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Aug. 7, 2008
Nehemiah 1 - The Introduction
Posted in Study: Nehemiah
I'm so thankful there are a few who are excited to explore the book of Nehemiah together. I have read through this book more than once, and it has been a blessing each time. There are so many key elements to living a life pleasing to God in this book alone. While it looks like it might be a history book chronicling the times of a musty-dusty remnant of God's people, I'm convinced that the Word is reliable (Ps. 33:4), living, active, sharper than any sword (Heb. 4:12), useful for teaching (2 Tim. 3:16), applicable to our lives today in nearly every way (Mk. 13:31), and never returning empty (Isa. 55:11).
(Okay, let's just percolate on that last sentence for today. Study over! *lol*)
I'm only kidding . . . well, a little bit. Let's begin to take a fresh look at this book of the Bible while we have a chance. I know many of us are gearing up for big things this year in our home schools. There is no doubt the mountain of preparation and hours of consideration are upon most of us by now. It might even feel like . . . building a miniature city in our own homes . . . just a bit.
Nehemiah 1 is where we start. Let's begin our study as I might any study, if you don't mind. Let's pray:
Father, if we are to discover anything of your Spirit's fresh wind in this book of the Bible, we need You. We need a soft heart and gentle spirit that can be teachable and flexible to Your Word's wisdom and instruction. Have Your way, Lord. Have Your way! Speak to us by the Holy Spirit in the quiet of our hearts as we seek to learn all You have prepared for us in your Word.
Let's begin. One of my favorite things to do in any study is to get my bearings on where I am and who I am encountering in the Scriptures. So, let's begin there. The book is titled Nehemiah, after its author. We can get a feel for the time period in history (445-432 B.C. by my NIV study Bible notes) in just the first few verses. Thankfully, we have the chance to get organized pretty early in the book, since the orientation is in but the first few paragraphs of the writing.
Just for fun, I thought I might begin by looking up the name Nehemiah. It's Hebrew, and I know you're not surprised by that little tidbit. What I love is the meaning: God has comforted. A man named Hacaliah chose to name his son Nehemiah. What? In this time in history, God is using a man whose name is "God has comforted" as His choice of key players? Let's tuck this into our file for future reference. We need to know more about this time in history, too, I think.
Nehemiah 1:1 gives us some key setting information. If you think about the important literary parts to a story, setting is one of the most important. This tells us it's "the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while [Nehemiah] was in the citadel of Susa" (NIV; name and italics mine), and we probably have no idea what this means.
The month of Kislev. For more on the Hebrew calendar and the months, we might choose to visit a fabulous site that is dedicated to educating Christians about the Hebraic roots our faith maintains. (I say "maintains", but I realize many of us are really missing this as we read the Old Testament. I think we might grow in maturity on many things from sites like Robin Sampson's.) Back to the text. Our month is Kislev. That's interesting. It would be the time of Hannukah in our current calendar, but that doesn't figure into Nehemiah's day. This is our marker for the beginning of the story and the Hannukah nugget is only intriguing information that will factor in a few hundred years into the future. File it again. To this point, we are aware that it is Kislev, and that's the beginning of the story.
We know Nehemiah is in the "citadel of Susa". Let's define that citadel while we have the chance. My lovely Bible Dictionary by Holman says a citadel is "the translation of Hebrew 'armon. See Castle." It also says Susa was
the winter capital of the ancient Persian Empire. The territory is now in the modern Iran. Cyrus made Susa a capital city along with Ecbatana and Babylon. When Alexander the Great captured Susa, he found a large treasure which he confiscated. Archaeologists have excavated Susa largely around four areas: the royal palace, the acropolis, the royal city, and an artisan tell. Some believe Susa to be the place where Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus ruled.
Other more interesting information which we can choose to file. This was an important capital city, and Nehemiah is there.
Our next characters in the text show up in verse two. We now have Hanani and a group of men coming to visit with Nehemiah. Hanani is referred to as "one of [Nehemiah's] brothers", and we know he "came from Judah with some other men" to Susa. Hopefully, you're not surprised that I might want to know more about the name Hanani. It means "My grace, my mercy" in the Hebrew. I love that. A man named "God has comforted" is working with a man named "My grace, my mercy" in this story. I love it!
Okay, on with the study, lest we never get beyond verse two. *grin* These men are here to talk with Nehemiah, and Nehemiah has a lot to catch up on with these men. He might as well be saying "What's up with our little remnant of people, Hanani?" At this time in history some small bands of free (albeit basically homeless) Jews were returning to Jerusalem. My NIV study Bible notes say Zerubbabel brought the first band in 538 B.C. Ezra brought the second group in 458 B.C. Nehemiah will be there in about 445 B.C.
Nehemiah continues the story: They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire" (Neh. 1:3). Wait. The figures seem to show that the people have been in the area for several years. Yet, there is no rebuilding going on by now?
Let's take it this far today. Let's consider the fact that these people have been in captivity for many years (Bonus points to the person who knows how this all came about and how long the people have been in this condition.) They are beginning to have access to their homeland and their "capital city" at this point in history. And, it's a sad story . . . very sad state of affairs.
Now, at this point we can begin to interact over the passage we've covered. Feel free to comment. Add your insights, too. Or, remain reading and sitting in His presence as we go.
Be blessed!
 No, this isn't exhaustive, but it sure is something to think about.
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Posted by
Aug. 7, 2008 - wow!
We think that the exiling started in Jeremiah..and that Nehemiah was not even born at the start of this ....
we will close with that...we could be totally off the path ..yet that is what we were discussing?
thank you for your blessing to us!
we await for more ....