Chronological Bible Study – Sep 29
What I Noticed Today (Nehemiah 11-13; Psalm 126)
Nehemiah 11
Note: The memoir of Nehemiah resumes in Nehemiah 11.
Note: Because the city had been destroyed, very few people actually lived in Jerusalem. Now that the walls and gates had been repaired the city could support a larger population.
In verses 1-4, the leaders of the people stayed in Jerusalem, and the people cast lots for one in every ten people to remain in Jerusalem. The remaining exiles returned to live in their original family towns.
- The heads of the province, the priests, Levites, and temple servants lived in surrounding towns and came to Jerusalem when it was their time to serve.
In verses 4b-21, is a record of the people of Judah and Benjamin’s living in Jerusalem, along with the priests, Levites, and gatekeepers.
- vv. 4b-6 the descendants of Judah.
- vv. 7-9 the descendants of Benjamin.
- vv. 10-14 the priests.
- vv. 15-18 the Levites.
- vv. 19-21 the gatekeepers.
In verses 22-24, Uzzi was head of the Levite singers in Jerusalem, and Pethahiah was the king’s agent for the people.
In verses 25-36, the people who lived in the villages of Judah and Benjamin are listed:
- vv. 25b-30 Judah’s descendants who lived in surrounding villages.
- vv. 31-36 Benjamin’s descendants who lived in surrounding villages.
Nehemiah 12
In verses 1-11, is a list of the priests and Levites who accompanied Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Ezra 3:2) to Jerusalem.
- vv. 1-7 the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua.
- vv. 8-11 the leaders of the priests in the days of Jeshua.
Note: The priests listed in Nehemiah 12:10-11 are all high priests.
In verses 12-21, is a listing of the leaders of the priests in the days of Joiakim.
In verses 22-22, the leaders and families of priests and Levites were recorded while Darius lived.
Note: There are three Persian kings named Darius and scholars are unsure which Darius verse 22 refers to. Most likely the reference is to Darius II who ruled Persia from 423-404 B.C.
In verses 23-26, the leaders and families of the Levites were recorded in the book of Historical Records.
Verses 27-43 record the triumphant dedication of the wall of Jerusalem.
- Nehemiah gathered the people together for the dedication.
- He brought the leaders to the top of the wall, along with the singers.
- They gave thanks to the Lord and then set out, walking around the city.
- One group followed Nehemiah; the other group started out in the opposite direction following Ezra.
- They walked around the city on top of the wall going in opposite directions and met at the temple.
- They offered many sacrifices and sang songs of thanks to God.
In verses 44-47, on the day the wall of Jerusalem was dedicated, Hezekiah placed men in charge of the temple storehouse rooms.
- These rooms held the contributions from the people for the support of the priests and Levites.
Note: The order for the provision of offerings for the priests and Levites was established by King David some 500 years earlier, and put into practice by his son, Solomon (1 Chronicles 28:11).
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- God’s hand was on the people of Israel as they labored to rebuild the temple. Once the work was completed, they rightly celebrated with great joy the work that had been accomplished, giving thanks and praise to God.
- How often do we run from one work of ministry to another without stopping to recognize God’s hand in our lives? Whatever we accomplish, we accomplish through His grace, and we should always stop to give thanks to God for His power and strength in our lives!
Nehemiah 13
Note: The opening of chapter 13 is a bit confusing. It says, “On that day” (some translations “At that time”) which makes you think it is connected to the previous chapter and the description of the dedication and service at the temple.
Note: However, we see in Nehemiah 13:6 that the events described in verses 1-5 occurred while Nehemiah was back in Babylon with King Artaxerxes. So at some point after completing the rebuilding of the wall and the dedication celebration, Nehemiah returned to King Artaxerxes.
In verses 1-3, during his absence, the people returned to some of their former practices.
In verses 4-5, Eliashib the priest, who was in charge of the storehouses allowed his relative, Tobiah the Ammonite to live in one of the empty storehouse chambers in the temple.
Note: Ammonites were not even supposed to enter the temple (Deuteronomy 23:3-6), much less be allowed to live there.
Note: The fact that the temple storehouse rooms were empty also speaks to the fact that the people had not been providing for the priests and the Levites the way they had promised.
In verses 6-7, Nehemiah had returned to serve King Artaxerxes in the 32nd year of his reign (432 B.C.).
- Nehemiah asked the king for a leave of absence to return to Jerusalem, and when he arrived, he found out about the evil Eliashib had allowed.
In verses 8-14, Nehemiah was greatly upset with what he learned when he returned to Jerusalem:
- Nehemiah had all of Tobiah’s things removed and the temple storehouse rooms purified.
- Then he confronted the leaders for neglecting the tithes and offerings that were promised.
- He put trusted men in charge of the storehouse and the distribution of food.
In verses 15-18, Nehemiah also discovered the people were working on the Sabbath.
- They were treading out grapes in the winepress, bringing stores into the city on donkeys, and buying and selling.
- Nehemiah rebuked the leaders, reminding them how their ancestors had angered God by profaning the Sabbath.
In verses 19-22, foreign merchants were allowed to enter the city with their wares on the Sabbath.
- Nehemiah had the city gates closed at the beginning of the Sabbath and told the merchants not to return until the Sabbath was over.
- Nehemiah had the Levites purify themselves and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath holy.
In verses 23-30, Nehemiah found the people had intermarried with foreign women again.
- Some of their children were speaking the language of their wives and were not even familiar with their native language.
- He reminded them how even Solomon, as great as he was, was led astray by foreign women who practiced other religions.
- He charged them once again not to marry foreign women, not to give their sons and daughters in marriage to foreigners.
- Even Eliashib, the high priest’s grandson had married the daughter of Sanballat, the Horonite who had objected to the rebuilding of the city.
In verses 30-31, Nehemiah prayed for the Lord to remember His covenant with the priests despite the fact they had defiled the priesthood.
- Nehemiah purified the priests and Levites and re-established the requirement for the people to bring offerings in support of the priests and Levites.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- Nehemiah worked so hard to rebuild the temple and restore the people’s relationship with God. How frustrating it must have been to return after an absence of a few years to see so much of what had been put in place cast aside and forgotten.
- It reminds me that we are literally only one generation away from complete apostasy. If we fail to teach our children the language of God, they will grow up not knowing or understanding Jesus our Savior.
All the notes for the book of Nehemiah have been compiled into a single pdf document. You can download it by clicking here.
Psalm 126
In verses 1-3, the psalmist speaks of the joy the exiles felt when the Lord brought them back.
In verses 4-6, the psalmist prays that the Lord will restore the people. He uses a metaphor of sowing and reaping (that their work in sowing would bring a joyful harvest) to depict the spreading of God’s Word.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.