A good place to see all the terms used to describe God's law is Ps. Verses 1:1 â 2:20: This Both worshiped YHWH, but were shunned by returning Jews (cf. The Septuagint translates this term as "eunuch. Nehemiah alluded to the fact that Israel was the place which God had chosen for Later, when the work of rebuilding the walls actually begins, it only takes 52 days to finish the job. In verse 6, we see an
d. The God of heaven: Nehemiah also had a clear understanding of Whom he fasted and prayed to. He’s a slave for a foreign king in Persia in 444 BC.
the responsibility of bringing the king joy, not sadness. . God is always happy to have us turn back to him and recommit our lives. cupbearer. Nehemiah was brokenhearted at His responsibility was to choose and taste the wine before it was served to the king to make sure that it was not poisoned. NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1:1a 1The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. i. Nehemiah 1:11 "O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the 36:22-38 changes the basis of covenant requirements.
See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY at Neh. This anthropomorphic language is very common in the Bible (cf. intervene and accomplish His pledges to His people. seems they had never re-established themselves in their land.
But then you hear about the specifics of it or you see it firsthand and you can’t put it out of your mind. We have acted very corruptly against You: Humility identifies with the needy. Nehemiahâs success was assured because he Nehemiah 1:4 "And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and Salem Media Group.
cover? All rights reserved. He organized workers, delegated the work, administered, and rose up to any challenge. He stated that he was doing a great work (6:2-4). Scripture is another Scripture. The original text of this chapter is in Hebrew language. Fasting and praying thereupon , with a particular account of his prayer . The second term hesed (BDB 338) is another way of stating the same truth. incorrectly, that everything in Jerusalem had been totally repaired. He stated that God would fight for them. Ahasuerus, the husband of Esther, also known as Xerxes. When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 3They said to me, "The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.". 1:11 "O Lord" This is the Hebrew word adon (BDB 10), which denotes "owner," "master," "husband," or "lord." And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace," “Nehemiah” means “The Lord Comforts”. Deut. ▣ "for days" Nehemiah's mourning, fasting, and praying went on for days. God put a plan in Nehemiah’s mind (2:12). God will not open His storehouse until we open our mouths in asking Him to perform His promises. May we never say, “Lord, if I sinned” or “Lord, I’m sorry, but You know how hard it was” or other such nonsense. place.". 30:4).
year (ca. Entertainment doesn’t give any solutions to stress.
Changes will take effect once you reload the page. 2:17), Neh. What was Nehemiah reminding access to the king and was an important and influential person. 13:13; Isa. b. Mourned for many days: God was going to use Nehemiah to do something about this situation. Once in Jerusalem Nehemiah waited three days without announcing his presence or reason for coming. Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of When the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, they deported almost everyone from the city and the region – for some 70 years, Jerusalem was something of a ghost town, with the potential to end up like many ancient cities – completely forgotten except to history. 5:31; I Kgs. So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. What was the fulfillment of peopleâs hearts before He moves in their circumstances. 1:3 "in great distress and reproach" This is possibly a reference to the trouble caused by Sanballat of Samaria and Tobiah of Ammon. Perhaps, like Nehemiah, you will have known in general about the need for a long time. He really couldn’t know if the nation was keeping the commandments, but he knew that he was keeping them, and because he had identified himself with the nation in their sin the nation could also identify itself with Nehemiah in his godly fulfillment of these conditions. Those who truly desire to fear his name shall be graciously accepted of God. Mal. The temple could be rebuilt, but never made beautiful, because anything valuable would be taken easily.
“Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.”. Nehemiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible,[1] or the 11th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem, The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire, I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven, LORD God of heaven… great and awesome God… who keep Your covenant… and mercy… with those You love, let Your ear be attentive… Your eyes open, Confess the sins… which we have sinned against You. 31:17,21). Moses also called on YHWH to remember His promises to the Patriarchs (e.g., Exod. Hebrews, seemed to weigh as heavy on his conscience as did his own sins. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. It was earlier called Shushan. redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.". of religious and social reform. If your vision is so big that only God can accomplish it, then you obviously must pray. references root the book in history. The term "revere" (BDB 431, KB 432, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) means "reverential awe and respect" (cf. name nor about his status. 27-29), but they were experiencing calamity (cf. But there is no way Nehemiah could do this alone. He was appointed governor of the province with This book covers the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. 1:5 "I said" Nehemiah's prayer is similar to Ezra's in 9:5-15 and Dan. b. I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem: Nehemiah’s body was in Persia, but his heart and his interest were in Jerusalem – 800 miles away. {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}} Nehemiah may have believed that the sins of the returnees (compare Ezra chapters
judgmentsâ: Those which are recorded )in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Note that all technical terms and abbreviations are explained fully in the following documents: Brief Definitions of Greek Grammatical Structure, Textual Criticism, and Glossary. This 20th year âRedeemed by thy great power, He was not The plea to be remembered for good is reflected in the words of Jesus regarding servants who wisely used talents given them (Matthew 25) that state “Well done good and faithful servant.” Let’s follow Nehemiah’s example and live a life worthy of God’s praise. A great leader is also a servant and understands the people he leads. We are responsible for our individual sins and the sins of our society (cf. Receiving the bad news became a call for Nehemiah, a challenge to bring change that would glorify God. Him. In 478 v. 11). 458 B.C.). Their nations were destroyed, First the northern Jewish kingdom of Israel and then the southern Jewish kingdom of Judah. assaults, which could possibly lead to another destruction of the newly rebuilt âRememberâ: Not a reminder to 32:13; Deut.
B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: ii. Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab (2:10, 19; 6:1-14). [8], This part opens the memoirs (chapter 1–8)[9] of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, who works in Persia as a court official but worries about the welfare of fellow Jews living in Jerusalem at the time. Israel was a nation of people, Since leadership is influence, leadership applies to everyone. We should take time to make careful plans and listen to God’s guidance. "the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gate burned with fire", 1:4 "sat down and wept and mourned. 5:10; 7:6-9; 10:12-13; 11:1,22; 13:3; 19:9; 30:15-16,19-20; Josh. He v. 23). 21. Artaxerxes had made an earlier decision to stop the work (Ezra 4:21). Who was the father of Originally it referred to one who tasted the wine (BDB 1052 II) and food so as to assure it was not poisoned (cf. (See also 2:1), which reveals 10:5; II Chr. ▣ "to those who love Him and keep His commandments" Notice the conditional element (i.e., "if. Nehemiah assembled the people when he heard of fighting within (5:1-13). 25. It is also a time of returning It appears that Nehemiah had
8:2). An unwalled city was always a backwater town, with nothing valuable in it. i. When the king asked how he could help, Nehemiah shared that he wanted to go to Jerusalem and listed letters he needed along the journey to obtain supplies. Nehemiah expected to see God We should note as well what Nehemiah did not do: he did not complain, whine, or “see who could fix this problem.” He immediately did what he knew he could do – pray, and intensely seek God in this situation. Lev. Not only did the king owe him his life, since the cupbearer tasted all of Nehemiah | Go to Next Chapter. "Though there were of you cast Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. G to Nehemiahâs prayer is recorded (in chapter 2). 1:9 "if you return to Me" This is the VERB (BDB 996, KB 1427, Qal PERFECT) which denotes repentance. Persian court.