Random Thoughts

Ezra Reads the Law The people assemble in front of the water gate and Ezra the priest stands on a high platform to read the Law of Moses to the people who understand. They then celebrate the feast of the seventh month like it has never been celebrated before.

This portion continues the list of those who assisted in rebuilding the wall. Some of the priests in the group did not have genealogical records confirming their lineage, so they were not permitted to assist with making sacrifices and were considered unclean.

After the wall had been rebuilt and the gates set in place, Nehemiah appointed men to guard the gates and also others who would keep watch around their homes. He then found a list of the families of all the exiles who returned from captivity and published it along with the numbers from each family.

Further Opposition to the Rebuilding Tobias, Sanballat, and Heshem the Arab continue their plot of intimidation against Nehemiah and the completion of the wall. Nehemiah stays true and trusts in God for its completion. Opposition to the Completed Wall Even after the completion, the opponents did not stop. Nehemiah stayed true and God was honored…

Nehemiah Helps the Poor The people living in Jerusalem and Nehemiah hears from the people that they are struggling. So he asks all the ones who have lent money to refund the interest, and as a governor himself, collects nothing from the people for the twelve years they work on the wall. In addition, he…

Opposition to the Rebuilding When Sanballat and Tobiah saw how the progress of the wall had gone, they opposed them and threatened them. Nehemiah organized guards to stay by the workers. Many workers kept arms while they worked. Nehemiah had everyone sleep inside the city walls at night.

The Builders of the Wall This chapter lists is detail each family or group that repaired each gate or section of the wall. Details captured are who they were and where they were from. I counted nearly forty distinct groups, each working on a specific section of the wall.

Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem Nehemiah goes before the King and the King notices he is downcast and asks the reason. Nehemiah replies with his concern for Jerusalem since the gates had been burned and the walls were in disrepair. The King asks what he would like to do and Nehemiah asks the king to…

Nehemiah’s Prayer Nehemiah hears that those who survived the exile and returned to Jerusalem are distressed since the city’s wall is in shambles. He recalls how God would scatter them among the nations if they disobeyed and confesses the sins of himself, his family and all of Israel to God. He identifies himself as a…

The Lord Comes and Reigns This chapter looks ahead to a day when the nations will wage war against Israel and the Lord Will defeat them. The Lord Will be king over the entire world. All nations will come to Jerusalem to worship Him. Any nation that does not come to worship will experience no…