1.What time period is between the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah?
13 years
2.Why was Nehemiah so distressed?
Neh 1:1-4 (ESV) The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, [2] that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. [3] And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” [4] As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
3.Why were the walls destroyed and how does this tie in with Ezra 4?
Ezr 4:21-23 (ESV) Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. [22] And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?” [23] Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease.
4.What was Nehemiah's response to the bad news he had received?
Neh 1:4 (ESV) As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
5.What should we do in times of trouble?
2Ch 6:36-39 (ESV) “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near, [37] yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ [38] if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, [39] then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you.
6.What are the different components of Nehemiah's prayer?There are seven components
God you are great and have mercy
Hear me
We confess our sins
Remember your promises
You have redeemed us
Hear me
God, grant prosperity and mercy
7.Is there a significance in that the Lord's Prayer has a seven fold structure also?
It is God's numerical seal on what is spoken- an intimation of the Sabbath, the rest of God.
8.Why does Nehemiah include himself among those who are guilty of failure?
2Ch 6:36 (ESV) “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near,
9.What other prayer in the Bible does it resemble?
Daniel's Prayer
Dan 9:4-5 (ESV) I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, [5] we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.
10.Are there parallels between Daniel's position at court and Nehemiah?Both were government officials
11.Of what promise did Nehemiah remind God?
Neh 1:8-9 (ESV) Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, [9] but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’
12.What promises of God can we claim?2Co 1:18-22 (ESV) As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. [19] For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. [20] For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. [21] And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, [22] and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
13.What does the word 'Amen' signify?
2Co 1:18-22 (ESV) As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. [19] For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. [20] For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. [21] And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, [22] and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Col 1:9 (ESV) And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
Gal 6:9 (ESV) And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Luk 18:1-8 (ESV) And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. [2] He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. [3] And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ [4] For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, [5] yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” [6] And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. [7] And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? [8] I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
15.How does Nehemiah's prayer start?
With God - in the belief that He exists and that he has the power and compassion to answer our prayers
Neh 1:5 (ESV) And I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
16.What is the job of Nehemiah?Neh 1:11 (ESV) O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.
17.What happened as a result of Nehemiah's prayer and fasting?
Neh 2:3-8 (ESV) I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” [4] Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. [5] And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.” [6] And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. [7] And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, [8] and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
18.Was Nehemiah praying alone or was he praying in association with others?
Neh 1:11 (ESV) O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.
19.How many months was Nehemiah praying? From the month of Chislev to the month of Nisan. Four months
Neh 1:1 (ESV) The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel,
Neh 2:1 (ESV) In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.
20.What might it have seemed like to Nehemiah?It might have looked like God was not listening or that he had refused Nehemiah's request..
21.Who also suffered a delay in answer to prayer?
Dan 10:12-14 (ESV) Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. [13] The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, [14] and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”
22.What does Nehemiah 2:9, 10 tell about the kind of opposition Nehemiah faced?
Neh 2:9-10 (ESV) Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. [10] But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
23.Do all God's servants face opposition?
2Ti 3:12 (ESV) Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
24.What did Nehemiah relate to his people and what did he specifically say to encourage them?
Neh 2:17-18 (ESV) Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” [18] And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
25.What effect did this have?
Neh 2:17-18 (ESV) Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” [18] And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
26.What does Nehemiah do to prepare for the project of building the wall?
Neh 2:11-20 (ESV) So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. [12] Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. [13] I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. [14] Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. [15] Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. [16] And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. [17] Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” [18] And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. [19] But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” [20] Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”
27.What leadership lessons can we glean from Nehemiah?
Discretion
Planning
Giving the glory to God
28.In whom did Nehemiah place his hope?
Neh 2:19-20 (ESV) But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” [20] Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”
29.What encouragement might Nehemiah have taken from Deuteronomy 7:9?
Deu 7:9-12 (ESV) Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, [10] and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. [11] You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. [12] “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.
30.What does Psalm 23 promise to those who honour the name of God?
Psa 23:1-6 (ESV) A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. [2] He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. [3] He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. [4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. [5] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. [6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
31.How does this parallel Nehemiah 1:9,11?
Neh 1:9 (ESV) but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’
32.How does this matter of the name inform how we ought to pray and how does the Gospel of John clarify this?
Joh 17:6 (ESV) “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
(i.e the name of Saviour)
33.is the name of God placed on each church and individual that trusts in Him?
Rev 14:1 (ESV) Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
2Ch 6:36-39 (ESV) “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near, [37] yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ [38] if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, [39] then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you.
Son 1:3 (ESV) your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you
35.Does the still small voice speak in our renewed heart?1Ki 19:12 (ESV) And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
36.Does praying in Jesus's name signify we are to be praying for the welfare of the Church - bearing in mind John 17 is discussing the oneness and unity of the Church? All God's servants placed the welfare of God's people above personal concerns, consider Nehemiah, Ezra and Daniel.
Joh 17:20-22 (ESV) “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, [21] that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
37.What does Nehemiah's prayer teach us?Our concern should be for the dwelling place of God
We must have faith that God is capable and merciful
We must recognise that God is a covenant keeping God -promises mean something to Him
Repentance and collective confession are vital
38.Is restoration of the place where God put His name the subject of Nehemiah's prayer?
Yes
39.Why is restoration of true worship so vital?
John 17 -the unity of God's people is based on truth - the truth of the correct Sabbath and belief in the Lord of that Sabbath. Abiding in that truth will convince the world
The 144,000 of Revelation 14 are true worshipers who do great things
God desires worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and truth - John 4
40. Has God also promised to restore our collective testimony and on what conditions?
The same conditions outlined in Solomon's prayer
2Ch 6:36-42 (ESV) [36] “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near, [37] yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ [38] if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, [39] then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you. [40] Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place. [41] “And now arise, O LORD God, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in your goodness. [42] O LORD God, do not turn away the face of your anointed one! Remember your steadfast love for David your servant.”
41. Can God use a small people to do a great work?
Dan 11:32 (ESV) He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.
