(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 8:1-18 ) When the word of God was read and explained so that all who could hear would understand, it brought about great emotion amongst the crowd. That there was mourning and weeping means that the word of God had not only been heard by the ear, but that it had touched the heart. […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 7:4-73 ) 4 Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt. 5 So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 6:15-19, Nehemiah 7:1-3 ) The wall had been rebuilt. Now everyone can breathe a sigh of relief, right? No, now it was time for them to put the wall, the gates, and the doors to use. Everyone now needed to be even more diligent in protecting themselves and the city to make sure […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 6:1-14) Nehemiah and the Jews endured great opposition in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. However, this was nothing new for this post-exilic community. The rebuilding of the temple of the Lord also came with great opposition. The challenging thing about this opposition was that it didn’t just come once, and then just disappear. […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 5:1-19) One of the challenges that the Jews faced upon returning to Jerusalem was an imbalance in the resources that the people needed to survive, especially during a time of famine. In response, there was an outcry: 1 Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. 2 […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 4:15-23) As Christians, it should be our desire to do the work. The work is the good work that God prepared in advance for us to do. The work should be for His kingdom, and is not for our salvation, but as a response to the salvation we have in Christ. To do […]
(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 […]