Hi James and Ellen,
Nehemiah is composed of memoir exerts. Nehemiah Book – which was assigned the name of the diary’s author, began circulation around 430 B.C. The initial focus in the 13 chapters of Nehemiah is on the rebuilding of the razed walls that once surrounded the city of Jerusalem. When Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army overran the city of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army tore down the walls that were surrounding the city of Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem had been the capital for the Israelite people group’s guys and gals who lived in the southern kingdom of Israel – which was the land of Judah. About 1,400 years before Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army totally devastated the city of Jerusalem, God made a binding covenant with a guy by the name of Abraham. The unwarranted vow that God made to Abraham – who was living at the time in the general vicinity of the site that would become the city of Jerusalem, was a guarantee pledge that his extended family would always be His specially chosen guys and gals. The exponential growth of Abraham’s extended family began through one of his grandsons – whose name was Jacob – who had God change his name to Israel. From their inception as a people group, the Israelite people group guys and gals have been on a tumultuous, contentious ride that continues today. The breaching in 586 B.C. of the walls that were surrounding the city of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army led to guys, gals and kids who were living at this time in the city of Jerusalem being taken as exiles by Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army to the country of Babylonia. After Belshazzar and his Babylonian army were overrun by Cyrus the Great and his Medes and Persians army in 539 B.C., an Israelite people group contingent of guys, gals and kids – that was led by a guy by the name of Zerubbabel, was given the okay to go back to the city of Jerusalem in 538 B.C. Another Israelite people group contingent of guys, gals and kids – this time led by a guy by the name of Ezra, was given the okay to return to the city of Jerusalem in 457 B.C. The heartfelt desire that Zerubbabel and Ezra both had as they arrived in the city of Jerusalem was to insure that the temple of God was rebuilt so that God would be worshipped once again by His specially chosen guys and gals.
Nothing apparently was done over the nearly 100 years from the time that God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids arrived back in the city of Jerusalem to when Nehemiah showed up in the city of Jerusalem in 538 B.C. to do something about the demolished walls that once surrounded the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah – whose vocation was being the winetaster for Artaxerxes – who was the country of Persia’s king at this time, after a bro returned to the country of Persia after being in the city of Jerusalem with disquieting news that the walls that once surrounded the city of Jerusalem were still in total disrepair – which meant that the guys, gals and kids who were living in the city of Jerusalem were vulnerable to an attack from an enemy, made reconstructing the walls that once surrounded the city of Jerusalem his passion. Right after arriving in the city of Jerusalem, Nehemiah used the darkness of night to scope out what needed to be done. Nehemiah coordinated plans to do what needed be done to once again have the city of Jerusalem encircled by walls. In spite of having entrenched guys – such as Sanballat and Tobiah, using ridicule, threats, extortion, compromise, slander and treachery to try to stop him and his volunteers from rebuilding the city of Jerusalem’s walls, Nehemiah and the guys who were encouraged to help with the rebuilding of the walls that once surrounded the city of Jerusalem finished in 52 days the task of reconstructing the walls. Once his initial objective was met, Nehemiah took on the task of putting guys who he trusted into leadership positions. Because of the changes that were taking place in the city of Jerusalem because of Nehemiah’s influence, guys and gals asked Ezra to read the Torah – which revived a hunger among God’s specially chosen guys and gals to worship only God.
After spending twelve or so years creating order in the city of Jerusalem, Nehemiah returned to his day job in the city of Shushan or Susa in the country of Persia as a wine sipper for Persian kings. When Nehemiah returned to the city of Jerusalem several years later, he found a former high priest and one of his wall repairing helpers – whose name was Eliashib, in an alliance with one of the bad guys – whose name was Tobiah, Levi tribal clan singers not being paid because of tithes not being given or collected, the Sabbath day not being observed and some Israelite people group guys having married non-Israelite gals. After ousting Eliashib and his cohorts from the temple of God, insuring that tithes would again be given and collected so that Levi tribal clan singers could be paid, reinstituting the Sabbath day as the day of rest and literally pulling the hair of non-Israelite gals to force them to leave their Israelite beaus, Nehemiah had God’s specially chosen guys and gals once again faithfully worshipping God. What stands out for your grandpaa regarding Nehemiah – which your grandpaa would like to emulate, was Nehemiah’s intimate, interpersonal relationship with God which had him boldly talking to God as if He was right next to him, his decision making through how he tenaciously implemented the plans that he made and how he resolutely followed through to the end with his plans and his willingness to make hard calls when no one else had the backbone to make these calls.
Nehemiah