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Building a Wall but not Tearing Down their Wicked Hearts in Nehemiah

Dan Sullivan · November 17, 2015 ·

[8] and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say. [9] So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?
(Nehemiah 5:8-9 ESV)

Nehemiah and the others are working so hard to rebuild the nation of God, but on the inside these guys are lying and cheating and oppressing and undoing all of their work. It is no good to build a wall around Jerusalem if their hearts are as wicked as the pagans outside the walls. 

I love it that it says Nehemiah took counsel with himself. He may have been all alone and every other official around him was corrupt in this. It doesn’t mention any others on his side, just that they were all silent when he brought up these questions. 

The other thing that happened here that he doesn’t focus on is that it was like tax return season. It was like the year of Jubilee!   Children taken in slavery were returned to their parents, land was returned to families, and interest that had been taken was given back. There were a ton of folks that became poorer, but there were even more that day that became richer!

Bible Study generosity, Nehemiah, Slavery

Nehemiah Viewing the Ruins

Dan Sullivan · October 29, 2015 ·

I’m reading through Nehemiah with a group of guys from OneLife West and the thing that hit me yesterday was that Daniel was taken away and the city was destroyed around 605 BC.
Nehemiah was going back and viewing the destruction around 450 B.C. That would be like me going and touring the battle of Gettysburg, but it not being restored until now.

This shows me more than ever that we need to read the Bible in context. Just imagine how overgrown and desolate that broken down wall would have been! Rocks would easily be lost under erosion, entire trees would be growing over boulders that vaguely resembled cut rock for a wall!

Bible Study, Urbia Nehemiah, OT, Urban Renewal

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