Key Thought: The Israelites now dedicated the city wall. The dedication was accompanied by music, feasting, sacrifices, merriment, and the purification of the people. . Deceember 7, 2019 1. Have a volunteer read Nehemiah 12:27-29. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is. Name some of … Continue reading –>
After the Scriptures talk about the dedication of the wall, and then the gathering of the singers, the next verse, Nehemiah 12:30, talks about purification. “Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall” (NKJV). The Hebrew root word for “purified”, thr, means to be clean, to be pure, and it … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 12:27-29. Notice some of the key words that reveal what their worship and praise was like. How would you describe it? The Israelite nation had commissioned a specific class of the Levites to be singers and musicians for the temple services. God directed the practice and gave instructions for the service, as the temple … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Neh. 12:27-47; 1 Chron. 25:6-8; 1 John 1:7-9; John 1:29, John 1:36; 1 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 9:1-11. Memory Text: “And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: ‘For He is good, for His mercy endures forever toward Israel’ ” (Ezra 3:11, NKJV). This week’s memory text gives us insight into the Hebrews’ worship practices and how … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Test of Discipleship”, pages 57–65, in Steps to Christ. “There are those who have known the pardoning love of Christ and who really desire to be children of God, yet they realize that their character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt whether their hearts have been … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 11:1-2. What is going on in this passage? Why would they have to cast lots to see who would have to live in Jerusalem as opposed to living in the other cities? What does Nehemiah chapter 11 teach us? It was necessary to get new residents for Jerusalem from the newcomers who had come … Continue reading –>
Key Thought: No matter how far away we are from God he can bring us back to Him. November 30, 2019 Have Volunteers to read Daniel 1:1-2 and Ezra 1:9-11. Ask the class what seems to be the theme of these passages. What is the significance of the returned items? Personal Application: If God had … Continue reading –>
Read Deuteronomy 30:1-6. What promise was given here to the Hebrew people? What must this promise, among others like it, mean to men like Ezra and Nehemiah? Ezra and Nehemiah knew the prophecies. They knew that God was going to bring the people back from captivity. We saw in Nehemiah 9 that they understood their history … Continue reading –>
No question — as we saw yesterday, it was an amazing fulfillment of prophecy that brought the Jews back from Babylon. But as with anything that involves humans, problems existed. And one of the big problems was that, despite all the wonderful promises of restoration after the exile, many of the Jews did not want … Continue reading –>
Lists and so forth. Be honest. Did you cringe just a bit when you saw “lists” as one of the topics for this week’s lesson? Do you remember memorizing long and painful lists of various kinds in classes you took? How often in your work and home life do you come across lists that make … Continue reading –>
