Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
April 2, 2003
Introduction
Nehemiah has arrived on the scene from Persia. He’s toured the city of Jerusalem
and then gathered the people together and challenged them to build.
As the work starts, there is opposition.
Satan never wants you to serve the Lord.
Nehemiah 6
:1-9 More trouble
:1 …(though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)
The walls are up but the gates aren’t finished.
:2 Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of
Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.
Ono – ‘Ownow
– “vigorous”; city in Benjamin. 19 miles north of Jerusalem.
A good place for assassination.
mischief – ra‘– bad, evil
Lesson
Distraction
Their intent was to probably assassinate Nehemiah, but it came off as if
they simply wanted to talk, a long ways from Jerusalem.
Even if they didn’t kill Nehemiah, perhaps his absence for a couple of days
would discourage the people.
The trouble is being distracted from what God has called you to do.
This is one of the reasons why we don’t finish the things we set out to do.
We get sidetracked.
:3 I am doing a great work…why should the work cease
Lesson
Priorities
Nehemiah knew what he needed to do.
He wasn’t going to be distracted from what was important.
Illustration
Procrastinators Creed...
1. I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would
have been done already.
2. I shall never move quickly, except to avoid more work
or to find excuses.
3. I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of
consideration.
4. I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion
to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.
5. I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility
for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my
obligations.
6. I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle,
though infinitesimally small, is never exactly zero.
7. If at first I don't succeed, there is always next year.
:7 …saying, There is a king in Judah
…
Some have suggested that Malachi may have been prophesying at this time and
that Sanaballat was twisting Malachi’s words about
the coming Messiah.
(Mal 3:1 KJV) Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to
his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he
shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Lesson
Threats and Lies
The danger was that if the Persian government thought that Nehemiah was
setting himself up as an independent king, then they’d have to put down the
revolt with force.
Sometimes the enemy will try and stop us by lying.
I’m sorry, but have you heard any of this stuff that the Iraqi Information
Minister has been saying? He’s quite a good
actor. He can say the most amazing lies
and not even flinch.
:9 …Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
Lesson
Prayer
Again, Nehemiah prays.
:10-14 False Prophets
:10 … Shemaiah …Let us meet together in the house
of God…
Shemaiah – Sh@ma‘yah – “heard by Jehovah”. The name “Shemaiah”
is quite a popular name in the Old Testament. It appears 10 times in the book
of Nehemiah alone. Though it’s not too clear whether any of the other Shemaiah’s are the same as this guy, it is a popular name
among the priests.
If this guy was a priest, that would make sense why he wants to meet
Nehemiah in the Temple.
Lesson
Fear
The idea was to make Nehemiah be so afraid that he would be assassinated
that he would run and hide in the Temple
and never come out.
The problem is that Nehemiah would never get any work done hiding in the Temple.
:12 …I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this
prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
prophecy – n@buw’ah – prophecy; specific and genuine; false
Lesson
False prophecy
There is a danger that comes once we come to the point of believing that
God can still speak through people today.
The danger is that prophecy can be abused.
Some people may have good intentions, but the ideas that come out of their
mouths are not God’s, they’re their own ideas.
Other people may not have good intentions. Some people will use the
“prophecy” thing as a way of getting others to do what they want.
This would seem to be the case with Nehemiah and Shemaiah.
Illustration
I read an article in Newsweek (03-21-03) that described some of the ways that
Elizabeth Smart’s kidnappers may have kept her from
running away:
…His ploy may have been to exploit her religious beliefs.
As an excommunicated Mormon, Mitchell could speak her language. His references
resonated with the Scriptures that Elizabeth
would have learned in Primary classes. Changing her name (she initially told
police she was “Augustine”) and dressing her in white robes were acts that
mirror sacred Mormon practices. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints wear long, white robes in the temple, and they are given new
names (not used outside the temple) when they wed. As a predator, Mitchell
would have been uniquely able to spin his own blend of perverted Mormon
doctrine in persuading Elizabeth to
become his “second wife.” (The LDS church has considered polygamy ground for
excommunication since 1890.) Mitchell would have made her believe that he was
“not only her savior, but her spiritual leader, husband, father and lover,”
says John Llewellyn, a polygamy expert and former Salt
Lake City sex-crimes investigator. Elizabeth, an
obedient child, would have been particularly susceptible. “She was a remarkable
girl, but with a passive personality,” the family’s Mormon bishop, Dave
Hamblin, said two weeks ago, “which has led to some of these issues with not
being able to get away.”
…The techniques Adkison says
Mitchell used to keep her in the park—expounding on LDS doctrine and claiming
personal revelation from God—would have been effective with Elizabeth
as well because they echo fundamental Mormon beliefs. The church was founded
after Joseph Smith, the church’s first prophet, claimed to have received a
revelation from God in 1820. Mormons believe that modern prophets are also
privy to revelation.
Illustration
Yesterday there was an announcement that Saddam Hussein
was going to address the nation of Iraq. It was a bit of a let down when his
information minister read the statement.
But I found it interesting that Saddam has decided to resort to the “God
tells me” routine. The statement claimed
that God was telling the people of Iraq
to go and fight the infidel American invaders and that if they died they would
definitely go to heaven because God would think their sacrifice was acceptable.
Do you believe what the statement said? Why does Saddam Hussein (or somebody trying
to speak for him), known in the Islamic world as a secular dictator, resort to
the “Godspeak” routine? Because he’s getting desperate. He’s trying to keep what little control he
has left on the country.
We too believe that God speaks through people today, but we need to be
careful to also follow what the Scripture says regarding prophecy:
(1 Cor 14:29 KJV) Let the prophets
speak two or three, and let the other judge.
We need to be careful to “judge” what is being claimed to
be spoken for God.
Are the things being spoken consistent with the
Scriptures? God does not contradict Himself.
Are the things the person says about God consistent with the
Scriptures?
(Deu 13:1-3 KJV) If
there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, {2} And the sign or the
wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other
gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; {3} Thou shalt not
hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD
your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the
LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
If there is a prediction, does the prediction come true?
(Deu 18:22 KJV) When a
prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the
thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not
spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid
of him.
Lastly, there is a witness that the Holy Spirit can give
us concerning these things (but you have to be careful not to confuse your
feelings with discernment)
(1 John 2:27 KJV) But the anointing which ye have
received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that
any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth
you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you,
ye shall abide in him.
God doesn’t take it too lightly when someone claims to be speaking for Him
and He isn’t speaking.
(Deu 13:10 KJV) And thou shalt
stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away
from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the
house of bondage.
:14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the
prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets,
that would have put me in fear.
More prayer.
Apparently there were others involved in this false prophesying.
This must have been tough for Nehemiah – there was more than one “witness”.
:15-19 Walls are finished
:15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul,
in fifty and two days.
The wall was completed on Sept. 21,
444 B.C. They saw this accomplishment as God’s doing.
:18 For there were many in Judah
sworn unto him…
Tobiah had connections with important Jews
through marriage.
Lesson
Compromise
The wall is up, but there’s a new threat, something that could cause much
trouble, almost as if tearing down the wall.
Some of the Jewish leaders had allowed their children to intermarry with Tobiah the Ammonite.
Perhaps they had taken the tact of trying to marry the enemy rather than
defeat him.
Now these relationships were going to cause Nehemiah trouble.
Illustration
We have a block wall in our backyard.
Many years ago (before our time), the neighbors sharing the wall built a
wooden fence and the fence was screwed into our block wall. The neighbors then allowed the vicious
death-vine-of-Placentia to grow on the fence. The fence has long since been completely
overgrown by the vine. When the winds
came along this year, the vine (which as far higher than the fence) didn’t
stand up too well to the wind. The vines
began to be blown over into the neighbor’s yard, pulling their fence with
it. And because the fence was screwed
into our block wall, it’s started taking the entire top row of blocks with it.
When we have these “unequally yoked” relationships, we’re going to find
that when the fence goes down, the wall can go too.
Be careful about attaching yourself to something that’s going to bring you
down.
Nehemiah 7
:1-3 Guards set up
:2 That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah
the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem:
for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.
Hanani – Chananiy – “gracious”. We think this was
Nehemiah’s literal brother. This was the
same “brother” that came to Nehemiah while he was serving the king in Persia
and told him of the condition of Jerusalem.
(Neh 1:2-3 KJV) That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and
certain men of Judah;
and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the
captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
{3} And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in
the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken
down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
Hananiah – Chananyah – “God has favoured”
palace – the fortress that protected the Temple.
:3 Let not the gates of Jerusalem
be opened until the sun be hot …
Rules were set up about how to work the gates. Operating hours for the city.
Lesson
Keep the gates closed at night.
Makes sense for a city to stay protected.
We too live in a very dark world.
We need to be careful to keep the “gates” of our lives closed to the
darkness of the world.
The “gate” is the place where you let things into your life, like your
eyes, ears, nose, etc.
:4-5 Nehemiah records genealogies
:4 Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein
They have a city with not too many inhabitants.
Without enough inhabitants, they won’t have enough people to keep watch on
the walls at night.
They’re going to deal with this problem in Nehemiah 11, casting lots to see
who gets to live in Jerusalem.
:5 And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the
rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy
Why does Nehemiah want to track people by genealogy?
It seems that Nehemiah is going to eventually populate the city with people
who are pure Jews.
The “register” is the list found in Ezra 2.
:6-73 Those who returned
This is a list of the people who returned from the captivity with
Zerubbabel.
This list is the same as the one found in Ezra 2:1-70.
Nehemiah 8
:1-8 The people gather to be taught
:1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the
street that was before the water gate
There are going to be thousands (perhaps 50,000) of people coming. This must be a large place to meet.
:2 upon the first day of the seventh month.
This is the beginning of the Feast of Trumpets, Sept. 27, 444 B.C. The walls have only been complete for six
days (Neh. 6:15).
(Lev 23:24
KJV) Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a
sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
I’ve often thought that one of the purposes for the Feast of Trumpets was
to remind the people of the upcoming feasts that would follow later on in the
month.
:3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate
from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that
could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book
of the law.
from the morning until midday
– 4-6 hours of church.
those that could understand – biyn – to discern, understand, consider; (Hiphil)
to understand; to cause to understand, give understanding, teach
Why we primarily target our services to adults – to those who can
understand.
The children’s classes can than teach the children at their own level.
attentive – not in the Hebrew, literally, “the ears of all the
people were unto the book of the law”
:4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood …
pulpit – migdal – tower; elevated stage, pulpit; raised
bed
We think of a “pulpit” as something like a podium or a stand to hold notes.
Here it seems to be more of something that put Ezra and his helpers above the
people so they could all hear better.
:5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was
above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
all the people stood up – out of respect for the Scriptures
Lesson
Respect for God’s Word
I wonder sometimes if we don’t perhaps lack a little bit of the respect we
ought to have for God’s Word.
I had a professor in seminary who came from an orthodox, Jewish, rabbinical
background (Dr. Charles Feinberg). He was in his eighties and came across a
little bit on the cranky side, but I remember taking the class because it was
to be his last semester teaching, and it would be something you couldn’t pass
up on. I remember at the beginning of the semester how he rebuked some of the
guys in the class because they had put their Bibles on the rack under their
desks. He then lectured us on the importance of holding God’s Word in
reverence. Perhaps he was a bit excessive, but I still wonder if there isn’t
some value in learning respect for God’s Word.
Suppose you received a handwritten letter from the President of the United
States. How would you treat something like
that? Would you treat it as a treasure? Would you wad it up and toss it in the
trash? Would you make a paper airplane out of it?
We have a letter from God.
We have to be careful about not taking this to the extreme
where we put our Bible in a glass case and never read it. I also don’t think
it’s sacrilegious to underline things in your Bible. It’s a book to be used. And
respected.
:6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered,
Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and
worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
blessed – barak – to bless, kneel
Amen – ‘amen – verily,
truly, amen, so be it
Illustration
Amen Preacher
Two elderly, excited Southern women were sitting together in the front pew
of church listening to a fiery preacher. When this preacher condemned the sin
of stealing, these two ladies cried out at the tops of their lungs, “AMEN,
BROTHER!” When the preacher condemned the sin of lust, they yelled again,
“PREACH IT, REVEREND!” And when the preacher condemned the sin of lying, they
jumped to their feet and screamed, “RIGHT ON, BROTHER! TELL IT LIKE IT
IS...AMEN!” But when the preacher condemned the sin of gossip, the two got very
quiet, and one turned to the other and said, “He’s quit preaching and now he’s meddlin’.”
lifting up their hands – some feel that the lifting of the hands
might be symbolic of receiving God’s blessings.
Others see it as a sign of surrender.
Others see it as a display of praise.
bowed – qadad – (Qal) to
bow down
worshipped – shachah – to bow down; (Hithpael) to bow down,
prostrate oneself
faces to the ground – humility
Lesson
Worship
I find it interesting that before the people are taught the Word, they
enter into worship of the Lord.
:7 …caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their
place.
caused … to understand – biyn – to discern,
understand, consider; (Hiphil) to understand; to
cause to understand, give understanding, teach
The people are still standing. A
long time.
:8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the
sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
read – qara’ – to call, call out, recite, read, cry
out, proclaim
distinctly – parash – to make distinct, declare,
distinguish, separate; (Pual) to be distinctly
declared
gave – suwm – to put, place, set, appoint, make
the sense – sekel – prudence, insight,
understanding. Some see this as
translation:
(Neh 8:8 NASB) And they read from the book, from the law of
God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.
Some of the people may only understand Aramaic, so they are translating
from Hebrew to Aramaic.
caused them to understand – biyn – to discern,
understand, consider
Lesson
Expository preaching
We have a definition here of “expository preaching”
1 – Read the Word. The message ought to be based on the Word of God
2 – Give the sense. Make sure that the sense of the passage is clear. Are
there things that are hard to understand? Are there words or phrases that might
be misunderstood? Perhaps there needs to
be “translation”.
3 – Cause them to understand. I think this is taking #2 one step further. I
think part of the responsibility of the teacher is to make sure that there’s a
connection going on. What’s the point of the whole thing?
:9-12 The people taught how to respond
:9 …the Tirshatha…For all the people wept, when
they heard the words of the law.
the Tirshatha – Tirshatha’ – Tirshatha-governor; a title used by
the Persian governor in Judea
Lesson
God’s Word brings conviction
It would seem that the people were weeping because of the conviction
brought by the Word.
Specifically, the conviction is coming from the Law, because that is what
Ezra and his helpers are reading.
The Law shows us our need for a Savior:
(Gal 3:24 KJV)
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we
might be justified by faith.
God is at work in the peoples’ hearts as they hear the Word.
:10 … for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy
of the LORD is your strength.
holy – qadowsh – sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set
apart
sorry – ‘atsab
– to hurt, pain, grieve, displease, vex, wrest; (Niphal)
to be in pain, be pained, be grieved
joy – chedvah – joy, gladness
strength – ma‘owz – place or means of safety, protection,
refuge, stronghold
(Neh 8:10 ICB)
“…The joy of the Lord will make you strong."
They are to have a party and share good things with those who are in need.
Lesson
A time to be joyful
This doesn’t mean that the people are never to mourn over their sins and
repent. They will be doing that in a
couple of weeks. It’s just not the right
time.
This is supposed to be a time for joy because they have finally completed
the wall.
Not joy just for joy’s sake (like, “Don’t worry, be happy”)
Sometimes you have to put your sadness away and give praise to the Lord.
And you just can’t say, “Well I don’t feel like it right now”.
This is a part of worship. We need
to praise Him whether we “feel” like it or not.
(Heb 13:15-16 KJV) By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice
of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to
his name. {16} But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such
sacrifices God is well pleased.
These are the same things the people were commanded to do.
Sometimes praise is a “sacrifice”.
Lesson
Strength in joy
There is joy in God’s presence.
(Psa 16:11
KJV) Thou wilt show me the path of life:
in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for
evermore.
We gain strength from the Lord as we learn to praise Him, whether or not we
“feel” like it.
:11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the
day is holy; neither be ye grieved.
Lesson
Emotions are a choice
We may not want to hear this, but I think that most of our emotions come
from our will. We make a choice to be
happy or sad.
The people have been sad, but they are encouraged and they turn the day
into one of joy.
I think you have a choice of how you are going to feel right now.
(Prov 15:15 KJV)
All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart
hath a continual feast.
Do you want your day to be “afflicted”, or one of a “merry
heart”?
:12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send
portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that
were declared unto them.
mirth – simchah – joy, mirth, gladness
:13-18 Tabernacles is celebrated
:13 And on the second day were gathered together …
Perhaps one day wasn’t enough.
Some have suggested that at some point the Feast of Trumpets grew from a
one day celebration to a two day celebration.
Missler’s idea of the “last trump” – the trumpet
blast on the second day.
Some have suggested that this is what is meant by:
(1 Cor 15:51-52 KJV) Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed, {52} In a moment, in the twinkling of
an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
:14 And they found written … Israel
should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:
The Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth)
(Lev 23:34
KJV) Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of
tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
They’ve got a little less than two weeks before Tabernacles.
:17 for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun …
Jeshua – Joshua, the leader who brought the people into the Promised
Land.
The Feast of Tabernacles had kept a couple of times since the time of
Joshua. It had been kept in the time of
Solomon (1Ki. 8:65), but apparently not in the same fashion. Perhaps they didn’t do the “booths” thing.
:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the
book of the law of God…a solemn assembly…
It was like a big huge retreat. They
studied the Word for seven days.
solemn assembly – ‘atsarah – assembly, solemn assembly; assembly (sacred
or festive meeting); assemblage, company, group
from ‘atsar
– to restrain, retain, close up, shut, withhold, refrain, stay, detain
Does this carry the idea of the people gathering together and being quiet?