Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “The Builders on the Wall”, “A Rebuke Against Extortion”, and “Heathen Plots”, pp. 635–660, in Prophets and Kings. “The opposition and discouragement that the builders in Nehemiah’s day met from open enemies and pretended friends is typical of the experience that those today will have who work for God. Christians are tried, … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 6:1-13. Why does Nehemiah see the work he is doing in Jerusalem as a “great work” (Neh. 6:3)? What were the attempts in this case to stop him? Chapter 6 describes many attempts on Nehemiah’s life. Sanballat and Geshem kept sending Nehemiah letters in order to get him to come to them under the pretext … Continue reading –>
Read Neh. 4:1-23. What did the Jews do under Nehemiah’s leadership to stand up to opposition? Why was it important for them to prepare themselves to fight, rather than just do nothing, believing that God would protect them? After starts and stops, the people began working again. The Jews prayed, and then Nehemiah set up … Continue reading –>
What did the “enemies” do in Ezra 4:6-24 in order to stop the work in Jerusalem? The “people of the land” wrote letters of accusation against the Jews and their work first to Darius (Ezra chapters 5 and 6), then to King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) as well as Artaxerxes. They were doing everything in their power to stop the … Continue reading –>
While “Facing Opposition”, Ezra and Nehemiah still went ahead with their work. We too must “Go, Preach My Gospel”, Hymn 378 and Hymn 377, “Go Forth, Go Forth With Christ”. The way to encourage the people building the temple was to send in two prophets: Hymn 413, “God Has Spoken by His Prophets” With the … Continue reading –>
Opposition to having helpers. If you were launching a new enterprise at your church and building a good-sized structure to contain it, wouldn’t you be delighted if a crew of experienced builders stopped by and volunteered to help? Why did the post-exilic Israelites back off when the local opposition offered to help rebuild the temple? … Continue reading –>
Unfortunately, the opposition that the Jews encountered from the surrounding nations, as described in Ezra chapters 4-6, left them afraid and unwilling to work on the temple. As mentioned before, Ezra 4:6-6:22 is not written in chronological order. Therefore, we will look at chapter 5 before chapter 4. Read Ezra 5:1-5. Why does God send the prophets Haggai … Continue reading –>
Read Ezra 4:1-5. Why do you think the Israelite remnant refused the help of other people in building the temple? On the surface, the request seemed like a kind, neighborly thing to do, so why turn down the help? In one sense, the answer is found in the text itself. The “adversaries” came to offer them … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Ezra 4:1-5, 2 Cor. 6:14, Ezra 5:1-5, Haggai 1:1-15, Ezra 4:6-24, Nehemiah 4:1-23, Neh. 6:1-13. Memory Text: “But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter” (Ezra 5:5, NKJV). … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Read carefully Prophets and Kings, pages 697–699, regarding the 70-week prophecy and its historical fulfillment. “The time of Christ’s coming, His anointing by the Holy Spirit, His death, and the giving of the gospel to the Gentiles, were definitely pointed out. It was the privilege of the Jewish people to understand these prophecies, … Continue reading –>
