NEHEMIAH'S PRAYER.-- 1:1-11. GOLDEN TEXT. --_ Give us help from trouble; for vain is the help of man._ -- Psalms 108:12. TIME. --B. C. 445. PLACE. --Shushan, or Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire. HELPFUL READINGS. -- 2 Kings 25:8-17; Nehemiah 2:17-20; Nehemiah 4:13-23; Deuteronomy 30:1-10. LE... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT HANANI, ONE OF MY BRETHREN, CAME. We learn from chapter 7:2 that Hanani was the brother of Nehemiah. It is probable that Nehemiah had sent him on. tour to Judea,. distance of near one thousand miles by the route traveled, to learn of the state of the Jews there. In those days when there were n... [ Continue Reading ]
THE REMNANT THAT ARE LEFT OF THE CAPTIVITY. The small numbers of those in Palestine compared with the great population in the days of the Jewish kings seemed like only. "remnant." We have found that only from 40,000 to 50,000 returned at first. IN THE PROVINCE. Judea, now. province of the Persian... [ Continue Reading ]
SAT DOWN AND WEPT. This sad account of the condition of Jerusalem deeply moved Nehemiah. Though it was. hundred and fifty years since his fathers had been brought from Judea, and though he had. high position and great favor with the king, still he looked upon himself as an exile and Judea as his ho... [ Continue Reading ]
LORD GOD OF HEAVEN, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE GOD. This expression occurs in several places in Nehemiah, and is taken from Deuteronomy 7:21, and the remainder of the verse from Deuteronomy 7:9, showing that Nehemiah was familiar with this book. He reminds God of his faithfulness in keeping his covenan... [ Continue Reading ]
CONFESS THE SINS OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, WHICH WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST THEE. God had not proved unfaithful. It was Israel who had broken the covenant, and had thus alienated the favor of God. The lowly state of the people was due to their own sins. This Nehemiah humbly confesses. So it is still.... [ Continue Reading ]
WE HAVE DEALT VERY CORRUPTLY WITH THEE. He next specifies the nature of their sins. The commandments, the institutions, and the judgments or penalties, that God had established through the law of Moses had been disregarded. When King Josiah heard the copy of the law, found by Hilkiah, read and saw... [ Continue Reading ]
REMEMBER.... IF YE TRANSGRESS. WILL SCATTER YOU ABROAD AMONG THE NATIONS. The reference is not to any particular passage, but to various statements to this effect; such passages as Leviticus 26:33-45; Deuteronomy 4:25-31; Deuteronomy 30:1-5. Twice have these predictions been fulfilled, once at the t... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW THESE ARE THY SERVANTS, THY PEOPLE. Those who had returned to Jerusalem were those whom God had gathered out of the nations on their repentance. Their cause Nehemiah pleads. They are the servants of God, his people, redeemed by his power out of the Captivity.... [ Continue Reading ]
PROSPER THY SERVANT, THIS DAY, AND GRANT HIM MERCY IN THE SIGHT OF THIS MAN. This leads to the object of the prayer. He desired to obtain. great favor from an arbitrary and despotic king, no less than to be appointed governor of Judea, with permission to rebuild the walls. He desired God to help hi... [ Continue Reading ]