THROUGH THE BIBLE (Nehemiah)

By Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III, BA, MA, DD

LESSON NOTES:

I.                  THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE ENTIRE BIBLE. If you understand that the Bible is written to show us how humanity was created for God, fell into sin, was reconciled through Christ (who was the product of a family) and God will restore everything through His sacrifice on the Cross; then you have the message of the entire Bible.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ¹⁷Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ¹⁸And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. ²¹For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

II.                  THE AUTHOR OF NEHEMIAH. It is believed that Nehemiah himself wrote the book. Whether he did or did not, we believe that it is the inspired Word of God; even though we do not know who the earthly writer was.

2 Timothy 3:16 ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

III.            WHAT IS THE THEME AND PURPOSE OF NEHEMIAH? As we learned in Ezra the temple was rebuilt. However, there was no city wall to protect neither the temple nor the inhabitants of the city. The book of Nehemiah records the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. It also records the recommitment of the Jews to God and His commandments. This is important; to have a nation prepared to eventually receive the Promised Redeemer.

IV.            WHAT DOES THE NAME NEHEMIAH MEAN? It means, “the Lord comforts or consoles” Nehemiah had no comfort when he learned about the plight of his home capital of Jerusalem. But, he is comforted, once the walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt. God gives him favor.

A.             NEHEMIAH’S PRAYER FOR FAVOR.

1.               NEHEMIAH GETS THE REPORT OF THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM BEING TORN DOWN.

Nehemiah 1:1-4. ¹The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, ²Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. ³They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." ⁴When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

                                                               a.                        JERUSALEM WAS IN RUINS. Remember this happened years before by Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Babylonians. Nehemiah lived a long way from home in Persia. One day some travelers came through and Nehemiah asked how things were going in in his old homeland. His homeland was what we would call today the “Holy Land.”

                                                               b.                        NEHEMIAH WAS HURT. He found out that not only had a lot of people been banished and exiled from the land; but those who still lived there were suffering tremendously. The walls of the capital city of Jerusalem had been broken down and the city gates had been burned.

2.               NEHEMIAH’S PRAYER TO GOD TO TOUCH THE HEART OF THE KING.

Nehemiah 1:11.O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

a.               ARTAXERXES WAS THE KING. He lived almost 500 years before Jesus walked the Earth. His name means, “great king.” He was the king of Persia (the area where the modern day nation of Iran is located).

b.               NEHEMIAH WAS ARTAXERXES’ CUPBEARER. Nehemiah was not a big time prophet. He was a Jew that was on the staff of King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah was trustworthy and always cheerful; therefore, his boss, the king, liked him.

3.               WHAT IS A CUPBEARER? In these ancient nations, the people did and yet do drink a whole lot of wine. When we think of the term “cupbearer” many times what comes to mind is the person who brings the king his cup of wine. That is only partially true. Back during those times, it was common for people to attempt to assassinate the king by putting poison in his wine. To avoid being killed in this manner, the king would appoint a “cupbearer.” The cupbearer had to give his all for the king. Because, he would have to taste the king’s wine before the king drank it. If the wine was poisoned the cupbearer would die!

a.               HERE WERE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BEING A CUPBEARER:    

                                                                                          i.                        TRUST. The king had to trust you. The king’s life was in the cupbearer’s hands, so the king had to have total confidence in his cupbearer. The fact that a foreigner, like Nehemiah, could obtain this high of an office is a great testimony to his character.

                                                                                          i.                        LOYALTY. Unquestioned loyalty to the king was a prime requirement. This caused the cupbearer to have special and confidential access to the king.

                                                                                      ii.                        WISDOM. A cupbearer was not just a personal servant but he was also a trusted confidant and advisor. This was an office of great responsibility, power, and honor. This office was so “high” that in one nation, the cupbearer was the fourth highest paid person in the entire kingdom!

                                                                                   iii.                        COMMITMENT. The cupbearer was required to be in the presence of the king every day. Because of this daily access often cupbearers would receive favors that others in the kingdom did not have the privilege of obtaining.

4.               THE KING IS FAVORABLE TOWARD NEHEMIAH.

 

Nehemiah 2:1-8. 

2 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.

² Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,

³ And said unto the king, Let the king live forever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

⁴ Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

⁵ And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.

⁶ And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? And when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

⁷ Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;

⁸ And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

a.               NEHEMIAH’S PRAYER AND REQUEST. The bad news was more than Nehemiah could handle. It hurt to the point that he started (1) fasting (going without food as a sign of dedication to God), (2) confessing his nation’s sins to God and (3) asking God’s help.

b.               NEHEMIAH GETS JUST WHAT HE WANTED! King Artaxerxes saw that Nehemiah was sad. In most cases this could have cost Nehemiah his life! Fortunately, Nehemiah was one of the king’s favorite staff members. Only at the king’s permission, Nehemiah explained to him what was wrong and what he desired: (1) a leave of absence, (2) a letter of endorsement from the king and (3) permission to go and rebuild the walls. Even though that was as bold as it comes, Nehemiah got EVERYTHING he asked for!

c.                NEHEMIAH WAS WILLING TO GIVE ALL FOR THE KING. Nehemiah’s name means, “The Lord Consoles.” God used him mightily to console the Jews, during a very painful time in their history. He had a high place in society and was born and raised in Persia. So he could have easily brushed off any concern for Jerusalem. But, it was on his heart to help his people.  Eventually Nehemiah served for many years as the governor of God’s most precious city on Earth: Jerusalem!

V.                        REBUILDING THE WALLS WAS NOT WITHOUT OPPOSITION. Even though Nehemiah and his team built the walls of Jerusalem in a record 52 days; it was not easy at all.

                             I.            MOCKED AND THREATENED BY FOREIGN OFFICIALS.

Nehemiah 2:19-20 ¹⁹But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?" ²⁰I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."

Nehemiah 4:1-3 ¹When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, ²and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble-burned as they are?" ³Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building-even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!"

Nehemiah 4:10-13 ¹⁰Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall." ¹¹Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work." ¹²Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us." ¹³Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.

                        II.            INTERNAL CONFLICTS

Nehemiah 5:1-5 ¹Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. ²Some were saying, "We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain." ³Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine." ⁴Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. ⁵Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others."

        III.                        PLOT TO KILL NEHEMIAH.

Nehemiah 6:1-4 ¹When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it-though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates- ²Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono." But they were scheming to harm me; ³so I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?" ⁴Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.

        IV.                        FALSE CHARGES AGAINST NEHEMIAH.

Nehemiah 6:5-9 ⁵Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter ⁶in which was written: "It is reported among the nations-and Geshem says it is true-that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king ⁷and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: 'There is a king in Judah!' Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together." ⁸I sent him this reply: "Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head." ⁹They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed." But I prayed, "Now strengthen my hands."

             V.                        BETRAYAL.

Nehemiah 6:10-14 ¹⁰One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, "Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you-by night they are coming to kill you." ¹¹But I said, "Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!" ¹²I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. ¹⁴Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets have been trying to intimidate me.

VI.                        WALL COMPLETED IN A RECORD 52 DAYS! This was a great accomplishment. The temple was rebuilt in Ezra. Now in Nehemiah the city walls are rebuilt in a short amount of time.

Nehemiah 4:6 ⁶So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah 6:15-16 ¹⁵So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

VII.      THE PEOPLE RECOMMIT THEMSELVES TO GOD AND GOD’S WORD.

                         A.            GOD’S WORD IS READ.

Nehemiah 8:1-10 New International Version

8 ¹ all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.

² So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. ³ He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

⁴ Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.

⁵ Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. ⁶ Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

⁷ The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. ⁸ They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.

⁹ Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

¹⁰ Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

                         B.            MIXED MARRIAGES ARE RENOUNCED.

Nehemiah 9:1-2 ¹On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. ²Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors.

                         C.            THE SABBATH IS OBSERVED.

Nehemiah 10:31 ³¹"When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts.

                         D.            JERUSALEM IS REPOPULATED. This is probably the most important thing. Because, it would be here that Messiah would give His life for us.

Nehemiah 11:1-2 ¹Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten of them to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns. ²The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

Luke 9:51 ⁵¹And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,

Luke 13:33 ³³In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day-for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

VIII.      THE DEDICATION OF THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM.

                         A.      OFFERINGS ARE RECEIVED.

Nehemiah 10:39 ³⁹The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and olive oil to the storerooms, where the articles for the sanctuary and for the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the musicians are also kept. "We will not neglect the house of our God."

                         B.      THE WALL IS DEDICATED.

Nehemiah 12:27 ²⁷At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres.

Nehemiah 12:43 ⁴³And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.

   IX.      THE AUDACITY OF SOME PEOPLE. Some people mistake forgiveness to mean that you have to allow a person back into your safe space. That is not forgiveness. Forgiveness is a pardon. But, it does not mean that you have the access that you once had. Tobiah had been one of the main ones to fight the wall project. Nehemiah was perturbed to find out someone had given Tobiah a room in the house of God. Nehemiah proceeds to kick Tobiah out and cleanse the space that he had been occupying.

Nehemiah 13:4-9 ⁴Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, ⁵and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests. ⁶But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Sometime later I asked his permission ⁷and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. ⁸I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room. ⁹I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.

X.                        JESUS IN THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH?

                         A.            JESUS WAS A CUPBEARER!

Nehemiah was a cupbearer for the king. A cupbearer gave his all for the king. The king’s life was in the cupbearer’s hand. The king had to trust him. The cup bearer was the one that tasted the king’s wine and presented it to him to drink. If the wine was poisoned the cupbearer would die, sparing the king’s life. 

In our case it was vice versa. Jesus was and is the King. In the Bible, wine symbolizes joy, gladness and abundance. Satan had poisoned humanity’s cup of wine with sickness poverty and death. Many had drank from the cup of sin and died. But, our life was in the Cupbearer’s (Jesus) hand. Looking at the cup, Jesus knew it was poisonous:

Matthew 20:22. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

Matthew 20:22 (Expanded Bible EXB). But Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. ·Can you [Are you able to] drink the cup [symbolizing suffering, and perhaps God’s judgment experienced by Jesus on the cross; Jeremiah 25:15–29] that I am about to drink?”

But, even though the cup was filled with poison, Jesus was determined that He would drink it on our behalf:

Matthew 26:42. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

Because, Jesus drank from the cup, our life has been spared!!!!!!!

X.               PRAYER FOR SALVATION. As we close, if you have not received this Jesus pray this simple prayer:

"Father, I know that I have sinned against You. Please forgive me. Wash me clean. I promise to trust in Jesus, Your Son. I believe that He died for me—He took my sin upon Himself when He died on the cross. I believe that He was raised from the dead. I surrender my life to Jesus today.

"Thank You, Father, for Your gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Please help me to live for you. In Jesus' name, Amen."