Nehemiah 2004

Neh 13:6 But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had gone to the king. After some time, however, I asked leave from the king, Nehemiah spent twelve years in Jerusalem and went back to Babylon as he had promise. After a period of time (a year?) he came back and found that things were not right. Tobiah was an Ammonite to whom Eliashib had given a large room in the court of the Temple during Nehemiah's absence from Jerusalem. So when he comes back, Nehemiah has to deal with unfaithfulness in the tithe, desecration of the Sabbath, and intermarriage.

Neh 10:28 Now the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding, Neh 10:29 are joining with their kinsmen, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God's law, which was given through Moses, God's servant, and to keep and to observe all the commandments of GOD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes; The governor, priests, Levites, and leaders of the people signed the Covenant and represented all the people who had knowledge and understanding in the land to keep this Covenant. They are taking an oath to keep all of Elohim's Torah and taking upon themselves a curse if they break this Covenant. This same type of oath was taken by the people of Israel before they crossed the Jordan into the Land. Deut. 27:9-26 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silent and listen, O Israel! This day you have become a people for the LORD your God. 10“You shall therefore obey the LORD your God, and do His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.” 11Moses also charged the people on that day, saying, 12“When you cross the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13“And for the curse, these shall stand on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14“The Levites shall then answer and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice, 15‘Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’ 16‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ 17‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ 18‘Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ 19‘Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ 20‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ 21‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ 22‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ 23‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ 24‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ 25‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ 26‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ Neh 10:30 and that we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. They specifically made an oath not to marry their children to the pagan peoples of the nearby lands because that is a sin they had just committed previously. Deut. 7:1-4 “When the LORD your God shall bring you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and shall clear away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, 2and when the LORD your God shall deliver them before you, and you shall defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. 3“Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4“For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you. Neh 10:31 As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day; and we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. They will not buy or sell on the Sabbath because then they are employing servants on that sacred day of rest. Ex. 20:8-10 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. They will not harvest crops on the seventh year. Exod. 23:10-11 They will forgive all debts every seven years. Deut. 15:1-5 It seems that they were to repeat specific parts of the Covenant that might be tempted by their greed. River Valley Torah Assembly

Neh 9:29 And admonished them in order to turn them back to Thy law. Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Thy commandments but sinned against Thine ordinances, By which if a man observes them he shall live. And they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen. Neh 9:30 "However, Thou didst bear with them for many years, And admonished them by Thy Spirit through Thy prophets, Yet they would not give ear. Therefore Thou didst give them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. Since they would not listen to the Instructions of Elohim, He gave them into the hands of the peoples of the lands. Isa. 42:24 Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, And in whose ways they were not willing to walk, And whose law they did not obey? Neh 9:31 "Nevertheless, in Thy great compassion Thou didst not make an end of them or forsake them, For Thou art a gracious and compassionate God. Neh 9:32 "Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who dost keep covenant and lovingkindness, Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before Thee, Which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and on all Thy people, From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day. They acknowledge that they brought all their hardship upon themselves. Neh 9:33 "However, Thou art just in all that has come upon us; For Thou hast dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly. Neh 9:34 "For our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Thy law Or paid attention to Thy commandments and Thine admonitions with which Thou hast admonished them. They admit that their hardship was due to the leaders of the people and the people themselves disregarding the Torah of Elohim. Jer. 29:18-19 ‘And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and a horror, and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19because they have not listened to My words,’ declares the LORD, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the LORD. 2 Kings 17:15-16 And they rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the LORD had commanded them not to do like them. 16And they forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. The NKJV of this passage tells us that His Torah testifies against them. This was also stated in the song of Moses, which is similar to this chapter in Nehemiah. Deut 31:21-22 “Then it shall come about, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants); for I know their intent which they are developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.” 22So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the sons of Israel. The Song of Moses will testify against them in the future also.

Neh 8:9 Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. The people were weeping when they heard the Words of Torah. While it would have been appropriate for the people to weep ten days later, it was not appropriate on the Feast of Trumpets. It is a celebration. Neh 8:10 Then he said to them, "Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." The people sorrowed because they had not obeyed Torah. Nehemiah told them to rejoice that they could now understand it and obey it. He told them to send food and drink to those who were poor and unable to prepare anything themselves. He wanted all the people to have joy in understanding Torah.

Neh 5:8 And I said to them, "We according to our ability have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?" Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. Nehemiah has bought back Jews that were sold into slavery to heathens. Now some among the Jews were selling their brothers back into slavery. They could not defend their despicable actions. Neh 5:9 Again I said, "The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? Neh 5:10 "And likewise I, my brothers and my servants, are lending them money and grain. Please, let us leave off this usury. They were not walking in the fear of Elohim. They were selling their own people in order to get rich and doing this in the sight of the nations that are their enemies. These acts do not honor Elohim in the sight of the world. Micah 2:1-5 Woe to those who scheme iniquity, Who work out evil on their beds! When morning comes, they do it, For it is in the power of their hands. 2They covet fields and then seize them, And houses, and take them away. They rob a man and his house, A man and his inheritance. 3Therefore, thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am planning against this family a calamity From which you cannot remove your necks; And you will not walk haughtily, For it will be an evil time. 4“On that day they will take up against you a taunt And utter a bitter lamentation and say, ‘We are completely destroyed! He exchanges the portion of my people; How He removes it from me! To the apostate He apportions our fields.’ 5“Therefore, you will have no one stretching a measuring line For you by lot in the assembly of the LORD. Nehemiah tells them to give their property back to them and forgive the interest payments that have been charged to them in order that they may pay the principle.

Neh 4:4 Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. Neh 4:5 Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before Thee, for they have demoralized the builders. Neh 4:6 So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. Nehemiah's prayer was strongly against the Samaritans and the Ammonites and their other allies. The text says the people "had a mind to work" and their enemies were trying to break their morale. The walls were just rebuilt to half their height, so they were not fully protecting the city.

Neh 1:6 let Thine ear now be attentive and Thine eyes open to hear the prayer of Thy servant which I am praying before Thee now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Thy servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against Thee; I and my father's house have sinned. Neh 1:7 "We have acted very corruptly against Thee and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which Thou didst command Thy servant Moses. Nehemiah's prayer is a lot like Daniel's prayer when he was praying for his people also. Not only did Daniel fast and afflict himself (fast), but the pleas to the Father are almost identical. The people "have acted very corruptly" Dan. 9:5-6 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly, and rebelled, even turning aside from Thy commandments and ordinances. 6“Moreover, we have not listened to Thy servants the prophets, who spoke in Thy name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land. Incline your ear and open your eye to our prayers... Dan. 9:17-18 “So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Thy servant and to his supplications, and for Thy sake, O Lord, let Thy face shine on Thy desolate sanctuary. 18“O my God, incline Thine ear and hear! Open Thine eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Thy name; for we are not presenting our supplications before Thee on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Thy great compassion.