he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the City of David.

Charles Spurgeon preached a beautiful sermon on this text, where he spoke of six different gardens of the King: Eden, Gethsemane, the Garden Tomb, the human heart, the church as a whole, and the garden of Paradise in heaven.

¹⁶After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired from a point opposite the graves of David, as far as the artificial pool and the house of the warriors.

¹⁷After him the Levites made repairs: Rehum son of Bani; next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. ¹⁸After him their kin made repairs: Binnui, son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah; ¹⁹next to him Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the Angle. ²⁰After him Baruch son of Zabbai repaired another section from the Angle to the door of the house of the high priest Eliashib. ²¹After him Meremoth son of Uriah son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib.

²²After him the priests, the men of the surrounding area, made repairs. ²³After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. After them Azariah son of Maaseiah son of Ananiah made repairs beside his own house. ²⁴After him Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the Angle and to the corner. ²⁵Palal son of Uzai repaired opposite the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh ²⁶and the temple servants living on Ophel made repairs up to a point opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower.

The Water Gate is a picture of the Word of God and its effect in our life. Ephesians 5:26 states ‘… having washed her by the water of the word.’ It is no coincidence that this gate was located next to the fountain gate as the two often go together. The Holy Spirit is the one who makes the word of God alive to us personally, allowing cleansing, encouragement, and direction to take place in our life.

²⁷After him the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸Above the Horse Gate

The Horse Gate speaks of warfare as horses were used in battle. Revelation 19:11 — ‘I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness does He judge and make war.’ Spiritual warfare, as we will see in the book of Nehemiah, is the reality of every Christian. We are all in a battle as soldiers for Christ to bring salvation to the world.

the priests made repairs, each one opposite his own house. ²⁹After them Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs.

The East Gate (above — the blocked Eastern Gate in Jerusalem, also known as the Golden Gate) is known by Jews for one particular event – the coming of the Messiah! Ezekiel 44:1-3 ‘… the gate that looked toward the east, and it was shut. The Lord said to me, ‘This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it.’ The East Gate opens and looks toward the Mount of Olives, where Jesus will return (Zechariah 14:4). He will then enter Jerusalem by the East Gate. So the East Gate also speaks of the return of Jesus Christ. Scripture encourages us to live with this hope and to long for His return. A specific crown is even given to those who do this (2 Timothy 4:8).

³⁰After him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his living quarters. ³¹After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster (Inspection) Gate,

The final gate is the Inspection Gate. This gate speaks to us of the judgment seat of Christ where our lives are inspected and rewarded appropriately. In our Christian experience we should be living with this in mind. We are called to live our lives with eternity in view, caring more for the things of eternity than the temporal that we see around us. Prophetically this gate also speaks of the judgement of the nations that takes place when Jesus returns. This is recorded in the sheep and the goats judgement in Mathew 25:31-46.

and to the upper room of the corner. ³²And between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.

_________________________

Music:

When I think of the gates of Jerusalem, I think of our Savior, who was crucified outside the gates.

Hebrews 13:11-13 (NIV)

The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp.  And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.  Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.

HERE  is “Revelation Song”  with Kari Jobe. Let us worship.

 

---

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

map of Nehemiah’s Jerusalem.      http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/studies/images/nehem3.gif

lamb of God.   http://lambofgod.altervista.org/lamb-of-god/

fish market.   http://vestiprim.ru/news/ptrnews/2275-rybnyy-klaster-v-primore-stanet-esche-odnoy-tochkoy-razvitiya-regiona.html

old iron gate.  http://www.homeworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Rusted-Iron-Gate-with-Chartreuse-Elderberries.jpg

Lower Engadine Valley, Switzerland.   http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4642406596_e616b9478e.jpg

present-day Dung Gate in Jerusalem.  https://yishaifleisher.com/the-dingy-dung-gate/

fountain.   http://cerejasnoquintal.blogspot.com/2012/10/fontes-no-jardim.html

The kiss of the sun . . .  http://cf.mp-cdn.net/e2/1d/243b73b775e7de947d34cf628248.jpg

Niagara Falls, Canada.  https://www.leuromag.fr/A-la-decouverte-des-chutes-Niagara-au-Canada_a2941.html

Christ on a white horse.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/revelation1911.jpg

Golden Gate.    http://www.planetware.com/i/photo/golden-gate-jerusalem-jer108.jpg

Jesus as Judge (Matthew 25).   http://historeo.com/Resources/judgment.jpg

2562.) Nehemiah 2

Nehemiah 2   (NRSV)

Nehemiah Sent to Judah

At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.

— a significant position in any ancient royal court. The cupbearer was a personal bodyguard to the king, being the one who tasted wine and food before the king did, making certain no one could poison the king. The king, therefore, had to have a tremendous amount of trust in his cupbearer, who had to be a man of faithful and impressive character. If the cupbearer could be turned against the king, assassination would be easy.

The cupbearer also was a servant to the king; he was responsible for choosing most of the foods and wines the king and the court would enjoy.

The cupbearer was also a trusted adviser to the king; since he was constantly in the king’s presence, and greatly trusted, and a man of character, it was natural the cupbearer would often be asked his opinion on different matters coming before the king.

–David Guzik

In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was served him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. Now, I had never been sad in his presence before. ²So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This can only be sadness of the heart.”

Then I was very much afraid.

Afraid because it was dangerous to show any unhappiness in the presence of the king; simply to be with him was delight and gladness! To be sad when one was with such a wonderful person could be interpreted as an insult to the king!

³I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my ancestors’ graves, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

⁴Then the king said to me, “What do you request?”

So I prayed to the God of heaven.

A quick prayer. Like, “Help!”

⁵Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves, so that I may rebuild it.”

⁶The king said to me (the queen also was sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a date.

Nehemiah ended up spending 12 years in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 13:6).

⁷Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the (Euphrates) River, that they may grant me passage until I arrive in Judah; ⁸and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, directing him to give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple fortress, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the gracious hand of my God was upon me.

Tomb of King Artaxerxes

God uses a sympathetic pagan king to help his servant accomplish God’s purposes!

⁹Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent officers of the army and cavalry with me.

¹⁰When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

Sanballat was the governor of Samaria, and Tobiah some other governmental man of influence. They objected because a weak Jerusalem helped them be strong; a strong Jerusalem threatened their power and positions.

Nehemiah’s Inspection of the Walls

¹¹So I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. ¹²Then I got up during the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was the animal I rode.

¹³I went out by night by the Valley Gate past the Dragon’s Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.

Thank you, King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army! 

The word viewed or inspected in Nehemiah 2:13 and 2:15 is a medical term for “probing a wound to see the extent of its damage.”

¹⁴Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool; but there was no place for the animal I was riding to continue.

The walls were so badly broken down that his horse couldn’t find footing; Nehemiah had to climb around himself to inspect things.

¹⁵So I went up by way of the valley by night and inspected the wall.

A PERFECT HEART IS A BROKEN HEART!

The Psalmist David said, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite [crushed] spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

Brokenness means more than sorrow and weeping, more than a crushed spirit, more than humility. True brokenness releases in the heart the greatest power God can entrust to mankind—greater than power to raise the dead or heal sickness and disease. When we are truly broken before God, we are given a power that restores ruins, a power that brings a special kind of glory and honor to our Lord.

You see, brokenness has to do with walls—broken down, crumbling walls. David associated the crumbling walls of Jerusalem with the brokenheartedness of God’s people. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart…. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness”  (Psalm 51:17–19).

Nehemiah was a brokenhearted man, and his example has to do with those broken walls of Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 2:12–15). In the dark of the night, Nehemiah “viewed the wall.” The Hebrew word shabar is used here. It is the same word used in Psalm 51:17 for “broken heart.” In the fullest Hebrew meaning, Nehemiah’s heart was breaking in two ways. It broke first with anguish for the ruin, and second with a hope for rebuilding (bursting with hope).

This is truly a broken heart: one that first sees the church and families in ruin and feels the Lord’s anguish. Such a heart grieves over the reproach cast on the Lord’s name. It also looks deep inside and sees, as David did, its own shame and failure. But there is a second important element to this brokenness, and that is hope. The truly broken heart has heard from God: “I will heal, restore and build. Get rid of the rubbish, and get to work rebuilding the breaches!”

–David Wilkerson

Then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. ¹⁶The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest that were to do the work.

“You will often find it best not to commit your plans to others. If you want to serve God, go and do it, and then let other people find it out afterwards. You have no need to tell what you are going to do, and, I may add, there is no need for you retelling what you have done, for very, very frequently God withdraws himself when we boast of what is being done.”

–Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Decision to Restore the Walls

¹⁷Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace.” ¹⁸I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me.

Then they said, “Let us start building!” So they committed themselves to the common good.

¹⁹But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they mocked and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

²⁰Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven is the one who will give us success,

Psalm 118:24-25 (ESV)

This is the day that the LORD has made;
   let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Save us, we pray, O LORD!
   O LORD, we pray, give us success!

and we his servants are going to start building; but you have no share or claim or historic right in Jerusalem.”

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is Chris Tomlin and “God of This City.” Roughly 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That figure is somewhat lower worldwide — Today, around 55 percent of the world’s population is thought to be living in an urban area or city, with that figure set to rise to 68 percent over the coming decades, according to the UN. And God is over all!

You’re the God of this City
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are

You’re the Light in this darkness
You’re the Hope to the hopeless
You’re the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Send me to the city.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/nehemiah-send.gif

cupbearer.   http://biblewalk.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/nehemiah.jpg

tomb of Artaxerxes.   https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Tomb_ascribed_to_Xerxes_I.jpg

broken heart.   http://s3.hubimg.com/u/205410_f260.jpg

shhh.  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rebecca-minky

2561.) Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah 1   (NRSV)

Nehemiah Prays for His People

Some 1,000 years after the time of Moses and some 400 years before the birth of Jesus, the nation of Israel and the Jewish people were in a desperate state.  Their nations were destroyed — first the northern Jewish kingdom of Israel and then the southern Jewish kingdom of Judah.  The city of Jerusalem was completely conquered by the Babylonians and the once-glorious temple of Solomon was destroyed.

When the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, they deported almost everyone from the city and the region, and for some 70 years, Jerusalem was a ghost town, with the potential to end up like many ancient cities — completely forgotten except to history.

When the Jews were deported to Babylon, they began to make homes for themselves there. They settled down, and many still followed the God of their Fathers, but they did it from Babylon, with no desire to return to the land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Some of these faithful Jews were raised up to places of prominence in the governments they were deported to. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego became leaders in Babylon; Esther was made queen in the courts of a Persian king.

But after 70 years of captivity in Babylon, they were given the opportunity to return to their homeland, the Promised Land.  Out of the some two or three million Jews deported from the land, only 50,000 decided to return to the Promised Land.  That’s only something like 2%! But they did return, and in the days of Ezra, they rebuilt the temple and laid a spiritual foundation for Israel once again.

The Book of Nehemiah begins 15 years after the Book of Ezra ends, almost 100 years after the first captives came back to the Promised Land, and some 150 years after the city of Jerusalem was destroyed.  After this long time, the walls of the city of Jerusalem were still in rubble.  Before this, citizens of Jerusalem had tried to rebuild the walls but had failed.  In Ezra 4:6-23, we see that some 75 years before they tried to rebuild the walls, but were stopped by their enemies.  No one thought this obstacle could be overcome, so the walls lay in ruin and the people stayed in trouble.

–David Guzik

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capital, ²one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem.

Psalm 137:5-6 (NIV)

If I forget you, Jerusalem,
   may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
   if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
   my highest joy.

³They replied, “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”

⁴When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

⁵I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments;

Nehemiah praises God for who God is.

⁶let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. ⁷We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses.

Nehemiah confesses his sins and the sins of the people.

⁸Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; ⁹but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.’

Nehemiah holds God to his promises.

¹⁰They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. ¹¹O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!”

Nehemiah volunteers to work for God’s purposes.

At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.

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Music:

When singer/songwriter Jodi Lavender Aldredge read Nehemiah’s prayer (Nehemiah 1:5-11), she was moved by his passion and was inspired to put Nehemiah’s prayer into song —  HERE.

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Nehemiah.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/nehemiah_t.jpg

city of Jerusalem.   http://book-of-revelation.blogspot.com/2012/10/luke-2120.html

Pray for the impossible.  http://gbcdecatur.org/files/PrayForTheImpossible.jpg

2560.) Psalm 147

Psalm 147   (NLT)

I love how one Bible verse will remind us of another Bible verse because of a particular word/phrase or the general idea/theme. It’s interesting to follow the connections! As you read, you will see how my mind works. What verses come to your mind?

¹ Praise the Lord!

How good to sing praises to our God!
    How delightful and how fitting!

I was glad when they said unto me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord! —

² The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem
    and bringing the exiles back to Israel.

— Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem!”
(Psalm 122:1-2)

³ He heals the brokenhearted
    and bandages their wounds.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
(Matthew 5:4)

⁴ He counts the stars
    and calls them all by name.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” 
(Matthew 10:29-31)

⁵ How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
    His understanding is beyond comprehension!

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; I cannot attain it. 
(Psalm 139:6)

⁶ The Lord supports the humble,
    but he brings the wicked down into the dust.

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
(James 4:6)

⁷ Sing out your thanks to the Lord;
    sing praises to our God with a harp.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 
(Luke 17:15-16)

⁸ He covers the heavens with clouds,
    provides rain for the earth,
    and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. 
(Psalm 23:2)

⁹ He gives food to the wild animals
    and feeds the young ravens when they cry.

“Give us this day our daily bread.”
(Matthew 6:11)

¹⁰ He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse
    or in human might.
¹¹ No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love.

For the eyes of the Lord search back and forth across the whole earth, looking for people whose hearts are perfect toward him, so that he can show his great power in helping them. 
(2 Chronicles 16:9)

¹² Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, O Zion!
¹³ For he has strengthened the bars of your gates
    and blessed your children within your walls.

Then Jesus took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.
(Mark 10:16)

¹⁴ He sends peace across your nation
    and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat.

For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything.
(Deuteronomy 8:7-9)

¹⁵ He sends his orders to the world—
    how swiftly his word flies!
¹⁶ He sends the snow like white wool;

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
(Psalm 51:7)

    he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes.
¹⁷ He hurls the hail like stones.
    Who can stand against his freezing cold?

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 
(Ephesians 6:11)

¹⁸ Then, at his command, it all melts.
    He sends his winds, and the ice thaws.

Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 
(Jonah 1:4)

¹⁹ He has revealed his words to Jacob,
    his decrees and regulations to Israel.

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.”
(John 17:6)

²⁰ He has not done this for any other nation;
    they do not know his regulations.

Praise the Lord!

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Music:

Putting this entry together was a joyful exercise for me! And so, in the same vein, I give you one of the “funnest” praise songs I know!  HERE  is Ernie Haase and the Signature Sound with “Can He, Could He, Would He?”

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New Living Translation (NLT)   Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Praise.    http://clipart-library.com/clipart/101307.htm

2559.) Ezra 10

The Bible tells us: Do not be unequally yoked 🙂 with unbelievers.

Ezra 10 (New Century Version)

The People Confess Sin

¹ As Ezra was praying and confessing and crying and throwing himself down in front of the Temple, a large group of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him who were also crying loudly. ² Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel the Elamite said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying women from the peoples around us. But even so, there is still hope for Israel.³ Now let us make an agreement before our God. We will send away all these women and their children as you and those who respect the commands of our God advise. Let it be done to obey God’s Teachings.

We learn later in the chapter that most of the wives had embraced the faith of their husbands and were raising their children in the fear of the Lord.

⁴Get up, Ezra. You are in charge, and we will support you. Have courage and do it.”

Joshua 1:7-9 (NIV)

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

⁵ So Ezra got up and made the priests, Levites, and all the people of Israel promise to do what was suggested; and they promised.⁶ Then Ezra left the Temple and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While Ezra was there, he did not eat or drink, because he was still sad about the unfaithfulness of the captives who had returned.

One Bible commentator has said — “The man who sets himself ‘to seek, to do, to teach’ the law of God invariably brings himself into places where sorrow will be his portion, and intrepid courage necessary.”

⁷ They sent an order in Judah and Jerusalem for all the captives who had returned to meet together in Jerusalem. ⁸ Whoever did not come to Jerusalem within three days would lose his property and would no longer be a member of the community of the returned captives. That was the decision of the officers and elders.

⁹ So within three days all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. All the men were sitting in the open place in front of the Temple and were upset because of the meeting and because it was raining.

Ahoghill, Northern Ireland

Ezra 10:9 (ESV)

And all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.

This response has been seen again as the Holy Spirit has moved upon the people of God. In March of 1859, at the beginning of a great move of God that would bring more than one million souls to conversion in Great Britain, some unordained men with a passion for revival preached at the First Presbyterian Church in Ahoghill, Northern Ireland. There was such a large crowd at that meeting that they had to dismiss the meeting out of fear that the balconies would collapse under the weight of so many people. They took the meeting to the street outside, and in the freezing rain James McQuilkin preached to 3,000 people in the streets, with many of the listeners falling to their knees in the wet and muddy street because they were so moved by the conviction of sin under the preaching of these laymen.

–David Guzik

¹⁰ Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married non-Jewish women. You have made Israel more guilty.¹¹ Now, confess it to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Do his will and separate yourselves from the people living around you and from your non-Jewish wives.”

¹² Then the whole group answered Ezra with a loud voice, “Ezra, you’re right! We must do what you say.¹³ But there are many people here, and it’s the rainy season. We can’t stand outside, and this problem can’t be solved in a day or two, because we have sinned badly. ¹⁴ Let our officers make a decision for the whole group. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a non-Jewish woman meet with the elders and judges of each town at a planned time, until the hot anger of our God turns away from us.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan son of Asahel, Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, Meshullam, and Shabbethai the Levite were against the plan.

¹⁶ So the returned captives did what was suggested. Ezra the priest chose men who were leaders of the family groups and named one from each family division. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to study each case.¹⁷ By the first day of the first month, they had finished with all the men who had married non-Jewish women.

The whole process took many weeks, because so many men had taken pagan wives. The questioning was necessary because they needed to examine if one of these wives had genuinely decided to serve the Lord God and to forsake her native religions.

If the pagan wife had decided to keep her primary allegiance with her former people and their idols, she could not live among the covenant community and had to be divorced.

To the end of the chapter, there is a list showing that only about 114 of these pagan wives refused to embrace the God of Israel and had to be divorced. Yamauchi calculates that it was less than one-half of one percent of the people who were guilty of this pagan intermarriage and who had to divorce their wives. Though it was such a small percentage, it still had to be dealt with strongly – and it was. It also shows that most of the foreign wives joined the people of God in their heart as well as their home.

–David Guzik

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Music:

HERE  is “Sweetly Broken,” lyrics by Jeremy Riddle. We all need to face our sins honestly. Christ will help us do that — and then forgive us.

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Those Guilty of Marrying Non-Jewish Women

¹⁸These are the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women:

From the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and Jeshua’s brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.¹⁹ (They all promised to divorce their wives, and each one brought a male sheep from the flock as a penalty offering.)

²⁰ From the descendants of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.

²¹ From the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

²² From the descendants of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³ Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴ Among the singers: Eliashib.

Among the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ And among the other Israelites, these married non-Jewish women:

From the descendants of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah.

²⁶ From the descendants of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.

²⁷ From the descendants of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.

²⁸ From the descendants of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

²⁹ From the descendants of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.

³⁰ From the descendants of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

³¹ From the descendants of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

³³ From the descendants of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

³⁴ From the descendants of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi,³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.

³⁸ From the descendants of Binnui: Shimei,³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,⁴⁰ Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

⁴³ From the descendants of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

⁴⁴ All these men had married non-Jewish women, and some of them had children by these wives.

Ezra here disappears from the Biblical record for about thirteen years, when he appears again in the Book of Nehemiah. His passion then was the same as it was at the end of the Book of Ezra: to transform the people of God by bringing them the Word of God.

The End of the book of Ezra.

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New Century Version (NCV)   The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Images courtesy of:

eggs.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/yolks.jpg

The task ahead of you . . .   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/task-in-front-of-you1.gif

Ahoghill, Northern Ireland.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/northern-ireland.jpg

2558.) Ezra 9

“Ezra in prayer” — engraving by Gustave Dore, 1865. (Coloring added.)

Ezra 9 (New Century Version)

Ezra’s Prayer

¹ After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “Ezra, the Israelites, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the people around us. Those neighbors do evil things, as the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites did. ²The Israelite men and their sons have married these women. They have mixed the people who belong to God with the people around them. The leaders and officers of Israel have led the rest of the Israelites to do this unfaithful thing.”

The problem is not primarily ethnic. Rather, it is religious — the Jews have adopted the evil practices, the abominations (as the King James Version puts it) of their neighbors and wives.

Ezra 9:1-2 seems to recall passages from the Law of Moses against intermarriage with the surrounding Canaanite tribes – in particular, Exodus 34:11-16 and Deuteronomy 7:1-4. We may see this conviction of sin on the part of the people and their leaders, and the way that the conviction of sin was phrased, to indicate (spiritually speaking) that Ezra’s arrival to bring the ministry of teaching God’s word was bearing fruit. The people heard the word, looked at their lives, and saw that the two did not match.

–David Guzik (and all following comments in purple)

³ When I heard this, I angrily tore my robe and coat, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down in shock.⁴ Everyone who trembled in fear at the word of the God of Israel gathered around me because of the unfaithfulness of the captives who had returned. I sat there in shock until the evening sacrifice.

Ezra had just finished a dangerous four-month journey from Babylonia to Jerusalem. He had perhaps over-romanticized the spiritual commitment of the return-from-exile pioneers and had expected to find something completely different than the culture of compromise that he found. Certainly, one of the reasons for his mourning was that Ezra remembered that it was these sins of idolatry and compromise that caused the tribes of Israel to be exiled before. He no doubt wondered how the people could endanger themselves like this again.

⁵ At the evening sacrifice I got up from where I had shown my shame. My robe and coat were torn, and I fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God.

Solomon prayed on his knees (1 Kings 8:54), the Psalmist called us to kneel (Psalm 95:6), Daniel prayed on his knees (Daniel 6:10), people came to Jesus kneeling (Matthew 17:14, Matthew 20:20, Mark 1:40), Stephen prayed on his knees (Acts 7:60), Peter prayed on his knees (Acts 9:40), Paul prayed on his knees (Acts 20:36, Ephesians 3:14), and other early Christians prayed on their knees (Acts 21:5). Most importantly, Jesus prayed on His knees (Luke 22:41). The Bible has enough prayer not on the knees to show us that it isn’t required, but it also has enough prayer on the knees to show us that it is good.

Ezra also spread out his hands to the Lord. This was the most common posture of prayer in the Old Testament. Many modern people close their eyes, bow their head, and fold their hands as they pray, but the Old Testament tradition was to spread out the hands toward heaven in a gesture of surrender, openness, and ready reception.

⁶ I prayed,

“My God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are so many. They are higher than our heads. Our guilt even reaches up to the sky.

Ezra had a heart for holiness.  When he found out that God’s people had been faithless in matters of worship and marriage, he tore his clothes, pulled his own hair, and sat in mourning for an entire day. Then at the time of the evening sacrifice he bowed down before God and offered a prayer of confession, in which he numbered himself among the transgressors.

⁷ From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we, our kings, and our priests have been punished by the sword and captivity. Foreign kings have taken away our things and shamed us, even as it is today.

⁸ “But now, for a short time, the Lord our God has been kind to us. He has let some of us come back from captivity and has let us live in safety in his holy place. And so our God gives us hope and a little relief from our slavery.

“The Jewish commentator Slotki observes poignantly: ‘A little grace had been granted by God to his people; a small remnant had found its weary way back to its home and driven a single peg into its soil; a solitary ray of light was shining; a faint breath of freedom lightened their slavery. How graphically Ezra epitomizes Jewish experience in these few words!’”

⁹ Even though we are slaves, our God has not left us. He caused the kings of Persia to be kind to us and has given us new life. We can rebuild the Temple and repair its ruins. And he has given us a wall to protect us in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “But now, our God, what can we say after you have done all this? We have disobeyed your commands¹¹ that you gave through your servants the prophets. You said, ‘The land you are entering to own is ruined; the people living there have spoiled it by the evil they do. Their evil filled the land with uncleanness from one end to the other.¹² So do not let your daughters marry their sons, and do not let their daughters marry your sons. Do not wish for their peace or success. Then you will be strong and eat the good things of the land. Then you can leave this land to your descendants forever.’

¹³ “What has happened to us is our own fault. We have done evil things, and our guilt is great. But you, our God, have punished us less than we deserve; you have left a few of us alive.¹⁴ We should not again break your commands by allowing marriages with these wicked people. If we did, you would get angry enough to destroy us, and none of us would be left alive.¹⁵ Lord, God of Israel, by your goodness a few of us are left alive today. We admit that we are guilty and none of us should be allowed to stand before you.”

As the tribes of Israel piled sin upon sin before the fall of the northern and southern kingdoms, God still showed remarkable mercy to them. He did not have to preserve them in exile; there could have been genocide instead. As well, He did not have to bring them back from exile into the Promised Land once again. Each of these was a wonderful example of God’s mercy in the midst of judgment.

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Music:

“Nothing in my hands I bring — simply to thy cross I cling.”  No excuses, no justifications, no spin — just confession.

HERE  is “I Lay My Sins on Jesus” — forgive us, Lord.

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New Century Version (NCV)   The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Images courtesy of:

Dore.   http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/bible-images/hires/Ezra-Chapter-9-Ezra-Kneels-in-Prayer.jpg

praying on her knees.   http://worldartsme.com/person-praying-on-knees-clipart.html#gal_post_76643_person-praying-on-knees-clipart-1.jpg

verse 8.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/ezra9-8.jpg

2557.) Ezra 8

At least when they packed to travel, they didn’t have weight limits on their bags or size limits on their liquids!

Ezra 8 (New Century Version)

Leaders Who Returned with Ezra

¹These are the leaders of the family groups and those who were listed with them who came back with me from Babylon during the rule of King Artaxerxes.

One Bible commentator has said, “There was little at Jerusalem to attract a new expedition; for the glamour which had surrounded the first return, with a son of David at its head, had faded in grievous disappointments; and the second series of pilgrims had to carry with them the torch with which to rekindle the flames of devotion.”

² From the descendants of Phinehas: Gershom.

From the descendants of Ithamar: Daniel.

From the descendants of David: Hattush³ of the descendants of Shecaniah.

From the descendants of Parosh: Zechariah, with one hundred fifty men.

⁴ From the descendants of Pahath-Moab: Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, with two hundred men.

⁵ From the descendants of Zattu: Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, with three hundred men.

⁶ From the descendants of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan, with fifty men.

⁷ From the descendants of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, with seventy men.

⁸ From the descendants of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, with eighty men.

⁹ From the descendants of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, with two hundred eighteen men.

¹⁰ From the descendants of Bani: Shelomith son of Josiphiah, with one hundred sixty men.

¹¹ From the descendants of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, with twenty-eight men.

¹² From the descendants of Azgad: Johanan son of Hakkatan, with one hundred ten men.

¹³ From the descendants of Adonikam, these were the last ones: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, with sixty men.

¹⁴ From the descendants of Bigvai: Uthai and Zaccur, with seventy men.

“The interest of this forbidding list of names and numbers lies in the fact that in every case but one of these groups are joining, at long last, the descendants of the pioneers from Babylon eighty years before.”

–Derek Kidner

Adding the counts of the male members of the group together, there was a total count of at least 1,496 men in the group. Adding an estimated number of women and children (Ezra 8:21), we can surmise that the total number of the party coming with Ezra in the days of King Artaxerxes was something between 6,000 to 7,000 people.

–David Guzik

The Return to Jerusalem

¹⁵ I called all those people together at the canal that flows toward Ahava, where we camped for three days. I checked all the people and the priests, but I did not find any Levites.

Ezra needed Levites. They were the “worker bees” of the temple. So he plans to recruit some.

¹⁶ So I called these leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam. And I called Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers.¹⁷ I sent these men to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, and told them what to say to Iddo and his relatives, who are the Temple servants in Casiphia. I sent them to bring servants to us for the Temple of our God.¹⁸ Our God was helping us, so Iddo’s relatives gave us Sherebiah, a wise man from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, who was the son of Israel. And they brought Sherebiah’s sons and brothers, for a total of eighteen men.¹⁹ And they brought to us Hashabiah and Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and nephews. In all there were twenty men.²⁰They also brought two hundred twenty of the Temple servants, a group David and the officers had set up to help the Levites. All of those men were listed by name.

²¹ There by the Ahava Canal, I announced we would all fast and deny ourselves before our God. We would ask God for a safe trip for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. ²² I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road. We had said to the king, “Our God helps everyone who obeys him, but he is very angry with all who reject him.”

They needed protection because the danger was real. There was a constant threat of robbers and bandits, especially because they were transporting so many valuables. Yet because of their dependence on God, expressed through prayer and fasting, God protected them.

“Thus we see that this good man had more anxiety for the glory of God than for his own personal safety.”

— Adam Clarke

²³ So we fasted and prayed to our God about our trip, and he answered our prayers.

²⁴ Then I chose twelve of the priests who were leaders, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their relatives.²⁵ I weighed the offering of silver and gold and the utensils given for the Temple of our God, and I gave them to the twelve priests I had chosen. The king, the people who advised him, his officers, and all the Israelites there with us had given these things for the Temple.²⁶ I weighed out and gave them about fifty thousand pounds of silver, about seventy-five hundred pounds of silver objects, and about seventy-five hundred pounds of gold.²⁷ I gave them twenty gold bowls that weighed about nineteen pounds and two fine pieces of polished bronze that were as valuable as gold.

These are enormous amounts of treasure! And these priests are responsible for all of it on a long journey, facing robbers or bandits . . .

²⁸ Then I said to the priests, “You and these utensils belong to the Lord for his service. The silver and gold are gifts to the Lord, the God of your ancestors.²⁹ Guard these things carefully. In Jerusalem, weigh them in front of the leading priests, Levites, and the leaders of the family groups of Israel in the rooms of the Temple of the Lord.”³⁰ So the priests and Levites accepted the silver, the gold, and the utensils that had been weighed to take them to the Temple of our God in Jerusalem.

³¹ On the twelfth day of the first month we left the Ahava Canal and started toward Jerusalem. Our God helped us and protected us from enemies and robbers along the way.³² Finally we arrived in Jerusalem where we rested three days.

A four month journey from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

³³ On the fourth day we weighed out the silver, the gold, and the utensils in the Temple of our God. We handed them to the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, as were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui.³⁴ We checked everything by number and by weight, and the total weight was written down.

“According to Babylonian tradition, almost every transaction, including sales and marriages, had to be recorded in writing. Ezra may have had to send back a signed certification of the delivery of the treasures.”

–Edwin M. Yamauchi

³⁵ Then the captives who returned made burnt offerings to the God of Israel. They sacrificed twelve bulls for all Israel,

This is touching. Although officially only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remain, they offer sacrifices for all twelve tribes.

ninety-six male sheep, and seventy-seven lambs. For a sin offering there were twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.³⁶ They took King Artaxerxes’ orders to the royal officers and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates. Then these men gave help to the people and the Temple of God.

This reminds us of the great purpose of Ezra’s expedition. In the final two chapters we will see Ezra administering strict correction as a reformer; but he did not come primarily as a disciplinarian. He came to give support to the people and the house of God, and only dealt with the problems of sin and compromise as necessary in the course of this greater goal.

–David Guzik

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Music:

HERE  is “O, God, Our Help in Ages Past” sung by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge.  Pieces of Bach’s “St. Anne” fugue open and close the vocal portion.

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New Century Version (NCV)   The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Images courtesy of:

luggage.   http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/03/article-1203999-05EF9803000005DC-609_470x288.jpg

prayers at the canal.   http://workersforjesus.com/ezra7-10.htm

verse 23.   https://restoredministriesblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/img_6136.jpeg

12 tribes.   http://www.kidsbiblemaps.com/12-tribes-israel.html

2556.) Ezra 7

Ezra taught the Bible to the Israelites.

Ezra 7 (New Century Version)

Ezra Comes to Jerusalem

¹ After these things during the rule of Artaxerxes king of Persia,

Relief of Artaxerxes from his tomb in Naqsh-e-Rustam, Iran.

Some 60 largely uneventful years passed between Ezra 6 and Ezra 7. The ruler of Persia at the end of that period was Artaxerxes, the successor to Xerxes, the king who married Esther. The events of the Book of Esther took place between Ezra 6 and 7.

–David Guzik

“There can be no reasonable doubt that his reference is to the son and successor of Xerxes – known by the Romans as ‘Longimanus’ – Artaxerxes ‘of the long hand’ (allegedly because his right hand was longer than his left), for this Artaxerxes alone enjoyed a sufficiently extended reign to include both the commencement of Ezra’s public work and the later scenes in the life of Nehemiah which the chronicler associates with the same king.”

–Walter F. Adeney

Ezra came up from Babylon. Ezra was the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,² the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,³ the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,⁴ the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,⁵ the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the high priest.⁶ This Ezra came to Jerusalem from Babylon. He was a teacher and knew well the Teachings of Moses that had been given by the Lord, the God of Israel.

Ezra, the Scribe: a teacher of the Law (scriptures)

Here we are introduced to Ezra, and we read that he came from a long line of priests, going all the way back to Aaron himself, the first high priest. We also learn that Ezra was living among the exiles in Babylon and that he “was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses” (Ezra 7:6). Ezra had worked to gain knowledge of the Word of God. Ezra was skilled in the Scriptures, which in his day referred to the Pentateuch. He was both called and equipped to serve as Israel’s priest.

“His name stands very high in Jewish tradition, where he came to be regarded as a second Moses, and indeed it was he, more than any other man, who stamped Israel with its lasting character as the people of a book.”

–Derek Kidner

Ezra received everything he asked for from the king, because the Lord his God was helping him. ⁷In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes more Israelites came to Jerusalem. Among them were priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and Temple servants.

⁸ Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of Artaxerxes’ seventh year as king.⁹ Ezra had left Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, because God was helping him.¹⁰ Ezra had worked hard to know and obey the Teachings of the Lord and to teach his rules and commands to the Israelites.

Ezra 7:10 (ESV)

For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

This verse is one of the Bible’s best summaries of what it means to be a faithful servant of God’s Word. It is a wonderful verse for pastors, for seminary students, for theology professors—really, it is a wonderful verse for everyone. I know this from experience because I embraced this verse early in my time at seminary. I wrote it out on a note card and tucked it into the little Bible I carried in my briefcase. From time to time I would pull it out and meditate on it or pray over it. Over time, God used it to shape my understanding of what it meant to be a student and a teacher, a husband and a pastor. By the power of the Holy Spirit, he can use it to shape your life and ministry, too.

The logic of this verse is impeccable. There were three things that Ezra was committed to doing, and he had them in the proper order, like “A-B-C” or “1-2-3.” In fact, Ezra had them in the only order that makes any sense: he had his heart set on studying, doing, and teaching the Word of God. This was his heart commitment, the direction of his life, the settled intention of his soul.

Start with studying. Before we can do what God wants us to do, or teach anyone else what God wants them to do, we need to know what God wants us to do, and that means studying God’s Word. Ezra had committed himself to doing that. We do not know his study habits, but we know that he was skilled in the Law of Moses. His “delight was in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditated day and night” (Psalm 1:2). Since he was raised in a family of priests, he had studied the Scriptures from his earliest childhood. He undoubtedly spent hours each day reading the Bible, pondering its meaning, and discussing its implications with other students and scholars. In those days, a scribe of Ezra’s stature would have committed large portions of Scripture to memory. The unrelenting ambition of his life was to know the Word of God.

But Ezra did not stop there. He did not want merely to learn the Bible; he wanted to live it. So the Scripture says that he set his heart to do the law that he had studied. This meant loving the Lord his God with all his strength and loving his neighbor as himself. It meant keeping the Ten Commandments. It meant following all the regulations for priestly holiness and public worship. It meant doing everything he could to live by God’s law. Ezra understood that the only true theology is applied theology. I am reminded of the parishioner who met the preacher at the door after the service and said, “Pastor, that was a wonderful sermon.” To which the pastor replied, “Well, that remains to be seen, doesn’t it?” This was Ezra’s approach exactly. What good is it to study the Bible, unless we also live by it?

Then there was a third step: teaching God’s statutes and rules in Israel. He wanted to reach his entire nation with the Word of God. He saw that he had a responsibility to the wider spiritual community. It was his calling and privilege to spend long periods of time studying God’s Word. But this was not for his benefit alone; it was for the edification of the people of God. Eventually God granted Ezra his heart’s desire. When he read the Book of the Law to all the people in Jerusalem, he was teaching God’s statutes and rules in Israel–the Bible teacher for the kingdom.

Bear in mind that this is the goal of all your studies. You do not study God’s Word only for your own benefit, but for the sake of others. The knowledge you gain is a sacred trust that God has given you in order that you might give it away. So set your heart to study the Word of God, and to do it, and to teach it, wherever God calls you.

–Dr. Philip Graham Ryken, former Senior Minister at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, now President of Wheaton College in Illinois

Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra

¹¹ King Artaxerxes had given a letter to Ezra, a priest and teacher who taught about the commands and laws the Lord gave Israel. This is a copy of the letter:

¹² From Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven.

Greetings.
¹³ Now I give this order: Any Israelite in my kingdom who wishes may go with you to Jerusalem, including priests and Levites.¹⁴ Ezra, you are sent by the king and the seven people who advise him to ask how Judah and Jerusalem are obeying the Law of your God, which you are carrying with you.

Ezra was actually sent by Artaxerxes to gather information for the king and his counselors. Others were encouraged to go with Ezra to increase the chance of his success and to strengthen the province of Judah.

¹⁵ Also take with you the silver and gold that the king and those who advise him have given freely to the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem.¹⁶ Also take the silver and gold you receive from the area of Babylon. Take the offerings the Israelites and their priests have given as gifts for the Temple of your God in Jerusalem.¹⁷ With this money buy bulls, male sheep, and lambs, and the grain offerings and drink offerings that go with those sacrifices. Then sacrifice them on the altar in the Temple of your God in Jerusalem.

¹⁸ You and your fellow Jews may spend the silver and gold left over as you want and as God wishes.¹⁹ Take to the God of Jerusalem all the utensils for worship in the Temple of your God,²⁰ which we have given you. Use the royal treasury to pay for anything else you need for the Temple of your God.

Artaxerxes was very generous to Ezra and the work in Jerusalem, allowing him to draw on the king’s treasury for whatever he needed!

²¹ Now I, King Artaxerxes, give this order to all the men in charge of the treasury of Trans-Euphrates: Give Ezra, a priest and a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, whatever he asks for.²² Give him up to seventy-five hundred pounds of silver, six hundred bushels of wheat, six hundred gallons of wine, and six hundred gallons of olive oil. And give him as much salt as he wants.²³ Carefully give him whatever the God of heaven wants for the Temple of the God of heaven. We do not want God to be angry with the king and his sons.

Like other monarchs of the Persian Empire, he wanted to placate the gods of the people and the territory that they had conquered.

²⁴ Remember, you must not make these people pay taxes of any kind: priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Temple servants, and other workers in this Temple of God.

²⁵ And you, Ezra, use the wisdom you have from your God to choose judges and lawmakers to rule the Jewish people of Trans-Euphrates. They know the laws of your God, and you may teach anyone who does not know them.²⁶ Whoever does not obey the law of your God or of the king must be punished. He will be killed, or sent away, or have his property taken away, or be put in jail.

²⁷ Praise the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He caused the king to want to honor the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.

Proverbs 21:1 (NIV)

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

²⁸ The Lord has shown me, Ezra, his love in the presence of the king, those who advise the king, and the royal officers. Because the Lord my God was helping me, I had courage, and I gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me.

Ezra had the will to lead.

_________________________

Music:

It has been a long haul for these Israelites. They know the story — how God chose them, out of His goodness, to be His people, and gave them the Law and kings and prophets and priests. And how they disobeyed so intentionally and constantly that God had to send them out into exile, for they were unworthy, unteachable, unreachable. And here, wonder of wonders, God in His lovingkindness calls them back to Himself and to Jerusalem.

HERE  is Michael W. Smith and “Never Been Unloved.”

_________________________

New Century Version (NCV)   The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Images courtesy of:

Ezra teaching the Law.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/ezra.jpg

Artaxerxes.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxerxes_I_of_Persia#/media/File:Artaxerxes_I_at_Naqsh-e_Rostam.jpg

reading the Bible.    https://truediscipleship.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/bible-reading-23.jpg

2555.) Proverbs 23

Proverbs 23   (NIV)

When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what is before you,
² and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
³ Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.

“It is a shame for a saint to be a slave to his palate. Isaac loved venison too, too well.”

–John Trapp

⁴ Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
have the wisdom to show restraint.
⁵ Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

Riches do not consist in the possession of treasures, but in the use made of them.

–Napoleon Bonaparte

He who multiplies riches, multiplies cares.

–Benjamin Franklin

Riches have wings.

–King Solomon

⁶ Do not eat the food of a stingy man,
do not crave his delicacies;
⁷ for he is the kind of man
who is always thinking about the cost.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
⁸ You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.

⁹ Do not speak to a fool,
for he will scorn the wisdom of your words.

To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it.
– Wilson Mizner

A leader must have the courage to act against an expert’s advice.
– James Callaghan

“Be yourself” is about the worst advice you can give to some people.
– J B Priestley

Unruly ambition is deaf, not only to the advice of friends, but to the counsels and monitions of reason itself.
– Sir Roger L’Estrange

When your mother asks, ‘Do you want a piece of advice?’ it is a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.
– Erma Bombeck

¹⁰ Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
¹¹ for their Defender is strong;
he will take up their case against you.

Do not remove the ancient landmark: Literally, the ancient landmark was normally a stone marker for a property line. Moving the landmark was a way to make your field bigger and to steal from your neighbor. Symbolically, the ancient landmark was a tradition or custom from ancestors.

–David Guzik

¹² Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.

“There is no easy way to gain instruction. It requires discipline and application. Disregard the ads that promise it in ‘three easy lessons.'”

–William MacDonald

¹³ Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
¹⁴ Punish him with the rod
and save his soul from death.

¹⁵ My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad;
¹⁶ my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.

3 John 1:4  (ESV)

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

¹⁷ Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
¹⁸ There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹ Listen, my son, and be wise,
and keep your heart on the right path.
²⁰ Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
²¹ for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

²² Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.

²³ Buy the truth and do not sell it;
get wisdom, discipline and understanding.
²⁴ The father of a righteous man has great joy;
he who has a wise son delights in him.
²⁵ May your father and mother be glad;
may she who gave you birth rejoice!

²⁶ My son, give me your heart
and let your eyes keep to my ways,
²⁷ for a prostitute is a deep pit
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
²⁸ Like a bandit she lies in wait,
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

Quick.  Give me 10 men, off the top of your head, who you know or who have been in the news in a negative light because of illicit affairs.

Now, isn’t it telling that coming up with that list is so easy to do?

Who says the Bible is old and out-dated?

²⁹ Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰ Those who linger over wine,
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
³¹ Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
³² In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
³³ Your eyes will see strange sights
and your mind imagine confusing things.
³⁴ You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
³⁵ “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”

Yet there is hope in Jesus for the drunkard and drug addict. “Is anything too hard for the Lord? May his name be praised for a full deliverance from the enslavement to sin—to all sins and to every individual sin—and even from the chains of this giant sin. The drunkard becomes sober, the unclean holy, the glutton temperate. The love of Christ overpowers the love of sin.”

–Charles Bridges

_________________________

Music:

Don’t those last few verses sound like song you have heard on the country music station?! Here’s Johnny Cash singing Kris Kristoffersen’s classic “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” Can’t say the lyrics are particularly edifying but they prove the point of the last few verses of this chapter of Proverbs, and it’s Johnny Cash! Click  HERE  to listen!

Or you may prefer something more edifying.  HERE  is Pat Barrett and “Hymn of the Holy Spirit,” asking for divine guidance in all of life.

_________________________

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)   Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Images courtesy of:

My child, listen . . .    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/508343876661102242/

wealth delusion.     https://apmgoldbulliondealers.com/precious-metals-blog

advice.    http://www.funnyjunksite.com/pictures/funny-advice-pictures/always-listen-to-good-advice/

boundary line.   https://minutemansignsinc.com/shop/square-boundary-marking-posted-sign/

Listen to your father . . .   http://oneyearbibleimages.com/proverbs23_22.jpg

Men in the news for sexual misconduct.    https://www.necn.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/The-Powerful-Men-Accused-of-Sexual-Harassment-452785093.html

drunk.   http://smartsayingsfortoday.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/drunk-with-wine-bottle.jpg