Nehemiah

Nehemiah

Historical Background and Purpose

The Babylonians conquered Judah in 586 BC.  The Medo-Persians conquered the Babylonians in 539 BC.  King Cyrus of Persia then allowed all of the Jews to return to Jerusalem; however, only a small remnant (approximately 50,000) of them returned.  The Jews immediately built an altar.  They eventually finished building the Temple in Jerusalem.  In approximately 446 BC, Nehemiah was serving as the cupbearer for King Artaxerxes I of Persia.  While serving in this capacity, he learned that things had not been going well for the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem.  He discovered that the wall of Jerusalem had been torn down and its gates had been destroyed by fire (see Nehemiah 1:3).  When he heard this, he sat down and wept.  For days, Nehemiah mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven (see Nehemiah 1:4-11).  Nehemiah then resolved to do the impossible with God; He resolved to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and its gates.  Nehemiah prepared himself and presented his request to the king.  King Artaxerxes I of Persia gave Nehemiah his full support.  Nehemiah exercised Godly wisdom while leading God's people in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and its gates.  Nehemiah faced tremedous obstaces all along the way; however, he successfully overcame each and every challenge!  This ultimately resulted in the wall of Jerusalem and its gates being completely rebuilt in just 52 days!  Nehemiah not only led the way in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and its gates, he led the way in restoring God's people to God as well.  The book of Nehemiah is a historical account of God's people during the time of Nehemiah.  The book of Nehemiah reminded the people of Judah of who God is and who they are as His people. 

Character and Nature of God

God loves to hear the prayers of His people.  The book of Nehemiah records various prayers by Nehemiah (e.g. Nehemiah 1:4-11, Nehemiah 4:4-5, Nehemiah 13:29).  God loves to hear His people sing His praises (see Nehemiah 9:5-38).  God desires His people to obey His covenant and receive His blessings rather than His people disobey His covenant and receive His curses.  God had commanded His people to honor the Sabbath and He expects His people to honor the Sabbath (see Nehemiah 13:15-22).  God expects His people to be faithful to Him; God does not want His people to marry unbelievers (see Nehemiah 13:23-29).  God's people are set apart for Him and God expects His people to live accordingly. 

God's Redemptive Plan for Mankind

God had made a covenant with His people and Nehemiah reminded them of their covenant with God.  Basically, God would bless His people if they obeyed the terms of the covenant and God would curse (punish) His people if they disobeyed the terms of the covenant.  God loves His people and God has provided a way for His people to be blessed.  God loves His people and He desires to bless His people; therefore, God encourages His people to be obedient to Him.  In this book, God used Nehemiah to remind the people of Judah of their covenant with God.  In doing so, Nehemiah reminded the people of Judah of who their God is and who they are - God's people. 

Personal Application / Point of Passion

My personal application to the book of Nehemiah is to remind myself of my covenant with God.  In doing so, I am reminded of who God is and who I am as His child.  I am reminded that I am to be set apart for Him.  My words and my actions should reflect that I belong to Him.  I am reminded that God blesses those who are obedient to Him; however, I am also reminded that God curses those who are disobedient to Him.  My point of passion is to know God and to make Him known.  In order to know God better, I am choosing to be faithfully obedient to God and His Word.  In order to better make Him known, I am encouraging others to faithfully obey God and His Word as well.