Nehemiah comes to Jerusalem with one goal in mind. To rebuild the wall. He starts with an inspection of all that needs done BEFORE presenting his task to the people. Nehemiah is faithful to discharge all his duties as they arrive. He starts with delivering the king’s letters to the neighbors. And they are NOT […]
Nehemiah has been in mourning for four months over the state of his people in Jerusalem. He finally takes up this cause and brings it before the king. A couple of things surprise me in our reading today. The first is how long it took for Nehemiah to actually do something about the problem. When […]
Nehemiah heard the news of the state of Jerusalem. His people are free but they are not safe. His heart breaks and he spends days crying out to God over their state. Can I say first that I like the shorter names in the books of the Bible? They give me more room to choose […]
Ezra’s first message uncovered a huge sin in the returnees. They had broken faith with God and disobeyed His will yet AGAIN. Ezra is heartsick over the actions of the people. His message had dealt with the sin of intermarrying with the people of the land. God had commanded them to be separate. NOT out […]
Ezra has come home to teach the people the Laws of God. He is heartsick over what he finds. Even the teachers are disobeying God’s Laws. We last saw Ezra and his band of returnees beginning to integrate into the Jewish society. They even made their first sacrifice in the Temple. Ezra also went to […]