Key Passage
15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.
16 When all our enemies heard about it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they realized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
Nehemiah 6:15-16 (NASB 2020)
Series Content
- Introduction to Nehemiah (Jan-13-25)
Scriptural and Historical Setting
Composition and Authorship
Who is Nehemiah?
Content Outline
The Message of Nehemiah
“The events in Nehemiah 1 began late in the year 446 B.C., the twentieth year of the Persian king, Artaxerxes (464-423 B.C.)
At the most critical juncture in Judah’s revitalization, God raised up Nehemiah (“Jehovah comforts”) to exercise one of the most trusted roles in the empire, the King’s cupbearer and confidant.
God worked through the obedience of Nehemiah; however, He also worked through the wrongly-motivated, wicked hearts of His enemies.
But the exemplary behavior of the famous cupbearer is eclipsed by God, who orchestrated the reconstruction of the walls in spite of much opposition and many setbacks; the “good hand of God” theme carries through the Book of Nehemiah (1:10; 2:8; 18).“
Dr. John MacArthur“Nehemiah received a report from his ancestral city, Jerusalem. The walls there were broken down, the gates were burned with fire, and the survivors were in distress.
God deeply burdened Nehemiah with the plight of Jerusalem, and within four verses of the beginning of the book, the reader finds Nehemiah weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying.
One person empowered by God can make a difference—whether that person is Nehemiah or whether that person is you.”
Dr. David Jeremiah“Nehemiah led the third return of exiled Jews back to the land of Israel. As cupbearer to the king of Persia, he held an important administrative post in the government.
With the blessing of a pagan king, Nehemiah returned home to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, the city of God.
This demonstrates that even the secular world is subject to God when his people operate according to his kingdom promises and authority.
The book of Nehemiah is about making wrong things right.”
Dr. Tony Evans“The book of Ezra-Nehemiah started out by raising our hopes in the prophetic promises of the messiah, the temple, and the Kingdom of God, but then none of it happens.
Even though Israel is back in their land, their spiritual state seems unchanged from before the exile. While Ezra and Nehemiah try their best, their political and social reforms don’t change the core issues in the people’s hearts.
Israel is in need of a holistic transformation of their hearts if they are ever going to love and obey their God.”
Bible Project“Nehemiah was a layman; Ezra was a priest. In the Book of Ezra the emphasis is upon the rebuilding of the temple; in the Book of Nehemiah the emphasis is upon the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah had an important office in the court of the powerful Persian king, Artaxerxes, but his heart was with God’s people and God’s program in Jerusalem.
The personal note is the main characteristic of the book. I find myself coming to this book again and again because of the kind of book that it is.”
Dr. J. Vernon McGee“More than half this book is a personal record, punctuated with ‘asides’ and frank comments which make it (in such parts) one of the liveliest pieces of writing in the Bible.
The main action is crowded into the spring and summer of the year 445 BC, in which time Nehemiah not only made the journey from near the Persian Gulf to Jerusalem, but restored the city’s walls and gates, and began to see to its defence.
If Judaism was to earn a name for its zeal for righteousness, it owed it very largely to these two determined men, Ezra and Nehemiah.”
Dr. Derek Kidner“Like the Book of Ezra, the Book of Nehemiah may be understood in terms of the faithfulness and holiness of God.
Nehemiah proved to be a capable leader, diligent in God’s work both for the community of God and the city of David.
Glory should not be given to Nehemiah, however, but rather to God, who directed and brought about this event.
Just as in Ezra, the providence of God, his loving care, and discipline were the real forces behind the events recorded in these chapters of the Book of Nehemiah.”
Dr. Mervin Breneman
References
