Read Nehemiah 5:6-8 (see also Exod. 21:2-7). Why does Nehemiah react in anger? However difficult for us to grasp today, slavery was a cultural norm in the ancient world. A parent could either become a slave himself/herself or sell a child. Socially and legally, the parents had the right to sell their sons and daughters. However, since God … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 5:1-5. What is happening here? What are the people crying out against? The Jewish community seems to be united under Nehemiah’s leadership against the outside pressures. But all is not well within the nation that is standing up to persecution and defending itself from foreign assaults. Despite the outward appearance of toughness and cohesive … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Neh. 5:1-5; Exod. 21:2-7; Micah 6:8; Neh. 5:7-12; Deut. 23:21-23; Neh. 5:14-19. Memory Text: “Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them” (Nehemiah 5:11, NKJV). To this day, we … Continue reading –>
In my ministry I have met people who claim the Adventist church is Babylon. I have also met people who think the Adventist church is infallible. Both ideas are wrong. The Adventist church is not Babylon, but it is not infallible either. Just because the Adventist church is not Babylon does not mean it does … Continue reading –>
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 –>
