Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing…on the seals are the names of Nehemiah the governor….the priests….the Levites….the chiefs of the people….and the rest of the people….all who have separated themselves….(v.9:38-10:28a)
….all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and his rules and statutes. (v.28b-29)
We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. (v.30)
And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. (v.31)
We will also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: for the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. (v.32-33)
We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground….to the house of the LORD….the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the first of our dough, and our contributions, and to bring the Levites the tithes from our ground….We will not neglect the house of our God. (v.34-39)
Summary Points
-We will pursue honest, right, God-honoring relationships.
-We will honor God in all our business dealings. Put God first.
-Our identity as God’s people is vital. We will not neglect the house of our God.
https://midtownchurchatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-full-Black-340x100-v2.png00Admin Midtownhttps://midtownchurchatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-full-Black-340x100-v2.pngAdmin Midtown2024-07-22 14:40:592024-07-22 15:08:44Nehemiah Pt. 14: The House of Our God
And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns. And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly (both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood <6 men> on his right hand, and <7 men> on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also <13 men>, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.
On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.
Summary Points:
– The church is the body of Christ. Not “my”, “your”, or “our” church. We belong to Him. He paid for us. He demands we submit to His authority as revealed in His Word.
– Obedience is practiced and learned. When you hear from God, obey promptly.
– There are many things the church should not attempt to do or to be, but one thing we must excel is this……read the Word, preach it, teach it, explain the text and the context, and exhort one another to live in its truth.
https://midtownchurchatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-full-Black-340x100-v2.png00Admin Midtownhttps://midtownchurchatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-full-Black-340x100-v2.pngAdmin Midtown2024-07-02 15:20:322024-07-02 15:20:33Nehemiah Pt. 11: The Water Gate Revival
Three themes – (v1-14) attack, (v15-16) victory, (v17-19) endurance
6 Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm.
3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” 4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.
5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.
6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. 7 And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.”
8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” 9 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.”
11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.
14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
17 Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. 18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. 19 Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.
Summary:
There is victory in Jesus
Avoiding your God-given responsibility is to sin
To not be led astray, we need to know the scripture
Sin has consequences that can come back to bite you, but it’s not the end of the story
https://midtownchurchatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-full-Black-340x100-v2.png00Admin Midtownhttps://midtownchurchatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-full-Black-340x100-v2.pngAdmin Midtown2024-06-17 02:00:122024-06-19 12:00:50Nehemiah Pt. 9: Victory for God's People
Today we look at the problems and the prayers of Nehemiah and Jerusalem, and through it we’ll learn more about God’s character, and what God’s people are to do and how to live.
4 1Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.
2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!”
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
• Turn straight to prayer. Asking for their enemies to face the things they have recently been subjected to.
• A little counter intuitive. Matthew 5:44 “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
• Romans 12:19 “Beloved, never avenge yourselves but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written ‘vengeance is mine, I will repay says the LORD’”
• Their attacks are really aimed at God. They are insulting God’s purposes and plans
6 So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
• They have a desire and a motivation that has come from God. He sustained them as they worked on the project.
7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. 8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
• They realize there is a limited window of opportunity to sow confusion and disunity amongst the people of Jerusalem. The walls are closing, they need to act now.
9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
• But in the midst of these attacks, the danger and the uncertainty, the people prayed. They asked for protection from God.
• Spiritual and physical attack, so there is a response to both
• It is in tandem. They don’t just ask for prayer. They don’t just set up a guard. This two-pronged approach is quite instructive for Gods people
Summary
What should we take away, what are the main things we see in this passage:
Prayer comes first
-it is not an afterthought for Gods people. We see consistent dependence on the lord.
Determination to get it done
-They had a job to do. they got after it. Their confidence was in the lord
The enemy is strategic
-he is cunning and will take advantage situationally.
-Sanballat and Tobiah had a limited window to stop this plan. An attack made sense
God is just
-we need to hate what is evil, not for our sake but for God’s. The people didn’t pray against them because they were an inconvenience, but because it was against the will of God.
Application
Stick to the plan
Similarly, we have a direction and vision. We have been tasked to make disciples; we’ve talked about that several times already in our study of Nehemiah. We should not lose heart either even if it doesn’t look exactly like we would have drawn it up. Sometimes people disappoint us, or they take longer to grow in their faith than we’d like.
But we have to stay determined
Be alert
-learn to identify dangerous times, when you are particularly vulnerable to sin. The enemy will certainly be close, we need to be ready.
Plan to pray
Nehemiah shows us a great example. His personal response as well as the way he leads the people directly to prayer, constantly, is encouraging.
What is your outlook on prayer? Is it a wish list? Is it a therapy session?
-do you spend time listening?
-how receptive are you to Gods answers?
-do you get mad when you see things not going your way?
What are you praying about right now?
-If that’s a difficult question to answer you might want to bring some discipline and intentionality to your prayer life.
“8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8
This is the same God, who hatched a plan to consecrate his people in the city of Jerusalem, to restore them to Godly living, to the lives he wanted for them from the beginning. That same God did that same thing again for us. We can be made new, because our sins have been forgiven.
Isaiah 25:9 “It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD, we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation’”
And Shallum the son of Colhozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David….After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district. (v.15,17)
Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent of the armory at the buttress. After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired another section from the buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. After him Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. After him the priests, the men of the surrounding area, repaired. (v.19-22)
And the temple servants living in Ophel repaired to a point opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. After him the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel. (v.26-27)
Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate repaired. After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite his chamber. After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate, and to the upper chamber of the corner. (v.28-31)
And between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired. (v.32)
Summary points
– You cannot be Christlike and be indifferent to the church, to “one another”.
– Pray & imagine how your family/future family will deployed in kingdom work.
– The work of the Lord involves the people of the Lord, not the world.
– This record and these names are here to remind us that our lives are intimately recorded in God’s library. And the day of accounting is near!
https://midtownchurchatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-full-Black-340x100-v2.png00Admin Midtownhttps://midtownchurchatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-full-Black-340x100-v2.pngAdmin Midtown2024-05-21 16:02:352024-05-21 19:51:04Nehemiah Pt. 5: Next to Him... Next to Them... After Him... After Them...
Nehemiah is a man who has a problem put on his heart. God gives Nehemiah a desire to see his people restored in Jerusalem and protected.
In the passage today we’ll read Nehemiah doing several things: – he surveys Jerusalem and the damage – makes a plan – invites others to join – holds fast to his convictions and the truth in the face of opposition.
10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
• Satan would love for this to be a social club. A box for you to check.
11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.
13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
• We’ve got a picture of the city and the wall that ran around it. We have a decent idea of where these places are that Nehemiah is taking about, and it says that he inspected the areas that had been broken down and destroyed by fire. • Indeed it has been destroyed, Daniel attests to this: • “You [God] have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.” -Daniel 9:12
14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
• Nehemiah tells us the animal, probably a donkey or something similar could not pass through the gates. I think what he’s saying is the structure is so ruined, he had to dismount and climb under the rubble. • vs 15, he inspects the wall, looking at it with his own eyes, and throughout it he’s making a plan. Assessing the situation. Reminds me of Jesus telling those who wanted to follow him to count the cost. o For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ – Luke 14:28 • He knows what God put on his heart, and he is preparing to do it, but he’s making sure he understands the assignment.
16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. 17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”
• He then approaches the people with an invitation, a call to action. • They are in some serious trouble. A city without a wall is not a city. • It is an important thing he is calling them to do. It might seem strange today, there is no wall around your house or the city of Atlanta, but it was important then. • God gives an invitation to join, but doesn’t need them. He is going to get this job done, but they get a chance to participate. A chance to be obedient.
18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
• He tells them it isn’t of himself but a calling and plan from God. He isn’t asking them to follow his idea. He wants to do what God is asking him, and is asking them to join in. • The response of the people is encouraging, they are in to it! And more than that, it says they prepared. They didn’t just run out there and say “god will give me the strength”. • They made sure they were ready.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
• They clearly care quite deeply about what is going on, the work that Nehemiah is proposing to do. • They try to snip the idea in the bud by bringing an accusation. “You are going against the king” • This is a very serious accusation, something that would bring about death, disloyalty could be seen as treason or insurrection.
20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”
• They are coming with lies and deception. Satan is the father of lies. Nehemiah doesn’t engage or dignify them with a retort. He knows it’s a lie, they probably know it’s a lie. He doesn’t cast pearls before swine, does not get distracted. • There is no rebutting the claim, even though he knows it’s not true, he has permission. only the truth boldly proclaimed. The lord “will make us prosper.” • Nehemiah also makes it clear that they will not have any portion of the work they are doing. They don’t get anything to do with it. No middle ground. There are the people who are for it, and those against it.
key principles: – God’s people are invited in to participate. – God’s people accept the responsibility – God’s people prepare for the work there is to do. – God’s people have confidence. – God’s people expect opposition
So how do we apply this? This is not a parable. It’s a narrative. God first calls Nehemiah to participate and now the people get the chance to join in as well.
https://midtownchurchatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-full-Black-340x100-v2.png00Admin Midtownhttps://midtownchurchatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/logo-full-Black-340x100-v2.pngAdmin Midtown2024-05-06 16:25:442024-05-06 16:28:12Nehemiah Pt. 3: The Invitation
