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Nehemiah 5-7    Listen Podcast

The rebuilding project in Jerusalem has Messianic implications based upon click here to read the introduction on the Book of Nehemiah.

Satan stirs the Jews up against each other (Nehemiah 5:1-13)

1 And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren.
2 For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live.”
3 ¶ There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”
4 ¶ There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards.
5 Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.”
6 ¶ And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
7 After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, “Each of you is exacting usury from his brother.” So I called a great assembly against them.
8 And I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?” ¶ Then they were silenced and found nothing to say.
9 Then I said, “What 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?
10 I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury!
11 Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them.”
12 ¶ So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.” ¶ Then I called the priests, and required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.
13 Then I shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” ¶ And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD. Then the people did according to this promise.

As a fellow pastor frequently says, "It's not the money, it's the money!" What else does Satan have in his bag of tricks to stop the work on the wall? How about bickering within...over money! Some of the Jews begin poor mouthing against their Jewish brethren about how tough the times are because of their wall-building effort. Attack from outsiders is one thing, but what about when your own relatives are giving you fits about your service to God? It was REALLY a struggle between the rich and the poor among the Jews. It appears that the financially-challenged Jews were losing their property (and kids) to the more financially astute Jews. There was also an issue of interest being paid to fellow Jews (a violation of Mosaic Law), not to mention the cost of taxes paid back to the Persians. Bottom line - it was about the money. An internal struggle within the community of God's people - Satan loves it! As we see here, it's one of his tried and proven techniques. The solution? Recognition of priorities - just that simple. When we recognize the "wiles (methods) of the devil" of Ephesians 6:11 (see notes), Satan has a tougher row to hoe. This dissension particularly disturbs Nehemiah (he was the governor); he blew his top (verse 6)! When Nehemiah recognizes this problem, I like the way verse 7 is worded regarding his reaction, "After serious thought..." When the smoke had cleared, that old tried and proven tactic of turning God's people on each other had failed. Nehemiah, as their governor, had motivated the people right through and past this period of selfishness. They all make some financial concessions so that the work of God can continue.

Nehemiah makes personal sacrifices (Nehemiah 5:14-19)

14 ¶ Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor’s provisions.
15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God.
16 Indeed, I also continued the work on this wall, and we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work.
17 ¶ And at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us.
18 Now that which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this I did not demand the governor’s provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people.
19 ¶ Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

In these last six verses, Nehemiah reveals a little more about his passion for the wall-rebuilding project. He made his own significant financial sacrifices as governor over these Jews. He did not take his governor's wages from them and even put his own servants to work on the wall. Moreover, he personally fed many of the workers from his own table during this time. He concludes his explanation in verse 19 by saying, "Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people."

A conspiracy against the reputation of Godly leadership (Nehemiah 6:1-14)

1 Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates),
2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm.
3 ¶ So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”
4 ¶ But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.
5 ¶ Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand.
6 In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king.
7 And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together.
8 ¶ Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.”
9 ¶ For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” ¶ Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
10 ¶ Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.”
11 ¶ And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!”
12 Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13 For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
14 ¶ My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.

The word is out; the wall around the city is rebuilt with only the setting of the gates remaining to be done. Sanballat sends an open letter to Nehemiah after Nehemiah refuses four requests for a meeting about this Jerusalem-rebuilding project. Now keep in mind, Nehemiah is the governor over the region. The letter accuses Nehemiah of preparing to rebel against the King of Persia. But Nehemiah didn't fall for that ploy. Then Shemaiah (probably a priest) encouraged Nehemiah (through a prophecy) to hide out in the temple for fear of life. Look at Nehemiah's reply to him in verse 11, "And I said, 'Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!'" Nehemiah deducts that Sanballat had put Shemaiah up to that also, and the prophecy was fake (verse 12). Sanballat and his evil buddies conjecture, "If we scare him, he'll stop and run. He'll abandon his principles." But he didn't - kept working until the wall was complete.

The wall is complete (Nehemiah 6:15-19)

15 ¶ So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.
16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
17 ¶ Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them.
18 For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.

Despite Satan's use of evil people to stop the work and kill the beginning of the Messianic countdown, the wall is rebuilt in just 52 days - REMARKABLE! And all the neighbors knew this: God had empowered them. Click here to read about the "Messianic countdown" from the introduction on Nehemiah. Let me remind you, this wasn't JUST about building a wall; notice verse 16, "And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God." This rebuilding project was a testimony to God before the heathen.

Who's going back? (Nehemiah 7:1-73)

1 Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,
2 that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.
3 ¶ And I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house.”
4 ¶ Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt.
5 Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return, and found written in it:
6 These are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city.
7 Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
8 the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two;
9 the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two;
10 the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two;
11 the sons of Pahath-Moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen;
12 the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;
13 the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five;
14 the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty;
15 the sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight;
16 the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight;
17 the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two;
18 the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven;
19 the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven;
20 the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five;
21 the sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight;
22 the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight;
23 the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four;
24 the sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve;
25 the sons of Gibeon, ninety-five;
26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight;
27 the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight;
28 the men of Beth Azmaveth, forty-two;
29 the men of Kirjath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three;
30 the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one;
31 the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two;
32 the men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three;
33 the men of the other Nebo, fifty-two;
34 the sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;
35 the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty;
36 the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five;
37 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one;
38 the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three;
40 the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two;
41 the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven;
42 the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the sons of Hodevah, seventy-four.
44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.
45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight.
46 The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,
47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,
48 the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Salmai,
49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,
50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,
51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah,
52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephishesim,
53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,
54 the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,
55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah,
56 the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.
57 The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,
58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,
59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of Amon.
60 All the Nethinim, and the sons of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred and ninety-two.
61 And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not identify their father’s house nor their lineage, whether they were of Israel:
62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two;
63 and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.
64 These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.
65 And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.
66 Altogether the whole assembly was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,
67 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five men and women singers.
68 Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,
69 their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
70 And some of the heads of the fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand gold drachmas, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly garments.
71 Some of the heads of the fathers’ houses gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand gold drachmas, and two thousand two hundred silver minas.
72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly garments.
73 ¶ So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. ¶ When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.

Nehemiah is now finished rebuilding the city, and it needs populating. He locates the genealogical records naming the previous inhabitants of the city, and the people (their descendants) start rolling into that big ol' vacant city. They bring gifts with them. Here's the plan in verse 6, "These are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city." The remainder of this chapter contains the same list of inhabitants we saw in Ezra 2 (see notes).

There's an issue with some so-called priests in verses 63-65. Ezra also mentions it in Exodus 28:30 (see notes), "And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually." We're not sure what these two items looked like, and they are only mentioned seven times in the Old Testament. They obviously had much to do with knowing God's will. These items were placed into the breastplate of the High Priest beginning with Aaron.

Finally repopulated. Verse 73 says, "So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities." How many? Verse 68 tells us there were 42,360 who returned at this time.