When Nehemiah learned of the sad state of Jerusalem, he wept, mourned, and fasted. What causes you to respond that way? When you are distraught the way he was, what is your natural instinct on how to fix the situation? Is your first reaction to pray or something else? How did Nehemiah become a person that responded this way? Nehemiah was a high official in a foreign kingdom. He had prestige and in...  Read More

Nehemiah 2:19-20 (HCSB)19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official,  and Geshem the Arab  heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 I gave them this reply, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim ...  Read More

Nehemiah 2:11-18 (HCSB)Preparing to Rebuild the Walls 11 After I arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,  12 I got up at night and took a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took  was the one I was riding. 13 I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Serpent’s  Well and the Dung Gate,  and I inspecte...  Read More

Nehemiah 2:1-10 (HCSB)Nehemiah Sent to Jerusalem 2 During the month of Nisan  in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,  when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 so the king said to me, “Why are you  sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but depression.”  I was overwhelmed with fear 3 and replied to the king, “May the king...  Read More

Nehemiah 1:4-11 (HCSB)Nehemiah’s Prayer 4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying  before the God of heaven.  5 I said, Yahweh, the God of heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him  and keep His commands,  6 let Your eyes be open and Your ears be attentive  to hear Your servant’s prayer...  Read More

Nehemiah 1:1-3  (HCSB)1 The words of Nehemiah  son of Hacaliah: News from Jerusalem During the month of Chislev   in the twentieth year,   when I was in the fortress city of Susa,  2 Hanani,  one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant  that had survived the exile.  3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province,  who survived the ...  Read More

Sovereign Over AllThe book of Ezra chronicles the return of God's people from Babylonian captivity to the Promised Land from 538 BC to 457 BC..Study The Word: Sin brings consequences. We all understand that. But our merciful God always invites us to return to Him. The end of the Babylonian exile is an example of God’s restoration of His people. God rules sovereignly over the events of history and ...  Read More

Israel was told that exile was possible before they even entered the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 28:64-68). Because of their disobedience, Israel spent many years in exile. Here, however, we see God promising the end of that punishment. After 70 years of exile, how do you think this was received? With disbelief? With indifference? With anticipation? When Israel initially left exile, the whole assem...  Read More

Ezra 3:10-13 (HCSB)Temple Foundation Completed 10 When the builders had laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph,  holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the Lord, as King David of Israel had instructed.  11 They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: “For He is good; His faithful love ...  Read More

Ezra 3:8-9 (HCSB)Rebuilding the Temple 8 In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God’s house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak,  and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were 20 years old or more to supervise the wor...  Read More

Ezra 3:1-7 (HCSB)Sacrifice Restored 3 By the seventh month,  the Israelites had settled in their towns, and the people gathered together in Jerusalem.  2 Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel  and his brothers began to build the altar of Israel’s God in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.  3...  Read More

Ezra 2:64-70 (HCSB)64 The whole combined assembly numbered  42,360 65 not including their 7,337 male and female slaves, and their 200 male and female singers. 66 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 67 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. Gifts for the Work 68 After they arrived at the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders gave freewill offerings  for the house of God in order to have it rebu...  Read More