Watchmen provided for the walls (7:1-4)

Nehemiah is passing on certain responsibilities by appointing watchmen. Hanani and Hananiah were appointed to set up watches. However, he advises on when to shut and open the gates so as not to give the enemy an opportunity to strike.

They had worked hard to build the city wall in only 52 days but could not rest and allow their enemies to undo all their good work.

We need to protect the things we build in our Christian lives. We need walls to protect ourselves from the attacks of the enemy such as our lusts and desires in the flesh. However, we still need to close the front gate when there is a danger of attack.

1 Timothy 6:20 (ESV) – O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge”

2 Timothy 1:14 (ESV) – By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you”

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) – Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”

1 Corinthians 16:13 – “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”

The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to deposit truth, wisdom, and understanding. You need to guard it, as enemies want to steal and destroy it. We need to be watchful. Walk in the light and watch out for the darkness. The darkness is when the enemy will attack so we need to stand firm and see what the enemy is trying to do against us. They are seeking to come in and take over so resist with all your strength!

They have large areas to guard with few people and houses that still require more rebuilding for security.

List of the returned families (7:5-73)

Nehemiah needs to take a census as one was long overdue. He needs to know who has returned to Jerusalem from captivity. They took the trouble to return to the land of Israel after they had already set down roots for seventy years in the Babylonian empire.

Since only about 2% of the Jews who were carried away into exile by the Babylonians came back, the ones who did have the pioneer spirit are worthy of mention – and they are mentioned twice in the Bible (See also Ezra 2).

Some men could not be priests until their lineage was determined. In the Old Testament, you could not be a priest unless it was established that you were descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses and the first high priest over Israel.

The building work wasn’t all that important; what was important was the benefit the building gave to God’s people. The building work taught them to work hard, to work together, to work through adversity and attack, and to work till the wall was done.

Hearing God’s Word sparks revival (8:1-8)

The people asked for a reading of God’s Word. This refers to the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). This was Israel’s instruction manual for how to walk before God. They were united in asking Ezra to read God’s word. He is back and is a scribe. He is an example of a rabbi (teacher) that will come.

The word of God was doing its intended work. The people were hungry for God’s word and it had a transformation throughout their lives. They are sensitive for the things of God. They listened from the start of the morning till the middle of the day. They hadn’t heard God’s Word for a long time.

See 2 Timothy 3:16. This tells us two things: the word of God is profitable for reproof and correction. Sometimes it hurts to be reproved and corrected, and these tears were evidence of some of that pain,

This work of the word of God and the Spirit of God had three immediate results.

1. The people thanked God (by saying Amen when Ezra blessed the LORD).
2. The people prayed (by lifting up their hands).
3. The people worshipped (by bowing down before Him).

They create a wooden platform and this scene of reading and explaining the Torah becomes the model of synagogue worship. The teachers explain it clearly to the people so they can understand what they are reading. We need God’s Word in a language that we know. The Bible has been translated into every known language. Unlike the Quran, it is not limited to Arabic. You can fully understand in your language.

See Ephesians 4:11-12. Teachers are a gift from God. They are there to build up those who are believers. In James 3:1 we read there is a stricter judgment for teachers. They are accountable in this life and the next.

The People rejoice and celebrate (8:9-12)

There is no need for prolonged sorrow. 2 Timothy 3:16 states that the word of God is also useful for reproof, correction, and training. Is a person teachable? We have false teachers of God’s Word who think they can do no wrong.

The teaching that the people have received led many to genuinely repent in sorrow. Now they can go away in joy.

In Psalm 32, which David probably wrote after his sin with Bathsheba, he extols the blessings that are on the one whose sin God has forgiven. It’s not by accident that Psalm ends with the exhortation, “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart” (32:11).

Follow the Lord in obedience (8:13-18)

They come back the next day. They want to keep the Feast of Tabernacles even though it hadn’t been done since the time of Joshua. Their attitude was that God said it so we will do it. They relied on God’s Word, not on tradition.

The Feast of Tabernacles was about remembering how God had blessed and provided for Israel in the wilderness during the Exodus. They could see God’s blessing and provision for them right then, and something old seemed new to them.

We often are deceived into thinking the path of gladness is in doing our own thing, but gladness and freedom come only through obedience to God’s Word.

Categories: Nehemiah, Uncategorized