(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 4:1-14) As with the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord, the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall also was greatly challenged by their neighbors. Sanballet, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod, were greatly angered at the work being done in the city of Jerusalem and tried to discourage them and […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 3:1-32) As we read the list of names of the people that worked on rebuilding the wall, and what sections they contributed to, what stood out to me was the repeated use of the words “next to.” This wasn’t an individual effort, but a group effort, and although each individual or group worked […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 2:11-20) 11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 2:1-10) Up to this point, Nehemiah had only heard about the city of Jerusalem, and had not yet set his own eyes on the city ruins. However, this was all that Nehemiah needed to stir his heart. Seeing would come afterwards. We often say that “seeing is believing,” but for Nehemiah he didn’t […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 1:1-11) What is in your heart? What do you feel? What do you have a burden for? What should we do about these emotions, these burdens, and even these tears? The answer from today’s Scripture is pray for what is in your heart. Nehemiah was living in Persia as a descendant of one of the exiles […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 10:18-44) And so we come to the end of the Book of Ezra with a list of names of those priests that had married foreign wives. We see that although they had repented and committed to doing what was right, their names are captured for all of time in the Holy Bible. Their […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 10:1-17) It is probably difficult for us to understand the problem Israel faced, since our acceptance into the family of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is no longer based on our bloodline, but rather on the Spirit. However, for Israel, being the chosen people of God was directly related to their […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 9:1-15) I. WHAT HAPPENED? 1 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 8:15-36) 21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 8:1-14) While reading today’s genealogy of those that returned with Ezra to Jerusalem, I began considering the timing of their return. About eighty years prior, the first group led by Zerubbabel and Joshua came back to Jerusalem with one clear goal, and that was to rebuild the temple of the Lord. This first […]