Here’s an example of backsliding! Did your jaw drop an inch when you read the description at the opening of our lesson describing the backsliding of God’s people while Nehemiah had been away from Babylon? Imagine if this were your church–no more tithes or offerings, secular meetings held on sabbath in the church, young people encouraged … Continue reading –>
Key Thought: When Nehemiah returned, the people had stopped giving tithes and offerings, stopped keeping the Sabbath properly, and were intermarrying with other nations around them.. . December 14, 2019 1. Have a volunteer read Nehemiah 13:1-9. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is. Who … Continue reading –>
Nehemiah’s reforms of the temple services included the implementation of tithes and offerings. Read Numbers 18:21-24; Malachi 3:10; Matthew 23:23; 1 Corinthians 9:7-14; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8; and Hebrews 7:1-2. What do these texts teach us about the importance of tithes and offerings, not just in the temple service, but for today as well? Without the collection of tithes and offerings the … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 13:10-14. What is Nehemiah seeking to remedy here? The singers, gatekeepers, and other temple servants had to go back to working in their own fields in order to feed their families, because the work for God was not being supported. The whole tithes-and-offerings system that was so painstakingly established now lay in ruins. Nehemiah … Continue reading –>
Nehemiah chapter 13 begins with a concern about Ammonite and Moabite foreigners/idolaters in their midst (Neh. 13:1-3). These verses do not speak about driving away individuals from a different nation or race who followed God, but rather they refer to sending away those who were of a different faith — not converts, but idolaters. (See also Deut. 23:3-6). … Continue reading –>
Does it seem that everything goes wrong at the same time? I was telling a friend of mine the other day that it seems I only get speeding tickets when I am absolutely broke. For example, about twenty years ago, I was driving in the middle of the night across country to see my sister … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Neh. 13:1-9; Deut. 23:3-6; Neh. 13:10-14; Num. 18:21-24; Neh. 13:15-22; John 5:5-16. Memory Text: “And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!” (Nehemiah 13:22, … Continue reading –>
3 Warnings in Abkhazia By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission Valentina Dmitrienko, intent on finding corn to bake lepyoshka flatbread for her family, hurried to the outdoor market in Abkhazia, a breakaway region in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. She didn’t have much money, and a months-long armed struggle in her hometown, Sukhumi, had caused … Continue reading –>
Further Study: Read Ellen G. White, “Growing Up Into Christ”, pages 67–75, in Steps to Christ. “The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity. In Christ glorified they will behold Christ crucified. Never will it be forgotten that He whose power created and upheld the unnumbered worlds through the … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 12:44-47. Why did Judah rejoice “over the priests and Levites who ministered”? Why were they important? What did the work of the priests (who were Levites) symbolize? See Hebrews 9:1-11. “The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 12:43. What was special about offering “great sacrifices” as part of their worship celebration? Sacrifices were the most essential aspect of worship during the time of the temple. Several different sacrifices were used, either for the promise of forgiveness or to express the joy of fellowship and gratitude to God. Sacrifices provided the substance … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 12:31-42. Why was music such an important part of this celebration? Part of the worship service in Nehemiah’s time was creating two thanksgiving choirs that walked around Jerusalem singing, accompanied by instruments. They started in the same place and then split off, each going in a different direction around the walls of the city. … Continue reading –>
