THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH

I.       OUTLINE

A.     Prayer before the work (Ch. 1)

B.     The work of repairing the walls (Ch. 2 & 6)

C.     The work of relational laws (Ch. 7 & 13)

II.     TEACHINGS

A.     Nehemiah

1.        His birth

 a.      Cupbearer of the king (1:11)

 b.      Governor the Judah (10:1; 5:14)

2.        His prayer

 a.      Prayer of sorrow (1:4-11; Ezek 22:30; Jer 29:7)

 b.      Contents (1:5-10)

(a)     Admission of sin

(b)     Prayer of request

(c)     Grasp God's promise

 c.      Result: God's hand of assistance

 d.      Timing

(a)     Before the work (Ch. 1)

(b)     During the work (4:3,4,8,9; 6:9,13,14)

(c)     After the work (9:1-8; 12:27; 13:14,22,31)

3.        Faith

 a.      Sacrificed all things by faith (Heb 11:24-26; Neh 5:14-19)

 b.      Firmly believe God's promise (1:9; 2:20; 4:14,20)

 c.      Receive courage by faith (4:4,9,21; 6:3,9,11; 5:7-13; 13:17,25)

 d.      Persist until the end by faith (6:15-16)

B.     Rebuilding the HolyTemple

1.        Need people with heart of zeal (1:4; Dan 9:3; Jn 2:17; Rom 9:2)

2.        Working together of the people (2:17; 3:1-32)

 a.      Each household repaired the wall opposite their house (3:28- 32; 4:6)

 b.      Everyone participated in holy work (3)

 c.      Division of labor (3)

3.        Obstruction of the enemy and the final victory

 a.      The enemy

(a)     Sanballat, the Samaritan (4:1-2) - conforming to the world

(b)     Tobiah, the Ammonite (4:3; Gen 19:38; 6:18) - lust of flesh

(c)     Geshem, the Arabian (6:1; Gal 4:29) - fleshly

(d)     Ashdodites, the Gentile (4:7) - idol worshippers

 b.      The obstruction (4:1-3; 6:2,3,13-14; 5:1-13)

 c.      Ways to overcome the obstruction (Eph 6:11-18)

(a)     Faith (2:20)

(b)     Prayer (4:3-6)

(c)     Keep and protect (4:8-22)

(d)     Wisdom (6:10-14)

(e)     Sacrifice (5:1-19)

C.     The Holy Convocation

1.        Ezra taught the people by the laws of Moses (8:1-4)

2.        The people listened and obeyed (8:1-18)

3.        The people repented (9:1-38)

4.        The people offered and observed the feasts (10:32-39)

D.     The Spirit of Rebuilding HolyTemple (12:43; 13)

1.        Offering (12:44-47)

2.        Cleansing of holy temple (13:1-9)

 a.      Separate people of foreign descent (13:1-3)

 b.      Offer tithes and re-establish the duties of Levites (13:10- 14)

 c.      Observe the Sabbath (13:15-22)

 d.      Disallow marriage with Gentiles (13:23-29)

3.        Special prayer (13:29-31)

 a.      For the priests who have sinned (29)

 b.      For God to remember the work of rebuilding the temple (31)