Category: Nehemiah

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

Tobiah’s name means God is good! Tobiah’s son was married into a priestly family. He had many friends in the rebuilt Temple. (Eg Eliashib the priest in charge of the Temple storerooms.) The situation Nehemiah faced was complex, but he persevered!

SJA Notes

* God of faithfulness, Your brought forth Your wisdom before there were depths, before the mountains had been shaped.

“And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.”

Look at the persecution Nehemiah faced as he walked with the Lord!

God’s people have enemies. There will be enemies who work against the Lord and against us His people.

Nehemiah had enemies who worked to frustrate him and the people, to stop the work that they were doing for God.

Nehemiah knows where his strength comes from – the Lord!

“But now, O God, strengthen my hands.”

Praise God for Jesus, that He saves, that it is God who strengthens our hand for work, and that Jesus is our great conquering king who defeats our enemies.

More of Him, less of us!

* God Above,

Thank You for continuing to build Your church.

Thank You that no power, human or otherwise, can limit You, stop You or frustrate You.

Please teach us a little more of who You are today.

Amen.

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

Once Jerusalem is secure with a half-built wall, Nehemiah looks out for the poor of the land, those most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Verse 15 tells us what made Nehemiah a different sort of public official or bureaucrat to the norm. God grant us such a bureaucracy.

SJA Notes

* Holy God, may we take Your instruction instead of silver, knowledge of You rather than choice gold. Your wisdom is better than jewels, and all that we might desire cannot compare.

“So I said, ‘This thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?'”

Here is a rebuke done right.

Look at Nehemiah’s words. They are bold and clear, they point to God’s wisdom and His ways.

He calls them out with graciousness,

“Let us abandon this exacting of interest.”

Some of God’s people were forcing others of God’s people into slavery. They were extorting money, exacting interest.

Nehemiah calls on them to stop this, to return what they had taken.

Let us strive today to be more like Nehemiah wherever God has put us. Humble, contrite, bold and fearless – Just as our Lord and Saviour Jesus was.

“Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.”

* God Above,

Please mark us as a people faithful to You and Your wisdom, Your word written on our hearts.

Thank You for the witness of Nehemiah.

Thank You most of all for the pattern and example of Jesus, You in the Person of the Son, become flesh.

Amen.

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

At different times Israel has different enemies. Here they are Arabs, Moabites, Ammonites, and men of Ashdod. So too will be our experience with those who oppose the Gospel. Nehemiah’s strategy was to neither fight nor talk, but to continue building!

SJA Notes

* Dear Lord, the fear of You is hatred of evil, let us hate pride and arrogance and the way of evil.

“From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail.”

The building of God’s church is done in God’s time and by His power.

You can imagine it must have been a frustrating limitation in the process of building the wall to have half of the people standing guard – half!

Imagine a construction site today where half the work-force were unable to do the actual work. A foreman’s nightmare.

God does not work as we work.

God does not see as we see.

God’s power is not limited by our limitations!

Often we can get caught up in the metrics of the world, in the success measurements that are used around us.

God does not determine success the way we do.

This is important to remember as we labour amongst God’s people, in whatever ways God allows for us.

* God Above,

Thank You for always building Your church.

Thank You that You continue to build us a place, that better country, the new heavens and new earth.

For the now, and the not yet, thank You!

Please help us to remember that You are not limited by time or by power, by intent or by outside forces.

Amen.