Skim through Nehemiah. Note that much of this book is Nehemiah’s account of his own role in helping the rebuilding of Jerusalem and in restoring the Jewish people. Note the problems he faces. What does Nehemiah seem proud of in terms of his own record/conduct? What obstacles does he face? What seems to be his motivation?Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Nehemiah (extra credit)
Skim through Nehemiah. Note that much of this book is Nehemiah’s account of his own role in helping the rebuilding of Jerusalem and in restoring the Jewish people. Note the problems he faces. What does Nehemiah seem proud of in terms of his own record/conduct? What obstacles does he face? What seems to be his motivation?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
He seems to be facing the problems of people not following God's commandments again. The Jews are God's chosen people; yet again and again they continue to disobey God's law. They are the ones who understand and know God's law the best, but yet they still break it. Nehemiah is trying to prevent the scattering of the people again. He seems to succeed for the most part. He must be very happy about that accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Nehemiah had lots of enemy that did not want him finish the wall around Jerusalem. He also had a lot of poor people to deal with, Rumors were spread about him. All of these were problem that effected him things that were brought to his attention and to slow progress on the wall. His motivation for all this is to reunite the country bring the people back from being scattered around to have the land God gave them returned to them.
ReplyDeleteNehemiah seems to be a very encouraging figure for his people. When enemies say it cannot be done, Nehemiah says through God it will be done. Whenever the people begin to stray away from God's laws, he puts an end to it quickly. He is proud of the way he handles situations and prays for God to remember his faithful duty. His passion to serve the Lord is what drives him and I would say that he is successful in what he does.
ReplyDeleteNehemiah knew he needed to get the walls rebuilt in Jerusalem. He had a hard time trying to convince other people, but he eventually succeeds. I view him as a very inpirational person. He was able to put hope in the minds of many of the people. If he were to be proud of anything it would probably have to be following the will of God and accomplishing the nearly impossible in time for the attack on Jerusalem.
ReplyDeleteNehemiah had a cushy job as a trusted cupbearer to King Artaxerses. When his brother and some other men came from Judah, Nehemiah asked them about the rebuilding going on in Jerusalem, and they told him, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire." (1:3) Although the temple had been rebuilt, the city wall remained in shambles, leaving its people defenseless and vulnerable. When Nehemiah heard this, he was very upset and began fasting, mourning, and praying. Thanks to Nehemiah's prayers and God's faithfulness, the king responded favorably to Nehemiah's request to go to Jerusalem, giving him letters to ensure safe travel and to obtain timber from the king's forest for the project.
ReplyDeleteOf course the people who lived in the land, especially Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, jeered at Nehemiah and his men, but under Nehemiah's leadership and organization, the Jews who lived there rallied to the cause, "and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work." (Nehemiah 4:6)
When Sanballat and crew heard that the repairing of the walls was going forward, they "plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it." (4:8) This time, in addition to prayer, Nehemiah placed armed guards among the people, saying to them, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for ... your homes." (4:14) "From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail ... those who carried burderns were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other." (4:16-17) At night they slept within Jerusalem to be on constant guard; "none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand." (4:23) In addition to the job of keeping the people motivated to rebuild the wall, Nehemiah had to confront the rich concerning their oppression of the poor, mainly by lending them money and charging exorbitant interest. Nehemiah and his brothers and servants were lending the poor their own money and grain, so that they wouldn't starve. The rich agreed to stop this practice of exacting interest.
Nehemiah seems most proud of several things:
1. For twelve years, while he worked on rebuilding the walls, neither he nor his brothers ate the food allowance of the governor, being determined not to lay the heavy burdens of the former governors on the people; instead, he paid for his own keep.
2. Although Sanballat and company had hired Shemaiah to scare him with a false prophesy in order to discredit him among the people, Nehemiah recognized it.
3. When Nehemiah returned to Babylon for a short time, the priest Eliashib prepared a large chamber for Tobiah, his relative, in the courts of the house of God. Nehemiah became very angry and threw all the furniture out and had the chamber cleansed. He also discovered that the Levites had not been given their apportioned shares, so they had to work in the fields to eat instead of concentrating on their duties. Nehemiah confronted the officials and appointed reliable treasurers.
4. Nehemiah realized that selling was being done on the Sabbath, so he had all the gates to the cities closed during the Sabbath so that merchants could not bring their wares into the city.
5. Nehemiah made the people take an oath not to give their children in marriage to non-Jews, reminding them, "Did not Solomon ... sin on account of such women? (13:26)
After all the things that Nehemiah seems most proud of in terms of his own conduct, he adds, "Remember this in my favor, O my God," or "Remember me, O my God, for good." Nehemiah had a tough job of leadership, confronting a lot of people about their sins and enforcing God's laws, and he wants God to remember his faithfulness.
The way I understand it, Nehemiah was most proud of knowing that he was not only on the right track with God but also that they were building a wall against the odds stacked against them. Such odds include rulers like Sanballat and Tobiah, and other peoples including the Arabians and the Ammonites. Despite so many setbacks and people fighting against him and the Jews, Nehemiah could be glad because the people "had a mind to work," which was a lot better than it had been.
ReplyDeleteHe has an incredible resilience to all of the opposition he faces. I look at this and it really amazes me that Nehemiah could go through so many trials, and literal battles, and yet stay strong and finish the task God set before him. It also is very interesting to me that he is as broken over Jerusalem's current status since they had been in captivity since well before Nehemiah was ever born. Over all Nehemiah shows us what it means to be a true leader, and accomplishes in a very short amount of time what would have and should have taken many others an entire lifetime.
ReplyDeleteNehemiah seems to be somewhat boastful in his writings. He seems to be a good guy, for sure faithful and loyal to God. Sent to govern the area by the king of Persia, this would be a welcomed thing to have a Jewish governor in charge. He spends so much time repairing Jerusalem’s walls to their former glory. He spends his energy purging the temple of merchants, restoring the traditions of Moses. In the end I’m left feeling more like Nehemiah is in it for himself, trying to get his name on the walk of fame. Nehemiah the great rebuilder of Jerusalem!
ReplyDeleteNehemiah is the cup bearer for the king Artaxerxes, so he was in a position of power. When trying to rebuild the wall they were ridiculed and even opposed with physical force, half of his men worked and the other half defended building the wall. He also brought the word of the Lord back to the people, this is an important part of bring the people back to their faith and foundation. It was good to see that Nehemiah cared deeply for his people wanting them to walk with the Lord and succeed.
ReplyDeleteNehemiah recounts the events of his temporary return to Jerusalem from Persia as governor. Nehemiah leads and directs the project; each family built the section of the wall directly in front of their houses, and with hard work, the wall was astonishingly completed within 52 days. This method allowed the remnant to feel an identity and uniqueness in their part of repairing the walls of Jerusalem.
ReplyDeleteLiz