Nehemiah Lesson 1

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RETURN TO SYLLABUS
NEHEMIAH
LESSON #1
INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION:
SOURCE MATERIAL FOR THIS STUDY:
“LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP” BY CHARLES SWINDOLL
“RESTORING THE WALLS OF THE HUMAN PERSONALITY” BY JACK HAYFORD
“EZRA, NEHEMIAH, & ESTHER: A SELF-STUDY GUIDE” BY IRVING L. JENSEN
“BE DETERMINED: STANDING FIRM IN THE FACE OF OPPOSITION” BY WARREN WIERSBE
“BE YE TRANSFORMED” BY NANCY AND CHUCK MISSLER
SERMON NOTES BY PASTOR JIM LARSON

HOMEWORK:
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU DO THE HOMEWORK. THIS IS A RARELY TAUGHT BOOK AND MOSTPEOPLE DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT IT.   IT’S A VERY PRACTICAL BOOK APPLICABLE TO OUREVERY DAY LIVES, SO YOU WILL DISCOVER LOTS OF FUNCTIONAL PRINCIPLES TO APPLY TO YOURPERSONAL LIFE.OF WHAT VALUE IS AN OLD TESTAMENT HISTORICAL BOOK?
ICO 10:6A THESE THINGS ARE OUR EXAMPLES.
EXAMPLES OF GOD’S NATURE AND CHARACTER AND HOW HE WORKS WITH THOSE WHO ARE REDEEMED.

AUTHOR:
IT WAS PROBABLY WRITTEN BY NEHEMIAH ABOUT 430 BC.   HE WAS A JEW WHO WASPROBABLY BORN IN CAPTIVITY IN BABYLON DURING THE PERIOD OF HISTORY CALLED THE BABYLONIANCAPTIVITY.  HE WAS THE CUP BEARER, THE FOOD TASTER TO KING.  ARTAXERXES I(465-424 BC)  THIS WAS A POSITION OF CONSIDERABLE SIGNIFICANCE AND INFLUENCE. HE WASNOT ONLY A SERVANT BUT A COUNSELOR, ADVISOR AND PERSONAL FRIEND OF THE KING. A KING WOULDCHOOSE A PERSON WHO WAS WISE, HONEST, DISCREET, AND WORTHY OF TRUST.   HIS NAMEMEANS “CONSOLATION” OR “COMFORTER OF GOD”.  THEREFORE, HE IS APICTURE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.   THE HOLY SPIRIT EDIFIES AND BUILDS US UP JUST ASNEHEMIAH BUILT THE WALLS OF THE CITY.
THEREFORE, THE BOOK SHOWS US HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT REBUILDS THE WALLS OF OUR HUMANPERSONALITY.

NEHEMIAH’S CHARACTER:
HE HAD A SENSITIVE EAR TO GOD’S DIRECTION. HE WAS A MAN OF PRAYER AND COURAGE WHO STOODSTRONG FOR THE LORD. HE WAS ALERT TO THE SUBVERSIVE TACTICS OF THE ENEMY. PREDOMINATELY HEWAS A LEADER WITH LEADERSHIP ABILITIES WHO KNEW HOW TO INSPIRE THE PEOPLE.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
GOD HAD PROMISED ISRAEL THAT IF THEY WERE FAITHFUL TO HIM, HE WOULD BLESS THEM AS A NATIONIN THEIR OWN LAND. IF THEY WERE NOT FAITHFUL, THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR LAND AND GO INTOCAPTIVITY  (DEU 28). THEY WERE NOT FAITHFUL AND THE JEWS WERE TAKEN TO BABYLONIN CHAINS AS SERVANTS TO THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. THE  BABYLONIAN EMPIRE WAS EVENTUALLYCONQUERED BY THE MEDES AND PERSIANS. THE DOMINANT KINGDOM IN THE MIDDLE EAST AT THE TIMEOF NEHEMIAH WAS THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. IT INCLUDED TERRITORY FROM INDIA TO ETHIOPIA INCLUDINGISRAEL.IT WAS 70 YRS. AFTER THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY HAD BEGUN WHEN CYRUS WAS KING OFPERSIA. THE YEAR WAS 521 BC. A GROUP OF MEN CAME TO CYRUS AND ASKED THAT HE LET THE JEWSRETURN TO JERUSALEM. WHEN CYRUS ASKED THEM WHY HE SHOULD LET THEM GO, THEY SHOWED HIM ASCROLL OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH WRITTEN IN 750 BC (OVER 150 YRS. BEFORE THE CAPTIVITY). IN ITGOD PROPHESIED THROUGH ISAIAH THAT THE DAY WOULD COME WHEN A MAN BY THE NAME OF CYRUSWOULD BE THE ONE TO RELEASE THE JEWS AND CAUSE THE TEMPLE TO BE BUILT. (ISA 44:28) CYRUSRELEASED THE JEWS TO RETURN TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL BUT THEY DID NOT ALL RETURN AT ONE TIME.IN FACT THEY RETURN ED IN THREE STAGES.
STAGE I:
A MAN BY THE NAME OF ZERUBBABLE LED SOME OF THE JEWS BACK TO JERUSALEM IN 538 BC WHENCYRUS WAS KING. THEY REBUILT THE TEMPLE (515 BC)(EZR 1-6), BUT IT TOOK THEM 20 YEARSBECAUSE OF MANY HINDRANCES CAUSED BY GENTILES.
STAGE II:
AFTER THE TEMPLE WAS REBUILT, THERE WAS A GAP OF 57 YEARS BEFORE A GROUP RETURN ED WITHEZRA FROM 458 BC TO 456 BC WHEN ARTAXERXES LONGIMANUS WAS KING AND LED A SPIRITUAL REVIVAL(EZR 7-10).
STAGE III:
THERE WAS A GAP OF 12 YEARS BEFORE NEHEMIAH BECAME CONCERNED THAT THE WALLS OF JERUSALEMWERE STILL NOT REBUILT. AS A RESULT, THE PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM WERE OPEN TO FREQUENT ATTACK,INDEFENSIBLE, AND VULNERABLE. IN 446 BC ENEMIES FORCED JEWS TO STOP BUILDING THE WALLS OFTHE CITY AND DESTROYED THE PARTS THAT WERE ALREADY BUILT. (EZR 4:23) THEREFORE, THE THIRDGROUP RETURN ED WITH NEHEMIAH IN 445-444 BC., WHEN ARTAXERXES LONGIMANUS WAS STILL KING, TOREBUILD THE WALLS OF THE CITY (NEH 1-2). THE WALLS HAD BEEN RUBBLE FOR OVER 140YEARS BEFORE NEHEMIAH ARRIVED IN JERUSALEM.

LOCATION:
THE STORY BEGINS IN SHUSHAN (SUSA), THE CAPITAL OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, AND THEN SWITCHESTO JERUSALEM WHERE WE SEE THE WALLS BEING REBUILT.

KEY WORD:
A KEY WORD IN THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH IS “REMEMBER”. IT APPEARS EIGHT TIMES. (1:84:14 5:19 6:14 13:14 13:22 13:29 13:31)

THEMES:
WE WILL FOLLOW TWO THEMES THROUGH THE BOOK.
1. REBUILDING THE WALLS OF HUMAN PERSONALITY MANY TIMES WHEN WE FIRST COME TO THE LORD, ITIS BECAUSE WE HAVE MADE A MESS OF OUR LIVES. OUR LIVES ARE FILLED WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OFBAD DECISIONS WE HAVE MADE, AS WELL AS PAST HURTS, DISAPPOINTMENTS, AND FAILURES. OURLIVES ARE ALSO FILLED WITH BAD EXPERIENCES OVER WHICH WE HAD NO CONTROL. AS A RESULT, OURLIVES ARE FILLED WITH RUBBLE AND RUIN. IF WE COME TO KNOW JESUS AS OUR PERSONAL SAVIORWHEN WE ARE VERY YOUNG, USUALLY OUR LIVES ARE NOT FILLED WITH SO MUCH RUBBLE. THE OLDER WEARE WHEN WE COME TO KNOW JESUS, THE MORE RUBBLE THERE WILL BE. ALL THIS RUBBLE FROM OURPAST KEEPS US FROM BECOMING WHOLE PEOPLE IN JESUS CHRIST. WE THINK, “HOW CAN GOD MAKEANYTHING OUT OF MY LIFE THAT IS WORTH ANYTHING?” IN OUR STUDY WE WILL LEARN HOW GODCAN USE THIS RUBBLE TO BUILD US INTO A PEOPLE OF GOD. READ 1TH 5:23  GOD WANTS US TOBE “WHOLLY” COMPLETE, SPIRIT, SOUL, AND BODY. THAT IS THE COMPLETE WORK OFSALVATION; A TOTAL PENETRATION OF ONE’S LIFE AND PERSONALITY BY GOD. HE WANTS TO HEAL USOF ALL THIS RUBBLE FROM OUR PAST. READ 2TI 1:7  WE HAVE THE PROMISE OF WHOLENESS THATIS AVAILABLE FOR OUR INTELLECT, EMOTIONS, AND WILL, WHERE WE BEGIN NOT TO BE LIMITED BYFEELINGS. THERE’S A FREE FLOW OF BEING AN EMOTIONAL PERSON, BUT NOT EMOTIONALISTIC,SOMEONE WITH HEALTHY BALANCED EMOTIONS. THAT’S THE JOB OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, TO BUILD THEWALLS OF OUR PERSONALITY JUST AS NEHEMIAH BUILT THE WALLS OF THE CITY OF JERUSALEM.  PRINCIPLES FOR THIS THEME WILL BE MARKED IN YOUR NOTES BY A WALL
2. A LESSON IN LEADERSHIP IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD: PRINCIPLES FOR BUILDING A CHURCH.  NEHEMIAH IS A SUPERB LEADER AND WE CAN PICK UP MANY LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES FROM HIM.
    1. HE HAD A TREMENDOUS TASK TO ACCOMPLISH WITH A LOT OF OPPOSITION FROMTHE ENEMY.
    2. HE HAD TO DEAL WITH OPPOSITION FROM AMONG HIS OWN PEOPLE.
    3. THE PEOPLE WERE INEXPERIENCED AND UNCOOPERATIVE.
    4. THERE WAS A LACK OF BUILDING MATERIALS WITH WHICH TO CONTEND.MIRACULOUSLY, IN 52 DAYS THE TASK WAS ACCOMPLISHED. WE WILL LEARN HOW HE MANAGED TO DO IT.  PRINCIPLES FOR THIS THEME WILL BE MARKED IN YOUR NOTES BY A HOUSE