A Journey through the Bible with Tiglath

75. The Book of Nehemiah

This is a very interesting book. It tells

of the struggle the Jews had when they

attempted to re-build the walls of

Jerusalem against the wishes of the

Samaritans and other tribes who lived

in the area. In chapter 1 we meet

Nehemiah who was cup-bearer to King

Artaxerxes. Nehemiah was a Jew.

Some Jews came to him to tell him that

Jerusalem was in a terrible state:                          Nehemiah as cup-bearer

its walls broken down and the gates set

on fire. This news upsets Nehemiah and

he prays to God, asking Him to forgive the sins of his people and to gather them

together again.

Chapter 2 finds him serving wine to King Artaxerxes. The king notices that

Nehemiah is looking very sad and asks him the reason. Nehemiah plucks up his

courage and tells him that the state of Jerusalem is causing him much grief. The

king asks him what he wants to do about it. Nehemiah asks for leave so that he

can go to Jerusalem and help re-build the city. He asks the king for

a letter to facilitate his journey and for timber

from the royal forest. All this is granted by the

king. He also sent horsemen and captains of the

army to protect Nehemiah on his journey. In verse

10 we meet Sanballat and Tobiah. members of

non-Jewish tribes in the area who were much

opposed to the re-building of Jerusalem. In this

visit, Nehemiah stayed in Jerusalem for 3 days but

only told a few men. Verses 12 -15 describe how

he visits the city by night. After his inspection he

calls the leaders of the city together and exhorts

them to start re-building. In verse 19 we learn

that when the leaders of the tribes who were not

Jews heard what was proposed, they laughed in

scorn. Nehemiah replies that 'God in heaven will

prosper us'.

Chapter 3 contains the names of those who re-built the walls. Chapter 4 finds

Nehemiah having more trouble with Sanballat and his friends who conspired

together to fight the Jews and hinder the work. Verses 13 -23 tell us how the

work was guarded. In chapter 5 the people are very upset by a food shortage and

forced to mortgage their lands and sell their children into bondage in order to pay

for food and the king's tribute.

The culprits were richer Jews. Verse 6 onwards tells how an angry Nehemiah

dealt with the situation. We also learn from verse 14 that Nehemiah had been

appointed Governor in the land of Judah for at least 12 years.

In the next part of the journey we learn how the religious side of life in

Jerusalem is restored.

Nehemiah directing

building of Jerusalem

walls