Taking the cue from Nehemiah

Nehemiah’s passion
Neh 1:4 And it happened, when
I heard these words,
I sat down and wept, and
mourned for days, and
fasted, and
prayed before the God of Heaven.
They said to me, “The remnant
who are left of the captivity
there in the province are in
great affliction and reproach.
The wall of Jerusalem is also
broken down, and its gates are
burned with fire.”

Nehemiah’s Confession
 Neh 1:7 We have dealt very corruptly against you,
and have not kept the commandments, nor the
statutes, nor the ordinances, which you
commanded your servant Moses.
 Neh 1:8 “Remember, I beg you, the word that you
commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you
trespass, I will scatter you among the peoples;
 Neh 1:9 but if you return to me, and keep my
commandments and do them, though your
outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens,
yet I will gather them from there, and will bring
them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my
name to dwell there.’

History of Jewish Captivity
Babylon captivity lasted for 70
years…
The Captivity in Egypt lasted
for 400 years
The Roman dispersion lasted
~ 1,900 years
Why?

Jesus’ prophecy
Luk 21:24 They will fall by the
edge of the sword, and will be
led captive into all the nations.
Jerusalem will be trampled
down by the Gentiles,
until the times of the Gentiles
are fulfilled.
1,900 years! Who can imagine
it?
General Titus Entering the Holy of Holies

The Persecution
Not just the Germans
 year 1590 - seemingly leading Christian lives, were
seized by the Spanish Inquisition.
 In January, 1595, Doña Francisca and her children were
accused of a relapse into Judaism
 At the resulting auto-da-fé, Doña Francisca and her
children, Isabel, Catalina, Leonor, and Luis, died at the
stake, together with Manuel Diaz, Beatriz Enriquez,
Diego Enriquez, and Manuel de Lucena.
Torture of Francisca de Carabajal at Mexico

The Persecution – The Crusades
 Jews were frequently massacred and exiled from various
European countries. The persecution hit its first peak
during the Crusades.
 In the First Crusade (1096) flourishing communities on
the Rhine and the Danube were utterly destroyed, a
prime example being the Rhineland massacres.
 In the Second Crusade (1147) the Jews in France were
subject to frequent massacres.
 The Jews were also subjected to attacks by the
Shepherds' Crusades of 1251 and 1320.
 The Crusades were followed by expulsions, including in
1290, the banishing of all English Jews; in 1396,
 100,000 Jews were expelled from France; and, in 1421
thousands were expelled from Austria. Many of the
expelled Jews fled to Poland.

Jewish People Blamed for the Black Death
 The Bubonic Plague is estimated to have killed up
to half the population of Europe—about 25
million people. A
 Accusations spread that Jews had caused the
disease by deliberately poisoning wells.
 Jews were taken as scapegoats, in part because
better hygiene among Jewish communities and
isolation in the ghettos meant in some places that
Jews were less affected.
 Thousands of Jews were murdered, often by
burning at the stake, in over 350 massacres.

Back to Nehemiah – Meeting Preperation
Neh 1:11 Lord, I beg you, let
your ear be attentive now to the
prayer of your servant, and to
the prayer of your servants, who
delight to fear your name;
and please prosper your servant
today, and grant him mercy in
the sight of this man.” Now I was
cup bearer to the king.

Nehemiah’s – In between prayer
 Neh 2:1 In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, I
picked up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I
had not been sad before in his presence.
 Neh 2:2 The king said to me, “Why is your face sad,
since you are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow
of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
 Neh 2:3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever!
Why shouldn’t my face be sad, when the city, the
place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates
have been consumed with fire?”
 Neh 2:4 Then the king said to me, “What is your
request?”
 So I prayed to the God of heaven.
 Neh 2:5 I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and
if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you
would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’
tombs, that I may build it.”

Nehemiah’s desires Succeeds
Neh 2:6 The king said to me (the
queen was also sitting by him), “How
long will your journey be? When will
you return?” So it pleased the king to
send me, and I set a time for him.
How long will it take to rebuild a city
and come back?

Nehemiah – The Jew
Here is an example of a Jew who was exiled but because of
the light and diligence he showed was exalted as a cup
bearer of a mighty gentile king.
Nehemiah had found favor before the king and the Queen.
They were concerned for the cupbearer when they saw him
said but because they were pleased with his services they
granted his request.
How is you work diligence?

Following Nehemiah's Example of
leadership
 Neh 2:17 Then I said to them, “You see
the bad situation that we are in, how
Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are
burned with fire. Come, let’s build up the
wall of Jerusalem, that we won’t be
disgraced.”
 Neh 2:18 Then I told them of the hand of
my God which was good on me, and also
the king's words that he had spoken to
me. And they said, Let us rise up and
build. So they made their hands strong for
good.

Following Nehemiah's Example of Dealing
with Difficulty
 Neh 4:8 And all of them conspired
together to come and fight against
Jerusalem, and do harm to it.
 Neh 4:9
But we made our prayer to our
God, and
set a watch against them day and
night, because of them.

Following Nehemiah's
Example of Choosing the
right leaders
Choosing right leaders in
accordance to paul’s
requirements of a Bishop:
Neh 7:2 I commanded that
my brother Hanani, and
Hananiah the ruler of the
fortress be over Jerusalem.
For he was as a man of truth
and feared God above many.

Following Nehemiah's Example of Dealing
with Injustice
 Neh 5:5 yet now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers; as
their sons, so are our sons; and, behold, we are bringing our
sons and our daughters into bondage, to be slaves; yea, there
are some of our daughters brought into bondage. And there is
no power for our hand, and our fields and our vineyards are in
the possession of other men.
 Neh 5:6 And when I heard their cry, and these words, I was
very angry.
 Neh 5:7 Then my heart ruled within myself, and I contended
with the nobles and the magistrates. And I said to them, You are
each man lending at interest, from his brother. And I held a
great assembly against them

Following Nehemiah's
Example of DELIGENCE
AND HUMILITY
 Neh 5:14 And from the time that I was
chosen to be their governor in the land
of Judah, from the twentieth year even
to the thirty second year of Artaxerxes
the king, twelve years, I and my
brothers did not eat the bread of the
governor.
 Neh 5:15 The former governors that
had been before me were too heavy
on the people, and had taken bread
and wine from them, besides forty
shekels of silver.
 Yes, even their servants bore rule over
the people. But I did not do this,
because of the fear of God.

Nehemiah’s Example of leading by
Example
Neh 5:16 Yes, I also
continued in the work of
this wall.
We didn’t buy any land.
All my servants were
gathered there to the
work.

Nehemiah’s leadership echoes Jesus’
words.
 Mat 20:25 But having called them,
Jesus said, You know that the rulers of
the nations exercise lordship over
them, and the great ones exercise
authority over them.
 Mat 20:26 But it will not be so among
you. But whoever desires to become
great among you, let him be your
servant.
 Mat 20:27 And whoever desires to be
first among you, let him be your
servant;

Nehemiah’s
other reforms
 Cleansing of the priesthood
 Setting the practice of tithing
in place
 Keeping the Sabbath
 Marring foreign women

Nehemiah’s consistency and request
 Neh 5:19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I
have done for this people.
 Neh 13:14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this,
and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for
the house of my God and for his service.
 Neh 13:14 Then I commanded the Levites that they
should purify themselves and come and guard the gates,
to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my
favor, O my God, and spare me according to the
greatness of your steadfast love.
Your Prayer?
Your Mission?
Your diligence?

Taking the cue from Nehemiah

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Taking the cue from Nehemiah