I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Nehemiah 11-13.

    When the Jews completed rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem they discovered that not enough people were actually living in the city for it to be a function as a city (at least that is how I read this passage). So, the decision was made to select people from all of the towns where the Jews who had returned from exile were living. They cast lots to select one out of every ten to move to Jerusalem. It appears to me that initially the only people from the returned exiles who chose to live in Jerusalem were those involved with Temple worship and governing the people. However, for their continued residence in Jerusalem to be viable there needed to be other people living there, people whose job would be providing them with the goods and services that are basic necessities (food, clothing, etc).

    Once Jerusalem’s wall was rebuilt, Nehemiah returned to the Persian capital. Some time after that he requested, and received, permission to return to Jerusalem. Upon his return he found that things had slipped. Tobiah, an official of one of the neighboring regions (probably of similar authority in that region to what Nehemiah had in Jerusalem), had acquired the use of Temple storerooms. The portions of the offerings which were supposed to go to the Levites had been redirected, forcing the Levites to support themselves in other ways. The people of Jerusalem had begun doing business on the Sabbath (despite their earlier pledge to keep the Sabbath regulations). The Jews, the returned exiles, had begun intermarrying with the people of the surrounding area who worshiped other gods. They were led in this by the grandson of the high priest, who married the daughter of the governor of Samaria in what was certainly a political marriage. This example from the family of the high priest suggests that these marriages were made in order to seal political and commercial alliances. When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem he cracked down on all of these things. It seems that in his first stint as governor of Jerusalem, Nehemiah got the people to follow the Law by convincing them to do so. During his second stint he appears to have used more force. The “backsliding” recounted in today’s passage indicates the importance of a strong leader to keep people focused on doing God’s will.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Nehemiah 9-10.

    After celebrating the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall and the Festival of Shelters, the returned Exiles gathered to mourn and confess their sins. For the second time the entire Book of the Law was read to them, which took three hours. They followed this up by spending another three hours confessing their sin and worshiping God…and we think the service is too long if it goes over an hour. At the end of this service of confession and worship the leaders prayed acknowledging that the difficult situation the people found themselves in was a just punishment for the sins which they had committed. They concluded the service by renewing the covenant which the people of Israel had made with God at Mt Sinai.

    While they promised to follow all of God’s commands, a little can be learned about being faithful from paying attention to the commands of God which they highlighted. First, they refused to intermarry with the pagan people of the land (saying nothing about those people of the land who gave up pagan worship and began worshiping God). Second, they promised to keep the Sabbath, including the Sabbath Year. They promised to make provisions for the maintenance of the Temple (the place of worship) and for the services conducted there. Finally, they promised to acknowledge that everything they had was a gift from God by giving a portion of it back for God’s ministry.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Nehemiah 7-8.

    When rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall was completed Nehemiah began to make plans for his return to the capital. First he divided the responsibility for governing the city up between his brother and the commander of the city guard and gave them instructions concerning maintaining its defenses. Second, he created a registration of the people of the city, using the genealogies brought back by the original returned Exiles to establish that people were who they claimed to be. There were some who believed themselves to be descended from priests who did not appear in the genealogical records. It is worth noting that while they were initially banned from partaking in the duties and privileges of the priesthood, this was only until a priest could consult God using the sacred lots (which we have long since lost the format and methodology of using).

    As part of Nehemiah’s preparation to return to the Persian capital he gathered the people in order to have Ezra read the Law of Moses to them. It is interesting to see the arrangements they made so that everyone could hear the Law read (various individuals standing on platforms at a distance from each other apparently reading in unison). However, what struck me today is that the people appear to have responded to hearing the Law similar to how King Josiah had done. The passage tells us that their leaders had to tell them not to mourn, that this was a day of celebration. It seems likely that the people were mournful because as they heard the Law read and explained they realized that they had failed to obey it faithfully. This idea is supported by the fact that they created a commission to study the Law and determine in greater detail what they should be doing. It is worth noting that it was this commission which called for the celebration of the Festival of Shelters, not Ezra the scribe, who had been studying the Law for years. The commission studied the Law together and came to this conclusion. It was not an edict handed down from Ezra’s authority as a student of the Law.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Nehemiah 4-6.

    Today’s passage tells us about the obstacles which the returned exiles had rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. First of all they faced external opposition. The external opposition ridiculed them and tried to get them to give up out of embarrassment. When that did not work, the opposition attempted to frighten them into giving up. Nehemiah met both of these assaults head on. He reminded the workers that they were doing God’s work and that God would cause those who mocked His people to experience mockery. In a subtle way Nehemiah reminded the workers that the best way to repay those who mocked their efforts was to succeed. As for dealing with the threats, Nehemiah put some of his own work force on guard and encouraged everyone to be prepared to respond if attacked. We do not know if the enemies only ever planned on trying to frighten the Jews with the threat of attack, or if they gave up their plans when they saw the preparations to meet them when they attacked, but the attack never came. Finally, when they realized that Nehemiah could keep the worker’s spirits up in the face of their attacks, they went after him directly. First, they attempted to lure him out to a place where they could arrange for something to befall him. When that failed, they attempted to get him to act frightened by taking security measures which the workers would be unable to duplicate. Nehemiah refused to give their lies any credence (the ones they used in their attempt to lure him out), and he refused to allow them to intimidate him. He took the same risks which the workers took.

    The other obstacle which the Jews faced in rebuilding the walls was internal. The nobles and other wealthy individuals were making themselves richer at the expense of their poorer brethren. When the people came to Nehemiah to complain his initial reaction was anger, but he took the time to think things through before he acted. Once he came to an understanding of the problem he called for a public meeting. There he confronted those who were guilty of creating this problem, and even acknowledged that he had been guilty to some extent. He proposed a solution and applied it to himself as well as asking others to step up. Nehemiah did not use his position to make himself richer.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Nehemiah 1-3.

    When Nehemiah learned that the situation in Jerusalem was bad, he did not immediately act, nor did he put it aside. Instead he prayed and fasted, seeking God’s guidance. In addition, it seems like he planned what he could do. Once Nehemiah thought he had a plan that he believed to have God’s blessing he turned to God in prayer and acknowledged his sinfulness. At every step of the way, Nehemiah prayed before he acted. Not only did he pray, but he acknowledged his own sin. I want to emphasize that before Nehemiah asked God to give him success when he went before the king, which he did before he went before the king, he had a detailed plan and knew what he would require. He was prepared for success. He had the answer to the king’s questions about how long it would take and what he would need to accomplish his task.

    When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he did not reveal his plans until he was able to make a site survey. We do not know why Sanballat, Tobaih, and their allies opposed rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, but it is clear from the beginning that they did. They seem to have viewed any success by the returned exiles as an affront. It seems as if they were afraid that if the Jews rebuilt Jerusalem it would show their own people that they did not have to be satisfied with what they allowed them to have. The rebuilding of Jerusalem would demonstrate that a group of people working together could improve their lot in life and not be stuck in whatever rut they found themselves.