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Nehemiah 3 In its thirty-two verses, Nehemiah 3 lists more than seventy names. Around half are the names of ancestors: so-and-so the son of so-and-so, which means we're introduced to around thirty or so individuals who served as foremen or supervisors of a specific part of the overall rebuilding project. Everyone mentioned in this chapter, everyone listed in the Book of ...
Keep Reading"went to workbuilt the adjoining sectionrebuiltrepaired the next sectionmade repairsrestored" (excerpts from Nehemiah 3). Up until Jerusalem was sacked and its leading citizens taken into exile the city was central to the practice of the Jewish faith. It isn't a surprise; therefore, that descendants of those exiles would long to return and rebuild. Nehemiah was one of the...
Keep ReadingNehemiah, son of Azbuk made repairs as far as the House of Heroes (Nehemiah 3:16). Archaeologists are not sure what the House of Heroes mentioned in Nehemiah 3 was or its precise location. May we suggest that the chapter itself is a "house of heroes"? You may be familiar with Hebrews 11, the "heroes of the faith" chapter: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses and the rest ...
Keep ReadingNehemiah 3 Nehemiah 3 is one of those chapters we mentioned last weekfull of strange names and unfamiliar places, a chapter we're tempted to skip. In the midst of this strangeness are two key words: rebuild and repair. Behind them, a word that pervades Nehemiah's book: remember. Re- words denote doing something again, typically something that needs redoing because it has...
Keep ReadingNehemiah 2 As we read our way through Nehemiah in the weeks ahead, we'll likely skip around one-third of the book: those lists of names of people who pretty much don't appear anywhere else in Scripture, and those genealogies that Scripture just can't seem to get enough of but which bore us to tears. Why would the Scripture-inspiring Spirit insist on including all those na...
Keep ReadingI went to JerusalemI set out during the nightthen I said to them (excerpts from Nehemiah 2:11-18) Nehemiah had become a wise man by the time he entered Jerusalem that day. His was a wisdom honed by focus on the One True God who got him there. Contained in that wisdom was a treasurethe mission God had entrusted to him. Nehemiah didn't know these inhabitants of Jerusalem;...
Keep ReadingI went to Jerusalem I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heartto do for Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:11-12). If you were asked to name the most important people in your life, you could do that pretty easily. How about the most important places? Maybe it's your childhood home or hometown, or a favorite vacation spot you return to year by year. Perhaps you enjoy visit...
Keep ReadingI had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:12). Have you been depressed by the breadth of brokenness surrounding you? Have you been overwhelmed with a looming project or the sheer volume of work that needs to be done? I certainly have! Gosh, it seems as if the world is crumbling around us right now! Nehemiah is overwhelmed with ...
Keep ReadingNehemiah 2:11-20 [Editor's note: Good to be backthanks for letting us take a brief break! We're always looking to add to our Connect Devotional writing team. You don't need to be a professional writer or Bible scholar. If you're at all interested in exploring the possibility, contact Alex or Brian.] Why rebuild? In Nehemiah's day Jerusalem was a shattered city on the far...
Keep Reading8"Rememberthe instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatteryou among the nations,9but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gatherthem from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.' (Nehemiah 1:8-9) (Note: If you're just joini...
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