◄ Nehemiah Devotional Commentary ►
Nehemiah 1:3
Nehemiah was a Jew who had been born in the land of Israel's captivity, but had risen to the trusted position of cup-bearer to the king, himself. He was living under the rulership of the great Persian empire which had overthrown the blasphemous, Babylonian kingdom, which had conquered and enslaved the nation of Israel so many years before.
Already the Temple of Jerusalem had been rebuilt due to the decree of Cyrus, read more...
Nehemiah 1:4
There are three clearly identifiable prophecies relating to the rebuilding of the Temple, and the walls of Jerusalem. Cyrus was the great Persian ruler who decreed the rebuilding of Solomon's Temple, around 605 BC, as recorded in the book of Ezra. However, it was Artaxerxes who signed the second and third decrees.. which authorised the rebuilding of the city walls, and Nehemiah is the man who recorded this momentous period in Israel's history.
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Nehemiah 1:5
Too often today when we hear some disturbing news, whether it is political or personal, we discuss it with other people and bemoan the serious situation. Then, depending on our nature, political bias, personal circumstances, financial situation, or individual character, we set about doing something to correct it - or we ignore it and leave it to somebody else.
But as we read the early verses in the book of Nehemiah, we find that read more...
Nehemiah 2:4
Nehemiah was a Jewish exile who lived in the Persian city of Suza. He held the responsible position of cupbearer to the king, but Nehemiah was a man of God, who was also a man of prayer. He gives us some wonderful insights into powerful, prolonged, and effective prayer: "For the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."
When the news reached his ears from the remnant in Israel, that the walls read more...
Nehemiah 2:12
Trusting in the power of God and His faithfulness towards His people, together with a dedicated prayer life, is often the process God uses in forwarding His own plans and purposes for the redemption of His people. Nehemiah is a man who combined his active confidence in God with humble intercession and purposeful planning. The Lord often combines His divine work with human plans in forwarding His perfect will, when they are birthed in prayer, for the effective read more...
Nehemiah 2:18
Nehemiah, a Jewish descendant of Babylonian exiles, had earned the trusted position of cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia. Having received news from certain returnees to Jerusalem, that the city walls and gates remained dilapidated and broken, and the morale of the people was low, he became deeply distressed.
Nehemiah fasted and prayed fervently to the Lord about the sorry state of his ancestral home. The dejected countenance read more...
Nehemiah 3:1
Because of their apostasy, both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah were enslaved and deported by their enemies, and both the holy city of Jerusalem and the beautiful temple of Solomon, were destroyed by Babylon. For 70 years the land lay desolate as foretold by the prophets. But God did not forget His people and after 70 years of exile, God moved the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, to permit them to return to their homeland and read more...
Nehemiah 5:19
As we read through the book of Nehemiah, we discover a man with a passion for his God, a concern for God's people, and a zeal for the house of the Lord.
From our introduction to this man as cupbearer to the king of Persia, we discover him to be a man after God's own heart who desired to do God's will. He was a man with a servant nature who cared for God's people, and a man who feared the Lord but who, despite much opposition from read more...
Nehemiah 8:2
Nehemiah was a man who loved the Lord and was grieved to hear that the broken walls and burned gates of Jerusalem remained in ruins, despite the return of a small band of Jews under the leadership of Zerubbabel, decades earlier, and a second group of exiles who had returned 14 years before under the leadership of Ezra the scribe (a descendent from Eleanor, Aaron's third son).
The first seven chapters of his book, records the read more...
Nehemiah 8:10
Nehemiah had rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, and many Israelites had returned to their homeland following the nation's 70-year exile in Babylon. It was the first day of their new year (the feast of trumpets), and the apostate nation of Israel stood in the city square and started to listen to Ezra the priest reading the Word of the Lord. He read from the book of the Law that had been given by God to Israel.
As they listened read more...
Nehemiah 9:10
Nehemiah was the man who grieved and mourned over the holy city of Jerusalem, which lay in ruins with its city gates burned and charred. He was cup-bearer to Artaxerxes the Persian king, and his prayer to the Lord was answered when the king heard his lament and authorised the rebuilding of the city, with its walls and gates.
It was not an read more...