Nehemiah
3:15-5:13
Nehemiah
3:15-32
One major
miracle here is how the people worked together. Who cares about moving
mountains? This kind of unity makes it apparent that God is at work. This
chapter is a summary of how the work was organized and where different groups
worked. The next chapter will tell of the challenges the people faced as they
worked.
The
description of this chapter flows counter-clockwise. Nehemiah began at the
sheep gate and ended at the sheep gate. If you look at the map of Jerusalem at
the end of this document, you can follow this. The "City of David"
was below the valley gate and the water gate. During David's early years that
was all that was walled. The land above this city was lived in, but it wasn't
part of the city. Solomon built the northern part of Jerusalem and walled it in
when he built the temple.
Nehemiah 4
This
chapter has to do with the threat from outside. Notice how engaged Nehemiah was
in praying and encouraging the people. You have the sense that he was working
right among them.
Vs. 1-3
This wasn't just jeering. They had some military power. It was a good thing
that Nehemiah showed up with loyal Persian soldiers.
Vs. 4-5
Nehemiah appealed to the Lord for help. The opposition was also opposition to
God and God would take care of it. Nehemiah could have gotten mired in political
fighting, and maybe even won, but that wasn't his mission.
V. 6 The
entire project took about eight weeks, so maybe this was four weeks into the
building. These problems occurred when the people were well into the work and
weary. Now it was about to get worse.
Vs. 7-14
This was the main threat. Ultimately, the way Nehemiah addressed the problem
was through prayer.
Vs. 10-12 Word was spreading outside of
Jerusalem into Judah that the people were weary. So the enemies thought this
was a good time to attack, but the people in Judah got wind of this and warned
Nehemiah & Co. 10 times.
V. 12 reads better in the RSV or NKJV. When the Jews who lived by them came they
said to us ten times, "From all the places where they live they will come
up against us."
Vs. 13-14 Nehemiah didn't just pray. His hope
was in God to save them, and he encouraged the people by making some strategic
show of force and by speaking to the people to encourage them.
Vs. 15-18 This made the work go slower, but
it showed the opposition that the Jews knew of their plans to attack. Verse 18
shows that Nehemiah was right there with the people.
Vs. 19-20 This was their alarm system and
warning plan.
Vs. 21-23 This summary shows that Nehemiah
was right there leading and sweating with the people. They even slept in their
clothes. That reminds me of going to camp when I was a kid.
I’m impressed by Nehemiah’s journal of this.
He was very close to the people, encouraging them, working with them, constant
in prayer, working long days, sacrificing with the people. He is a great
example of a disciple, who makes disciples in the harvest.
Nehemiah 5:1-13
This chapter has to do with the threat from
within. Some of this will spill into tomorrow because Nehemiah continues with a
description of his mercy to the people and his work to strengthen Israel.
Vs. 1-5 The situation was that the wealthy
and leaders were taking advantage of the people in these hard times and during
this building. If the people were working in Jerusalem non-stop for two months,
it meant they were neglecting their livelihoods and farms. Instead of the
wealthy and leaders opening up their barns and freely giving to these people
for the good of Israel and the nation of God, they were shrewdly ruining the
people. The people had to borrow money to buy food. When they couldn't pay,
they were being forced to sell their children into slavery. Now the people were
really losing heart.
Vs. 6-13 Nehemiah was mad. In 13:25 we’ll see
that he had a bit of a temper. When you look at v. 10 and then the rest of
chapter 5 that we’ll read tomorrow, Nehemiah and those immediately under him
were sacrificing to help the people and the nation.
Vs. 6-7 I think Nehemiah gave himself some
time to cool down.
According to the law, the Jews were not
allowed to exact interest from one another. Worse than this was the disregard
of these people for the health and unity of the nation.
The miracle is in vs. 12 and 13. The leaders
obeyed and Nehemiah made them commit to a covenant. Nehemiah also added some
drama to this event.
Ezra showed in 1 & 2 Chronicles that a
godly leader led the people both in organizing and in worship, both socially
and spiritually. Nehemiah was that godly leader and an example of a passionate
disciple.
1
Corinthians 7:25-40
Vs. 25-28
The distressful context of these verses helps you understand what Paul is
saying. The main idea is to live with your treasure in heaven, not on earth,
and to live with your full devotion on Christ and not on anything else.
V. 25
People who were engaged is the special group that is being addressed here. That
is clear from the context, although the ESV says betrothed; it is interesting that the actual word Paul and the Spirit
used was the word for "virgin." It was assumed that there would be no
sex before marriage.
Vs. 29-31
Here, Paul changed the tone to address everyone in the church. Notice that for
Paul, the appointed time was drawing
close, and in v. 31, the form of this
world is passing away. He was not referring to the coming of Christ, but to
the judgment on that generation of Jews. The Roman Empire was caving in;
Jerusalem was about to be destroyed, and Christians were about to be tested.
Vs. 32-35
Again, keep this in context. Paul is addressing all of the unmarried, including
the engaged, saying that if they are anxious in caring for one another as
married couples, they might have a hard time taking risks and following Christ
during that time of distress.
Vs. 36-38
This again is addressed to the engaged and fits perfectly to the context. If
the passions were strong, they should marry. I often quote v. 36 and leave out
“let them marry.” Then I wait for a second and look at all the wide-open eyes
and then correct myself. The group is usually relieved to see that marriage,
not sex, is the solution to passion. So actually, this is saying that the
proper context for sexuality is marriage, right?
Vs. 39-40
In Richard Wurmbrand’s book, Tortured for Christ, he tells of a
Christian woman who was targeted by the Romanian police. They waited for her
wedding day, crashed the wedding just as they were pronounced man and wife and
arrested her. This is sort of what Paul had in mind here. Waiting until the
storm of persecution passed over was what he and the Spirit were advising.
As
disciples in the harvest, all of us are asked to lay some things aside for the
good of the kingdom and for the harvest. In the crisis Paul was referring to,
it would have been better to wait and see what would happen. Most of us will
never face such life and death situations, but the Spirit still nudges us to do
without, for the sake of what is happening now. One of the first principles
Jesus taught about following Him was denying ourselves, taking up our cross
daily and following Him.
Psalm
32
It is hard
to say when this psalm was written, but it is supposed David penned this after
he was confronted by Nathan for his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba.
Vs. 1-2 I
wonder how Paul felt when he read this psalm after what he had been doing to
Christians and then knew that he had been wrong. Paul quotes these two verses
in Romans chapter 4, showing that God forgives sin by grace, not by works. I’ll
bet these verses helped Paul.
Vs. 3-4
This suggests that David went a long time without confessing. Actually, David
"hid" his sin for over a year and only confessed when confronted.
V. 5 If
this is the situation after David was confronted by Nathan, this
acknowledgement was less noble than this verse implies. On the other hand, we
have seen other kings who sinned, like Solomon and Asa and never acknowledged
their sin regardless who confronted them.
Vs. 6-7
These are very interesting verses. The time to repent and call on God is when
the heart is soft. God can always be found, but in the flood we often do not
have the presence of mind. When God touches us, we need to respond.
Vs. 8-9
David is sharing his experience and advice. When it comes to repentance and
humbling ourselves before God, we shouldn't be donkeys about it.
Vs. 10-11
David’s hallmark was his understanding of the steadfast love of the Lord. The reason David could rejoice and why
the wicked remain in their sorrows is simple - humility and
repentance. David fell and faced great consequences, yet he still repented and
humbled himself. The Lord restored him and David lived to rejoice in the Lord.
We all fall, but we need to take the advice of David and the Spirit to return
to the Lord, acknowledge our sin and begin honoring Him in our lives.
Proverbs
21:5-7
It seems
that vs. 6 and 7 are examples of trying to get what you want with haste. The
two favorite modes, it seems, are lying
and violence.
More and
more I see that following Christ in the harvest is bearing fruit with patience
and diligence. Following God means being observant of what He is doing, and
following at His pace, which is seldom a quick one. This is what makes for a
fruitful walk with Christ in the harvest, and I think it is what is meant by
abiding in Christ.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't
work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/
and click on “Every
Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are
following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple,
following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship
culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging
each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make
disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our
growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here
or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some
explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My
comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on
Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups
will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with
and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the
harvest.
If you would like a complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is
still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's
keyed to the NIV, so the result is the commentators are constantly telling you
what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in
fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is
encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the
comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding,
that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but
only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
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