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AUGUST 11
Nehemiah 1:1-3:14
Who were the three shortest men in the Bible? A: Knee-high My yah, Bildad
the shoe-height (Shuhite), and the man who fell asleep “on his watch.”
So, in Ezra, we read about the building of
the temple and the intervention that kept the people from making themselves
unable to worship God. Now we look at the building of the city and organizing
of the government. Ezra will appear there too, when the wall is dedicated.
The rebuilding of the city is very important
for biblical prophecy. The book of Daniel had already been written, and in it
Gabriel says that the 70 weeks that lead to God fulfilling His plan with the
Jews will begin with the decree to rebuild the city, not the temple. That is a
small, but huge, point. What Nehemiah is about to do will start the clock
ticking. The decree was issued on March 5, 444 B.C.
Don’t forget the charts, “The Three Returns from Exile,” and “Chronology
of the Postexilic Period.”
Nehemiah 1
The most striking thing in this chapter is Nehemiah’s prayer. It shows
that he was well read, devout and knew both the warnings at the end of
Deuteronomy and Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple. During the time
in Babylon, the synagogue system and a tradition of teaching and copying the OT
came into being. Nehemiah apparently was a very serious follower of God.
Vs. 1-3 This happened about 14 years after Ezra. The people had been
back in Jerusalem about 96 years. It is hard to know what God had been doing in
Nehemiah's heart, but this news certainly was a disappointment.
Hanani was apparently Nehemiah's brother, as in they had the same
mother. We'll see him again in 7:2.
Vs. 4-11 Notice that in vs. 4-7, Nehemiah confessed his sins and the
sins of his fathers. The men who interceded for Israel identified with their
sin and their need. The example of someone who actually prayed this prayer was
Daniel, 100 years earlier. Today as we pray for the lost, we need to have that
sense of pleading to God for them as one of them. We still have that sickness
within us, but we have received grace and God's life and Spirit.
Vs. 8-11 Here Nehemiah is appealing to God's mercy on the basis of His
promises. It appears that he knew Deuteronomy pretty well.
The cupbearer might have been like the chief butler/organizer of the
palace. He might have been responsible for all palace staff and particularly
for the kitchen and all the food and drink. When we see what Nehemiah does, it
is apparent that he has skills.
Nehemiah 2
Vs. 1-8 Since Nehemiah's prayer, four months have gone by. At this
point in time, Artaxerxes had a favorable view of the Jews. He had sent Ezra to
Jerusalem 14 years earlier. The prohibition to rebuilding the city had been
well before that. The Persian Empire was still living in the afterglow of the
book of Esther. Now, his very trusted and respected officer was asking to
rebuild Jerusalem. Why all this came to a head now is only known by the Lord.
In His plan, the time was right.
V. 6 It is apparently an important point that the queen was there. She
would not have been invited to a public event. This might have just been the
two of them eating, before they spent the rest of the night watching TV.
Vs. 7-8 Nehemiah had thought this through for four months. Since there
was opposition, he would need the king's authority and provision to show the
local leaders that this was sanctioned and commanded by the king.
At this point the command is made to rebuild the city. Daniel's 70
weeks begin.
Vs. 9-10 Nehemiah’s first stop was to the government offices, which
were apparently in Samaria. When you see all the opposition that came out of
Samaria, both to the building of the temple and the rebuilding of the city, it
is easy to see why the Jews had this irrational feud with the Samaritans. There
is evidence that Sanballat was the governor of Samaria. There was already
opposition to rebuilding the wall. They might have been impressed with the
command of Artaxerxes, but I’ll bet knowing Nehemiah was a cupbearer didn’t
impress them.
Vs. 11-16 So, this opposition is one of the reasons Nehemiah went out
at night. Notice that Nehemiah waited three days before getting to work. That's
the same thing Ezra did.
Vs. 17-20 Nehemiah didn’t just present a vision, he presented a plan.
He also showed how the hand of God was working. Gene Getz does Nehemiah in the Bible
Knowledge Commentary-OT, p. 678, and he has a list of what Nehemiah did
right in presenting this challenge to the leaders.
V. 18 Notice that here and in v. 8, Nehemiah mentions the hand of my God. Both Ezra (Ezra 7:6, 9, 28,
etc.) and Nehemiah were aware that their success was a result of the Lord's
prompting and working. It explains why both men were very humble and why we
have no negatives recorded against them. As disciples, it is good for us to
remember too, that even the promptings of heart we receive are no credit to us.
They are from the Lord and we are only His servants following Him in the
harvest.
Vs. 19-20 And, as normal, there was opposition from the local
government in Samaria. Notice that Nehemiah seems to have addressed these men
personally.
Nehemiah 3:1-14
Notice that not everyone repaired opposite his own house. What was
brilliant was that the work was divided so quickly and the people dove in. It
was a miracle. If we knew the city, it would probably be apparent to us that
these sections are being given in some linear order, counter-clockwise. The Bible
Knowledge Commentary-OT has a map on p. 679, “Jerusalem in the Time of
Nehemiah.” It’s also located at the end of this document.
V. 1 It is interesting that the high priest began the building, and
that the gate was the sheep gate. This is where they brought in the sheep from
the surrounding hills for sacrifice at the temple.
V. 12 This guy and his daughters worked.
V. 14 God promised that the Rechabites (Jer. 35:19) would always have a
believing man who would stand before Him.
For us as disciples motivating others in the harvest, there is a good
lesson here. Vision is great. Vision with a plan is better. Sometimes people
don’t get involved because they don’t know where to start or how their work
makes a contribution to the whole.
1 Corinthians 7:1-24
Now for the questions the Corinthians had for Paul.
V. 1 This is a very unfortunate translation. Sexual relations shouldn’t be there. It is not in the Greek text
and isn't necessarily implied in the text. The translator was trying to fill in
the sense of the meaning, but the word is “touch.” The word has a few meanings
and one of them is “ignite,” in the active voice, but this is the middle voice
(It's Greek to me too.) and so “touch” is the better rendering. Growing up in
Milwaukee, it was common knowledge that girls had cooties and if you touched
them you’d get cooties too. Paul's intent may be that a guy shouldn't start
anything that would begin arousing feelings.
Also, the translator makes it seem as if Paul is quoting someone. In
the entire context of chapter 7, we’ll see that Paul is being led to say what
he says because of the distress the Corinthian church was facing.
One of the stylistic things that Paul does is seen clearly in this
chapter. Often in one sentence or clause, Paul will refer to men and then
women; and in the next clause begin with women and then men and so again, men
and women, beginning with the person he referred to last. He did this referring
to Apollos and himself earlier and he does it in 1 Timothy 2-3, when he talks about
men and women again. That’s just trivia for now.
Vs. 2-5 There is some interesting teaching in this passage. Notice that
the answer to sexual passion was a spouse, not a partner. Marriage is God's
plan. Also, there is no room here for homosexuality. Like every other sexual
sin, homosexuality is a violation of God's plan, design and will.
Vs. 3-4 Since the context is talking about the sexual relationship, God
appears to be saying that husbands and wives need to care for each other's
sexual needs. Verse 4 adds the sense of not withholding sexual fulfillment from
one another, and it adds a sense of respecting the other person. This verse has
led to some funny marital conversations.
V. 5 The way to understand this is that married couples should be
having regular sexual relationships. God made this for couples to experience
one flesh and completion. It is built into us. To deny it or to neglect this
need is to ask for trouble. If God’s view of being one flesh were understood,
pornography and other sexual dysfunctions in Christian marriages wouldn’t be
the problem they are today. Since God is addressing this issue, married people
need to treat sexuality with the respect and caution it deserves.
Vs. 6-9 At this point in his life, Paul was single. Some people speculate
that he might have been married as a younger man, but lost his wife. To
understand Paul’s feeling toward marriage here, skip ahead to v. 26. The Roman
world was beginning to go to seed. And, particularly regarding the Jews, a
massive storm of judgment was on the horizon for the generation that crucified
Jesus. In 70 A.D. Jerusalem would be destroyed along with the temple, and there
would be a massive persecution of the Jews. Just before that, Nero would lose
his mind, and many Christians would be promoted to permanent residence in
heaven. Paul and the Spirit could see this on the horizon, and perhaps there
was something very specific happening in Corinth. Paul knew that if the people
were married, it might create fear and dividedness in their hearts bearing up
under the persecution. Tomorrow in v. 36 Paul will suggest waiting to marry,
but then say that if you can’t wait, get married.
Vs. 10-11 This means that Paul had a copy of Mark, or other words of
Jesus where Jesus talked about marriage and divorce. Paul is referring to
Jesus' command not to divorce. This command refers to marriages between
believers.
Vs. 12-16 What Paul is saying here is a command of the Lord, but it is
not something Jesus said that was recorded in one of the Gospels. While the
Corinthians were going through some kind of distress which affected the context
of these words, the application was broader. In a marriage where one spouse
comes to faith and the other remains unbelieving and wants out, the divorce
should be allowed. Under Nero and the Roman persecutions, Christians were
targeted. Association with a Christian might have meant death too. If the
unbelieving spouse desired to get out of the relationship, the brother or
sister was not bound to deny the divorce.
Vs. 17-24 Again, this is best understood in view of v. 26. Paul is
telling everyone, married or unmarried, to put on their helmets and batten down
the hatches. This would have been advice not only in the area of marriage, but
job, moving, or making any other change in one's life.
V. 17 Notice that Paul reminded the Corinthians that he is not singling
them out and giving them a tougher command than he would give any other church.
This is what Paul taught in all the churches.
Psalm 31:19-24
This is the final installment of Psalm 31. It is all about the praise
David learned to give, not for the quick, massive deliverance he and all of us
would want, but for the daily blessings and the little escapes. The Lord keeps
us on our knees because we need to learn of Him.
Vs. 19-20 Notice David's characteristic mentions of refuge, being covered and hidden in
God's presence, and being in God's shelter. This was where David found
peace in his thinking. It is also the reason why he wanted the ark and the
temple close to him.
Vs. 21-22 This is David’s hallmark, the steadfast love of the Lord. Notice that v. 22 tells us how David
learned of God's steadfast love.
Vs. 23-24 These verses feed my heart.
Proverbs 21:4
I guess the lamp is the view of the wicked or the things that guide
the wicked as they think and make decisions. I'm glad that by God's grace we
have a better lamp.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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
and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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,
as disciples, 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, making
disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive
commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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