Opposition from Without. Nehemiah 4

 

Nehemiah 4 -Opposition from Without

 

The wall was going up all the way around the city at the same time.

Laughing at them hadn’t stopped the enemy so they resort to ridicule. They mock that which was precious to God but despised by Sanballat.

This was discouraging for the people who had been working so hard.

The men that were trying to hinder the building were God’s enemies as well as the Jews enemies. Under the law, the people could pray that justice be brought to pass upon their enemies.

Nehemiah ignored the sarcasm of the enemy, prayed to God, and continued to build. He knew that the enemy was plotting to come against him, so he set a watch. This is what God expected him to do.

One of Satan’s greatest weapons against God’s people is discouragement.. The enemy took advantage of the Jews’ discouragement, and they planned a surprise attack. “We are going to take them when they are not looking for us.”

Nehemiah put every man in the position where he could defend his own family. He armed them well. “Remember the Lord!” was to be their motto, their rallying cry. That is the rallying cry of believers today.

The Jews went back to work and the enemy retreated. They found they could not surprise the Jews.

Each builder had a trowel in one hand in which to build and a sword in the other hand to defend. The trowel represents the fact that believers should build themselves up in their faith. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God with which we defend ourselves.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible.

Rebuilding The Walls and Gates. Nehemiah 3

 

Nehemiah 3. Rebuilding the Walls and Gates

 

The sheep gate is where it all began. This is the gate where Jesus entered Jerusalem. It is through this gate the animals were brought for sacrifice. The Sheep Gate speaks of the Cross of Christ. His Son died for you. It is the sheep gate which sets that concept before us.

The Fish Gate was brought in from the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Jesus said to the men who followed Him, “…I will make you fishers of men.” Matt. 4:19.

The Old Gate was one that had been there from the beginning. “Thus, saith the Lord. Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls…” Jeremiah 6:16.

The Valley Gate is the one that led out o the city of Jerusalem down into the valley. It could have been on any side of the city because you must go down into the valley to get out of Jerusalem. It is the gate of humility, the gate of humbleness. Humility is a fruit of the Spirit.

Today the Dung Gate leads to the wailing wall in Jerusalem, but in Nehemiah’s day it was located at the southwest angle of Mount Zion. The Dung gate was where the filth was carried out. Honest confession is how we get out the garbage.

The Gate of the Fountain. When a believer is filled with the Spirit, he is not just a well, but a fountain of living water which will gush out to be a blessing to other people.

The Water Gate was the gate used to bring water into the city. It pictures the Word of God. We are washed by the water of the Word. The water gate was not repaired because when the other gates and walls were torn down, the water gate remained intact. The Word of God does not need any repairs.

The Horse Gate speaks of the “soldier” service of the believer today. The horse was a symbol of war. We are not fighting against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in this battle. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. That is the only weapon we need to use.

The East Gate was the first one opened in the morning because it was facing in the direction of the rising sun. There is a little glimmer of light, and we have hope.

Gate Miphkad means “review” or “registry” When a stranger came to Jerusalem, they had to stop at the gate and register. It was here where David reviewed his soldiers returning from battle.

His Request to the King. Nehemiah 2

 

Nehemiah 2 – His Request to the King

 

Nehemiah, the cupbearer was to taste everything brought to the king. His job demanded that he be in the king’s presence most of the time.

Nehemiah is preparing to make a request, but he is quite nervous. The king noticed that Nehemiah wasn’t quite himself, so he asked him, “Why are you sad?” Nehemiah, feeling fearful answered the king, “They city of my fathers and the sepulchers where they are buried lie in waste and the gates are consumed with fire.” “So, I prayed to the God of heaven.”

The king asked him, “what is your request?” Nehemiah asked the king to grant him a leave of absence to go to Jerusalem to help rebuild it.

“So, it pleased the king to send him, and Nehemiah set him a time.”

He asked the king for letters of introduction and explanation to the governors along his route so they would give him protection as he travelled through their lands. Nehemiah went on his journey well protected.

 

After arriving in Jerusalem Nehemiah did not want to stir up undue alarm, so he went out at night under the cover of darkness to make his inspection. There was so much debris that Nehemiah could not ride horseback through it.

The next day Nehemiah called a meeting of the leaders in the surrounding area of Jerusalem. He said, “Let’s do this job, God is with us.” The people responded, “Let us rise up and build.”

Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, enemies of the Jews came against Nehemiah and the leaders.

The enemies will use different methods to discourage us from doing right. One way is to ridicule us.

 Nehemiah said, “Get out of the way, we are going to work, God is with us in this.”

God is always with us, all the time.

 

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah.

 

The Layman. Nehemiah 1

 

Nehemiah 1- The Layman                                                                                                                                            

The king, the priest, and the prophet failed to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and cleanse the temple, so God raised up Nehemiah, whom we designate a layman.

 God can and will raise up a layman to do a great work and put His work on a firm foundation.

 Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the king. He was a good, moral, honest man. He was deeply concerned about God’s cause. He received a message that said, “the remnant is in great affliction and reproach and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.” Nehemiah became deeply concerned about this report. He “mourned for certain days, and fasted, and prayed.”

Nehemiah believed God’s Word. He rested in it. And he knew God’s Word. He was concerned because God’s commandments were ignored. He believed that the Jews would return to the land. He counted on it and that is why he prayed.

Nehemiah is going to ask the king if he may return to the land. Nehemiah does not want to run ahead of God, and so he goes to Him first in prayer.

 

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible.

 

Repent. Ezra 10

 

Ezra 10 Repent

 

An intense conviction of sin came over God’s people.

Shechaniah, son of Jehiel, said, “we have trespassed against our God.” We have taken strange wives of the people of the land.” He casts himself upon the mercy of God and says, “Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this.” The people let the Word of God have its way in their hearts. They confessed their sins.

We see that we are coming short of the glory of God. When we go to Him in confession, and there is real repentance, God’s children will be revived.

 God was talking to the believers, not to unsaved people.

 

God is saying to the lost, “Come to me and be saved through Jesus Christ.” He is saying to His church, “Repent, and come back to Me.”

They were to come together for a time of spiritual refreshing, but repentance must precede it. Those who would not come were to be cast out of the congregation. We must not be hearers of the Word alone but be doer’s of the Word also.

 

What Ezra asked these people to do was a bitter pill to swallow. He wanted things to be done in an orderly way, and this is what they did. They agreed to put away their foreign wives. They entered into a solemn agreement and pledged to do it. Ezra helped preserve the testimony of the Jews for the fulfillment of God’s plan.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible. Nelsons Quick Reference Commentary.

 

Ezra's Prayer. Ezra 9

 

Ezra 9 – Ezra’s Prayer

 

The Jews let down their guard and intermarried with the surrounding heathen and enemies of God and Israel. That led to a practice of abomination of the heathen. The lack of separation plunged them into immorality and idolatry. Even the leadership were involved in this.

Ezra was overwhelmed and chagrined that God’s people would drop to such a low level. He tore his clothes and tore out his hair. He sat astonished “until the evening sacrifice” because of the transgression of those who had been carried away. He went to God with his hands outspread. He held nothing back from God. He says, “For our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

 

Today’s church is in a bad state. It is not their sin; it is our sin.

 

Ezra says, “We have had just a little space grace.” The seventy years of captivity was over. God had permitted His people to return to the land, and once again they follow the heathen, doing the very same thing that had sent them into captivity in the first place.

How wonderful God was to these people. They confessed their sin, and God would bless them. They did not get all that was coming to them. They deserved more punishment for their sins than they received. Only the mercy of God, the confession of sin, the sacrifice of Christ, and the grace of God could make it possible for Him to save these people, restore and revive them. God did all these things because of the prayer of Ezra.

 

When we take that position, God is ready to hear us.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible. Nelsons Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

Return Under Ezra. Ezra 7 & 8

 

Ezra 7 & 8– Return Under Ezra

 

Ezra was a descendant of Phineas, the grandson of Aaron. He belongs to the priestly line.

There was no temple, it had been burned and destroyed. About two thousand Jews, led by Ezra, planned to go to Jerusalem. The temple now has been rebuilt so that there was a place for him to minister.

 When Jews married pagan people, they were drawn into the worship of their gods. Judgment fell upon Israel in the form of a plague. Phineas, the son of Eleazar, stayed the plague by executing the man who had taken the midianite woman and executing her also. Two lives were sacrificed to save a multitude of lives. God promised Phineas that the priesthood would remain in his family forever.

Ezra spent his time studying the Word of God. He had a reputation in Babylon with the king, as being a scribe of the words of the Lord God.

They returned to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. It took almost five months to make the trip.

Ezra wanted God’s people o know God’s statutes and judgments. He was given the authority to appoint magistrates and judges. This was the king’s decree. This was in reference to the Jews after they arrived in the land.

 

Chapter 8

 

Ezra made sure the Levites went with him. The Nethiniums, who were the servants, went along also. Ezra called for a fast and a great prayer meeting at the river of Ahava. He wanted to know God’s will. He depended on God to make the journey safe, and God did watch over them. They arrived safely in Jerusalem. They took all the gold and silver that the king sent with them into the temple, into the house of God. It was a glorious thing to be back in Jerusalem and be able to offer sacrifices to God.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible.