1 Chronicles 25 – Attention musicians! Does the name Asaph mean anything to you? Anyone….anyone…..Bueller? Although it might not mean anything to us, the name Asaph was as familar as Bach or Beethoven in ancient Israel. In …
Nehemiah
27 posts
1 Chronicles 1 – It was a bittersweet time for Israel. The Jews had just returned from 70 years of captivity but their situation was significantly different from when they left. There was no king and little …
Galatians 4 – I admit that sometimes I get so caught up in my own wants and needs that I miss the bigger picture. We all tend to gravitate toward a “me first” attitude even if we …
Ezra 2 – Why was genealogy so important to the Jews? We see this many times in Scripture and often it’s hard to make it through the list because we don’t know or understand the history. To …
Ezra 1 – It is fascinating to consider the faith of Cyrus, King of Persia. Was he a believer in the one true God? The passage here mentions that “the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus …
Joshua 9 – Israel made a huge blunder by not going to God with this decision. We see this so many times, especially in the Old Testament. A leader rushes into a decision without consulting with God, …
Romans 13 – In Chapter 13, Paul’s focus is the authority of the government, and how the Christian should respond to such authority. In Paul’s time, there were overzealous Jews who claimed that they would honor no …
1 Kings 3 – Incredibly, we see both the pinnacle of Solomon’s character as well as a foreshadowing of his downfall here in chapter 3. Solomon desired to serve the Lord. He could have asked God for …
Esther 1 – At this point in Israel’s history, Ezra has just returned from the exile to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The Persian Empire is firmly in control and its territory extends from India to Ethiopia …
Nehemiah 13 – So, remember that guy Tobiah? Back in Nehemiah 6 he was one of Israel’s enemies who formulated a smear campaign against Nehemiah to stop the construction of the walls. Now we read that while …
Nehemiah 12 – A few years ago a woman in town asked Hank and I to come over and cleanse her apartment. Not knowing exactly what we were dealing with, we agreed. Come to find out, she …
Nehemiah 11 – Nehemiah came up with a brilliant solution to repopulate Jerusalem with God’s people. Of all the people in the outer suburbs, 10% were to be “donated” to the city of Jerusalem. To be in …
Nehemiah 10 – Cutting corners. To me, this is what the covenant was all about. The people vowed to obey God’s law and swore a penalty on themselves if they broke it. We don’t do this today, …
Nehemiah 9 – Nehemiah 9 describes a scene of revival. God was working collectively and personally to bring about reflection, ownership, repentance, and obedience. There is something to be said about reflecting on our history with God. …
Nehemiah 8 – Why is it important to read and hear the Word of God? The one who reads this is blessed, and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in …
Nehemiah 7 – After the walls had been built, Nehemiah continued to beef up security to ward off the hostile enemies. It was normal to open the gates at sunrise, however, Nehemiah determined they should wait until …
Nehemiah 6 – Nehemiah is determined to fulfill the Lord’s work and rebuild the walls despite facing every obstacle imaginable thus far. He has persevered during the mockery from his enemies and the turmoil from his own …
Nehemiah 5 – In Nehemiah 4, we looked at how the enemy engages us when we step out in faith to do the Lord’s work. Satan and the world work externally to derail our progress, however, the …
Nehemiah 4 – This chapter is a case study for how the enemy works when you decide to follow through with God’s calling. In Nehemiah 3, Nehemiah planned a strategy to get the walls up all at …
Nehemiah 3 – In my mind, there are two critical applications of this chapter. Back in Nehemiah 1, I stated that the rubble of the temple mirrored the people’s spiritual condition. So, the first application is that …
Nehemiah 2 – Nehemiah had a rather… uh… interesting position in the royal court. He was the cupbearer and personal bodyguard to Artaxerxes Longimanus, and his responsibilities would have been very diverse. A cupbearer needed to be …
Nehemiah 1 – Back in the minor prophets, we learned that very few Jewish people left Babylon to return to their own land when they were granted permission. Out of approximately 2.5 million Jews, only about 50,000 …
Malachi 1 – Malachi’s ministry would have overlapped with Nehemiah. The temple had been rebuilt (v. 13), and there was a presiding governor over the nation (v. 8), but the people were struggling with the same sins …
Psalm 149 – Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones. Psalms 149:1 NASB What does it mean to sing to God a new song? …
Psalm 147 – Many scholars believe this psalm was prepared for use when the new city walls were completed by Nehemiah. What I find most fascinating is that the psalmist never grows weary of praising God. The …
Psalm 120 – “The Meshechites were presumably descended from Meshech, a grandson of Noah through Japheth (Gen 10:2; 1Ch 1:5). They were said to trade in slaves and copper (Eze 27:13), and may have invaded the Near …
Psalm 102 – “The Psalm has been attributed to Daniel, to Jeremiah, to Nehemiah, or to some of the other prophets who flourished during the time of the captivity. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews …