Nehemiah: A Study

[Calypso Jones]

The Sheep Gate that the priests rebuilt was important to them (the Priests) for it was through this gate that the sacrifices came through to the temple. Anyway...the priests NEED to take a leading position.
The Gates and walls meant security, trade, commerce, and a sense of self respect for the inhabitants. The leaders would meet and hold their meetings at these gates. These gates in the wall were for security and often had towers on either side where watchmen would stand guard in case any army attempted to sneak up on them. The gates were heavy and were locked at night.

There were some who refused to help...the nobles of the Tekoites. No more was said, but then, no one forgot who did not do their part in the wall building.

v12: Shallum, son of hallohesh had no sons so his daughters assisted in the rebuilding.

[Calypso Jones]

[Calypso Jones]

300 years before nehemiah, the Armies from the north began invading and carrying away the Israelites/judites. These invading kings placed other captives within the land of israel/judah. And after a time, these foreigner began to marry the Israelites that were left in the land. These 'crossbreeds' for lack of a better term were known as samaritans. Nehemiah and Ezra had no use for them. Indeed there was animosity between the two.

divided up israel (north) and Judah (south) At nehemiah's time.

[Calypso Jones]

Chapter 4.

Opposition to the Rebuilding

1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews,



2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”



3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”


4 Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.


5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.


6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.


7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry.


8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.


9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.


10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”


11 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”


12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”


13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.


14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”


15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.


16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah


17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other,



18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.



19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall.


20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”


21 So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out.


22 At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.”


23 Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.

[Calypso Jones]

Sanballat was a samaritan. He and Tobiah used ridicule against Nehemiah and the jews who were working on the wall. Nehemiah and others asked God for this: Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.


5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.

and they completed the wall to half its height because the people were really into the task.

Sanballat and others were very angry that they were going on ahead and having success in the rebuilding. Nehemiah's enemies plotted strategies against them. Nehemiah heard of these plans and posted guards but continued to pray to God.

[Calypso Jones]

Many Jews who did not live in Jerusalem also helped with the walls. They were from Gibeon, Mizpah and Zanoah. Chapter 3 mentions 10 gates in all. Enemy assaults were usually heaviest at the gate.

Organized resistance increased as it became evident that the Jews were serious about rebuilding the wall and they would not be deterred.

Nehemiah responded to the insults of Sanballat and Tobiah by praying to God rather than lashing out at them. Nehemiah left revenge to God. The Jews invested their efforts into the rebuilding rather than responding to their enemies. (A lesson for us if we care to learn it)

Before long the gaps were closed and the wall reached half its height. This so unnerved the enemies that they decided to attack and destroy the work before it could be completed. Tobiah, Sanballat, arabs, ammonites and certain residents of Ashdod( a former philistine town that became a distrit capital under persian control) formed a stategy to attack the city and demoralize the builders.

THIS did not have the effect the enemy had hoped for. Instead, the workers doubled/tripled their efforts. Men were assigned the task of providing round the clock security for the city.

Even so, the strength of the laborers was diminishing. They worked dawn to dusk every day. Jews who lived near the enemy kept up their warnings for they heard the rumors of the plans against The city and the laborers.

Nehemiah posted more guards.. each had a sword, spear and bow...weapons designed for long range and close combat.

Nehemiah continued to encourage the builders. He appealed to their faith in their God and their desire to protect their families from the enemy's threats.

[Calypso Jones]

With Nehemiah's strategic plan of using heavily armed guards around the work site, the enemy abandoned it's plan of attack. Nehemiah assigned 50% of his crew to active military duty and distributed weapons and armor to them. In addition, the men that were the labor force were also carrying weapons with them as they worked.

Additionally, Nehemiah had all workers and their helpers begin to spend their nights inside the city walls...that way they could provide guard duty at night and serve as workers in the day.

Nehemiah also established an emergency alert system in case of attack. When they heard the sound of the trumpet, all the workers would immediately gather for battle toward the sound of the trumpet. Nehemiah, like Gideon, told them that God would fight for them.

Their schedules were so demanding that none of the men took off their clothes at night. They remained fully clothed AND ARMED for everything they did.

[Calypso Jones]

Chapter 4...couple little things.

Nehemiah's prayer. Reminiscent of the imprecatory psalms--those calling for the destruction of the enemy

2. As we do God's will, Satan often diverts our attention...he takes us away from the task set before us and turns our focus to the obstacles he places in our paths. Nehemiah didn't spend time responding to the enemy's threats. His focus was on completing the task of rebuilding that wall. Does this ring a bell? like right now...what we are going through prior to this election?

When the 'stresses' mount, don't give up...don't take your focus from the 'task' at hand. Keep working toward that goal...keep praying.

[Calypso Jones]

Nehemiah 5

New International Version
Nehemiah Helps the Poor


1 Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews.

2 Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”

3 Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”
4 Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.

5 Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”
6 When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry.

7 I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them

8 and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.

9 So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?

10 I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest!

11 Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”

12 “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say. Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised.

13 I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!” At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

14 Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.

15 But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels[a] of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.

16 Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we[b] did not acquire any land.

17 Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations.

18 Each day one ox, six choice sheep and some poultry were prepared for me, and every ten days an abundant supply of wine of all kinds. In spite of all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the demands were heavy on these people.

19 Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people.
Footnotes

1. Nehemiah 5:15 That is, about 1 pound or about 460 grams
2. Nehemiah 5:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac I

[Calypso Jones]

The threats these jews faced was not just from outside the wall....it was also INSIDE the wall...the forces of nature...for the rebuilding was taking place during a serious famine and 2...the abuses the jews suffered from their fellow jews.

These were the problems:

1. The people lacked food.

2. In order to purchase food the people were forced to mortgage their houses, fields, vineyards.

3. The taxes imposed by the Persian government on all the landowners had forced the people to borrow money just to pay their taxes and

4. in order to get the money to pay their debts, many had been forced to sell their sons and daughters into slavery to other jews. More about this shortly.


The food supply was scarce as was money...Add to that the stress of finishing the wall under the threat of the enemy drove the oppressed people, the poorer jews, to the point of rebellion. They brought these issues to the attention of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah was outraged but he took time to think it over, probably prayed.