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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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INTRO TO NEHEMIAH Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert 2/21/10 I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF
ISRAEL A. God’s Warning 1. God had
promised Israel that if they obeyed Him, He would bless them as a nation. If
they did not, then He would judge them and cause them to be scattered and
taken into captivity (Le 26:33; De 4:277; 28:36, 64; Ne 1:8; Je 16:13; Je
50:17; Ez 11:16). 2. This warning was reiterated to King
Solomon in that his kingdom, temple, and people would come to ruin if he did
not walk before God (1Ki 9:1-9). B. Divided Kingdoms 1. Unfortunately,
Solomon sinned against the Lord by marrying foreign women and worshiping
their false gods. As a result, after Solomon’s death, his kingdom was
divided. 2. All Israel, except for the tribes of
Judah and Benjamin, refused to accept the reign of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, from the Davidic line. Thus, the kingdom was
divided between the ten northern tribes, called the “Kingdom of Israel” and
the two southern tribes, called the “Kingdom of Judah” (aprox.
930 BC). C. Exile and Captivity 1. Both
kingdoms, however, continued to be characterized by idolatry and immorality.
As God had forewarned, His hand of judgment fell on all Israel because of
their sin. 2. The Northern Kingdom was conquered by the
Assyrian Empire and taken into captivity in 722 BC. The Southern Kingdom
continued to exist for about a century and a half until they were conquered
by the Babylonians and taken into captivity in 586 BE. D. Return 1. After
the power of Babylon was broken by the Medes and Persians in 539 BC., many
Jews returned to their homeland. In 538 BC. the first group returned to Judah
under the leadership of Zerubbabel (Ezra 1:1-2:2). Over a period of years and
tremendous opposition from the Samaritans, the returnees eventually succeeded
in rebuilding the temple in 515 BC. 2. A number of years later—in 458 BC.—a
second group of Jews returned, led by Ezra (Ezra 7:1-10). Arriving on the
scene, they found the Jews in Israel in a state of spiritual and moral
degradation. They had intermarried with the unbelieving peoples of the
surrounding nations and were participating in their pagan practices. However,
through Ezra’s faithful teaching ministry, the majority of these people
turned from their sins and once again followed God’s will for their lives. 3. In 444 BC. 14 years after Ezra’s return
to Jerusalem, Nehemiah also returned and God used him to guide Judah in
rebuilding the city’s walls and in reordering the people’s social and
economic lives. II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF
THE JEWISH TEMPLES A. Solomon’s Temple (957-586
BC) B. Zerubbabel Rebuilds Temple (515-19 BC) C. Walls of Jerusalem Rebuilt – Nehemiah (444
BC) D. Herod’s Temple (19 BC-AD 70) E. Millennial Temple (Ezek
40-48) III. BACKGROUND OF NEHEMIAH A. We really do not know much
about the background of Nehemiah. All that we know about him from
contemporary sources is found in the book of Nehemiah. His name Nechemyah means “Yahweh comforts” or “comforted by
Yahweh,” a name well suited for the accomplishments of Nehemiah. His Father’s
name was Hacaliah (Hb Chakalyah)
and he had at least one brother named, Hanani (Chanani). He was probably from the tribe of Judah. B. Possibly Nehemiah’s great-grandparents
were taken into captivity when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. Nehemiah
was probably born in Persia sometime during or soon after Zerubbabel’s
ministry in Jerusalem. C. Nehemiah was the royal cupbearer for Artaxerxes I (464-424 B.C.)
(1:11; cf. 2:1).. This was a highly trusted and responsible position,
especially for the fact that the father of Artaxerxes was murdered and
Artaxerxes gained the throne through in-house revolution. D. The walls of Jerusalem were destroyed by
Nebuchadnezzar. There were futile attempts to rebuild the walls (Ezra
4:6-23), but due to fear and apathy, they remained in ruins for almost a
century and a half. Nehemiah became the dynamic catalyst and inspired leader
to save Israel from national and religious depredation. IV. THE AUTHOR AND DATE OF
NEHEMIAH A. Usually, the name of the
book refers to the individual who wrote it (Ezra, 1 Peter, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John, etc.). However, some see Ezra as the author having used
Nehemiah’s memoirs making Ezra 1 & Ezra 2. The Talmud (collection of
rabbinic writings) and the Hebrew Bible see the books of Ezra and Nehemiah as
a single work B. Much of the book was written in first
person (Ne 1-7; 12:31-13:31) giving support for the authorship of Nehemiah (Ch 1-7; 12:31-13:31). Some portions are written in third
person, which may indicate that Ezra may have included Ch. 8-10. This means
the book was written about 430 BC. or shortly thereafter. V. THE TITLE OF NEHEMIAH A. Because Ezra and Nehemiah
are close in date and purpose, the Hebrew Bible includes them in a single
book. The Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT) and Latin vulgate name
them 1 & 2 Ezra. B. But because Nehemiah is seen as a separate
author and a distinguishing figure, English Bibles give him a book and title
of his own. VI. THE OUTLINE OF NEHEMIAH –
“NEHEMIAH, GOD’S MAN TO REBUILD JERUSALEM” I. The Rebuilding of the
Walls (chaps. 1-6) A. Nehemiah’s
prayer voiced (chap. 1) B. Nehemiah’s prayer answered (2:1-8) C. Nehemiah’s preparation for the work
(2:9-20) D. Nehemiah’s delegation of the work (chap.
3) E. Nehemiah’s reactions to opposition (chap.
4) F. Nehemiah’s handling of internal problems
(5:1-13) G. Nehemiah’s service as governor (5:14-19) H. Nehemiah’s response to opposition against
him personally (6:1-14) I. Nehemiah’s completion of the project
(6:15-19) II. The Restoration of the
People (chaps. 7-13) A. The
security of the city (7:1-3) B. The census of the returnees (7:4-73a) C. The ministry of Ezra (7:73b-10:39) D. The list of Judean residents (11:1-12:26) E. The dedication of the wall (12:27-47) F. The reforms under Nehemiah (chap. 13) VII. APPLICATIONS AND LEADERSHIP
PRINCIPLES A. God is sovereign and
faithful in the affairs of man. B. Leadership qualities are available to
anyone regardless of background, status, or pat failures. |
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