The book of nehemiah has been, since the 16th century, a separate book of the hebrew bible. Nehemiah faced many of the same hardships as any leader. Nehemiah is one of the starkest examples of powerful leadership in the bible. Summary of the book of nehemiah the story of the bible. Twelve sessions dig into the old testament story of nehemiah.
The time is now near for the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild jerusalem the occurrence that marks the beginning. According to the book of nehemiah in the hebrew bible and the old testament, tobiah was an ammonite official who attempted to hinder nehemiah s efforts to rebuild jerusalem after the babylonian exile, and took over the storerooms of the temple for his own use. As the leader god calls to mobilize and equip his people to rebuild the walls of jerusalem, nehemiah was a man who didnt know the word no when it came to gods economy. The king appoints him as governor of judah and he travels to jerusalem. But nehemiah persisted and the wall was completed in 52 days. The book of nehemiah is the last of the historical books of the bible, originally part. He makes his first appearance in chapter 1 at shushan, the principal palace of the persian king artaxerxes i, where he served as the personal cupbearer to the king. This summary of the book of nehemiah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of nehemiah. Day after day, from the first day to the last, ezra read from the book of the law of god. As with the books of ezra and esther, named after his contemporaries, the book recounts selected events of his leadership and was titled after him. The book tells how nehemiah, at the court of the king in susa, is informed that jerusalem is without walls, and resolves to restore them.
Standing firm in the face of opposition is a bible study of nehemiah that has 8 main lessons and an ending summary lesson. This book, as was true in the book of ezra, has copies of letters, decrees, registers and other documents. Nehemiah and his people responded to the enemys opposition by lifting their voices in prayer, putting their hearts into the work, and by vigilantly keeping their eyes on the enemy. The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand. Most bible students agree that its the last component, the high interest rates charged. Nehemiahs prayer for remnant at jerusalem, chapter 1. Biblical literature ezra, nehemiah, and chronicles britannica. That is why their opposition was so persistent old testament student manual. We can learn from the life of nehemiah valuable lessons in restoring and maintaining a relationship. A study of nehemiah 4 and the opposition nehemiah faced as he led the jewish people in the rebuilding of the walls of jerusalem. He ridiculed the jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of samaria, he said, what are those feeble jews doi. The book of nehemiah jerusalem walls summary overview.
Standing firm in the face of opposition the be series commentary wiersbe, warren w. Nehemiah led the third 3rd exodus back to jerusalem, 94 years after zerubbabel 1st exodus of approx. Aug 18, 2017 a study of nehemiah 4 and the opposition nehemiah faced as he led the jewish people in the rebuilding of the walls of jerusalem. Nehemiah 4 opposition to the rebuilding when bible gateway. There he rebuilds the walls, despite the opposition of israels enemies, and reforms the community in conformity with the law of moses. Obstacles and opposition growing christians ministries. Interesting facts about nehemiah barnes bible charts. The book of nehemiah contains several classic examples of opposition encountered by a man called by the lord to accomplish a specific task. Along with the book of ezra, the book of nehemiah concludes the last historical chapters of the hebrew bible. The courage to face opposition christian bible studies. Nehemiah 6 niv further opposition to the rebuilding bible. Nehemiah 4 opposition to the rebuilding when bible. This is part of a larger series on the old testament book of.
Dont automatically assume that all opposition is nehemiah four kind of opposition. We discovered that many people worked on different sections of the walls. Nehemiah overcame all the opposition and the people rebuilt the wall that laid in ruins for 70 years, in 52 days. The global message of nehemiah the big picture of nehemiah. In a rousing speech to the jews, nehemiah told them the hand of god was upon him and convinced them to rebuild the wall. Nehemiah yahweh has comforted, is a famous cupbearer, who never appears in scripture outside of this book.
What are some bible principles teaches about our use of money. Includes cross references, discussion questions, teaching points, outline, and applications on nehemiah 2. Under nehemiahs leadership, the walls of the city of jerusalem were rebuild in only 52 days. Opposition to the rebuilding when the enemies of judah and benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the lord, the god of israel. Immediately nehemiah met opposition from sanballat the horonite and tobiah the ammonite, neighboring governors, who feared a fortified jerusalem. In the book, nehemiah was informed that jerusalem was without walls, so he decided to restore them. After 12 years in jerusalem, he returns to susa but subsequently revisits jerusalem.
Nehemiah faced severe opposition, in multiple ways, that threatened progress and could have easily derailed the project. Nehemiah wrote it to records the events of returning to jerusalem and rebuilding the walls in 445 b. Finally, 4 they kept their minds focused on the lord. This morning, we want to look at the first phase of the opposition the ridicule phase. Nehemiah 2 is the second chapter of the book of nehemiah in the old testament of the christian bible, or the 12th chapter of the book of ezranehemiah in the hebrew bible, which treats the book of ezra and book of nehemiah as one book. Nehemiah 4 niv opposition to the rebuilding when bible. The other seven chapters of the book are occupied with some details of nehemiahs government of the people after the completion of the walls. This was gods preordained plan to bring his people out of bondage and back into their land to worship in the temple once again. According to the book of nehemiah in the hebrew bible and the old testament, tobiah was an ammonite official who attempted to hinder nehemiahs efforts to rebuild jerusalem after the babylonian exile, and took over the storerooms of the temple for his own use. This commentary has been through advanced checking. The name nehemiah means comforted of yah international standard bible encyclopaedia or god comforts nothing is known of nehemiah except what is written in the book bearing his name. Nehemiah bible study outlinecontents by chapter and verse.
Nehemiah chapter four opens with the walls of jerusalem being rebuilt, and the. Jack zavada is a writer who covers the bible, theology, and other christianity topics. This morning were going to move into chapter 5 of the book of nehemiah. The book of nehemiah also tells us of how the city of jerusalem was dedicated to gods laws. Your opposition is your opportunity part 1 duration. Ridicule, scorn, scarcasm, discouragement, opposition to gods will is the. These small group studies of nehemiah contain outlines, crossreferences, bible study discussion questions, and applications. Nehemiah 4, english standard version 2016 esv the bible app. Sep 28, 2015 rebuild nehemiah 4 standing firm in the face of opposition. Lets walk through a synopsis of this amazing story. The name nehemiah means comforted of yah international standard bible encyclopaedia or god comforts. The rest of the book of nehemiah is an account of how he overcame one obstacle after another.
Nehemiah 2 is the second chapter of the book of nehemiah in the old testament of the christian bible, or the 12th chapter of the book of ezra nehemiah in the hebrew bible, which treats the book of ezra and book of nehemiah as one book. Inspecting city, rebuilding wall of jerusalem, opposition, establishing temple service. Book of ezra and nehemiah covers the events of the jews returning from the babylonian captivity. Though the city wall in jerusalem had been in ruins for almost 150 years since babylon destroyed jerusalem in 586 b.
Under nehemiahs leadership, the jews withstood opposition and came together to accomplish their goal. Bestselling author warren wiersbe unwraps the book of nehemiah in his study be determined to show a servant so selfless, a mission so humbling, and a perseverance so admirable that christians are drawn to a new awe of god. He partnered with ezra, who also appears in this book, to solidify the political and spiritual foundations of the people. Visit our library of inductive bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the bible you can use in your small group.
That seems quick and it sounds like it would have been easy, but it was not. The jews are counted and are permitted to return to judah to rebuild the temple. We should look at obstacles as challenges to press on and trust god. Point out that in the book of nehemiah we learn about the opposition. You will discover how this leaders courage and faith can inspire you to live a. There was overt and covert opposition from enemies. Biblical literature biblical literature ezra, nehemiah, and chronicles.
Jewish tradition states that ezra is the author of ezranehemiah as well as the book of chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from. Book of nehemiah overview insight for living ministries. After services, everyone went out to the local lake for a picnic. But when a pastor preaches the gospel that convicts sinners of their sin in the presence of a holy god and points them to the cross of jesus christ. Remember, were looking for three principles to help us handle opposition in a way that honors our lord. Key personalities include nehemiah, ezra, sanballat, and tobiah. Nehemiah 4, christian standard bible csb the bible app. Nehemiah riding though rubble and telling the jews to rebuild jerusalem. Nehemiah 6 new international version niv further opposition to the rebuilding. Once there, nehemiah defied the opposition of judahs. Nehemiahs opposition nehemiah 4,6 last week we learned about how nehemiah and the people living in jerusalem began to rebuild jerusalems walls.
Biblical literature ezra, nehemiah, and chronicles. The initial threat emanated from a leader named sanballat, a lifelong enemy of the jews. This study can be used with small groups that meet once a week or as a personal bible study. This book is, by the authors of the vulgate latin and arabic versions, called the second book of ezra, it being a continuation of the same history, and was by the jews reckoned as one book with ezra. He makes his first appearance in chapter 1 at shushan, the principal palace of the persian king artaxerxes i, where he served as the personal cupbearer to. Interesting facts about nehemiah barnes bible charts meaning. Near 520 bc after the takeover by nebuchadnezzar, ultimately king cyrus of persia arose to power, and he decided to aid the jews to return to jerusalem. Nehemiah overview john gills exposition on the whole bible. That these books constituted a single workreferred to as the chroniclers history, in distinction to the. The book of nehemiah takes bible readers to the end of the historical account in the old testament, some 400. Jerusalem had a temple but there was no protection for the city from further attack. Nehemiah 4 new international version niv opposition to the rebuilding.
Standing firm in the face of opposition wiersbe, warren w. In the book of nehemiah how many times does nehemiah pray. Nehemiah, who was a contemporary or served around the same time as ezra, was a cupbearer to the king in the persian empire. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity.
The final books of the hebrew bible are the books of chronicles and ezranehemiah, which once formed a unitary history of israel from adam to the 4th century bce, written by an anonymous chronicler. He ridiculed the jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of samaria, he said, what are those feeble jews doing. The congregation was not certain that the new pastor could do all that the previous, older pastor had done. We said this last week about the internal opposition in the book of nehemiah. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly. Every type of obstacle and every form of opposition that nehemiah faced in rebuilding the wall of jerusalem is an illustration from gods word of the obstacles and opposition that we can expect to face as christians. Apr 09, 2020 nehemiah is one of the starkest examples of powerful leadership in the bible. Chapter 5 is about opposition also, but whats different is that in chapter 5, the. Nehemiahs response to the situation in jerusalem ch. How nehemiah led past opposition and criticism biblical.
There were problems within the ranks that could have stopped the work. Before that date, it had been included in the book of ezra. Nothing is known of nehemiah except what is written in the book bearing his name. Nehemiah chapter four describes how he faced down strong opposition. As the kingdom of god advances, can the people of god avoid controversy and opposition. Under nehemiah s leadership, the jews withstood opposition and came together to accomplish their goal. It happened nearly twentyfive hundred years ago in a land across the world from where you and i. Nehemiah led by example, giving up a respected position in a palace for hard labor in a politically insignificant district. And it came to pass in the month chisleu, in the twentieth year, as i was in shushan the palace, that hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of judah. Rebuild nehemiah 4 standing firm in the face of opposition. The pastor search committee decided to put him to the test. When we become involved in serving the lord and building the walls of personal or corporate christian testimony we will. There were priests, rulers, goldsmiths, perfumemakers and women who helped repair the walls. An easyenglish bible version and commentary 2800 word vocabulary on the book of nehemiah.