Here is the Bible study for Nehemiah. I think it's the last one.
As always, feedback and looking over my work is a good thing. I need to learn.
Friends,
Sean
Nehemiah 13 Bible study.
1.. Opening prayer.
2.. announcements about picking out something else to study. Any suggestions?
3.. Bible study begins.
Read chapters 11 and 12 on your own time so that all that has been written may
still get the recognition they deserve. Nehemiah 13
Nehemiah's Final Reforms
1 On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and
there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted
into the assembly of God, 2 because they had not met the Israelites with food
and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however,
turned the curse into a blessing.) 3 When the people heard this law, they
excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.
4 Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of
the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, 5 and he had
provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and
incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and oil
prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, as well as the
contributions for the priests.
6 But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the
thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king.
Some
time later I asked his permission 7 and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned
about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the
courts of the house of God. 8 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's
household goods out of the room. 9 I gave orders to purify the rooms, and
then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain
offerings and the incense.
Questions. What has happened in this passage? We see the people responding to
the reading of the law and obeying. We see the priest giving a room to Tobiah.
What did Nehemiah do? He came back, put things in order and emptied out the
room where Tobiah stayed.
10 I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given
to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service
had gone back to their own fields. 11 So I rebuked the officials and asked
them, "Why is the house of God neglected?" Then I called them together and
stationed
them at their posts.
What is Nehemiah doing here? He's restoring order. How has this happened in our
modern times? Does this kind of thing happen in the churches of today? How do
you think it could be stopped?
12 All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and oil into the storerooms.
13 I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah
in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah,
their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were
made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers.
How could the church, our country, and even families be restored to order? What
does it take for a leader to restore order?
14 Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so
faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.
What does Nehemiah want the Lord to do for him?
15 In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and
bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs
and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on
the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day.
16 Men from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of
merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of
Judah. 17 I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this wicked
thing you are doing-desecrating the Sabbath day? 18 Didn't your forefathers
do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon
this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating
the Sabbath."
What's happening in this passage and what is Nehemiah doing here? As a leader,
when is it okay to say strong words? If you are a leader, could you speak out
against someone doing wrong?
19 When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I
ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I
stationed
some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the
Sabbath day. 20 Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods
spent the night outside Jerusalem. 21 But I warned them and said, "Why do you
spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will lay hands on you."
>From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the
>Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep
the Sabbath day holy.
Remember me for this also, O my God, and show mercy to me according to
your great love.
What do we see Nehemiah doing here? He's having to be stern for what is right.
He's taken drastic action. What did it take for Nehemiah and Jerusalem to get
respected? How can we get the respect we need for our beliefs? What else is
Nehemiah doing throughout this whole chapter? (he's praying and asking God to
remember him.)
23 Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from
Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod
or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the
language of Judah. 25 I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat
some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God's
name and said: "You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons,
nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for
yourselves. 26 Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of
Israel
sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his
God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin
by foreign women. 27 Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible
wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?"
What do we see the people doing here? What do we do that is equally serious and
how does God feel about that? How does he want His leaders to feel about
serious sin issues? A lot of times we are told not to be angry. When is it okay
for us to be angry and even violent? Is it okay in today's society? What else
could we do to
Convince people that they need to follow the Lord and do right according to His
word? Do you think Nehemiah was right for pulling hair and beating people up of
marrying foreigners?
28 One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to
Sanballat the Horonite. And I drove him away from me.
29 Remember them, O my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the
covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
30 So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and
assigned them duties, each to his own task. 31 I also made provision for
contributions
of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits.
Remember me with favor, O my God.
How can we be good leaders that God would remember our deeds we did for Him?
4.. Prayer focus. Continuing to pray for America, the church in America, the
economy, all that.
5. Closing prayer
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