Nehemi ah
(The Lord has Comforted)
Lesson #1
t~I.
Introduction
A. Historical Background
“When Nehemiah lived in Persia in 445n.c., received news that Jerusalem’ walls were
broken down & its gates were burned, his response was that of intense sorrow (1:3,4). It is
highly unlikely that Nehemiah’s sudden grief was due to Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of
Jerusalem over a century earlier (in 5865.c.). Ezra 4:6—23, which provides some background
information for the book of Nehemiah, furnishes a plausible answer. This passage records
the opposition of the Jews’ enemies in Palestine from the days of Cyrus to the days of
Artaxerxes (4:5,7). In the days of Artaxerxes, some Jews were evidently beginning to
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (4:12). This probably refers to some kind of activity
connected with the coming of Ezra in 458B.c. When informed of the building & of the Jews’
past rebellion, King Artaxerxes ordered a halt to the building (4:21). He did not order
the walls & gates destroyed, but the enemies of Israel took it upon themselves to do so.
Hearing about this terrible setback, a frustrated & depressed Nehemiah agonized over
Israel’s future.
When Nehemiah arrived at Jerusalem in 444n.c., Ezra the scribe—priest had been there
for more than a decade. The Scriptures are clear that these two men of God ministered &
worked together (Neh.8:1-18; 12:26). After staying in Jerusalem for twelve years, Nehemiah
returned to Persia in 432n.c. (the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, 13:6). He found that
certain sins (such as withholding the tithe, intermarriage with pagans, etc.) were quite
visible among the people. The prophet Malachi ministered while Nehemiah was in Jerusalem
the second time, or he prophesied during those days when Nehemiah was absent from
Jerusalem. Paul N. Benware, ‘Old Testament survey,’ pp.138,139”
B. Some Helpful Charts
The Return From Babylon
Chronology of the Return
World Events During the Return
605-536 B.C.
General period of the captivity
ca.563-ca.483
605, 597
Leading Judean citizens deported,
551478
Confucius (in China)
586
including Daniel & Ezekiel
Edict of Cyrus permitting the
return
549
Cyrus united Persia & Media
546
Cyrus conquered Lydia
536
Return of 49,897 from Babylon to
Jerusalem
539
Cyrus conquered Babylon
536
Altar rebuilt, sacrifice offered in
seventh month
530
Cyrus died
535
Temple rebuilding
stopped
539-331
Persian Empire
535-520
Economic & political struggle
530-522
Cambyses
520
Ministry of Haggai
522-486
Darius I
520-515
Ministry of Zechariah
490
Darius defeated at Marathon
515
Temple completed
486-465
Xerxes I (Ahasuerus)
458
Return of Ezra
485-425
Herodotus
445
Nehemiah rebuilt the walls
480
Persians defeated at Thermopylae & Salamis
479-399
Socrates
460-429
Golden age of Pericles
428-322
Plato & Aristotle
538
begun,
but
B.C.
Buddha (in India)
[Ryrie Study Bible]
The Chronology of the Restoration
PERSIAN KING
DATES
(B.C.)
BIBLICAL
CHARACTERS
Cyrus
539530
Zerubbabel,
Joshua,
Haggai,
Zechariah
Cambyses
530
S21
*****
Darius I
521486
Zechariah
Xerxes
(Ahasuerus)
486465
Artaxerxes
465423
SCRIPTURE
EVENT
Ezra 1-4
First return
Temple
begun then
stopped
*****
No work on
Temple
Ezra 4-6
Temple work
completed
Esther,
Mordecai
Esther
1-10
Story of the
Jew’s
preservation
Ezra,
Nehemiah,
Malachi
Ezra 7-10
Second
return under
Ezra
Nehemlah
Third return
Nehemiah
Haggal,
Ministry of
Malachi
[‘Survey of the Old Testament,’ Paul N. Benware]
2
II. Rebuilding the Walls (Under Nehemiah, 1:1-7:73)
“Whenever God wants to get a work done, He lays hold of willing people. The walls of
Jerusalem had been ruined; a small remnant had returned; & there was much work that
~needed to be done. In 536, Zerubbabel & Joshua had taken about 50,000 Jews back & had (by
516) rebuilt the temple. In 457 there had been a small revival under Ezra, but now it was
445, & God was looking for someone to go to the ruined city & restore safety & order.
Nehemiah was to be that person. Warren W. Wiersbe, Old Testament Outlines,’ p.386”
A. Nehemiah’s Response to the Situation in Jerusalem (1:1-11)
“As cupbearer to the king, Nehemiah (a Jew) held a high position in the court. He was
close to the king & could share his confidence. But Nehemiah was not forgetful of his own
people, for he eagerly asked his brother for news about Jerusalem. Read Ps.122 & 137:5,6.
Oh, that saints today had as much interest in their heavenly Jerusalem! The news was
distressing: the remnant was suffering shame, the walls were broken down, & the gates
were burned. See Ps.79:1-4. Instead of being a city of praise & glory, it was a city of
shame & reproach. Wiersbe, 386”
1. The News of the Plight of Jerusalem (1:1-3)
(1:1) The words of Nehemiah
This indicates that Nehemiah himself penned this
book, his ‘memoirs’ as several have noted, the son of Hacaliah.
This is the only
mention of Nehemiah’s father in Scripture & distinguishes him from two other Nehemiah’s
who are also mentioned in Scripture (Ezra 2:2 & Neh.3:16). Now it happened in the
month Chislev,
This would be November-December. in the twentieth year,
The
twentieth year (445B.c.) in the reign of Artaxerxes I Longimanus, King of Persia (4644245.c.). This is the same King who sent Ezra to Jerusalem in Ezra 7:1. while I was in
Susa
Shushan the capitol,
The summer capital of Medo-Persia See attached map
—
—
-
—
-
-
“Shushan the citadel was about 150 miles north of the Persian Gulf, in present-day
Iran. The citadel, or the fortified royal palace, was built on an acropolis. The city
served as a winter residence for the monarchs of Persia. Shushan is also notable in
biblical history as the place where Daniel received his vision of the rams & goats
(Dan.8:2), & as the home of Mordecai & Esther (Esth.1:2). ‘Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible
Commentary,’ p.584”
(1:2) that Hanani, one of my brothers,
We assume that he was a blood brother of
Nehemiah. & some men from Judah came;
Some assume that Hanani visited Jerusalem &
-
-
then returned to Shushan with some men of Judah but that is not explicitly stated
(Unger). Whatever the circumstances Nehemiah has questions for them concerning his
homeland. & I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped & had survived
the captivity, & about Jerusalem.
Neheuiiah’s deep concern is for the remnant of
the Jews living in the land & the current status of Jerusalem. it is particularly
impressive that Jerusalem was hundreds of miles from his present location yet he was with
them in heart, “It has been said that the true Jew never completely forgets Jerusalem. Swindoll,
‘Hand Me Another Brick,’ p.19”
—
‘~Nehemiah was the kind of person who cared. He cared about the traditions of the past
& the needs of the present. He cared about the hopes of the future. He cared about his
heritage, his ancestral city, & the glory of His God. Warren Wiersbe, ‘Nehemiah,’ in The
Wiersbe Bible Commentary p. 752”
3
(1:3) They said to me,
-
Four responses
from his brother &
the men of
Judah are
recorded:
(1)
‘The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are
The idea here is that the Jews in the land are in misery (
in great distress
—
calamity. The city had no walls & therefore no protection. They were vulnerable from ~
human point of view & their enemies were round about. As a matter of fact when Nehemiah
does lead in the rebuilding of the walls they will have to do it with a sword in one hand
& a trowel in the other & will have to guard the reconstructed walls by night.
(2) & reproach,
The word has the idea of disgrace, insult, reproach & contempt
& indicates that the Jews were subject to ridicule & scorn by their natural enemies in
the land. Mounce comments on this word,
-
the
Joel
its
New
“Reproach can often serve as part of God’s judgment (Ps. 79:4; Ezek.5:15: Mic.6:9-16), &
removal of reproach can be a result of God’s gracious ending of judgment (Isa.25:8;
2:19; Zeph.3:18). More often than not, such reproach is brought on Israel because of
sin & idolatry (P5.44:13; Ezek.5:5-17; 22:4). ‘Complete Expository Dictionary of Old &
Testament Words,’ p..582”
The Jews are still under God’s judgment to this day & are still in the ‘Times of the
Gentiles,’ initiated by this very same Babylonian captivity. They had another chance to
end their reproach by accepting Christ as their Messiah at His first coming. However,
they missed the time of their visitation & so their reproach continues to this day & they
remain the object of hate & scorn by the world at large. However, there will be a
gracious removal of the reproach but not until it, as a nation, turns to the Lord in
faith at His second coming & then ‘a nation shall be born in a day’ & ‘all Israel shall be
saved.’2 In the mean time the Abrahamic Covenant is still in force: ‘And I will bless those
who bless you, & the one who curses you I will curse’ & we would do well as God’s people today
to support the nation Israel as best we can & always ‘pray for the peace of Jerusalem.’ In
spite of the teachings of Replacement Theology. Note that the Lord is pleased with the
believing Gentiles (the righteous) who give evidence of their righteousness in the comin~N
Tribulation Period by how they treat Christ’s brothers, the Jews, during that future tin~
of great distress which will come upon the whole world (see Matthew 25:32ff).
(3) & the wall of Jerusalem is broken down (4) & its gates are burned
with fire.’
Some emphatically believe that this is a reference to the destruction of
—
Jerusalem associated with the Babylonian captivity in 586s.c. of which the above could be
accurately said.
However, Wiersbe points out that Nehemiah would have had this
information his entire life. Some have also observed that it is unlikely that: 1) his
brother & the men of Judah would be referring to an event some 150 years earlier, & 2)
that Nehemiah would be that exercised by that event at this time, it was old news. A
better view is that this is the current state of the people, the walls & the gates of
Jerusalem after two attempts to rebuild & reform the land & culture. Whitcoxnb is really
good here:
“One of the by—products of the revival under Ezra seems to have been an effort on
the part of the Jews to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This in turn provoked the wrath
of Rehum & Shimshai, who wrote an accusation against them to Artaxerxes (Ezr.4:7-16). The
king commanded the work to cease until a further decree should be issued (Ezr.4:21). Rehum
& Shimshai, upon receiving this decree from the king, hurried to Jerusalem & ‘made them
to cease by force & power,’ presumably breaking down the wall that had been started &
burning the gates (Ezr.4:23; Neh.1:3). It was this news of this fresh disaster that shocked
Nehemiah & brought him to his knees before God. John C. Whitcomb, ‘Nehemiah,’ in the
Wycliffe Bible Commentary,’ p.435”
*****
“Are we like Nehemiah, anxious to know the truth even about the worst situations?
Is our interest born of concern or idle curiosity? When we read missionary praye7
letters, the news an relagious peraodacals, or even our church’s manastry reports, do T4
want the facts, & do the facts burden us? Are we the kind of people who care enough ~
ask? Wiersbe, p.753”
~c~ç
LR~j~:~4~
20’
50’
30°
40°
H
H
H
50°
60°
70°
80’
THE PERSIAN EMPIRE.
THRA~E
0Byzantiam
40’
0
HYRCAN/AN
SEA
(CASPIAN
SEA!
BLACK S,~-4
I-b
t1~
LYD!A
CD
~andis
BACTRIA
Ephesu~
~HTh~
CRETE
‘-3
-~
GM~RA~
CYPRUS
I
N
I
A
‘5,
30°
LIBYA
Memph~
cs~
Royal Road
~ Persian homeland
~ Annexed land of the Meifes, 550 ecu
Annexed land of the Babylonians, 539 n:r
Maximum extent of the Pertian Empire
ARABIA
‘-p
-v
30’
40’
50’
CxpyiighiQ 1996 M9US H~nUdj15vmsCxnip~,y
~Asshur
Zorubbsbnl lencta main pany ef
miulnine eaSes, is 538 ace
Ui
60° Cxpynnhio inns Annux Hudxxx Lid inuxes Cxmpuny
THE EXILE
The prophet Jeremiah records three
occasions of deportation: in 597, 586
and again in 582. The people were taken
to different parts of Babylonla but many
seem to have settled by the River
Chebar. Although Ezekiel and the
l°salms record their misery and great
sense ol loss of homeland, (‘oltd i lions
were not harsh. They developed I tel
OW/I lctriniitg Uillttflttlnifit’5 ~tnd 501/tL’
lticl~i,tii~ I(lt,~’ ftt liin’lt r,nik lii hi’