Renewed Opposition
to the Rebuilding of the Walls of Jerusalem
Nehemiah 4: 1-23

445 BC During the ministry of Nehemiah (to see link click Bt – The Third Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah Memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah From a Jewish Perspective: The Nehemiah Memoirs).

It is through many persecutions that we must enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). This was how Paul informed the young believers in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch after his initial missionary journey (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click Bm – Paul’s First Missionary Journey). Knowing the reality of spiritual warfare beforehand, as we run the race that is set before us (Hebrews 2:1), will help us avoid becoming too discouraged or drawing false conclusions – thinking that opposition signals ADONAI’s disapproval of us and that we should change course immediately. But we often, in a less-than-subtle way, draw the conclusion that lack of opposition means YHVH’s favor, when, in fact, the opposite can be true. When the work of rebuilding began, one of Nehemiah’s tasks was to reassure his brothers and sisters that the severe opposition that they immediately faced, was nothing more than what they should expect. In reality, they should take comfort from it, knowing that it was evidence that what they were doing was a good thing – and the Adversary hates a good thing and will always try to destroy it.

Nehemiah, as we shall see, was not timid when it came to responding to the psychological intimidation hurled at him and his wall-builders; he was not going to be frightened into submission by bullies even if they were armed and bent on murder. This was ADONAI’s work, and he urged his brothers and sisters on, even if it cost them their lives. They would not be the first to suffer loss for the sake of the kingdom of God. Some things are worth fighting for; building the Kingdom is surely one of them.²³²

The Construction of the Eastern Wall
Nehemiah 3: 15-32

DIG: Nehemiah’s name is conspicuous by its absence from this chapter. What do you suppose he was doing while all the others were “doing their work?”

REFLECT: How can you tackle some project at your messianic synagogue or church that is not finished as a result of a lack of volunteers?

445 BC During the ministry of Nehemiah (to see link click Bt – The Third Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah Memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Nehemiah Memoirs).

The style of this section of Nehemiah is somewhat different than the previous file (see Bz – Repairing the Northern, Western and Southern Walls). The most evident difference is that the landmarks are now primarily houses and other buildings instead of gates. The reason for this is probably that the east side of the City did not follow the old wall but was built farther up on the crest of the hill along the eastern side of Jerusalem.²³⁰

Construction of the South-East Wall: Shallun son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate, which may also be translated the Spring Gate. He built it, covered it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the King’s Garden, as far as the stairs going down a steep ascent south-east from the City of David (Nehemiah 3:15). Probably to be identified with Shiloah (Isaiah 8:6), or Siloam. Water from the Pool of Siloam flowed through the King’s Garden located outside the walls where the Kidron and Hinnom valley converge (Second Kings 25:4).

Beyond him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, the ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, an important town on the southern border (Joshua 15:58), about thirteen miles south of Jerusalem and marked the southern limits of the province of Judah. It was turned into a fortress by Rehoboam (Second Chronicles 11:7). There, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, made repairs as far as the tombs of David (Second Chronicles 32:33) and the artificial pool constructed by Hezekiah, or the Kings Pool (2:14), and the House of the Warriors (Nehemiah 3:16). This was the site of the royal barracks that David erected for his body-guard described (see the commentary on the Life of David Ej – David’s Mighty Warriors).

After him, the Levites made repairs under Rehum son of Bani, and beside him, Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah (Joshua 15:44; First Samuel 23:1), about fifteen miles south-east of Jerusalem, made repairs for his district (Nehemiah 3:17). After him repairs were made on the high priest’s house by their brothers in the other half of the district under Binnui son of Henadad, the ruler of half the district of Keilah. On one side of the house the Levites built a wall. Adjacent to him Ezer son of Jeshua, the ruler of the city of Mizpah, repaired another section in addition to the section repaired by the men of Mizpah (Nehemiah 3:7), opposite the ascent to the armory at the corner buttress where part of the wall turns inward (Second Chronicles 26:9). Strategically it was one of the most important points in the fortifications (Nehemiah 3:17-19).

The residences of the high priest and his colleagues were located along the eastern wall of the City, corresponding with the retaining wall of the Temple area above the Kidron Valley. After him Baruch son of Zaccai zealously repaired another section from the corner buttress up to the door of the house of Eliashib, the cohen gadol. After him Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired another section (he had already repaired a section in Nehemiah 3:4) from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. And after him the cohanim worked, men from the area surrounding Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3:20-22).

After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house. After them Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, worked beside his house. Beyond him Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section from the house of Azariah up to the inner buttress and the corner where part of the wall turns inward. Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the inner buttress and the tower coming out from the upper palace of the king, which is by the court of the guard. Like Solomon’s palace, it would have had a guardhouse (Jeremiah 32:2). After him Pedaiah son of Parosh and the Temple servants living on the Ophel made repairs up to the area opposite the Water Gate toward the east of Jerusalem and the projecting tower, where the people assembled. After him the men of Tekoa also repaired another section from opposite the great projecting tower, one of the defenses on the eastern side of the Temple, to the wall of the Ophel (Nehemiah 3:23-27). The section described is from the Tower to the point where the west wall on the Temple mount had been repaired by Shallun in Nehemiah 3:15.

Construction of the North-East Wall: The residences of the priests were on higher ground above the Horse Gate where the cohanim worked, each in front of his own house (Jeremiah 31:39; Second Chronicles 23:15). The reference in Jeremiah has the information that it was in the east section of Jerusalem overlooking the Kidron Valley. It opened into the south-east of the Temple courts. After them Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house and after him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard of the East Gate (the entrance to the Temple area on the eastern side), made repairs. As a keeper of the East Gate he must have been a Levite. After him Hananiah, son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another portion (Nehemiah 3:28-29).

There were chambers or rooms in the Temple construction as indicated by Ezra 10:6 and Nehemiah 12:44. Tobiah’s family was related by marriage to Meshullam (Nehemiah 6:18), who even gave Tobiah the Ammonite (Nehemiah 2:10) the use of one of those rooms (Nehemiah 13:4-9). After him Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs in front of his living quarters. After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs up to the house of the Temple servants (see An – Priests, Levites and Temple Servants Who Returned with Zerubbabel: Temple servants returning), and the merchants opposite the Inspection Gate and as far as the room above the corner. Between the room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants worked (Nehemiah 3:30-32). Having traveled around Jerusalem in a counter-clockwise direction, the narrative ends where it began.

This chapter also contains important teaching for believers today. One reason the work progressed was that everyone took part, from rulers to Temple personnel to merchants and citizens with their families (First Corinthians 12:4-13, 27-30). Even the people from the villages who lived a distance from Yerushalayim also helped. They felt part of the community, even though they personally received fewer direct benefits. Their cooperation on the walls is one of the finest pictures of Israelite brotherhood in the TaNaKh (John 17:21-23; First Thessalonians 1:7-8; Second Corinthians 8:3-5 and 9:1-2). Even their families were amazed at the results (notice the same in Acts 2:43-47 and 4:32). In order not only to survive but also to be effective in the midst of opposition from a hostile secular culture, the Church must exhibit a cooperative spirit. Another reason for the Jews’ success was Nehemiah’s wise delegation of labor. He knew how to choose leaders and to delegate authority (Second Timothy 2:2). Also, many built the part nearest their own house. A leader must take into account family and incentive factors in planning and delegating responsibilities (Ephesians 4:11-13).²³¹

Repairing the Northern, Western and Southern Walls
Nehemiah 3: 1-14

Repairing the Northern, Western and Southern Walls DIG: What was the people’s response to Nehemiah’s challenge? How many professional groups or classes of the Jewish community participated in Nehemiah’s winning team? What, if any, distinctions between clergy and laity do you see? Have people in the group pick one or two of the gates and give a 30-second progress report to the group. Decide among yourselves: Who had the most interesting report to share? Why do you think so? What’s interesting about Eliashib and his fellow priests? About Shallum’s daughters? Why do you think the nobles of Tekoa refused to work? What did that mean for the men of Tekoa (see 3:5 and 27)? What do you learn from the fact that Nehemiah knew who worked “next to” whom? What does this tell you about the organization and cooperation involved in this nation-wide effort? How much of the wall was repaired during this time (3:12)?

REFLECT: What attitudes and actions from Nehemiah’s team of wall-builders fit believers who want to build the Church? Which ones should believers avoid? Which one do you think is primary to all the others? Which one could you demonstrate at home? At school? At work? At your messianic synagogue? At church? Do you know anyone like the nobles from Tekoa who want the benefits of a project without having to work for it? From Nehemiah, what do you learn about how to deal with them? When you face a big task, what helps you accomplish it?

445 BC During the ministry of Nehemiah (to see link click Bt – The Third Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Nehemiah Memoirs).

Earlier, Nehemiah told the people “how the good hand of my God was on me and the words that the king had said to me” (Nehemiah 2:8). Then they replied, “Let us begin building.” Nehemiah came to the people with compassion, realism, conviction, and faith; as a result, ADONAI used Him to communicate his own vision and motivate the people. So, they prepared themselves for this good work (Nehemiah 2:18). In the seventh example of leadership in the life of Nehemiah, effective leaders motivate people to action (to see link click Bt – The Third Return).

Nehemiah faced a great challenge and had great faith in ADONAI, but he would have accomplished very little had there not been great dedication on the part of the people who helped him rebuild the wall. With the kind of humility that befits a godly leader, Nehemiah gave all the credit to the people when he wrote: So we rebuilt the wall . . . for the people had a heart to work (Nehemiah 4:6).

It was important that Nehemiah started his list with Eliashib the high priest. The most important person is named first. Nehemiah wanted to show that he received the cooperation of the high priest, and thus, also that of the other priests.²²⁶ Then, on the north wall, Eliashib the cohen gadol and his brothers, the cohanim, arose and built the Sheep Gate (John 5:2). According to Nehemiah 12:10 he was the son of Joiakim and grandson of Jeshua, the contemporary of Zerubbabel mentioned in Ezra 3:2. Eliashib was the grandson of Jeshua (Ezra 5:2), the high priest when the Temple was finally rebuilt (see Ay – Haggai: The Strait Talker). The priests, even the high priest, did not just direct others, but they themselves arose and built the Sheep Gate (Nehemiah 3:1a). It was probably named that because the sacrificial sheep that were brought into the City passed through that gate, situated on the north-east side of the Temple. The priests, therefore, had a personal interest in its restoration.

There were two towers on the north wall since this was the only side not naturally defended by a steep hill. They dedicated the wall running from the gate to the Tower, and set up its doors, dedicating it as far as the Tower of the Hundred and as far as the Tower of Hananel, which was probably the same as the fortress adjacent to the Temple (Nehemiah 2:8a). It was situated half-way between the Sheep Gate and the Fish Gate (Jeremiah 31:37; Zechariah 14:10). Altogether ten gates are mentioned (Nehemiah 3:1, 3, 6, 13-15, 26, 28-29, 31), but this gate had a special dedication ceremony because the priests ministered through it (Nehemiah 3:1b). When the people finished the whole wall, they had a dedication ceremony. This is the only section where a separate dedication ceremony is mentioned. Most likely, it was the high priest’s dedication of the whole project and it shows its religious significance. The walls, it can be argued, were regarded as an extension of the House of God.²²⁷

This was a cooperative effort. The men of Jericho, were assigned work on the part of the wall nearest to their city, built next to it and Zaccur the son of Imri built next to Eliashib’s priestly party of builders (Nehemiah 3:2). People from all professions and trades helped, coming from many villages and outlying areas of Judah.

Then the building turned westward. The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate, which was one of Jerusalem’s main entrances (Second Chronicles 33:14). It was in the northwest corner of the wall, near the merchant quarter of the city where the modern Damascus Gate stands. The name may be due to its proximity to the fish market where the fishermen from Tyre sold their goods. It was probably also called the Ephraim Gate (8:16, 12:39; Second Kings 14:13), and the Middle Gate (Jeremiah 39:3). They laid its beams and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars (Nehemiah 3:3). 

Next to them Meremoth (Hebrew: to make firm or strong) son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz made repairs. Adjacent to them Meshullam son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel made repairs, and next to them Zadok son of Baana made repairs. The men of Tekoa made repairs next to them. Tekoa was located southeast of Beth-Lechem, and was the home of the prophet Amos. The Tekoites are mentioned twice in the chapter, building two different sections of the wall (Nehemiah 3:5 and 27), and were, therefore, more than willing to work and do more than their fair share. But their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work of their masters (Nehemiah 3:4-5). The Tekoite nobles were among those who had been in the Land before the exiles had returned, and the sudden influence and power given to the returnees, particularly Nehemiah, were bound to be a cause for concern, even resentment. The location of Tekoa, southeast of Beth-Lechem, suggests the influence of Geshem the Arab (Nehemiah 2:19), who perhaps led a local spirit of resentment among the community. “Who does Nehemiah think he is?” would have been the predominant question in Tekoa, and the nobles, in contrast to the rest of the community, thought it beneath them to engage in menial work of that nature under the leadership of a Persian official, even if he did have a good Jewish pedigree.²²⁸

Joiada son of Paseah, and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. This gate stood on the north-west side of the City, and was identical with the Corner Gate (Second Kings 14:13). It has been suggested that the name came from its having been the entrance to the Old City. They laid its beams and set up its doors, its bolts and its bars (Nehemiah 3:6). 

Adjacent to them worked Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, men from Gibeon and Mizpah (or lookout point) who are under the jurisdiction of the governor of Trans-Euphrates (Nehemiah 3:7). It is clear from the whole chapter that the Chronicler wanted to refer to certain sections of the wall that were restored. The men of Gibeon and Mizpah did restoration as far as the residence of the governor. It is interesting to note that the governor of Trans-Euphrates had a residence in Jerusalem. This would mean that he used the residence while visiting Judah, one of his minor provinces.²²⁹

Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, worked adjacent to him, and Hananiah, one of the perfumers, worked next to him. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. It was a point of great strategic importance and therefore thicker and stronger than the rest of the wall (Nehemiah 3:8). Social organizations also must have contributed to the building project by working at their trade.

Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem made repairs next to them (Nehemiah 3:9). Yerushalayim was divided into two districts, each governed by a ruler (see verse 12 for the other). The division must have taken place during the monarchy for purposes of administration (Second Kings 12:14; Zephaniah 1:10).

Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired the section adjacent to them opposite his house, and Hattush son of Hashabneiah worked next to them. The first section had been restored and they were working on the second. Naturally, those with homes near the wall would have been more enthusiastic about making repairs in that area (also see 3:23, 28-30). Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Furnaces for baking bread or for firing bricks (Nehemiah 3:10-11).

Shallum son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, and his daughters repaired the next section (Nehemiah 3:12). That brief mention of these women otherwise unnamed in Scripture intrigues me. How exactly did Shallum’s daughters help rebuild the wall? Were these women wealthy heiresses or widows who helped their father finance his part of the rebuilding efforts? Did they provide food and drink for the workers, or did they actually clear rubble, spread mortar, and carry stones with their own hands? We don’t know for sure. But however they helped, Shallum’s daughters made a significant enough contribution to the rebuilding effort that Nehemiah included them in his list of the builders—the only women so named.

By helping rebuild the wall, Shallum’s daughters took part in ensuring Jerusalem’s security. Walls were a city’s first line of defense in the ancient world. Walls helped city leaders control access to the city and protected the city from attack. Without walls cities were vulnerable to attacks from bandits, wild animals, and enemy armies. With a wall and a good source of water, cities could withstand a siege and repulse enemy forces. Living in an unwalled city made its residents vulnerable and insecure.

But rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall was not an easy proposition. The tasks of clearing rubble, gathering supplies, and rebuilding the gates the Babylonians had burned with fire had to be completed by a people struggling to survive in the land they had once called home. Furthermore, Jerusalem’s rebuilding efforts did not go unopposed. Rebuilding Jerusalem caused a realignment in the political power structures in the region, and some of the neighboring provincial governors were displeased. They attempted to sabotage the rebuilding efforts, causing Nehemiah to order the workers to build with a sword in one hand and to carry their materials with the other. Despite the challenges, Shallum’s daughters found a way to participate in rebuilding the wall and ensuring the security of their home.

Shallum’s daughters remind me that the portraits of biblical women are more diverse than we might sometimes think. There are those like Martha who find joy in serving and those like Lydia who joyfully use their homes as a base for ministry. But there are also women like Deborah, Miriam, Huldah, Jochebed, Rahab, and Shallum’s daughters – women who use all the creativity, courage, and resources at their disposal to stand for justice, protect their homes, and do the work that needs to be done.

Shallum’s daughters saw that Jerusalem was in danger, and they determined to do something about it. Their father was a leader in Jerusalem, and it would have been easy for Shallum’s daughters to refrain from a task that was traditionally done by men. But Shallum’s daughters were not content to leave their home in peril. They committed themselves and their resources to rebuild the wall, helping ensure security for themselves, their family, and their home.

Shallum’s daughters remind me that never having done it before isn’t a reason not to try. We don’t have to meet every need we see, but sometimes our awareness of a need is God calling us to action. What walls do you see that need rebuilding? Where is there brokenness in your family or community that needs to be healed? Do you see defenseless people who need a protector? Is there a threat you can stand against? Wherever God calls you to serve, do it with all your might. Join Shallum’s daughters in rebuilding your section of the wall.

On the south wall, Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah, about thirteen miles southwest of Jerusalem, repaired the Valley Gate. They built it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. They also repaired a thousand cubits, more than a third of a mile, of wall up to the Dung Gate (Nehemiah 3:13). Considering the length, it may be that this section had little damage from the Babylonians when they destroyed the City on Tisha B’Av 586 BC, and therefore, required little repair.

Malchijah son of Rechab (see the commentary on Jeremiah Dt – The House of the Rechabites) repaired the Dung Gate. He built it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars (Nehemiah 3:14). He was the ruler of the district of Beth-Cherem, or House of the Vineyard which is mentioned in Jeremiah as a signal point: Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! This is a cone-shaped hill between Beit-Lechem and Tekoa, named for its military purposes during the Crusades, a very suitable spot to raise a signal. For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction (Jeremiah 6:1b).

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls
Nehemiah 2: 11-20

Nehemiah inspects Jerusalem’s walls DIG: What do you think Nehemiah did his first three days in Jerusalem? Why was that important? Why do you think Nehemiah said nothing to those who would be doing the work until he had inspected the walls himself? Why inspect the walls at night? What three points does Nehemiah make publicly to rally the troops to rebuild? Which one do you find most convincing? How does Nehemiah respond to his opponents’ changes?

REFLECT: When is it hardest for you to act: (a) When your project lies in ruins? (b) When your workers are few? (c) When others mock you? (d) When you must “buck City Hall” to get a permit? How do you know if God is with you in some enterprise? Where are you looking for God’s “Yes” to help you overcome others “No?”

445 BC During the ministry of Nehemiah (to see link click Bt – The Third Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Nehemiah Memoirs).

Nehemiah proved to be a hard worker. But hard work alone does not insure success. You need to work hard and work smart. That takes planning. Praying and trusting in ADONAI does not mean that research is not necessary. Nehemiah wanted to assess the situation before presenting his project to the officials and the people. Specifically, Nehemiah needed to know where to rebuild the old walls and where to construct new ones (to see a 3D model of Jerusalem’s gates and walls click here).

Nehemiah came to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:11a). At this point, Nehemiah acts quite differently from what we might expect. The hurried reader would think that Nehemiah, having reached his destination, would be driven to pull out his tools, hire subcontractors, hang the plumb line and get to work. But he didn’t do that. As a matter of fact, he didn’t do anything for three days (Nehemiah 2:11b). Why didn’t he go to work? Because he didn’t know what God had for him. As a matter of fact, God was silent.

But shortly thereafter, notice what happened next: I got up during the night along with a few men. But I did not tell anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no animals with me except the animal I was riding (Nehemiah 2:11c-12). He only used one mule so as not to draw attention to himself. Unlike what happened to Ezra (Ezra 4:12), he didn’t want opposition before he got started. He gained this information in secret because he knew that his enemies were watching him, and he didn’t know who could be trusted. He probably suspected that even some of the Jews in the City were loyal to Sanballat and Tobiah, so to be safe he didn’t even tell the Jews, the cohanim, the nobles, the officials or the rest of the workers (Nehemiah 2:16b).²²⁰

In the sixth example of leadership in the life of Nehemiah, competent leaders know how to handle themselves in solitude (to see link click Bt – The Third Return). This is the side of leadership that the uninvolved observer, or even the workers, never see. People have the false idea that a leader lives an exciting life in the limelight, basking in the experience of one ecstatic round of public applause after another. But ADONAI shows us here that successful leaders know how to handle themselves in solitude. In fact, effective leadership is like an iceberg . . . ninety percent is below the surface and unseen, while only ten percent is above the water line, visible for all to see.

By night I went out by the Valley Gate (see Nehemiah’s night ride below), identified as the chief gate in the west wall of the City overlooking the Tyropoeon Valley, toward the now unknown Jackal Spring and the Dung Gate (see the commentary on Jeremiah Cz – Judah is Like a Broken Jar), through which the Cities refuse was carried and deposited outside the wall, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down (Hebrew: perotzim), and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire (Nehemiah 2:13).

Then I moved on to the Fountain Gate, receiving its name on account of its nearness to the En-rogel fountain, below the junction of the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys, north-east of the Dung Gate and to the King’s Pool, or a receiving pool for the overflow of the Pool of Siloam and located outside the City wall, where there was not enough room for my animal to pass with me because of the rubble and fallen stones from the destruction of the City (see the commentary on Jeremiah Ga – The Fall of Jerusalem), the walls obstructed my passage. So, I had to dismount and proceed on foot; so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and returned to the Valley Gate rather than along the wall because of all the debris. Apparently Nehemiah did not make the complete circuit of Tziyon but retraced his steps and entered the City where he had gone out. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing (Nehemiah 2:14-16a). Nehemiah’s leadership is evident here. He knew when to keep quiet and when to present God’s project.

Nehemiah was a leader who knew how to inspire action, and he invited all of the Righteous of the TaNaKh to join with him in the work. It was not Nehemiah’s project but ADONAI’s, and He had called all His children to be involved in His work. This would also enable Nehemiah to discover who was fully committed to the plans of God, as those would be the people who threw themselves into the rebuilding.

While Nehemiah identified with the people and was personally concerned with the problem, he did not hide the hard facts. Then, on the following day, I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burned. Come! Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a disgrace” (Nehemiah 2:17). This was Nehemiah’s motivation in undertaking that huge project: he was concerned about the glory of God. The destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem had made a mockery of God’s name in the eyes of Judah’s enemies, so Nehemiah called on the righteous of the TaNaKh to restore His glory to the world around them.²²¹

Then I told them how the good hand of my God was on me (see Ezra 7:9, 28, 8:22 and 31; and Nehemiah 2:8) and the words that the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let us begin building!” Nehemiah came to the people with compassion, realism, conviction, and faith; thus, ADONAI used Him to communicate his own vision and motivate the people. So, they prepared themselves for this good work (Nehemiah 2:18).

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem, a powerful chieftain of Kedar in Arabia who was an ally with the Samaritans against the Jews, heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. Those three, then, represented the rulers of provinces to the northeast (Ammon), northwest (Samaria), and southeast (Edom and Mo’ab) of Jerusalem. These enemies, especially Sanballat and Tobiah, knew that Nehemiah had credentials from the king (see Bw – The Response of King Artakh’shasta). Therefore, they tried to stop the work by disheartening the people who were doing the building. They used mockery and ridicule as their tool. They even accused the Jews of rebellion. They said: What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king (Nehemiah 2:19)?

When the enemies of God’s work cannot find any legitimate basis for opposition, they may use ridicule, questioning the significance of our labors. This sometimes does more harm than even questioning one’s credentials or good intentions (which Nehemiah’s enemies also did) because it attacks the very motivation for action. Ridicule is especially hard to endure when you are outnumbered. Believers experiencing ridicule should remember what Hebrews 11:36-39 says about the biblical heroes of our faith: Some faced jeers and flogging . . . the world was not worthy of them . . . these were all commended for their faith. Yeshua also suffered ridicule and mocking on many occasions (see The Life of Christ Lu – Jesus’ First Three Hours on the Cross: The Wrath of Man), and His children can expect to face the same kind of opposition.²²²

And you know something? Nehemiah’s adversaries didn’t leave. They criticized, ridiculed, and dogged his steps through the entire project, until the last stone was set in place. When it was halfway finished, they said mockingly: Even if a fox climbed on what they are building, it would break down their stone wall (Nehemiah 4:3)! This was just a foretaste of the opposition to come.

I responded to them saying: The God of heaven will bring us success. We His servants will arise and build. But you have no part, right, or historical claim in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:20). Apparently, these opponents thought they were following the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob if we can judge by the names of their children, and were demanding participation in the rebuilding (Ezra 4:3). Yet, mixing the worshiping YHVH with other gods just ends up being paganism. Nehemiah wouldn’t accept their brand of syncretism, but declared that God would only bless those who served Him alone. Some of the Jewish families, however, did form relationships with the pagans. Later, one of Sanballat’s daughters was married to a member of the Jewish high priest’s family (Nehemiah 13:28).

However powerful the drive might be to labor in the service of our Lord, Nehemiah adds another, arguably even more powerful motivation: the promise of divine approval and divine help in the task before us. The plan to rebuild the walls was not merely Nehemiah’s or the people’s; it was ADONAI who put it into Nehemiah’s heart (Nehemiah 2:12). He reassured the people that this was indeed the case, saying: I told them how the good hand of my God was on me (Nehemiah 2:18). Nothing could have signaled YHVH’s hand more clearly than the fact that King Artakh’shasta had himself given written, documented support for the project! Of this they could be certain; Ha’Shem was behind this work, no matter how difficult it might be and no matter what threats might exist against them if they were to undertake it.

The sufficiency of YHVH is a powerful motivator. Nehemiah was a leader whose vision was filled with the greatness of God. No task is too difficult when the Creator of heaven and earth is the One orchestrating it and in whose hand you are but a tool. A God who can turn the sea into dry land, and can cause a bush to burn without it being consumed, is not going to balk at a Sanballat, a Tobiah, a Geshem, or whoever is opposing you! No sooner had they begun their work, as we have seen, than opposition reared its ugly head. But Nehemiah’s response was this: The God of heaven will bring us success. We His servants will arise and build (Nehemiah 2:20).

Nehemiah’s attitude is captured vividly in Psalm 87: He has founded His City on the holy mountain of Tziyon. ADONAI loves the gates of Tziyon more than all the other dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you; City of God; I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge Me – Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush – and will say, “This One was born in Tziyon.” If there is one particular lesson that this section of Nehemiah is meant to teach us, it is that we should trust YHVH more than we do. In matters in which His will is made clear to us, we are not to believe the forces of opposition that come against us, no matter how great they may be; rather, we are to put our confidence resolutely in the Lord. If we trust God, we have nothing to fear.²²³

A plan is primary; waiting for God to work is essential; but following through with people is where it’s at. In the next file we will move into the phase where the rubber of leadership meets the road of reality – the whole issue of stimulating and motivating others to roll up their sleeves and get the job done.²²⁴

The List of the Builders of the Wall
Nehemiah 3: 1-32

445 BC During the ministry of Nehemiah (to see list click Bt – The Third Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Nehemiah Memoirs).

This chapter shows Nehemiah was an outstanding organizer. Some forty-five sections of construction are mentioned, including ten gates (Nehemiah 3:1, 3, 6, 13-15, 26, 28-29, 31). Planning all this building activity, organizing the groups, plus arranging the infrastructure to supply the materials was no small accomplishment. Nehemiah had started the process of building the community of believers (2:17-18) before he could start building the wall. Then, in this chapter, Nehemiah skillfully divided the work force into some forty manageable work crews and organized by common interests and geography. The way Nehemiah confronted opposition from within and without the Jewish community and the way he organized the Israelites were significant ingredients in the realization of his vision.

Despite its mundane appearance, this chapter is more than a construction record. Although the walls and gates would serve a military purpose (Nehemiah Chapter 4), the book’s concern for separation from pagan influence suggests it also had symbolic significance (Nehemiah 13:19-22). Rather than simply providing security, the walls encouraged a sense of identity and distinctiveness with the Righteous of the TaNaKh. Their restoration also represented a reversal of the humiliation of defeat and destruction suffered because of Isra’el’s sin (Nehemiah 2:3 and 17). Like the restored Temple, it was as if the rebuilt walls were like a badge, or a further token, that they were indeed His people. For believers today, however, the cross is the continuing demonstration of God’s powerful and loving presence (Romans 5:5b-11).²²⁵

Favor with King Artakh’shasta
Nehemiah 2: 1-20

Four or five months after receiving sad news concerning the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah initiates a plan to secure the support of the Persian king for a rebuilding program. That he waited such a long time to act may reflect the delicate nature of his request for the king’s help. As we have already noted, Ezra reports that King Artakh’shasta had issued a decree which ordered work on the walls of Jerusalem to be stopped (to see link click Av – Letters to Ahasuerus and Artakh’shasta). Nehemiah needed to be careful with his planning, waiting for the exact time for approaching the king on that controversial subject. Other examples of careful planning come to mind. Esther planned carefully as she sought to save her people (see the commentary on Esther Bb – The Plot Exposed by Esther); Naomi’s suggestion to Ruth about securing the assistance of Bo’az (see the commentary on Ruth Av – Na’omi’s Wonderful Plan for Ruth’s Life); and the discussion between Bathsheba and Nathan about an effective approach to David so that Solomon would be appointed king (see the commentary on the Life of Solomon Aj – A Royal Conspiracy).

King Artakh’shasta responded favorably to Nehemiah, thus reversing his own decree. But Nehemiah would have opposition from three influential leaders: Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the servant, the Ammorite (Nehemiah 2:10 and 19), and Geshem the Arab. No doubt it was this strong opposition to his coming that caused Nehemiah to survey the City by night. Only a secret group of people knew of Nehemiah’s hidden, night tours when he inspected the ruins of Yerushalayim and estimated what could and should be done. When Nehemiah called the people together told them about the sorry state of Tziyon. They accepted his leadership and indicated that they were ready to begin the difficult task of rebuilding.²¹⁰

Nehemiah Intercedes for Jerusalem
Nehemiah 1: 1-11

Nehemiah intercedes for Jerusalem DIG: What was Nehemiah’s burning issue? Why was it so important to him? What did Nehemiah do about his passion? What costs was he willing to pay? What does that say about his relationship with God? How vital was his relationship with God? How vital a force do you think prayer was for him: Daily routine? Crisis times only? Intimate? Energizing? What do you see of God’s nature through Nehemiah’s prayer? What does Nehemiah see in himself, the more he focuses on God? What does he recall as he persists in prayer? What do Nehemiah’s actions tell you about his character?

REFLECT: What do you feel passionately about? How grieved are you about the physical and spiritual state of God’s people? Enough to pray? Fast? Act? When news from around the world of exiled people, brokenness and famine hits you, do you react anything like Nehemiah? Do you tend to despair over what is? Accept what is? Or pray for what should be? Why is that? What is the one thing you can do this week about an issue you feel passionately about?

445 BC During the ministry of Nehemiah (to see link click Bt – The Third Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Nehemiah Memoirs)

Thirteen years after Ezra’s spiritual revival, Nehemiah came to Jerusalem to revive the spirit of the discouraged exiles and bring them hope (Isaiah 57:14-21); ADONAI used him to lead the Jews in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (for a summary of Nehemiah – From Persia to Jerusalem click here). Nehemiah comes to us as a man on top of his profession, but we know nothing of his background or the stages of his rise to position and influence.¹⁹⁹ We can make a reasonable assumption that Nehemiah grew up in Babylon among the exiles and that for some reason – possible because he was too young – he did not return with Ezra.

Now it happened that in the month of Chislev (November-December) in the twentieth year of King Artakh’shasta, I was in Shushan, or Susa the capitol (Nehemiah 1:1). Nehemiah first appears in the fortress (capital) of Susa, about 225 miles east of Babylon, built on three hills overlooking the Shaur River. ADONAI put Nehemiah in Susa just as He had put Esther there a generation before, and just as He had put Joseph in Egypt and Dani’el in Babylon. When God wants to accomplish a work, He always prepares His workers and puts them in the right places at the right time.²⁰⁰

Susa was the winter resort of the Persian kings, located on the western edge of Iran about 150 miles east of the Tigris River. Greater Susa stood on a mound about two and a quarter miles in circumference, covering nearly 250 acres. The ten-acre citadel was located on an elevated area on the northern point of the site. Susa itself was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian, and Parthian empires of Iran, and one of the oldest known settlements of the world. The city had been taken during the reign of Cyrus at the time of the First Return of exiles in 538 BC. The palace was built by Darius approximately fifty years before the period in question here in Nehemiah Chapter One. Modern excavations of the site have shown an audience hall, where the Persians held court. It was a square building over 350 feet long on each side, featuring seventy-two stone columns, each estimated at eighty feet tall.²⁰¹

No doubt, it was just routine day when Nehemiah met his older brother Hanani who had just returned with some men from Jerusalem, but it turned out to be a turning point in Nehemiah’s life. Like large doors, great life-changing events can swing open on very small hinges. It was just another day when Moses went out to care for his sheep, but he heard the call of YHVH and became a prophet (Exodus 3). It was just an ordinary day when David was called home from shepherding his flock, but on that day, he was anointed king (First Samuel 16). It was a normal day when Peter, Andrew, James and John were mending their nets after a night of futile fishing, but it was a day when Yeshua called them to be fishers of men (Luke 5:1-11). You never know what God has in store for you, even in a commonplace conversation, so keep your heart open to His leading.²⁰²

It has been said that a true Jew never completely forgets Jerusalem. This was certainly true of Nehemiah. He wanted to know about the people and the condition of the Holy City. Nehemiah asked Hanani about the Israelites, the remnant who had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They said to him, “The remnant is in great distress and disgrace” (Nehemiah 1:2-3a) The word translated distress (Hebrew: raah) means misery, distress, calamity, or injury. It is closely related to a term in other Semitic languages that means sharp, cutting, or piercing. The picture painted by this term portrays someone suffering from the lacerations of cutting words. The Jews were severely criticized and slandered by people who were enemies of the faith. Not only that, but Hanani related that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and its gates had been burned with fire (Nehemiah 1:3b). In Nehemiah’s day, pagans thought the walls and fortifications that surrounded a god’s temple reflected his strength. The lack of city walls in Jerusalem reflected badly on the character of Ha’Shem in the eyes of Judah’s neighbors, and it also left the Temple unprotected against further attacks and destruction.

Nehemiah was heartbroken.

In the fourth example of leadership in the life of Nehemiah, there are four vital factors that characterize the lives of competent spiritual leaders (see Bt – The Third Return).

First, a leader sees the needs of the problem clearly. The beginning of verse 4 reads: Upon hearing these words . . . Nehemiah wasn’t preoccupied. He didn’t live in a dream world, isolated from reality. He asked, “What’s the condition?” Hanani answered, “It’s a miserable situation.” He heard what his brother said. You might think recognizing needs is an elementary concept, especially for leaders. But there are many people in responsible leadership positions who never seem to see the problems they ought to be solving. Now I think people can be so problem-oriented that problems are all they can think of – and that’s not good either. But a person who is a leader has a clear recognition of needs.

Are you aware of needs? How about the needs in your own family? Are you sensitive as a parent or a spouse? Maybe you live alone. Do you know what is on your parents’ or friends’ hearts? If you teach, do you know your students’ needs? If you are in business leadership, are you in touch with more than the perks of your executive privilege? What about those otherwise hidden areas where problems start to fester?

Second, a leader is personally concerned with the needs. Nehemiah went a step beyond recognition of the problem. He not only heard about the matter, but he identified with it. I sat down and wept and mourned for days (Nehemiah 1:4a). You never lighten the load unless you first have felt the pressure within your own soul. You are never used of God to bring a blessing to others until He has opened your eyes and made you see things as they are.

As we study Nehemiah as a model for leadership, realize that we are not only talking about Nehemiah and some ancient City in the far historical past. We are talking about today! The higher you are elevated in what the world calls success, the easier it is to fade into theoretical preoccupation and to leave the realistic “lesser things” to work themselves out.

Third, a serious leader goes to the LORD with the need. Prayer is absolutely essential in the life of a leader. I prayed and fasted before the God of heaven (Nehemiah 1:4b). This prayer is the second of twelve prayers recorded in Nehemiah (9:5ff, here, 2:4, 4:4, 4:9, 5:19, 6:9, 6:14, 13:14, 13:22, 13:29, 13:31). Nehemiah’s story begins and ends with prayer. It is obvious that Nehemiah was a man of faith who depended entirely on ADONAI to help him accomplish the work that He had called him to do.²⁰³ First, he praised ADONAI. Then I said: YHVH, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness (see the commentary on Ruth Af – The Concept of Chesed) with those who love Him and keep His mitzvot (Nehemiah 1:5).

Who did Nehemiah work for? The king of Persia. Was this king great and mighty on the earth? The mightiest! But compared to YHVH, King Artakh’shasta was nothing. And so, it stands to reason that when we go to God in prayer, we put things into proper perspective. If you are having difficulty loving or relating to someone, take him or her to God in prayer. Bother the LORD with this person. Don’t be bothered with them – leave them at the throne.

Next, he confessed his part of the problem. Please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant that I am praying before You today persistently, both day and night on behalf of Your servants, the Bnei-Yisrael. Notice the progression of Nehemiah’s confession. First, he acknowledged that the children of Isra’el had sinned against YHVH by pursuing other gods (Ezeki’el 81-18). I am confessing the sins of Bnei-Yisrael that we have sinned against You (Nehemiah 1:6). Then he confessed that his ancestral house had sinned, which encompassed his family and those for whom he was personally responsible. Finally, he acknowledged that he was personally guilty of sin and failure before God.²⁰⁴ Nehemiah knew that God would hear; he was asking God to take action. How great is YHVH that He can pay attention to each of our prayers, millions and millions of them around the world, individually and simultaneously! Our minds cannot comprehend it, but the LORD is beyond our comprehension.

We have acted very corruptly (Hebrew: habal, meaning to offend) against You. We have not kept the mitzvot, the statutes, nor the rulings of the Torah that You commanded Your servant Moses (Nehemiah 1:7). The concept of disobedience goes right to the heart of the matter. God’s mitzvot are not trivial; He knows what is best for His people and for all society. Nehemiah recognized the seriousness of disobeying Ha’Shem’s ethical demands. We have many ethical dilemmas in our day that are not easily solved; however, we often make them more difficult by not accepting the clear teaching of the Scriptures.

Next, he claimed the promise. Please recall the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying: If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the peoples. What was Nehemiah doing? He was quoting Scripture (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 30). He knew the Torah. It was as if he was saying, “LORD, I open the Torah before You. I bring You the very words You spoke, the promise You made. And I am claiming it right now!” What was the promise? It was twofold. The promise was that if the people of Isra’el disobeyed, they would go into a foreign land. That had come to pass (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule). The second part was that when the time of captivity had ended, ADONAI would bring the Jews back to Jerusalem and protect them. That part was unfilled.²⁰⁵

So, Nehemiah repeated God’s own words back to Him as if to claim the promise: But if you return to Me and obey My mitzvot, and do them, then even if your dispersed people are at the ends of the heavens, I will gather them from there, and bring them back to the place where I have chosen for My Name to dwell (Nehemiah 1:8-9). Most of this prayer is based on Deuteronomy, many phrases of which are practically the same (Deuteronomy 4:27, 6:1, 7:9, 9:29, 10:17, 12:5, 21:15, 28:64, 30:1-4). Nehemiah realized that ADONAI had fulfilled much of Deuteronomy 30:1-10; but he was convinced that God’s promise included more than the situation in which the Jerusalem community found itself at that moment. Nehemiah challenges us to pray based on an understanding of God’s purpose and will as found in His Word. He also reminds us that we can always begin again in our relationship with YHVH if we return to Him in humility.

They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great strength and by Your mighty hand (Nehemiah 1:10). This is almost a copy of Deuteronomy 9:29. Redemption involves payment of a price to reclaim a person from slavery. Here reference is made to God’s act in delivering Isra’el from slavery in Egypt. The exodus theme is used many times in the B’rit Chadashah to emphasize redemption from the power and judgment of sin, and the changed relationship between the Redeemer and the redeemed. You know that you were redeemed from the futile way of life handed down from your ancestors – not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood like that of a lamb without defect or spot, the blood of Messiah (First Peter 1:18-19).²⁰⁶

Next, he brought his prayer before God. Nehemiah finished his prayer by saying: Please, my Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and to the prayer of Your servants who delight in revering Your Name (Nehemiah 1:11a).

Fourth, a leader is available to personally meet the need. Give Your servant success today and grant compassion in the presence of this man, the king (Nehemiah 1:11b). A genuine leader is marked by diligent faithfulness in the midst of the task. It is demonstrated by being available and personally involved in meeting needs. He didn’t pray for God to send someone else, nor did he argue that he was ill-equipped for such a difficult task. Like Isaiah, he simply said: Here I am, send me (Isaiah 6:8). Nehemiah knew he would have to approach the king and ask for a leave of absence.

Now I was a cupbearer to the king of Persia (Nehemiah 1:11c). On the surface, this doesn’t sound very impressive. His position sounds more like a dishwasher, or at best something like a butler. But the cupbearer was far more important than that. The office of cupbearer was a place of great honor in the Persian court. Being in the daily presence of the king, and seeing him in a relaxed atmosphere, the cupbearer had many opportunities to ingratiate himself into the good-will of the king, and therefore doubtless obtained many favors that were denied to others. In fact, it has been suggested by historians that the cupbearer typically wielded enormous political power, even more than the king’s own family.

They held the cup for the king in their left hand, and in the right hand a fly-flap made of split palm leaves. A long napkin, richly embroidered and fringed, is thrown over the left shoulder for the king to wipe his lips with. Among the Medes and the Persians the cupbearer, before serving the king, poured some of the wine into the palm of his hand and drank it; so that if the wine were poisoned, the king would not be harmed. An attempt was made, for example, by an assassin named Bogoas to poison the last of the Persian kings, Darius III, before the Persian Empire fell to the onslaught of Alexander the Great. The attempt failed when Darius got wind of it and made the assassin drink the poison himself. Pharaoh had cupbearers to attend him (see the commentary on Genesis Jn – So the Chief Cupbearer Told Joseph His Dream); Solomon also had them (First Kings 10:5; Second Chronicles 9:4).²⁰⁷

Nehemiah had prayed for days, but now he was at the decisive moment. After prayer, action was needed. He decided that the time was today. He asked that King Artakh’shasta might be divinely moved to act on behalf of the righteous of the TaNaKh. Humanly speaking, Nehemiah had no reason to expect such a favor. Artakh’shasta had earlier issued a decree to stop work on the city of Jerusalem (see Aw – The Resumption of the Work Under King Darius). To make such a request was clearly contrary to royal policy and, like Queen Esther (see the commentary on Esther Ba – I Will Go to the King: If I Perish, I Perish), possibly even cost him his life. But Nehemiah called the king “this man,” perhaps to stress that he was only a human in God’s sovereign hands. Like many after him, Nehemiah’s greatness came from asking great things of a great God, and attempting great things in reliance on Him.²⁰⁸

Nehemiah pleaded for compassion (mercy, or not getting what we deserve). Compassion is always optional with ADONAI. In effect, Nehemiah was asking that he might be used in some way to help in the cause of the Kingdom. He wasn’t exactly sure how that was going to happen. As cupbearer to King Artakh’shasta, he was committed to doing his duty every day. The king ate and drank every day, and Nehemiah would have been expected to be in attendance. God is sovereign and His ways are marvelous, but until things become clearer to Nehemiah, all he could do was fast, and pray, and wait . . . wait in the spirit of David: I waited patiently for ADONAI. He bent down to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. Then He set my feet on a rock. He made my steps firm (Psalm 40:1-2).

Perhaps that is where you find ourselves . . . waiting on the Lord. The question that faces us is whether we are waiting patiently. Nehemiah waited for four or five months (Nehemiah 2:1) when all he could do was pray. But it was the first thing he desired to do. Has God’s Word shaped your prayer in this way? Does the love of Yeshua Messiah and His will in your life lead you to plead in the way Nehemiah did?²⁰⁹

The Response of King Artakh’shasta
Nehemiah 2:1-10

The response of King Artakh’shasta DIG: In the intervening three months, what do you think Nehemiah had been doing? What did King Artakh’shasta notice and why? Why had it taken so long for Nehemiah to express his grief? What does he request the king to do? What three questions does the king have? In Nehemiah’s ready response, what do you see that demonstrates his practical wisdom? His dependence on God? On human resources? His respect for his superior? What obstacle to his success looms on the horizon? Why?

REFLECT: Can others read what you are thinking or feeling, almost like an open book? Or is your heart under lock and key? Why is that? If someone could read what you feel right now, what would they see? How can you make your needs known to your King? What are some of the challenges in your life that you are praying about? What do you need to do to be ready to help make the answer to one of those requests come true?

March-April 445 BC During the ministry of Nehemiah (to see link click Bt – The Third Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Nehemiah Memoirs).

There are very few areas of life in which we live or work that do not come ready-equipped with a superior – a boss or other authority figure. Student, teacher, nurse, executive, salesman, airline pilot, coach, chef, or scientist all have immediate superiors whose presence significantly controls and affect their lives. It is our task to develop qualities of leadership germinating within ourselves while still being accountable to these superiors in our individual spheres of influence. It isn’t easy! Leaders are usually better at leading than being led. The question remains, when that time of confrontation comes – between boss and employee, parent and child, coach and player, teacher and student – how do we handle it? That question. Becomes increasingly complex when the superior is insensitive to, or unconcerned with, spiritual things.

Proverbs 21:1 says: A king’s heart is like a stream of water in the hand of ADONAI. The heart that communicates attitudes and decisions is in the Lord’s hand. He directs it wherever He wants. YHVH has in His hand the heart of the king (whether the king is a believer or not is irrelevant). Because Ha’Shem has the king’s heart in His hand, He literally causes it to be bent wherever He pleases. What is true of the king is true of your superior! To understand your boss, you must be acquainted with God’s method of operation, for the Lord has the heart of your superior in His hand. Pause for a moment and rivet that thought in your mind.

We will see how the story of Nehemiah beautifully illustrates the truth of Proverbs 21:1. Nehemiah worked for the king of Persia, who had a reputation of being a very stubborn, hard-headed man who wouldn’t change his mind. As mentioned before (see Bu – Nehemiah’s Intercedes for Jerusalem), was in an influential position, for he played an intimate part in the king’s life. But Nehemiah’s heart wasn’t in Persia; it was in Jerusalem. He wanted to go back to his beloved city and rebuild her walls, but he couldn’t just leave his job. He needed a leave of absence. Nehemiah prayed, in effect, saying, “Ha’Shem, I ask You to change the heart of the king. Alter his attitude. Change the situation so that I may be allowed to do Your will with his pleasure.” He didn’t act hastily, but laid his problem before the LORD.

So, what happened after Nehemiah prayed? Nothing! At least not right away. Now I was cupbearer to the king in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artakh’shasta. Nehemiah’s story began in Chislev (November-December), and it resumes in Nisan (March-April). For four or five months, nothing happened. Nehemiah was in a familiar situation. The king and his queen were reclining together, having finished their superb meal. The delightful aroma of food permeated the room. Nehemiah poured some wine and gave it to the king, adding the insightful statement, “I had not been sad before in his presence” (Nehemiah 1:11b-2:2a). Up until then, Nehemiah had controlled his feelings. Four months, however, can seem like a long time to wait on the LORD. There had been no response. No visible glimmer of hope. Nothing. Everybody’s got a breaking point. Nehemiah had probably come to the place where he had just begun to wonder, “Is this ever going to happen?” for he was rather sad when he served the royal couple that day.²¹¹

Court etiquette in ancient times required that subjects appear cheerful before the king, and a sad or grim face could actually bring down the royal wrath. Happy subjects suggested the king was a good and wise ruler, while being worried or downcast in the royal presence was dangerous, because it was liable to be misinterpreted as disloyal thoughts. Nehemiah would have needed to observe such customs of courtly behavior very carefully because the erratic temper of Persian kings was well known. Hence, Nehemiah’s fear described in the next verse. But the king noticed Nehemiah’s glum expression and said to me, “Why is your face so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” Near Eastern monarchs normally did not take time to consider the personal lives of their subjects.

This was the moment Nehemiah had been waiting for. God had thrown the door wide open. I was very frightened, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever!” The subject sensitively introduced. Like Esther (see the commentary on Esther Bi – Now Write a Counter-Decree in the King’s Name on Behalf of the Jews), he had the wisdom to present the matter first as news of a personal disappointment rather than a political issue. “Why should my face not be sad, when the City where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 2:2b-3)? Such a description showed by Nehemiah’s respect for his ancestors and also his sense of shame at the condition of his native City. Nehemiah’s request no doubt touched the sentiments of the king. He carefully avoided raising the king’s suspicions by not mentioning Yerushalayim by name and so reminding him of his earlier decree (see Aw – The Resumption of the Work Under King Darius). True, the decree had left a loophole for change (Ezra 4:21). He left himself the option to make another decision in the light of new circumstances. Such a quick about-face would be a great deal to ask anyone, and a king’s wrath is a messenger of death (Proverbs 16:14a). Nevertheless, Nehemiah showed his great ability in communication and delicate diplomacy. He first had to get the king’s sympathy before going into the details.²¹²

In the fifth example of leadership in the life of Nehemiah, successful leaders must be prepared and ready when God opens the door of opportunity (see Bt – The Third Return). The king asked me, “What is your request?” Then I prayed quickly and silently in my heart to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it seems good to the king and if your servant has found favor in your sight, send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried that I may rebuild it” (Nehemiah 2:4-5). This is the third of twelve prayers recorded in Nehemiah (9:5ff, 1:5-11, here, 4:4, 4:9, 5:19, 6:9, 6:14, 13:14, 13:22, 13:29, 13:31).

Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” Esther had been queen of King Ahasuerus, who was Artakh’shasta’s father. It is possible that her role as the present king’s stepmother had made him predisposed to show favor to the Jews – especially if she was still alive. Since it pleased the king to send me, I set a time for him (Nehemiah 2:6). The journey of almost a-thousand miles had taken Ezra four months to make, so it was unlikely that Nehemiah could have anticipated returning in less than a year. We learn from Nehemiah 5:14 that he was governor in Jerusalem for twelve years. It seems that within a year he reported back to Artakh’shasta after the dedication of the walls, then his appointment as governor was renewed.²¹³ The whole scene gives us the impression that it was Nehemiah’s character that won him the right to speak and make his request, overriding all the political obstacles.

As the prayerful months had gone by, Nehemiah had given some thought to how his initial prayer might be answered given the right circumstances. For him to secure safe passage, he would need letters! So, when the time came to speak up before the king, Nehemiah not only told him his request to be sent to Jerusalem, he also asked for letters be given to him from the king to ensure that his reception among the governors of Trans-Euphrates would go smoothly.

I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let him give me letters of safe conduct for the governors of Trans-Euphrates that will enable me to pass through without hindrance until I arrive in Judah, as well as a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s royal forest so he will give me lumber to make beams for the gates and towers of the fortress adjacent to the Temple, for the wall of the city and for the residence I will occupy” (Nehemiah 2:7-8a). Asaph is a Hebrew name, so a Jew must have held this position. Some take for granted that the royal forest would have been located in Lebanon; however, there must have been other official reserves, and the name of the keeper suggests it could have been in Judah. The fortress was on the north side of the Temple. That side was always the hardest to defend. Therefore, the fortress was a precursor to the later Roman Fortress Antonia seen on the right side of the Temple Mount.

So, Nehemiah was able to travel safely throughout the Persian Empire and had the full authority as one of the king’s officials in Judah. In addition to granting Nehemiah safe passage, the king also provided much of the raw materials the Jews would need to rebuild the city gates and the wall – and Nehemiah’s own residence as well. Lumber was a precious commodity at the time, and the ruling monarchs guarded their royal forests carefully.²¹⁴

Nehemiah had not been presumptuous, he was practical, and Artakh’shasta was impressed. It is important to recognize that in the First Return led by Zerubbabel, in the Second Return led by Ezra, and in the Third Return led by Nehemiah, it was always the gracious prompting of the Ruach ha-Kodesh that led the remnant home to Jerusalem. The Second Return will begin with God’s prompting of the Persian king to act compassionately toward Isra’el by granting Ezra everything he requested because the hand of ADONAI his God was upon him (Ezra 7:6b, also see Ezra 7:9, 28, 8:22 and 31; and Nehemiah 2:18). Similarly, in the Third Return, Nehemiah will again express the conviction that Ha’Shem was responsible for the gracious support of the Persian throne when he stated: The king granted me the request because the good hand of my God was upon me (Nehemiah 2:8b). The decisive factor was not his faith in his relationship with the king, but his faith in his relationship with the King of kings.

Then I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and I gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officials and cavalry with me (Nehemiah 2:9). Ezra had not asked for an escort, but Nehemiah accepted protection from the king (for the different reasons, see Bk – Ezra’s Arrival in Jerusalem).

Then we meet Nehemiah’s opposition: Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite. These two men cast a long shadow over the story. Both of them were men of considerable influence and power, as can be seen not only from the connections they established with the high priest (Nehemiah 13:4 and 28), but from secular sources as well.

Sanballat the Horonite: As the governor of Samaria, he would have been a formidable opponent. Sanballat is a Babylonian name. Nehemiah’s term is Horonite, that is, a native of Beth-horon, about eighteen miles northwest of Jerusalem mentioned in Joshua 16:3-5. No doubt he saw Nehemiah’s visit to Jerusalem as a mission that would produce a strong Jerusalem and therefore bring about a decrease in his own political power. We know nothing of his own personal belief in YHVH, but it had to be a faith far removed from that held in the City of David (see the commentary on the Life of Solomon Cg – Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan). In Sanballat’s opposition to the Jews, we see the old hostility renewed between the northern kingdom of Samaria and the southern kingdom of Judah.²¹⁵

Tobiah the Ammonite: One conjecture is that he was employed by Sanballat in some capacity, perhaps as his scribe. Tobiah is a Jewish name and not Ammonite, but the Tobiah family was to have influence in Ammon for a long time. These Tobiads may have been the descendants of the Tobiah who in Ezra 2:60 was rejected from the Jewish community because they were not able to give evidence of their fathers’ households and their descendants, whether they were of Isra’el. If so, their long-standing hatred against the Jewish community may have begun at that time.²¹⁶

They were very displeased that a man had come to seek the welfare of Bnei-Yisrael (Nehemiah 2:10). They immediately began to plan how to stop Nehemiah from accomplishing God’s will. This attitude revealed the true nature of those men and their followers: they were committed enemies of YHVH and His people. It is particularly revealing that they were not so much opposed to the authority that Nehemiah possessed, but were opposed to anyone who sought the well-being of the Righteous of the TaNaKh. But Nehemiah’s motivation would remain strong. He knew that ADONAI had brought him to that moment in Isra’el’s history and he was about to tackle a project that others, for almost a hundred years before him, had been unable to complete.²¹⁷

An important lesson to be learned here is that our protection is found in God alone. The Jews in Jerusalem were anxious to rebuild the city walls. They wanted a strong defense against the many enemies who surrounded them and would have been glad to see them carried off into captivity once again. King Artakh’shasta himself recognized the danger in the region, which is why he provided Nehemiah with a powerful military escort to protect him on the dangerous journey. These were treacherous times for the Jews, for there were many who hated them and longed to participate in their destruction.

Yet, ADONAI did not need stone walls or well-armed soldiers to protect His people. His omnipotent hand was sufficient, and His faithfulness to His promises ensured that nothing could ever touch His servants without His permission. Ezra had previously chosen to trust in Ha’Shem’s protection and make the same long journey without any military escort (see Bk – Ezra’s Arrival in Jerusalem), and his faith had proved sound. This does not mean, of course, that Nehemiah had less faith than Ezra. The king had offered the escort, and Nehemiah saw that as God’s provision at the time. Nevertheless, had the king not offered any soldiers, Nehemiah would still have arrived safely through the faithfulness of YHVH.

However, we must not overlook the important element of obedience in God’s protection. Notice what Nehemiah prayed: YHVH, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness with those who love Him and keep His mitzvot, please let Your ears be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant that I am praying before You today (Nehemiah 1:5-6). Ha’Shem is always faithful to His promises, and faithful during the trials of life to be with His children, but He also expects us to be faithful to His Word. When we sin knowingly, we make ourselves vulnerable to the attacks of the evil one and hinder God’s hand of blessing in our lives. Our job is to obey His Word and trust Him for our needs.²¹⁸

Nehemiah gives us four timeless principles of preparation:

First, changing hearts is God’s specialty. Do not try to change people to fit your specifications. Don’t try to manipulate people, play games, plan schemes, trick or deceive them. Instead, tell God on them! You may be dealing with someone who is just plain stubborn, and from every indication they are not going to change. Let Ha’Shem deal with their stubbornness. Relax. Let Him take care of it.

Second, praying and waiting go hand-in-hand. You have never really prayed until you’ve learned to wait, and wait with release. Abandon yourself – let God change the king’s heart. This is tough; it cuts across the grain of our human nature. But stand firm. Give up your own homemade solutions and run the risk of letting YHVH take charge.

Third, faith is not a synonym for disorder nor a substitute for careful planning. People of faith need orderly minds. Leaders like Nehemiah think through the problems they face. Although their circumstances may only allow them to take the first step now, you can be sure they have already thought through the next ten steps. Why – because faith breeds organization, for God is not the author of confusion (First Corinthians 14:33).

Opposition is to be expected when God’s will is carried out. When you follow God’s will, the Adversary will get busy. You become a threat. That’s why it’s important to study Nehemiah. You just have to love his tenacity. When he faced financial needs, he asked the king for letters. When he was afraid, he said, “ADONAI, give me the words to say.” He was a man of faith, yet he carefully balanced faith with realism. He didn’t have to have a detailed game plan in his hands, but he thought through the possible difficulties.²¹⁹

The Third Return
Nehemiah 7:1 to 7:73a and 12:1 to 13:31

445 to 432 BC

There was a twelve year gap between the ministry of Ezra and that of Nehemiah.

Like the First Return, it begins with preparation in Babylon and the introduction of the opposition to God’s plan from Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem.

Leader: Nehemiah

Decree of: Artakh’shasta (445 BC)

Company: a small group

Purpose: Build the walls of Tziyon and continue to enact reforms

Problem: Samaritans and mixed marriages

Nehemiah: A Manual for Leaders

When it comes to leadership, Nehemiah stands with heroes of the TaNaKh like Joseph, Moses, Joshua and David. Yet, he is strangely obscure and virtually unknown to people today. It was written by a man who was prominent in business and politics in the ancient Near East. He not only possessed an exceptional personal philosophy of leadership, but he lived it out as well. In his lifetime, cupbearer to the King, he rose from utter obscurity to national recognition.

Believe it or not, what Nehemiah had to say about leadership speaks to the very same issues you and I face today. For example, we learn how to relate to touchy bosses; how to balance faith in Ha’Shem’s sovereignty and the need for personal planning; how to handle discouragement at the executive level; and how to respond to unwarranted criticism.

In this biblical manual for leaders we find timeless and reliable guidelines that work. They enable us to know how to build quality characteristics in ourselves and others – the kind that are rarely seen today. These truths are not suddenly “dumped” on us, but rather handed to us – brick by brick, as it were – in the form of a narrative. The story begins with an unassuming servant and follows his personal journey to become the official governor of Isra’el during its reconstruction, which incidentally points to our first lesson. Good leaders are made, not born; they are built, shaped, and tested by God – brick by brick – over time.

That’s one of the purposes of this ancient book; to equip you to build you into the kind of leader ADONAI desires – a true leader. If you allow yourself to get caught up in the story, you will find something wonderful begin to happen. As you watch the plot develop, as you see Nehemiah’s character and his project built, shaped, and tested, you will find something in your hand that wasn’t there before: a brick . . . something with which to begin building your own character.¹⁹⁸ There are twelve examples of leadership in the life of Nehemiah.

1. It is essential that leaders have insight (to see link click Bn).

2. Nothing is more important for wise leaders than prayer (Bp).

3. Effective leaders establish clear priorities and use their time wisely (Bq).

4. There are four vital factors for competent leaders (Bu).

5. Successful leaders must be prepared when God opens the door of opportunity (Bw).

6. Competent leaders know how to handle themselves in solitude (Bx).

7. Effective leaders motivate people to action (Bz).

8. Wise leaders know how to handle criticism (Cc).

9. Good leaders do not merely rebuke, but takes steps to correct the problem (Cf).

10. Successful leaders lead by example (Cg).

11. Wise leaders must be careful not to fall (Ci).

12. Effective leaders are positive people (Cl).

Those Guilty of Intermarriage
Ezra 10: 16-44

Those guilty of intermarriage DIG: Which of these names have you seen listed elsewhere in Ezra? What is significant about only one singer and three gate-keepers marrying pagan wives (10:24)? Likewise, why do you suppose no Temple servants or descendants of Solomon’s servants are guilty of this? Why do you think children were insufficient reason for halting the divorce proceedings (10:44)? Why such furor over only 111 transgressors?

REFLECT: How do you feel about 111 families broken apart? How would you feel seeing your name listed here? Would that diminish the spiritual principle involved? This list of guilty men attests to a momentary purge and purification of Isra’el. Some 25 years later, Nehemiah would confront the same sin of mixed marriages. What does that say about human nature? The tenacity of sin? Where then do you place you hope for a purified Church today (see Matthew 13:24-30)?

March 27, 458 BC During the ministry of Ezra (to see link click Bf – The Second Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Ezra Memoirs).

Ezra knew the story of Solomon and his foreign wives, and the devastating effect that it had on Isra’el (see the commentary on the Life of Solomon Bj – Solomon’s Wives). The Jewish family and the convictions of the whole Jewish community were at stake. Ezra’s action was drastic, but he chose the path most likely to protect the Jewish community from pagan syncretism.¹⁹² It is important for us to see that Ezra was not the initial instigator of this measure and was not the one who carried it out. As the Persian representative for reform, he bore the ultimate responsibility, but the people had agreed as one voice in the matter (see Bp – The Israelites Confess Their Sins), approving of what they saw as the Lord’s will in a unique situation.¹⁹³

So the exiles did as proposed. Ezra the cohen, leader of the tribunal, set apart men who were patriarchal leaders of their fathers’ households each designated by name. So they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to consider the matter, and they were finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women about three months later on the first day of the first month of Nisan (Ezra 10:16-17), and almost exactly one year after they had set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem (Ezra 8:31a). Ezra and the other spiritual leaders considered each case individually, and it was likely that each unbelieving wife was given an opportunity to openly forsake her false gods and embrace the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as Ruth had done (see the commentary on Ruth An – Your People Will Be My People and Your God My God). Such repentance would change the marriage from an unequal yoking to a proper marriage between the righteous of the TaNaKh. So, only the wives who were resolute in their unbelief were sent away.

The list of those who divorced their pagan wives seems rather short, considering the frequent reference to many of us (Ezra 10:13), so it is possible that at least some of the unbelieving spouses repented of their pagan ways and embraced God’s truth. Among the sons of the cohanim it was found that the following had married foreign women: The sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah (Ezra 10:18). At the head of the list of those who had intermarried were the descendants and other relatives of the high priest who first returned with Zerubbabel and led in the Temple reconstruction. They all gave their hands in pledge to put away their wives, and for their guilt, they offered a ram of the flock as a guilt offering (Ezra 10:19). Although the pledge and guilt offering are mentioned only at this point, they are probably to be taken as the standard procedure throughout the list.

Also from the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah (Ezra 10:20). Given the fact it took three months to resolve the situation, this list of 113 men could represent only those in leadership. There were seventeen priests, ten Levites and eighty-six lay Israelites, which made up of less than one-percent of the total male population that had originally returned under the decree of Cyrus. The record must have been preserved in the Temple archives from which it was copied from the Chronicler. The entire process would last for about three months, about two cases a day. There were apparently more violators among the people, and even though Ezra and the Jewish leaders dealt with the problem directly, it would reappear years later under Nehemiah (see Cr – Nehemiah’s Final Reforms).¹⁹⁴

One might argue that such a small number, just over a hundred men, was so small as to be of no importance. But Scripture doesn’t agree with that. The stories of Achan in the TaNaKh (Joshua 7:1-26), and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) are reminders to us of how the sin of a few can have serious consequences in the life of God’s people. Our sins can bring others to a standstill, draining their spiritual power and influence. A little hametz leavens the whole batch of dough (First Corinthians 5:6).¹⁹⁵

From the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah (Ezra 10:21).

From the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah (Ezra 10:22). The same four clans listed generations earlier (see An – Priests, Levites and Temple Servants Who Returned with Zerubbabel: The cohanim, or the priests descending from Aaron, returning).

From the Levites:

Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah – he is Kelita – Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer (Ezra 10:23).

From the singers: Eliashib.

From the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri (Ezra 10:24).

Also from Isra’el:

From the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah and Benaiah (Ezra 10:25).

From the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah (Ezra 10:26).

From the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza (Ezra 10:27).

From the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai (Ezra 10:28).

From the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Ramoth (Ezra 10:29).

From the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh (Ezra 10:30).

From the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon (Ezra 10:31), Benjamin, Malluch and Shemariah (Ezra 10:32).

From the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei (Ezra 10:33).

From the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel (Ezra 10:34), Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhu (Ezra 10:35), Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib (Ezra 10:36), Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasai (Ezra 10:37), Bani, Binnui, Shimei (Ezra 10:38), Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah (Ezra 10:39), Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai (Ezra 10:40), Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah (Ezra 10:41), Shallum, Amariah and Joseph (Ezra 10:42).

From the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah (Ezra 10:43).

All these had taken foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives (Ezra 10:44). The chapter ends with a touch of human feeling, in that it recognizes the tragic experience it was. An appropriate provision was doubtlessly made for the divorced wives and children.

A new start is not a new heart: The Jews returned to the Land with such promise. They had put away their idols, and only those who wanted to work on the Temple returned. This was a new beginning for Isra’el, and the sins of the previous generations of Jews must have seemed a distant memory. Yet, a generation or two later, they began imitating their parents’ sins. Passion, lust, and worldliness had fatally compromised them. It was as if the exile had never happened! As someone once said, “The place for the ship is in the sea, but God help the ship if the sea gets into it.”¹⁹⁶

The main lesson of Ezra (and Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah) is that apart from the B’rit Chadashah and the indwelling of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, true obedience to God’s Word is impossible. ADONAI repeatedly started over . . . and the Israelites repeatedly failed. He started with Noah and his family, and sin gripped them as soon as they stepped off the ark. He started over with Moshe and a new nation fleeing from Egypt, but ended up leaving every one of them (except Joshua and Caleb) to die in the wilderness. YHVH had again purified Isra’el by removing their entire nation from the Land for seventy years (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule), but they were back to their sinful ways again.

This illustrates the fact that a new start does not necessarily indicate a new heart. This is the lesson that Yeshua gave Nicodemus, who was the teacher of Isra’el. Messiah told him: Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again (John 3:3). Nicodemus thought Jesus was telling him to start his life over, and he wondered how that was even possible. But the Lord told Nicodemus that without a new heart, fresh starts would simply produce fresh failures. The Jews were learning the lesson that they didn’t need their Land, their Temple, or the walls that Nehemiah would eventually build. What they needed was their Messiah.¹⁹⁷

The Calling of a Public Assembly
Ezra 10: 7-15

The calling of a public assembly DIG: Why did Ezra respond so vehemently to the Jews’ marrying foreigners? Why was that such a big problem for God’s people? Why had the Jews married foreigners in the first place? Considering that they had just recently moved to a new home far from Persia, what factors might have made such marriages seem acceptable to them at the time? Why does God condemn marriage between a believing and unbelieving spouse? What dangers does it pose to the believer? To the children? To the Church as a whole? How do some believers justify marriage to an unbeliever as “no big deal?” What arguments do they use? What does God’s Word say on the matter?

REFLECT: Why does God hate divorce? Why did Yeshua make an exception in the case of adultery (Matthew 5:32)? How are adultery and divorce similar? What does it mean to be unequally yoked? How does this principle apply in other areas of life? How do the scriptures affect your marriage? How do they affect your views on divorce? How do these teachings apply to your own life?

Tevet 19, 458 BC During the ministry of Ezra (to see link click Bf – The Second Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Ezra Memoirs).

Following a night of fasting in the room of Jehohanan (probably a priest who had a room in the Temple complex Ezra 10:6), a proclamation was circulated throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all of the exiles to assemble in Jerusalem (Ezra 10:7). As they had done two months earlier (see Bp – The Israelites Confess Their Sins), all the people were brought as a single body into the plaza that was before the Water Gate (Nehemiah 8:1a). The Temple area was always the center of action in the book of Ezra.

Everyone who did not come within three days, would forfeit (Hebrew: cherem, which refers to putting something under a ban) all his property to the Temple treasury (Leviticus 7:21) according to the counsel of the officials and the elders, and would himself be cut off (Hebrew: karet, meaning the individual was devoted to destruction or excommunicated) from the assembly of the exiles (Ezra 10:8). This seems drastic, but the situation required stern measures if the community of YHVH was going to survive. The little community was in grave danger of being absorbed in the syncretism of its stronger and more powerful neighbors.¹⁸⁸ Given that only the territories of Judah and Benjamin were involved, the greatest distance for the proclamation to travel would have been no more than forty to fifty miles.¹⁸⁹

So within three days all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month of Kislev, a little more than four months after Ezra’s arrival, all the people were sitting in the plaza before the House of God, trembling because of fear of God’s wrath and over concern about their families being separated – and because of the rain (Ezra 10:9). This must have been exceptionally heavy because the Hebrew uses the plural of intensity, and the men interpreted the abnormal rainfall as a sign of Ha’Shem’s displeasure.

On December 19, 458 BC, on a cold, rainy day in Jerusalem, the leaders stood and shivered as accusations were read, demanding a confession and a willingness to agree collectively to reform. Bad weather prohibited a long speech. Wasting no time, Ezra summarized what had been said two months earlier (see Bo – Ezra’s Prayer about Intermarriage), he cited their sin of unfaithfulness, pronounced their guilt, and challenged them to acknowledge their sin and do something about it by becoming separate from their unbelieving foreign wives (Second Corinthians 6:14). Then Ezra the cohen stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and taken unbelieving foreign wives, increasing the guilt of Isra’el. They had violated the Torah and with it His covenant. The relationship had to be restored somehow. So now, give praise to ADONAI, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives” (Ezra 10:10-11). The Bible is clear that God allows divorce because of the hardness of the human heart (Deuteronomy 24:1-5), although it was considered a serious matter and one which ADONAI the God of Isra’el hates (Malachi 2:16). Yeshua also addressed the problem (see The Life of Christ Ij – Is It Lawful for a Man to Divorce His Wife?). The issue here, however, was not one of race, but faith. The men had married unbelievers.

The people responded that they agreed, but that matter would take some time because of the large number of people involved and because of the rain. In fact, it took three months (see Bs – Those Guilty of Intermarriage). The entire assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “Yes, we will do just as you have said” (Ezra 10:12).

However, the heavy rain and the numbers of men made it impossible for the matter to be dealt with in a timely fashion: There are many people here and it is the rainy season, and we are not able to stand outside. Besides, this task cannot be resolved in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter (Ezra 10:13). This shows us how large the problem was and how widespread that sinful practice of mixed marriage was among the Israelites.

Let our leaders stand for the whole assembly. A proposal was made that each man who had married a foreign woman should make an appointment with the elders and judges of his hometown so that the matter could be settled locally. They agreed to do that until the burning wrath of our God is turned back from us in this matter (Ezra 10:14).
This was a good suggestion because the elders and judges of each town would know the individuals involved. They would know whether the women involved were worshipers of ADONAI or were still involved in pagan worship. The entire process would last for three months, until March 27, 458 BC, while the elders and judges met with the offending men.

Some opposition to the drastic proposal was to be expected. But the opposition was surprisingly small. Only four men, Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah stood against this, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, but it is not clear why (Ezra 10:15). Perhaps they wanted to take care of the matter right away; or maybe they didn’t want to take care of it at all. There may have been friends or relatives whom some of those four men wanted to protect.¹⁹⁰ At least one of them, Meshullam the Levite was mentioned (Ezra 10:29), but it was an extremely common name at the time, in fact, there are ten different Meshullams mentioned in Ezra-Nehemiah.

Believers should not marry unbelievers: For us today, Ezra’s reaction to the Jews marrying unbelievers might seem extreme. But, we must take care not to trust our modern way of thinking into God’s Word. Ezra’s response to the situation showed how seriously ADONAI took the sin of intermarriage. Indeed, the Israelites were returning from exile and rebuilding the Temple indicated that YHVH did indeed take intermarriage seriously – for it was that very sin that had led the nation into idolatry in the first place. The Scriptures refer to believers who are married to unbelievers as unequally yoked. The word picture comes from a pair of oxen that a farmer would use to pull his plow. The two animals would be connected with a yoke. If the two oxen had different ideas concerning their roles as they pulled the plow in different directions, with one trying to pull left and the other pulling to the right. The result would be obvious, the field would not be plowed and the plow itself might be destroyed in the contest of wills. Paul warned clearly: Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness (Second Corinthians 6:14)? 

Two further principles are given for the believer who is already married to an unbeliever. First, he or she is not permitted to seek a divorce even though the marriage is unequal because God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). Paul teaches us: But to the rest I say – I, not the Lord – if any brother has a wife who is not a believer, and she agrees to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if any woman has a husband who is not a believer, and he agrees to live with her, she must not divorce him (First Corinthians 7:12-13). Second, if an unbeliever is married to a believer, and the unbeliever wants a divorce, the believer should let the unbeliever go. Once again Paul wrote: But if the unbeliever separates, let him be separated. The brother or sister is not bound in such cases, but God has called you to shalom (First Corinthians 7:15).¹⁹¹

A Binding Agreement
Nehemiah 9:38 to 10:39

A binding agreement DIG: From verses 1-29, what significance do you see in the listing of specific names? Where else have you seen most of these names? Do you suppose the original agreement contained all the names of those summarized in verse 28? Why or why not? What subjects are covered by the provisions of this covenant? What rationale do you see for the prohibition in verse 30 (see Exodus 34:16)? For the prohibition and duties in verses 31-33 (see Exodus 20:8-11 and 30:11-16)? For the duties in verses 35-36 (see Deuteronomy 26:1-11)? Is Nehemiah prescribing tighter or more lenient restrictions than the Torah required? Why might that be? In verses 37-39, how did the Jews demonstrate they were good stewards? What had neglecting the house of God taught them in the past tense (see Nehemiah 13:11 and Haggai 1:4-11)?

REFLECT: For the believer, is there any similar covenant that reflects the values or principles of this chapter? Immersion? New members classes? Communion? What part does putting it in writing play? How could this become legalistic? Is personal stewardship a reliable index of commitment to God and His work? Why or why not? What else might serve that purpose for you? In your messianic synagogue or church, what seems most neglected, or in need of repair? God’s house? God’s Word? God’s people? God’s leaders? Why do you think so? What will you do about it this next week as a direct result of renewing your covenant vows?

458 BC During the ministry of Nehemiah (to see link click Bt – The Third Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah From a Jewish Perspective: The Nehemiah Memoirs).

Following the public confession of sin that took place on the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month, Isra’el entered into a written binding agreement. The Hebrew verb karat, used many times in the TaNaKh to make or cut (Hebrew: berit), is used here with binding agreement (Hebrew: anana). The Chronicler may have used it here because in Nehemiah 9:7-8 he remembered Abraham’s faithfulness (the same Hebrew root aman) and ADONAI’s covenant with him (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Eg – I am the LORD, Who Brought You Out of Ur of the Chaldeans to Give You This Land). Just as Abraham was faithful, the exiles from the Babylonian Captivity must be faithful to God.¹⁷³

Collectively, they were convicted by the demands of Scripture. Corporate and personal sin had been exposed. Wearing sackcloth with dust on their heads, they expressed their sorrow for their failure to obey the Torah. But it was not enough to say they were sorry; they needed to express the sincerity of their desire to serve ADONAI wholeheartedly and passionately. Repentance, after all, includes both a turning from sin, and a turning to God.¹⁷⁴

The life of a believer is a series of new beginnings. The Lord is able to keep us from stumbling (Jude 24), but if we do stumble, He is able to lift us up again. From ADONAI our steps are made firm, when He delights in our way. Though we stumble, we will not fall headlong, for ADONAI is holding our hand (Psalm 37:23-24). The nation had sinned, but now it was taking new steps of dedication and obedience.¹⁷⁵

As we consider the story of Nehemiah, we find people who were anxious to change their lives. In short, they were determined to do things in the order of importance. First things were to come first. It was as if they were saying, “Because of all these things we have brought before You, ADONAI, we want to establish some priorities. We are making a binding agreement in writing.” Nehemiah Chapter 9 dealt with those priorities (see Bp – The Israelites Confess Their Sins). They poured out their souls to God. They declared their dependence on Him.

In the third example of leadership in the life of Nehemiah, effective leaders establish clear priorities and use their time wisely (see Bt – The Third Return). Under the leadership of Nehemiah, the people of God decided to put first things first, regardless of the situation. This action, this document, was a crucial choice in the life of Isra’el. They drove a literal stake into the ground that day, which became part of their rallying point. They drafted and ratified their declaration of dependence and distinction – their constitution. It established their purpose and values. It was as if the righteous of the TaNaKh were saying, “We don’t care if anyone else in the world lives by this. We will live by it. It will be our guide. Our homes will be distinct. Our philosophy of life will not be like that of those who live outside our walls – or even some who live within the walls of the City. This is something, ADONAI, that we want to live out before You.¹⁷⁶

Seventh, a solemn, climatic oath and recommitment by way of a covenant: Now because of all this (see Bp – The Israelites Confess Their Sins), the Israelites made a binding agreement in writing. Covenants need to be signed in order to take effect. Think of a marriage certificate and the signing ritual after public vows have been made. The thousands present in Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day could not all have signed the document, so representatives performed the signing ritual: The names of their leaders, their Levites and their cohanim agreed to affix their seals on a written document that they would obey the stipulations of the Torah (Nehemiah 9:38). On the sealed document were:

The chief leaders and priests who signed (see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah From a Jewish Perspective: This commentary is based on several premises). Putting a seal on this document was a serious matter because it meant making a solemn oath before the LORD (Deuteronomy 29:10-13). Zedekiah; Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim, Meremot, Obadiah, Dani’el, Ginnethon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the cohanim (Nehemiah 10:1-8).

The Levites who signed: And the Levites were:

Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui from the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel (Nehemiah 10:9),

and their associates Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan (Nehemiah 10:10),

Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah (Nehemiah 10:11),

Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah (Nehemiah 10:12),

Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu (Nehemiah 10:13).

The other leaders who signed: The leaders of the people (most of these names represent the heads of leading lay families):

Parosh, Pahat-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani (Nehemiah 10:14),

Bunni, Azgad, Bebai (Nehemiah 10:15),

Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin (Nehemiah 10:16),

Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur (Nehemiah 10:17),

Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai (Nehemiah 10:18),

Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai (Nehemiah 10:19),

Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir (Nehemiah 10:20),

Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua (Nehemiah 10:21),

Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah (Nehemiah 10:22),

Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub (Nehemiah 10:23),

Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek (Nehemiah 10:24),

Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah (Nehemiah 10:25),

and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan (Nehemiah 10:26),

Malluch, Harim, and Baanah (Nehemiah 10:27).

The solemn promises: Now the rest of the people – the cohanim, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands for the sake of the Torah of God, along with their wives, their sons and their daughters who were able to understand – did not place their seals into the written agreement, but they did join their brothers the nobles, and enter into a curse (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) and an oath to walk in the Torah of God given through Moses the servant of God, and to keep and do all the mitzvot of Adonai our Lord, along with His ordinances and His statutes (Nehemiah 10:28-29). It was made completely clear that everyone, down to the youngest children who could understand, shared in this oath.

Should believers today bind themselves with oaths as we seek to walk with the Lord and serve Him? Probably not. Our relationship with ADONAI is like that of children to a father, and our Father wants our obedience to be based on love. I don’t know of any examples in the B’rit Chadashah of believers taking oaths of obedience to God. Our obedience should be a joyful response to all that He has done for us in Messiah (Colossians 3:1ff). We don’t succeed as believers because we make promises to YHVH, but because we believe the promises of God and act upon them.¹⁷⁷

Mixed marriages: In Nehemiah 10:29 there was a general promise to obey what God had declared. But in Nehemiah 10:30, the people specifically said that they would obey Him in their homes. Furthermore, we will not give our daughters to non-believers, the peoples of the land, and we will not take their daughters for our sons. They took marrying idol-worshipers very seriously. Divorce was permitted in the TaNaKh (Deuteronomy 24:1), although it was considered a serious matter and one which God hated (Malachi 2:6). The issue here was not marriages that were racially mixed, but marrying unbelievers (Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1). Bo’az, a descendant of David, married Ruth, a Moabitess (see the commentary on Ruth Bd – Coda: The Genealogy of David), but she became a proselyte of the Covenant (see the commentary on Ruth An – Your People Will Be My People and Your God My God). Therefore, theirs was not a mixed marriage. However, the marriages Ezra was addressing were Jews marrying unbelievers, or the people of the land around them. This became a big issue as the next file will detail (see Bs – Those Guilty of Intermarriage).

Believers marrying unbelievers, what I call “missionary dating,” is still a problem in the congregations of God today. “As long as we love each other, it will work out!” is the argument many messianic rabbis and pastors hear from believers who want to marry unbelievers. But the question is not, “Will this marriage work out?” but, “Will this marriage enjoy God’s best blessing and fulfill His will?” It’s difficult to see how Ha’Shem can bless and use people who deliberately disobey His Word (Second Corinthians 6:14 to 7:1; First Corinthians 7:39).¹⁷⁸ Becoming a believer after being married, however, is an entirely different matter altogether. For the unbelieving husband is made holy through the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy (First Corinthians 7:14).

The Sabbath: When the people of the land bring merchandise or any kind of grain on Shabbat, we will not buy from them on Shabbat or on a holy day. The mitzvot regarding Shabbat and the Sabbatical Year are based on the Torah, but they define new cases. The Jews would not have bought and sold among themselves. However, living so close to non-Jews who brought merchandise to sell on the Sabbath presented a new situation. The people could now see that the tone and spirit of the day were being threatened. Also every seventh year we will forego working the land and the debt of every hand (Nehemiah 10:31). The poor would be protected. The land would lie fallow in the seventh year. During the seventh year, when the land was not cultivated or planted, the poor could help themselves to whatever grew on it, the vineyards and olive groves (Exodus 23:11).¹⁷⁹

The Support for the House of God: The phrase the House of our God is used nine times in this section and refers to the restored Temple. The people were promising ADONAI that they would obey His mitzvot and provide what was needed for the ministry at the Temple. To be sure, the restored Temple didn’t have the magnificence of the Temple built by Solomon (Ezra 3:8-13; Haggai 2:1-9), but it was God’s House just the same and deserved the support of God’s people. The promised support was specific and involved four different areas of ministry.

First, the Temple tax: During the time of Moshe, everyone over twenty was charged half a shekel as a ransom for himself, and this money was used for the service of the tent of meeting (see the commentary on Exodus Eu – The Atonement Money for the Tabernacle). But it was levied only when a census was held, whereas, the present passage promises a slightly small but annual sum.¹⁸⁰ We also assume responsibility for the mitzvot to give a third of a shekel each year for the work of the House of our God: for the bread of the Presence (see the commentary on Exodus Fo – The Bread of the Presence in the Sanctuary: Christ, the Bread of Life), the regular grain offering and regular burnt offering, the Shabbatot, the New Moons, for the moadim, for the holy things, for the sin offerings to atone for Isra’el, and for all the service of the House of our God (Nehemiah 10:32-33).

Today we don’t have to provide animals, grain, and other materials in order for the Church, made up of Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 3:14), to worship the Lord, but we do have to help maintain the work of the ministry. This means paying salaries (Luke 10:7), sharing with the needy (First Corinthians 16:1-3), and being good stewards of all that ADONAI gives us (Second Corinthians Chapters 8 and 9), so that the gospel may be sent to the whole world. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).¹⁸¹

Second, the wood offering: We – the cohanim, the Levites and the people – have cast lots concerning the offering of wood, to bring it into the House of our God according to our ancestral house at the appointed times year by year to burn on the altar of ADONAI, our God, as it is written in the Torah (Nehemiah 10:34). The work of supplying the wood necessary for the altar fires was a part of the task assigned to the Temple servants, or the Nethinim (see An – Priests, Levites and Temple Servants Who Returned with Zerubbabel). As a result of the Babylonian captivity, their organization was broken up, and though some returned to Jerusalem, they were probably not so numerous as before. Therefore, it became necessary for all classes of Jews to attend to this work, and this was regulated by the casting of lots. This work was called the offering of wood in the text and can also be seen in the final verse of Nehemiah (13:31). The rabbis teach that different families had different times of the year assigned to them for their share in the work. This was the origin of a great festival that was known by the name of “the feast of the wood-carrying,” and was celebrated annually on a certain day in Av (corresponding to the months of July-August). This was the last day of the year that wood could be cut for this purpose, and all the people without the distinction of being part of a Jewish tribe, like the Temple servants, brought wood to the Temple on that day. The festival was universally and joyously kept; no fasting or mourning was permitted.¹⁸² The Oral Law (Ta’an. 4.5) records that this happened nine times a year.

Third, the firstfruits: The list of firstfruit offerings here appears to take a maximum view of what the Torah required. There were basically five kinds of fruits: Also to bring the firstfruits of our land (Exodus 23:19) and (1) the firstfruits of all fruit trees year by year to the House of Adonai, and the firstborn of our sons. These were to be redeemed and the money given to the priests (Exodus 8:13; Numbers 18:15ff), and (2) our livestock as written in the Torah (Exodus 13:11-13). If they belonged to the species not offered on the altar, they had to be redeemed by being exchanged for a lamb; the firstborn of our cattle and our sheep to the House of our God – (3) to the cohanim ministering in the House of our God (Deuteronomy 26:2) was responsible for the payment of the tithe; and the first of our coarse meal, (4) along with our offerings – the fruit from every kind of tree, new wine and oil – to the cohanim at the store rooms of the House of our God, as well as (5) a tenth of the crop of our land to the Levites (Nehemiah 10:35-37a). The various commandments and offerings in the Torah leave a considerable amount of leeway – especially to the generations removed from the original practices – about how they all related to each other. Leaving nothing to chance, Ezra’s community combined them all together. The gathering of the tithe became systematic, with the Levite, the chief beneficiary, permitted to take the initiative rather than leaving it to the donor.¹⁸³

Fourth, the tithes: The word tithe means a tenth. The Jews were to bring a tenth of their produce to the LORD each year for the support of the Levites. The Levites then were to give a tenth of the tithes they received to the priests (Numbers 18:25-32). The Israelites were to tithe the other ninety percent that was left over and take it to the Temple for the annual feasts (Deuteronomy 26:1-11). To those tithes was added a third tithe, received every third year for the poor (Nehemiah 14:28-29).

Chambers in the outer courts of the Temple were used as storerooms for the silver, gold, and other objects. Also, the cohen, a descendant of Aaron, will be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithe, and the Levites will bring a tenth of the tithes up to the House of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury (Nehemiah 10:37b-38). 

For Bnei-Yisrael and the sons of Levi will bring the grain offering, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the utensils for the Sanctuary, and for the ministering cohanim, the gatekeepers, and the singers are kept. The people’s pledge, then, was not merely lip-service. They meant it (at the time). It was accepted as a heavy burden, saying: We will not forsake the House of our God (Nehemiah 10:39).¹⁸⁴

While there is no express command in the B’rit Chadashah that believers should tithe today (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Do – When You Give to the Needy, Do Not Do It to be Honored by Others), proportionate giving is certainly suggested (First Corinthians 16:1-3). We are stewards of God’s wealth and must make wise use of what He shares with us. If people who lived before the cross (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of the Torah) could bring three tithes, how much more should we give today who live under the New Covenant of God’s abundant grace?¹⁸⁵

In this binding agreement, though given in summary form, the details and extent of the commitment and sacrifice of the people of Isra’el are breathtaking. They made promises – oaths – that they were of the most serious nature. Religion to them was not a trifling matter. It was not something to be engaged in on the Sabbath and then quickly forgotten. It was life-changing and total in its scope.¹⁸⁶

Those tithes and offerings given to ADONAI, were responses to His grace. They follow a distinctive pattern of gospel logic: obedience is offered by way of gratitude of grace received – never the other way around. Nothing is more vital to appreciate than this! Get this wrong, and everything goes wrong! We dare not confuse the priority of grace in the promise of obedience, or else we sow the seeds of legalism. But equally important, we dare not so emphasize the beauty of grace that we ignore the need for gratitude expressed in will and devoted obedience from the heart to live unreservedly for the Lord. For the pools of grace received comes the echo of a willing heart, nowhere better expressed than the prayer: “My heart I offer to You, O Lord, promptly and sincerely.”

Is this your response?¹⁸⁷

The Israelites Confess Their Sins
Ezra 10:1-6 and Nehemiah 9:1-37

The Israelites confess their sins DIG: What is the effect of Ezra’s prayer on the people? What is Shecaniah’s message and its effect? Why would the Israelites confess their sins right after Sukkot, which is supposed to be a time of joy? Why did they separate themselves from all foreigners? In the prayer recorded here, God’s grace and power are reviewed throughout redemptive history. Where do you see God at work in creation? In Abraham? In Egypt? In the Exodus? In the wilderness? At Mount Sinai? In their possessing Canaan? In the era of the Judges? Of the prophets? Where is the LORD at work in their present situation? What Psalm(s) does this whole prayer remind you of? In seeing God in a new light in this prayer, how do the people then respond (especially notice the verbs)? How do the people think Ha’Shem treated them? What did they say was the source of all their problems?

REFLECT: When was the last time you needed to confess your sins to someone else? What brought it out into the open? How was your confession received? How does a believer today show sincerity in our confession and repentance of sin? In doing so, what part would you attribute to God’s Word? To other believers? To prayer? What is the “great distress” from which you want ADONAI to deliver you? What is the connection here between repentance and hope? Between prayer and action? Between unilateral covenant and mutual agreement? Point of decision and process of implementation? When have you been caught in a cycle of learning and relearning the same lesson over and over again? What are some sacrifices you have had to make? How did you feel about them?

During the ministry of Ezra (to see link click Bf – The Second Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Ezra and Nehemiah Memoirs).

This is one of the great chapters in the Bible on prayer. Like Abraham’s prayer for Sodom (Genesis 18:23-33), the prayer of Dani’el (Dani’el 9:1-19), Nehemiah’s plea for God’s help (Nehemiah 1:1-11), or the prayer here that is a model for us to employ when our tired prayers need refreshing. From time to time, when prayer has become routine- a shopping list of intercessions, asking the Lord to bless this or that, and little by way of adoration or confession – we need to rethink our approach to prayer. All of us, if we are honest, know all too well the experience of lifelessness that can overtake our spiritual condition, when energy and vitality give way to routine and predictability – and, worse, to deadness and prayerlessness. Reading this particular prayer, with its unrelenting, God-focused perspective, and unfettered confession of personal and corporate sin, should prove a tonic for tried, struggling souls.¹⁶⁷

Now on the twenty-fourth day of Tishri, two days after the celebration of Sukkot ended (to see link click Bn – The Feast of Sukkot Celebrated), while Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and prostrating himself before the House of God, a very large assembly of Israelites – men, women and children – gathered around him, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads, weeping very bitterly as the earnestness of Ezra’s confession (see Bo – Ezra’s Prayer about Intermarriage) and his profound grief affected them greatly (Ezra 10:1-2a; Nehemiah 9:1). 

Then one man, Shecaniah son of Jehiel (Ezra 8:3), who was not involved in the mixed marriages, was bold and chose to obey God rather than please his relatives, spoke for all the people who were weeping and said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the people of the land living in Judea. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Isra’el. So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all these unbelieving women and their offspring, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Torah (Deuteronomy 7:1-6). Arise! For this matter concerns you.” Shecaniah then promised Ezra that the people would stand behind him in such a decision, saying: We are with you, so be strong and do it (Ezra 10:2b-4)! Though divorce was not the norm, it may have been preferable in this situation because the mixed marriages, if continued, would eventually destroy the nation. Shecaniah urged Ezra to act, but the responsibility was his.

So Ezra rose up and made the leading cohanim, the Levites, and all Isra’el take an oath to do according to this word; and they took the oath. Once he had the promise of support from the leaders, he was confident that the rest of Isra’el would follow. The offspring of Isra’el separated themselves from all foreigners, standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. They stood in their place and read in the scroll of the Torah of ADONAI their God for three hours; and for another three hours they were confessing and prostrating themselves before ADONAI their God (Ezra 10:5; Nehemiah 9:2-3).

Then the Levites – Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani – all stood on the same high wooden platform that Ezra had stood on twenty-four days earlier (see Bm – Ezra Reads the Torah Scroll of Moses), and cried out with a loud voice to ADONAI their God (Nehemiah 9:4). The Levites – Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said to the people, “Stand up! Bless ADONAI your God, from everlasting to everlasting, from the beginning of creation to the end of all existence” (Nehemiah 9:5a)! This is the first of twelve prayers recorded in Nehemiah (here, 1:5-11, 2:4, 4:4, 4:9, 5:19, 6:9, 6:14, 13:14, 13:22, 13:29, 13:31).

Ezra and his companions were overwhelmed by God’s greatness. This is exactly what Yeshua exemplifies in His response to the apostle’s request for help in prayer. He gave them the model of the Lord’s prayer (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Dp – When You Pray, Go into Your Room and Close the Door), in which the first half sings the praises of the Father’s glory and greatness, urging them to focus on ADONAI.

In the second example of leadership recorded by Nehemiah (see Bt – The Third Return), of all the disciplines a leader must maintain, nothing – let me repeat, NOTHING – is more important than prayer. The prayer here consists of seven distinctive sections:

First, praise to God as Creator: May Your glorious Name be blessed; may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. Nehemiah 9:6-11 has passed into the Jewish liturgy as part of the daily morning prayers. You alone are ADONAI. You made the heavens, even the highest heaven with all its array the rabbis teach that this phrase denotes the highest of the seven heavens (Colossians 1:16), the earth and everything on it, the seas and everything in them. You give life to them all, and the multitudes of angels in heaven worship You (Nehemiah 9:5b-6). The doctrine of creation is important because it emphasizes God’s sovereignty over all.

Second, a careful review of Isra’el’s history with a particular focus on God’s faithfulness: You are ADONAI, the God who chose Abram, and through him the people of Isra’el, brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. You found his heart faithful before You and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Jebusite and the Girgashite to his seed (see the commentary on Genesis Eg – I am the LORD, Who Brought You Out of Ur of the Chaldeans to Give You This Land). You have fulfilled Your words, for You are righteous (Nehemiah 9:7-8).

The exodus experience had a decisive influence on the life and thought of Isra’el. You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry by the Sea of Reeds. You gave signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all the people of his land, for You knew how insolently they treated them. You made a name for Yourself which remains to this day. You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land! But their pursuers You threw into the depths like a stone into mighty waters (see the commentary on Exodus Ci – The Waters Were Divided and the Jews Went Through the Sea). You led them with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night to illuminate for them the way they were to go (see the commentary on Exodus Cg – After Leaving Succoth they Camped at Etham). God had delivered them from Babylon just as He had delivered them from Egypt (Nehemiah 9:9-12). We should also remember God’s daily guidance as a miraculous gift.¹⁶⁸

You descended on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just judgments, reliable laws, and good statutes and mitzvot. You made known to them Your holy Shabbat and ordained for them mitzvot, statutes and Torah by the hand of Your servant Moses (see the commentary on Exodus Dj – The Ten Commandments). You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger (see the commentary on Exodus Cr – I Will Rain Down Manna from Heaven for You), and brought them water from the rock for their thirst (see the commentary Exodus Cu – Strike the Rock and Water Will Come Out of It). You told them to go in to possess the land that You had sworn to give them, literally raised your hand (Nehemiah 9:13-15). God gave the commandments as not simply negative commands, but a blueprint for godly living. So, the Jews did not see the Torah as a burden or something negative, but as a gift from YHVH to guide His people in forming a good and just society. But the corruption of the commandments that we see in the gospels resulted in bondage and not freedom, legalism and not grace (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law).

Third, a testimony of God’s forgiveness, graciousness and compassion in memorable words: The intensity of the people’s failure seemed to intensify the urgency and conviction of their prayer. But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and rebellious against God even to the point of worshiping a golden calf. They stiffened their neck and did not obey Your mitzvot. They refused to obey and did not remember Your wonders that You did among them. Instead, they became stiff-necked and in their rebellion, appointed a leader (Numbers 14:4) in order to return to their bondage. The imagery is that of an animal that struggles against having a yoke placed on its neck. This attitude of pride and wickedness was widespread during the monarchical period and was the reason for the fall of both Samaria and Judea. But You are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Therefore, You did not abandon them, even when they made a cast image of a calf for themselves (see the commentary on Exodus Gq – The Golden Calf Incident) and said: This is your god who brought you up from Egypt! or when they committed great blasphemies (Nehemiah 9:16-18).

Yet in Your great compassion, You did not abandon them in the wilderness. God punishes sin, but He is also a God of compassion. This prayer teaches us that to view the God of the TaNaKh as a God of anger, and the B’rit Chadashah as a God of love is false. Even when the people rebelled, He responded with grace. The pillar of cloud by day did not depart from above them, guiding them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, illuminating the way they should go. You also gave Your good Ruach to teach them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth and You gave them water for their thirst. For forty years You sustained them in the desert: they lacked nothing, their garments did not wear out and their feet did not swell (Nehemiah 9:19-21). ADONAI met every need. This prayer reflects the faith of the people that just as God cared for the children of Isra’el who came up from Egypt, they too would be cared for in a similar way.

You gave them kingdoms and peoples and You allotted them their boundaries of the land. They possessed the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven (see the commentary on Genesis Ef – Abram Believed the LORD and He Credited It to Him as Righteousness), and You brought them into the Land that You told their ancestors to enter and inherit. The phrase like the stars of heaven is basic to the original covenant with Abram. The fulfillment of the covenant was realized in the fact that there were people who had regathered in the Land to renew the covenant.¹⁶⁹ So the children went in and possessed the Land. You subdued before them the Canaanites who were the inhabitants of the land. You delivered them into their hands, along with their kings and the peoples of the land to deal with them as they pleased. They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took possession of houses full of every good thing – hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and an abundance of fruit trees. They ate and were satisfied, and grew fat. They enjoyed Your great goodness (Nehemiah 9:22-25). However, Isra’el took all their prosperity for granted and disobeyed God’s commands.

Fourth, an open confession of sin: This section presents the same four-step cycle seen
in the book of Judges: (1) the people were disobedient; (2) God handed them over to their enemies, who oppressed them; (3) then they cried out to ADONAI for help; (4) YHVH heard and delivered them.

(1) Nonetheless they became contentious and rebelled against You once again. They cast Your Torah behind their back. They killed Your prophets who warned them (Matthew 23:30-31) to return to You; they committed appalling blasphemies. (2) Therefore, You delivered them into the hand of their enemies who oppressed them. (3) But in the time of their distress, they cried out to You and You heard from heaven. (4) According to Your great compassion, You gave them deliverers, who rescued them out of the hands of their enemies (Nehemiah 9:26-27). Isra’el seemed to have needed a crisis to recognize her need of dependence of Ha’Shem. Thus, the cycle repeated itself.

(1) But as soon as they were at rest, they returned to doing evil before You. Therefore, You abandoned them into the hand of their enemies who ruled over them. When they repented and cried out to You, You heard from heaven, and according to Your compassion You delivered them many times (Nehemiah 9:28). When all goes well, it’s easy to neglect our dependence on God. Often we do not realize that we need Him until we are under oppression. Our last resort is prayer, rather than being our first resort.

The prophetic messages were inspired by the Spirit of God. However, even revelation through the prophets was rejected. You warned them in order to turn them back to Your Torah, but they became brazen and disobeyed Your mitzvot. They sinned against Your ordinances – those by which if a man does them he will live. They turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their necks, and would not listen. You bore with them for many years and admonished them by Your Ruach through the hand of Your prophets. (2) Yet they would not listen, so You handed them over to the people of the lands. This entire prayer emphasizes God’s abundant mercy. The prayer recognized that Ha’Shem would have been justified in putting an end to those rebellious people. Yet, He kept on loving, guiding and delivering them. Nevertheless, in Your great compassion, You did not put an end to them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God (Nehemiah 9:29-31).

Fifth, with their checkered past and the LORD’s faithfulness fresh on their minds, the Jews took stock of their present situation: In this concluding part of the Levites’ prayer, they asked for relief, again acknowledging ADONAI’s power, majesty and loyalty. (3) So now, our God – the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy – do not let all the hardship that has befallen us throughout our history because of our disobedience seems insignificant to you – our kings, our leaders, our cohanim, our prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the time of the kings of Assyria, over four hundred years before Ezra’s time, to this day (Nehemiah 9:32). The people could address ADONAI as our God because they knew He was merciful. The Chronicler wrote: If My people, over whom My Name is called, humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their Land (Second Chronicles 7:14). The covenant relationship between YHVH and His people is central in the Bible. The people knew that God was faithful and merciful because of His actions in the past. Nevertheless, the last cycle was not completed (also see the commentary on The Life of Christ Hu – The Parable of the Lost Son and His Jealous Brother). The cry for help (the third step in the cycle) is the theme of this prayer, and it looks forward to ADONAI’s expected deliverance.

You are righteous in all that has come upon us. For You have acted faithfully even while we have done wickedly. The people recognized that God’s judgment was just and they deserved punishment because their ancestors did not obey Ha’Shem. Our kings, our leaders, our cohanim, and our ancestors have not kept Your Torah or paid attention to Your mitzvot or Your testimonies by which you have admonished them. Even in their own kingdom with the abundance of Your good things that You gave them, or with the spacious and fertile land that You set before them, they did not serve You or turn back from their evil deeds (Nehemiah 9:33-35).

Sixth, a complaint that the people are in distress: But see, even today we are slaves! Slaves in the Land that You gave to our ancestors to eat of its fruit and its bounty. We are slaves in it. Even though the Persians were not cruel to their subjects as Assyria and Babylon had been, they exacted heavy taxes. The Jews were still their subjects, but their desire was to live only under the God of their ancestors. It’s abundant produce goes to the kings You have set over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please. The prayer ends on a confessional note. We are in great distress (Nehemiah 9:36-37)! Such an end to a prayer is a tremendous sign of faith in YHVH. The people knew that ADONAI was their only chance for deliverance, just as it had been the case for the children of Isra’el when they were in Egypt.¹⁷⁰

Then Ezra got up from before the House of God and went into the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib (see Af – Ezra-Nehemiah Timeline: The dates of the high priests). While he was there, he ate no bread and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles (Ezra 10:6). This was an unusually stringent fast, for people generally only fasted from food but not from water. It indicated the depth of Ezra’s grief and alarm over this situation, which underscores the seriousness of marrying an unbeliever.¹⁷¹

Seventh, a solemn, climatic oath and recommitment by way of a covenant in the next file (see Bq – A Binding Agreement). Employing these seven observations in our own prayer life would have an immediate, reforming effect on the content of our prayers. The prayer is earnest and forthright. Everything about it suggests sincerity and urgency. They knew themselves to be sinners and knew that ADONAI had every right to be angry with them. This was not a time for excuses. They wanted to have real dealings with YHVH and not simply the trappings of religion. It was time for commitment and promise in the face of the covenant mercies of God.¹⁷²

Ezra’s Prayer about Intermarriage
Ezra 9: 1-15

Ezra’s prayer about intermarriage DIG: How extensive was the problem of intermarriage? What five parties are guilty (9:1-2; see 10:18-43 for the names)? How long is Ezra on the scene before being brought in for damage control (compare 10:9 and 7:9)? Ezra wanted to establish a holy nation with pure marriages. What are the pros and cons of this (see Deuteronomy 7:1-5; Malachi 2:10-16; Second Corinthians 6:14 against Genesis 41:45; Numbers 12:1)? What is the emotional tone in Ezra’s response? The gist of his logic? The dramatic high-point (or low-point)? Why is he so heart-broken? What five themes do you see in this classic prayer (see verses 6, 8, 10, 13, 15)? What does this prayer tell you about which is greater – guilt or grace? Slavish habits or new life? God’s anger or mercy? What hope for the remnant do you see (9:14)?

REFLECT: What effect do you suppose this prayer had on the audience? On later readers? On God? On you? Explain? Some 25 years later, Nehemiah dealt with the same problem of intermarriage with foreigners, but “pulled more hair” than Ezra (see Nehemiah 13:23-29). If confronted with similarly offensive sin, would you respond? Do you have a problem with people marrying a non-believer? How common is that among your friends? With what results? What else could compromise a struggling community of faith as much as mixed marriages in ancient Isra’el?

During the ministry of Ezra (to see link click Bf – The Second Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Ezra Memoirs).

The problem of mixed marriages is a tricky subject, even in our times. It is not just the issue of a believer marrying an unbeliever, producing what Paul called an unequally yoked marriage (Second Corinthians 6:14). No believer should intentionally walk into such a relationship if they know what’s good for them. The inability to share together what is most important and dear – a love for Jesus Christ and the gospel – will, at best, doom the relationship into something that is always less than what the believer’s heart desires, no matter how “ideal” the partner may otherwise seem. Chemistry and charisma cannot make up for the lack of spiritual communion. But it wasn’t merely the issue of a believer intentionally marrying an unbeliever that is in view here – it is a racial issue. The Jews were forbidden to marry non-believers, and this was evidently something that the Israelites who lived in Jerusalem were flouting. This is a politically sensitive issue, then as it is now.¹⁶²

But no sooner had the festival of Sukkot been celebrated, Ezra was confronted with an unexpected problem: many of the Jewish men had married Gentile wives. Jewish leaders approached Ezra with some tragic news. The people of Isra’el, the cohanim and the Levites: As was the case during the Assyrian deportation of the northern kingdom of Isra’el and the Babylonian deportation of the southern kingdom of Judah, not only had the people fallen into sin, but the nation’s spiritual leadership had led the way.

They have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands who practice detestable things just like the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites (Ezra 9:1): YHVH had commanded His people to keep themselves holy, and set apart from the people of Canaan when they arrived in the Promised Land. In fact, He had even ordered them to make war against all of the pagan nations (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Ae – The Problem of Holy War in the TaNaKh), destroying their altars and religious sites dedicated to idols. If the Israelites failed to do this, Ha’Shem warned that they would wind up becoming just like their pagan neighbors – intermarrying and adopting their idolatrous ways (Exodus 34:10-16; Deuteronomy 7:1-6). Unfortunately, the Israelites did not obey the LORD’s commands in this regard, and He sent them into exile.

For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves (Acts 9:2a): Later, Nehemiah’s time, the same thing happened. Malachi added that some of these people had even divorced their Jewish wives in order to marry non-believers (see Cq – Malachi: The Pollution of the Priesthood). And for their sons and have mingled the holy seed with the peoples of the lands(Acts 9:2b): This is a powerful expression that can help us understand why God doesn’t want His people to intermarry with unbelievers. ADONAI had chosen Abraham and his descendants to be the race into which He would bring Yeshua, the Messiah, His holy and sinless Son. As such, YHVH wanted Abraham’s descendants to be set apart as a holy people, distinct from the nations around them, rather than imitating them. This same principle applies to believers today, for the Church is the Bride of Christ (see the commentary on Revelation  Ft – Come, I Will Show You the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb). The LORD still demands that His Bride keep Herself apart from the world.

The situation in Jerusalem was dire. The problem was not confined to the fringes of the population. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront in this unfaithful act (Ezra 9:2b). This must have seemed incomprehensible to Ezra. It was bad enough that the Jews had fallen back into their former sins, but it was inconceivable and inexcusable that the nation’s spiritual leaders were actually leading the way.¹⁶³

Ezra’s immediate response was to fall before ADONAI in deep mourning. Yet, As God’s chosen leader, he identified himself with the people. When Ezra heard this report, he tore his garment and his robe, a sign of grief repeatedly mentioned in the Bible, and pulled out some of the hair from his head and from his beard, a manifestation of sorrow. Then he sat down devastated (Ezra 9:3).

Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Isra’el gathered themselves around me because of the unfaithful act of the exiles. There were still some in Judah, including Ezra, who took his words seriously. They sat there with Ezra until the evening offering, during which there was a time of public prayer. Then Ezra rose up from his self-abasement with his garment and robe torn, then he bowed down on his knees, spread out his hands to ADONAI his God (Ezra 9:4-6a).

Then Ezra prayed so everyone could hear: O my God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God! For our iniquities are higher than our heads, drowning us, as it were, and our guilt has reached to the heavens, a metaphor referring to the magnitude of their guilt which rises like a colossal tower to the skies. From the days of our fathers when the Torah was first given, to this day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, as a people, our kings and our cohanim have been subjected to the sword, to captivity, to plunder and to humiliation at the hand of the kings of the lands, as it is today (Ezra 9:6b-7). He recognized that sin is like leaven: a little bit of it can infect the entire nation. But he was also demonstrating the important element of spiritual leadership by identifying himself with the people who were in sin, remembering that he, too, was a sinner.

But now for a brief moment ADONAI our God has shown us favor in leaving us a remnant and giving us as a symbolic peg in His holy place. That is, the remnant of God’s people in Judah had been firmly fixed in ADONAI’s Holy City as a peg is firmly fixed in a wall.¹⁶⁴ Thus our God has enlightened our eyes and has given us a little relief in our bondage (Ezra 9:8). The English translation fails to express the deep despair of the original. A little grace had been granted by God to His people; a small remnant had found its weary way back to its home and had driven a single peg into its soil; a solitary ray of light was shining; a faint breath of freedom lightened their slavery. How graphically Ezra epitomizes the Jewish experience in these few words.

Though we are slaves, subject to the rule of a Persian king, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has extended lovingkindness (see the commentary on Ruth Af – The Concept of Chesed) to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, reviving us in order to restore the House of our God, to raise up its ruins, and to give us a spiritual wall (Hebrew: gader) of protection (see Psalm 80:12) around Judah and Jerusalem (Ezra 9:9). The term gader refers to a vineyard wall rather than a city wall, suggesting that figure of Isra’el as God’s vineyard (see the commentary on Isaiah Az – The Vineyard of the LORD is the House of Isra’el), which He had appointed the Persians to protect.

So now, our God, what should we say after this? For we have forsaken Your mitzvot that You commanded through Your servants the prophets saying: The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the peoples of the lands. Through their abominations, they have filled it from one end to the other with their uncleanness. Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek their shalom or their welfare, so that you may be strong, eat the good things of the Land and leave it as an inheritance for your children forever (Ezra 9:10-12). If God’s people refuse to separate themselves from the world (First John), then those who still fear God’s Word will separate themselves from them.

Paul had warned the Corinthians in equally strong terms: Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What harmony does Messiah have with Belial? Or what part does a believer have in common with an unbeliever (Second Corinthians 6:14-15)? 

Then Ezra pleaded for God’s mercy: After everything that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt – for You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and given us a remnant such as this – shall we once again break Your mitzvot and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable actions as these? Would You not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? ADONAI, God of Isra’el, You are righteous, for we are left this day as a remnant. Behold, here we are before You in our guilt; because of it no one can stand before You (Ezra 9:13-15). For all Israelites, innocent as well as guilty, are bound up together in that responsibility for the nation’s guilt.

The prayer ends with a clear recognition that Ha’Shem had every reason to wash His hand of the Jerusalem community, as He had once threatened to do with an earlier generation (see the commentary on Exodus Gs – Now Leave Me Alone So That My Anger May Burn Against Your People). This was a real possibility. There were other Israelites scattered abroad, through whom the promises of YHVH could be fulfilled. Ezra had not even the heart to plead, as Moshe had, that the LORD’s name would suffer in such a case. His prayer was naked confession, without excuses, without the pressure of so much as a request.¹⁶⁵

The problem of mixed marriages is one that dominates the ministries of both Ezra and Nehemiah (see Cr – Nehemiah’s Final Reforms: Nehemiah’s handling of mixed marriages). The issue is not so much marriage to Gentiles, but marriage to non-believers. A Moabite such as Ruth, for example, of one of the races mentioned by Ezra above, could marry an Israelite such as Bo’az (see the commentary on Ruth Az – Scene Four: Bo’az Marries Ruth), because in the goodness of ADONAI, she had been wonderfully converted! These marriages of which Ezra and Nehemiah (and the Torah) spoke were essentially marriages outside the faith of Isra’el. They brought with them the threat of idolatry as one or the other partner maintained his or her false religion within the marriage. If the practice continued, Isra’el would no longer be a distinct people through whose line the redemptive promises of a Messiah would come. She would no longer be the wife of ADONAI (Isaiah 54:6), recipient of the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David, and through who all the families of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:3).

So important was this issue in the earlier periods of Jewish history that YHVH had sent a plague that killed twenty-four thousand Israelites. Only after the priest Phinehas had killed an Israelite man who was engaged in sexual immorality with a Midianite woman did it become clear that the rest of the Israelites were to be spared (Numbers 25:1-13). After the Israelites’ conquest of the Land, Joshua had urged compliance with this rule, threatening that if they engaged in intermarriage with the Canaanites, know for certain that ADONAI your God will no longer drive these nations out from before you. Instead, they will become a snare and a trap for you, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which ADONAI your God has given you (Joshua 23:13).

The issue is one of worldliness and includes a warning against conforming to the world. The congregations of God are the Body of Messiah, called under the leadership of Yeshua, its head, to permeate and purify society and reflect His values. The Church, made up of Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14) is therefore meant to transform culture. But the Adversary’s empire, the pagan, secular ideologies of the world, strikes back and the conflict continues. The call, then, to be a distinct, separate people, a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, involves our actions, small and great, that reveal our holy status (First Peter 2:9).

To a large degree, the Jews in the Land had compromised themselves. They had gotten in bed with the world. As Ezra prayed, some of them realized that they had sinned. They had broken the expressed commandments of Ha’Shem. They had ceased being a distinct and holy people and had instead become like the world around them. Having the Temple, the Torah and the promises that God made to them made no difference in the way they lived. How did the Israelites react when confronted with their sin? That is what we will discover next.¹⁶⁶

The Feast of Sukkot Celebrated
Nehemiah 8: 13-18

The feast of Sukkot celebrated DIG: What happened when the people truly understood (Deuteronomy 16:14)? Who was included in the second-day follow up study? What did they discover and do (see Leviticus 23:34-43)? What is the link between the Exodus from Egypt and their return from the Babylonian Exile? How did this add to the festive spirit?

REFLECT: What acts of God do you celebrate regularly and with joy as the Israelites did here? What three activities from Chapter 8 would be foundational to the renewal of your messianic synagogue or church? How could you help in one such activity?

During the ministry of Ezra (to see link click Bf – The Second Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Nehemiah Memoirs).

On the second day of the seventh month of Tishri, the day after Ezra began reading the Torah scroll (to see link click Bm – Ezra Reads the Torah Scroll of Moses), a special group consisting of the heads of the families along with the cohanim and the Levites gathered around Ezra to gain insight (Hebrew: sakal) into the words of the Torah (Nehemiah 8:13). The word insight means to be prudent, to be wise, to have foresight, to be shrewd in the practical management of one’s daily affairs and includes the qualities of discernment and keen awareness. In the first example of leadership in the Nehemiah Memoirs (see Bt – The Third Return), it is essential that leaders have insight. A leader must be able to see the big picture, to envision the tomorrows of any undertaking, to visualize the future consequences of today’s actions, to calculate risk and develop contingencies. He or she must look further down the road than those who follow. No leader can remain entangled in only the tedious details of today.

Knowledge does not automatically create insight. Vast amount of Bible facts won’t make anyone more insightful. Remember the twelve apostles who helped Yeshua serve the fish and bread to more than 5,000 people? As they watched the bread and fish multiply in His hands, you would think they would have learned that He could exercise power over any circumstance in life-that nothing was beyond His ability. Yet only a few hours later, they demonstrated that the lesson failed to create insight. Jesus had them take a boat (without Him) across the Sea of Galilee. The sky grew dark as the clouds gathered for a storm. The winds started to blow, the apostles shook with fear. Then Messiah arrived walking on the waves: Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped. They were utterly dumbfounded, for they still hadn’t understood about the bread and fish. Instead, their hearts were hardened (Mark 6:51-52). They had been exposed to the Master’s immense power over the elements before, they had seen His miracles and heard His teaching, but their knowledge failed to create insight.¹⁵⁹

The heads of the families along with the cohanim and the Levites gathered around Ezra to gain insight was a more select group than the previous day. They found written in the Torah that ADONAI had commanded through Moses that Bnei-Yisrael should dwell in sukkot during the feast of the seventh month (Nehemiah 8:14). It was one of the three great pilgrimage-festivals of the Jewish religious calendar (Exodus 23:14-17; Deuteronomy 16:16). Ezra 3:4 describes the Feast of Booths being celebrated just after the First Return of exiles (see Aq – Rebuilding the Bronze Altar and the Festival of Sukkot). But eighty years had passed from then until now. We must presume that the celebration of Sukkot had fallen into disuse. They were so cut to the heart about it that they immediately wanted to celebrate the feast.

So that limited group went out and spread this message in all their towns and in Jerusalem saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring olive branches and wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches and branches of other leafy trees to make sukkot, just as it is written.” We know that this feast should begin on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. So from the second to the fifteenth the people went out and brought branches, and made sukkot for themselves, each on their own roof, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the House of God, in the plaza before the Water Gate and in the plaza of the Ephraim Gate, or Fish Gate (Nehemiah 3:3). The entire assembly who had returned from the captivity, all Isra’el, made sukkot and dwelt in the sukkot. Since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day Bnei-Yisrael had not done so – and the joy was very great (Nehemiah 8:15-17).

The people had more joy than ever. But how could they have joy living in their sukkah? They were joyful because they were obedient. I can’t explain how it happens, but when you do what is right, regardless of your economic status, you have joy in your life. When you do what is wrong, you may make millions, but you’re miserable. Because the fathers in the home had gained insight as leaders, they had obeyed the LORD completely. And YHVH gave them contentment, which led to their joy being very great.

Day after day from the first day to the last day, on every one of the seven days of the Feast of Sukkot, Ezra read from the scroll of the Torah of God as commanded in Deuteronomy 31:11. And on the eighth day they held a closing ceremony according to the regulation of Leviticus 23:36 and Numbers 29:35 (Nehemiah 8:18). This shows that Ezra had precisely followed the precepts of the Torah. Therefore, the move to make Scripture the guiding principle of Jewish life was powerfully initiated. The great teaching operation on the first day of the month, the training session which had followed it, and now the seven days of readings at the festival had exposed the people to the fundamentals of their faith with considerable thoroughness. But the climax of it was yet to come, as the next two chapters will show.¹⁶⁰

The Feast of Booths, Tabernacles, or Sukkot
(Leviticus 23:33-36, 39-44; Exodus 23:14-17; Numbers 29:12-38; Deuteronomy 16:13-16, 31:9-13; First Kings 12:25-33; Second Chronicles 7:8-10; Ezra 3:4; Nehemiah 8:13-18 Zechariah 14:16-19; John 7:1-41).

Perhaps by now you are beginning to understand why the fall season is considered the time of the high holy days for the Jewish community. Three major holy days occur in the first nineteen days of the biblical month of Tishri (September-October). They are Rosh Ha’Shanah, Yom Kippur and this holy day season ends with the eight days of Sukkot.

As with the other days, the name of this holy day tells its purpose. Essentially it is two-fold, the first being related to the fall harvest. As Leviticus 23 teaches, Sukkot was to be a time of bringing the latter harvest. It is, in other words, the Jewish “Thanksgiving.” In fact, it is widely believed that the Puritan colonists, who were great students of the Hebrew Scriptures, based the first American Thanksgiving on Sukkot.

A secondary meaning of this holy day is found in the command to dwell in booths as a memorial of Isra’el’s wilderness wanderings. To expand the theme of this specific historical event, we might best summarize Sukkot with the word “habitation.” We know from the Torah that ADONAI dwelt with His people in their forty-year wilderness camping trip. Yet, as we camp in booths today, we should be reminded that this same faithful God watches over our lives. With such meaningful themes, no wonder Sukkot is known as Zman Simkhatenu (The Time of Our Rejoicing). The fact that YHVH provided for us and built His habitation with us is something to celebrate!

The Biblical Practice: The feast itself is seven days long. It was celebrated by building booths or tabernacles to commemorate the forty years of wilderness wanderings. The feast was to be celebrated with four species. The first species is the citron, a citrus type of fruit. Second, the branch of a palm tree. Third a branch of a myrtle tree, and fourth a branch of a willow tree. It marked the firstfruits of the fall harvest. Because Sukkot follows Yom Kippur, it is considered to be a time of rejoicing following the affliction of the Day of Atonement. The rabbis developed 326 rules and regulations concerning the four species.

There was the addition of an eighth day of solemn assembly immediately following the seventh day of Sukkot, which technically was not a part of the Feast of Booths. For seven days the Israelites were to live in booths, sleep in booths, eat in booths, to remember the wilderness wanderings. But the eighth day was also to be a day of Sabbath rest.

The Jewish Observance: The Torah stipulates the fifteenth of the Jewish month of Tishri as the time when the Jewish people are to begin dwelling in the sukkah (singular for booth) and celebrating God’s provision. This holy day is so joyful, traditional Jews don’t even wait for the fifteenth of Tishri to construct their sukkah. Many begin the construction five days earlier, immediately after the close of Yom Kippur.

The construction of the sukkah can be both challenging and fun for the whole family. The Bible gives us a rather general commandment to build a sukkah, but the rabbis spelled out ten specific rules and regulations concerning the building of the booth.

First, there must be the feeling of a temporary abode. So it must be built in a somewhat flimsy way to emphasize the wilderness wanderings. The temporariness is not in the walls as such, but in the roof part of the sukkah.

Second, the material for the roof must possess three specific characteristics. First, it must come from the earth and this excludes making the roof from animal skins, metal or cloth. But wood can be used. Secondly, the roofing material must be cut down and no longer connected to the ground, which excludes using attached branches. They must be cut off. Thirdly, it must not be subject to ritual impurity so the roof cannot contain fruits and food that will spoil.

Third, the roof must always be put on after the walls are totally completed so that when it is constructed, the booth is complete.

Fourth, the roof must be sufficiently thick so that there is more shade than sun. No opening can be more than eleven inches and the stars should be visible on a clear night. Nevertheless, it should not be so thick as to keep rain out.

Fifth, any booth built inside or under an overhanging porch, balcony, or tree is invalid. The shade inside the booth must come only from the booth and nothing else.

Sixth, there are no restrictions on the materials for the walls, so they could be made of metal, wood, canvas, brick or stone.

Seventh, the sukkah must have at least two complete walls. It may have three and as many as four. The fourth may be left completely open. When it is built against a house outside, one or more walls of the house may be used as walls for the booth as well.

Eighth, there is no maximum size of the booth, but there is a minimum requirement. It must be big enough to hold one person and one table.

Ninth, the booth must be no lower than 37 inches and no higher than 36.5 feet because one must be aware that they are sitting in a booth. The rabbis, as they often did, decided in their infinite wisdom, that any higher than 36.5 feet, the person would no longer feel like they were sitting in a booth.

Tenth, decorations emphasized the esthetic. The walls may be decorated with pictures, tapestries, or flowers. The roof may be decorated (but not composed of) with fruits, nuts, apples, grapes, and pomegranates, but these are not to be eaten for the entire week.

Since Sukkot has so many rich spiritual lessons associated with it, we would expect to find some important reference to it in the B’rit Chadashah. Not far into the gospel accounts of the life of Yeshua, we find the first powerful reference to Tabernacles. As John relates the special background of Messiah, he openly declares the divine nature of Christ. The Word was not only with God in the beginning, but this Word is the very manifestation of God Himself (John 1:1)! This Word, as John calls Him, was manifested to the world in a very special and tangible way: The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His Sh’khinah glory, the Sh’khinah of the Father’s one and only Son, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Yeshua of Nazareth is more than just a good rabbi or an intriguing philosopher. According to the Bible, He is the visible manifestation of the God of creation! Yet, did you notice the metaphor John employs to describe this incarnation of Messiah? The Word tabernacled (Greek: skene) among His people. In other words, as John sought to describe the Messiah’s first coming to His people, the most obvious picture was the holy day of Sukkot, the holy day that celebrated the dwelling of God!

There were two key ceremonies associated with Sukkot during the Second Temple period. The first is the drawing out of the water. The source of this tradition is not in the Bible, but in the Oral Law, although they tried to base it on Numbers 29:17-19 and Isaiah 12:3, which said: With joy you shall draw water. The location where the water was drawn from the Pool of Siloam, and the place where the water was poured on the southwest corner of the bronze altar, because it is where the grooves which drained the blood of the sacrifices were located. The pouring out of the water in Judaism, was a symbol of the outpouring of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh in the last days (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Go – Jesus Teaches at the Feast of Booths and Gp – On the Last and Greatest Day of the Feast).

The second key ceremony is the lighting of the lights. There were huge lampstands, each one with four golden cups, set up in the Court of the Women. These lights would then be lit toward sundown and the rabbis taught that there was not a courtyard in all Jerusalem that was not lit by the lights emanating from the Temple Compound. The lighting of the lights was followed by dancing and juggling with fire torches. The Jews believed the lights were a symbol of God’s Sh’khinah glory (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gr – I AM the Light of the World).

The Messianic Significance: Sukkot will be fulfilled by the establishment of the messianic Kingdom. But during the life of Messiah there were two misapplications of Sukkot. The first time was at the Transfiguration (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gb – Jesus took Peter, James and John Up a High Mountain where He was Transfigured). When Yeshua was transfigured, Peter suggested that he be allowed to build three booths: one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Yeshua. This was a proper response. The Jews believed that when the Messiah came, His Kingdom would begin. Knowing the TaNaKh very well, Peter also knew that the messianic Kingdom was the fulfillment of Sukkot. The Bible says that the Dispensation of Grace (see my commentary on Acts Am – The Dispensation of Grace) was a mystery to the righteous of the TaNaKh (Ephesians 3:1-13; Colossians 1:26). In the Bible a mystery is something that was once hidden, but now is revealed. So while Peter was correct in his theology, his timing was off. He did not know that the Feast of Passover must be fulfilled before the Feast of Weeks can be fulfilled. Peter did not understand that Christ had to die before the Kingdom could be established. In other words, Passover had to be fulfilled before Sukkot could be fulfilled.

The second misapplication of the Feast of Weeks was during the Triumphal Entry (see the commentary on The Life of Christ It – Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as the Passover Lamb). The actions of the people both by what they said and what they did showed that they also expected the Kingdom to be established at that time in fulfillment of Sukkot. According to John 12:12-13, they broke off palm branches, which is in keeping with Sukkot, but not with the Passover, which is what they were celebrating. Furthermore, according to Matthew 21:8-9 and Mark 11:8-10, they cried out, Hosanna in the highest and Hosanna to the Son of David. Like Peter, they did not understand that Passover had to be fulfilled before Sukkot could be, and the Passover could only be fulfilled by the death of Messiah.

During the messianic Kingdom it will be obligatory upon all the Gentile nations to send a delegation up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks. In the Dispensation of Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of Torah), it was obligatory for Jews only, but during the millennial Kingdom, for a thousand years, it will be obligatory for every Gentile nation. If a nation fails to send a delegation to observe this feast then they will be punished by drought (Zechariah 14:16-19).

Just as the Feast of Booths was a time of rejoicing following the affliction of Yom Kippur, even so the messianic Kingdom will be a time of rejoicing following the afflictions of the Great Tribulation. What a celebration there will be as the children of God, both Jews and Gentiles, celebrate this feast at that time. Amen. Come, Lord Yeshua!

The Feast of Passover was fulfilled by the death of Messiah, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was fulfilled by the sinlessness of His sacrifice, the Feast of First Fruits was therefore fulfilled by the resurrection of Christs’ life, Shavu’ot was fulfilled by the birth of the Church, the Feast of Trumpets will be fulfilled by the Rapture of the Church, the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled by the Great Tribulation, and the Festival of Booths points to the messianic Kingdom.

A Practical Guide for Believers in Messiah: The central element for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles is the booth we call the sukkah. While you may want to use the rabbinic description as a guideline (see above), you should not forget the freedom to construct this booth as you want. As with all the biblical holy days and customs, the sukkah is a “shadow” of the greater lessons of the coming Messiah (Colossians 2:17).

Building the sukkah can be an exciting and educational family project. Whether it is a shack on the side of the house or a free-standing structure, the hut can be constructed by anyone who wants to help. The outer frame can be assembled from various materials that, in turn, can be fortified with the traditional palm branches or leaves. For this reason, Sukkot is a great time to trim up the yard as well! Children will love to add their cut out paper fruit, leaves, or Bible verses.

As previously noted, traditional Jews begin constructing their sukkah immediately after breaking the fast of Yom Kippur. Many Messianic Jews and Gentiles follow this custom by inviting people over for a “Sukkah Decorating Party,” and planning for the upcoming holy days begins in earnest.

As the fifteenth day of Tishri begins, a holiday dinner is prepared. The table is set; although, being outside in the Sukkah, it will probably have a less formal atmosphere. Since this holiday is to be a reminder of the forty-year camping trip in the wilderness, the dinner will probably feel more like an outdoor picnic than a formal meal. But as with all the Jewish holidays, we start with the blessings over the fruit of the vine and challah bread.

A special emphasis will be the ha-Kavod (processionals), in which the people march around the sanctuary waving the lulav (closed fond of a date palm tree) and recounting the Hallel (Praise) Psalms 113-118.

These elements of the inner in the sukkah continue for eight days of the festival, while the synagogue services are usually convened only on the first two. To really get into the spirit of the holy day, the family might want to sleep in the sukkah under the stars, weather permitting.

As mentioned before, the seventh day of the festival has much spiritual significance for believers in Yeshua. However, as we reach the eighth day, we come to a special holiday, the Eighth Day of Assembly (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Gp – On the Last and Greatest Day of the Feast). As mentioned in Leviticus 23:26, this day is to be set aside as a Shabbat and a holy assembly.

As if all these festivities aren’t enough, the Jewish community has added an additional ninth day to Sukkot called Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Torah). As its name implies, this day celebrates the revelation of God as symbolized in the Torah scroll. It’s a time of tremendous joy, with dancing and lively music.

A central part of the service is the reading from the last chapters of Deuteronomy and the start of the yearly cycle of reading the parashah every Shabbat all over again with the first chapters of Genesis (see my commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah). Although rabbinic Judaism celebrated this holiday in the Middle Ages, believers in Yeshua can surely affirm the idea behind it. God’s Word is good and should be revered. It is even to be joyously celebrated! How much more so for believers of Yeshua Messiah.

With the close of Simchat Torah, we reach the end of the high-holy-day season. What wonderful truth is evident! What a complete picture of God’s plan for redeeming faithful Jews and Gentiles unto Himself. Sometime soon the shofar will sound and announce the regathering of believers from all over the world in the rapture. The seven-year Great Tribulation will follow this. But in the last three days of the Great Tribulation, the Jewish leadership will realize that they have rejected the Messiah and call out for His return (see the commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). Then Yeshua Messiah will return for the second time to the earth. This, in turn, will lead all believers into the joyful celebration of the Kingdom of God at Sukkot. May we be ready to dwell in that holy habitation with our Kosher King.¹⁶¹

Ezra Reads the Scroll of Deuteronomy
Nehemiah 7:73b to 8:12

Ezra reads the scroll of Deuteronomy DIG: What was the occasion for assembling the people on “the first day of the seventh month” (see Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1-6)? And why the public square rather than the Temple for this activity? How do the people first respond to the scroll of Deuteronomy (see verses 3, 5-6 and 9)? Why? What is the make-up of this historic group? Who was helping the people understand the Scriptures that Ezra was reading? Why can’t the people understand the Torah on their own?

REFLECT: How important was the reading of God’s Word when you were saved? How important is it now? Do you have a regular time of Bible study each day? Did you weep and mourn when you were saved? Did you give to the poor or reach out to others on the margins of society? Did you tell anyone? Why? Why not? How do you spread the Word today? After you were saved, when has God’s Word particularly touched you or helped you in a powerful way? Describe a time when you have experienced conviction and grief from a truth you have read in Scripture?

458 BC During the ministry of Ezra (to see link click Bf – The Second Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Nehemiah Memoirs).

What happens in the next two chapters of Nehemiah is a work of reformation and revival. ADONAI steps onto the pages of human history and in the space of a few days brings about a renewal of passionate worship and dedicated obedience that Yerushalayim had not seen in two hundred years. Not since the days of Josiah (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Ai – Josiah Ruled For 31 Years from 640 to 609 BC) had the City of David known anything like it. Through the long, dark years of exile, the Holy City had languished almost to the point of extinction, and what worship there was happened in private gatherings with wistful longings for a return of better days.¹⁵²

Following the return of the exiles under Zerubbabel and the rebuilding of the Temple, attempts to restore biblical worship in Tziyon had languished. For the better part of seventy years in Babylon (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule) there was little evidence of genuine worship. But then came Ezra. Every revival has its roots in a deepened study of the Scriptures, and Ezra was an expert in the Scriptures. He had set his heart to seek the Torah of ADONAI, to observe and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Isra’el (Ezra 7:10). The stage was set.

Then the seventh month came and Bnei-Isra’el (the children of Isra’el) were in their towns. Then all the people were brought as a single body into the plaza that was before the Water Gate, the name derived from its proximity to the spring of Gihon, the water of which was carried into the City through this gate on the festival of Sukkot (Nehemiah 7:73b-8:1a).

They said to Ezra the scribe, “Bring out the scroll of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 28:61, 29:20, 30:11 and 31:26) that ADONAI had commanded Isra’el (Nehemiah 8:1b).” When Ezra lifted the scroll and unrolled it to the passage he would read, the people honored the Word of God by standing (Nehemiah 8:7). Ezra the cohen brought the Torah before the assembly, which included men and women and all who could understand what they heard (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Ft – The Reading of the Torah). This happened on the first day of Tishri, the seventh month of Tishri (Nehemiah 8:2), two months after arriving (Ezra 7:8). Now, without warning, the people came into the City and gathered in the plaza before the Water Gate. The fact that such a service could occur apart from the Temple illustrates the lesson the children of Abraham had learned from the exile. They did not absolutely need the Temple in order to approach ADONAI.¹⁵³ It was a huge, joyous gathering.

About 45,000 exiles had come home to the Land in the First Return under Zerubbabel, and that was just the men, let alone the women and the children. But almost eighty years had passed since then. Who knows how the population of Judah and Jerusalem had exploded since then? And to that number was added the recent returnees with Ezra in the Second Return. The Court of the Women in the Temple could only hold about 6,000. So, meeting there would have been impossible given the numbers involved. But whose idea was it that they should meet in that way? And why were they there? The answer is . . . the Scriptures! It was the New Year’s Day of the civil calendar, celebrated as Rosh Ha’Shana, or Trumpets (Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6; Psalm 81:3-4; Ezra 3:1-6; Isaiah 27:12-13; Matthew 24:3; First Thessalonians 4:13-18; First Corinthians 15:50-58), with a cessation of labor and a sacred assembly. They were required to assemble for worship by Leviticus 23:24. But even if everyone else had forgotten that, Ezra would not have.

Something extraordinary happened that day. The teacher of Isra’el was ready to teach, and the people were ready to listen to the Torah, which holds out success and life to those who obey its commandments (Joshua 1:7; Deuteronomy 30:15-30).

So, he read from it out loud before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from first light until midday, in the presence of the men and women, and others who could understand, and this continued for a week (Nehemiah 8:7). In the Bible, water for washing is a picture of the Word of God (John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26), while water for drinking is a picture of the Spirit of God (John 7:37-39). When we apply the water of the Word to our lives, then the Spirit can work and bring the help we need. It is refreshing to the soul when you receive the Word and allow the Spirit to teach you.¹⁵⁴ And all the people listened attentively to the scroll of Deuteronomy (Nehemiah 8:3). No sleepy eyes. No glancing at watches. No daydreaming. The audience consisted of men, women and children, all of whom could understood what was read (Nehemiah 8:8). Perhaps the only ones absent were nursing mothers and their babies. There is no hint of youth activities. Everyone was expected to be there. Everyone was expected to listen.¹⁵⁵

Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform constructed for this purpose. Standing near him at his right hand were thirteen priests: Mattitiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah and at his left hand were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. Ezra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people for he was above all the people. When he opened it, all the people stood up. The proceedings began with a blessing and a prayer. Ezra blessed ADONAI, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, amen!” as they lifted up their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped ADONAI with their faces to the ground (Nehemiah 8:4-6).

Then the reading of the Deuteronomy followed. The Levites – Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbetai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah – instructed the people while the people were standing in their place. Ezra read from Deuteronomy for a time, then he paused so that the Levites could translate it (into Aramiac, the common language of the day) and give a running commentary as it was read. Thus, everyone understood what was read (Nehemiah 8:7-8).

The Talmud asserts that, “When the Torah was forgotten from Isra’el, Ezra came up from Babylon and established it” (Succ. 20a). The reading of Deuteronomy had a shattering impact upon Ezra’s audience. Just as the reading of the scroll of Deuteronomy triggered a revival under Josiah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Ai – Josiah Ruled For 31 Years from 640 to 609 BC), reading of Deuteronomy triggered the need for everyone to repent. They wept as they confessed their sins (see Bp – The Israelites Confess Their Sins). But then, Ezra, the cohen-scribe (see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah From a Jewish Perspective: This commentary is based on several premises) said to all the people, “Today is kadosh to ADONAI your God. Do not mourn or weep!” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of Deuteronomy (Nehemiah 8:9), for through the Torah comes awareness of sin (Romans 3:20b). But today, the Torah can’t save us; it can only convince us that we need to be saved and point us to Yeshua Messiah the Savior. Thus, the Torah became our guardian to lead us to Messiah, so that we might be [saved] based on trusting in Him (Galatians 3:24).

It was obvious from their reaction that the spiritual condition of the second generation of the First Return had deteriorated. It had been eighty years since Zerubbabel had brought the Jews back to the Promised Land (see Af – Ezra-Nehemiah Chronology). Even though the Temple had been built and the Levitical system had been implemented, over time, worship had become rote and dull. Their vitality had evaporated and they were merely going through the motions. The Word of God had no impact on their daily lives. But all that changed for them when Ezra rode into town.

Ezra also had an impact on the recent returnees of the Second Return. How much of the Scriptures had they been able to hear during their exile in Babylon? No doubt the priests and Levites engaged in a certain amount of instruction, but it does appear that this occasion proved definitive for them also. Even if the sections of Deuteronomy were known, the sustained reading of those scriptures under the powerful influence of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh turned into an emotional experience for all that were present. It must have felt for them as though they were hearing the Word of God for the very first time. It searched them, tried them, and found them wanting (Dani’el 5:27).

Corporate conviction of sin – a deep awareness and sensitivity to sin – is a mark of revival. As Deuteronomy was read and explained to the people, it was as if ADONAI Himself was speaking to them and reading their hearts. They saw themselves as sinners, more concerned with self than with pleasing God. Guilt – not just the feeling of guilt, but a realization that sin had made them liable to the punishment of Ha’Shem – overtook them. And they began to weep. They wept collectively with sobs of contrition and a sense of worthlessness.¹⁵⁶

But amid the sound of weeping, Ezra intervened to insist that it was not a day for weeping, but a day for rejoicing. This was to be the first Rosh ha’Shanah (see the commentary on Leviticus Ee – Rosh ha’Shanah) after the return from the Babylon captivity. So, he said to them, “Go! Eat choice food, drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who have nothing ready. For today is kadosh (Hebrew: holy, to be set apart) to our LORD. Do not grieve, for the joy of ADONAI is your strength.” Here Ezra was telling the people, “Today is holy, today we begin the ten Days of Awe before Yom Kippur, but do not grieve, on the contrary: eat the fat, drink the sweet.” We are meant to rejoice on Rosh ha’Shanah. Then the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Hush! For today is kadosh. Do not grieve.” So, all the people departed to eat and drink, to send portions and to celebrate with great joy, because they came to understand the words that were explained to them (Nehemiah 8:10-12).

The day was set apart because it was the first day of the seventh month (7:73b), and the start of the Jewish religious calendar. The first day of the month was a day of solemn rest comparable to Shabbat rest (Leviticus 23:24). But the day anticipated the Festival of Sukkot – an especially exciting day for children, who must have enjoyed the prospect of camping, sleeping under temporary shelters in memory of the protection afforded their ancestors during their wilderness wanderings. It does appear as though the feast had been forgotten after being celebrated when the people first returned to the Land eighty years earlier (see Aq – Rebuilding the Bronze Altar and the Festival of Sukkot). Sukkot was a family affair, with its ritual of special foods and delicacies. It was definitely not a time to be weeping, but to be giving thanks recalling God’s goodness and faithfulness to Isra’el.

On Yom Kippur a declaration would be made, following the ritual of blood sacrifice, that all the sins of God’s people were fully and permanently forgiven. During the festival, two goats were chosen. One was sacrificed, and the other (the scapegoat), on whose head the sins of the people were symbolically laid, was driven into the wilderness and left. This ritual pointed forward to the Messiah, who died for our sins and set us free. With this in mind, Ezra encouraged the people to be joyful, for ADONAI had come to their aid in grace and mercy. On the Jewish calendar, Sukkot follows Yom Kippur, giving God’s people an entire week of happy celebration. The sequence is important: first conviction, then cleansing, and then celebration. The sinner has no reason for rejoicing and the forgiven child of God has no reason for mourning (Matthew 9:9-17).¹⁵⁷ Peace, joy, and strength – these three are the basis for a fruitful life for all believers. What constitutes a fruitful, successful life for a believer? Not the acquisition of things or the accumulation of a certain economic net worth. Believers may have none of these and still know a profound sense of all happiness and well-being. Why is that? Because in knowing the forgiveness of ADONAI, the certainty of His promises, and the sustaining presence of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, we find these outward things to have no real significance. What matters is peace of conscience and fellowship with Yeshua Messiah, who calls us friends (John 15:15). The relentless pursuit of pleasure apart from the gospel is a dead end, a cul-de-sac of despair. Living for the things of this world – “stuff” that decays (Matthew 6:19). – is ultimately senseless and shortsighted, as those who have found the soul-satisfying life of communion with Yeshua Messiah can testify.¹⁵⁸

Ezra’s Reforms
Ezra 9:1 to 10:44  and Nehemiah 7:73b to 9:37

After the completion and dedication of the Temple in 515 BC, a silence of fifty-seven
years followed. And when the curtain rose again the power was largely in the hands of
the priesthood. Religious energy had become exhausted. Intermarriage with pagans was tolerated and frequent, and the priests were among the chief offenders. The upper class oppressed the poor; the Sabbath was desecrated and the tithes were withheld.

The importance of Ezra’s reforms lay primarily in the removal of the Torah from the exclusive possession of the priests and its becoming the common property of the nation as a whole. Its dissemination put an end to what had become the monopoly of a class. The reading of the Torah of Moses so pierced the heart of the nation that it became a safeguard against idolatry, and set the standard for social life, as well to the Jews of the diaspora as to the Jews in Judea. Ezra’s reforms marked the triumph of Judaism over the decline into paganism.

However, there was a black cloud in the silver lining. When Ezra returned from the Babylonian captivity, he recognized that the Israelites had spent seventy years in exile because they had violated the Torah (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule). They had broken the commandments of Moshe, especially in the area of idolatry. So Ezra set up what was known as the School of the Sophim. Sophar is singular for Sophim and means scribe. He gathered the scribes together in one school. They began to go through each of the 613 commandments in the Torah and expound on them. They would discuss each commandment at length, what was involved in keeping it and what was involved in breaking it. The theory was that if they gave the Jewish people a clear understanding of what each commandment was and how to keep it, that they would do so. In that way they hoped to avoid any further discipline from ADONAI like the Babylonian captivity. Therefore, the original intent was very honorable, and if they had stopped there everything would have been well and good. Hosea said that the people are destroyed from lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). So Ezra and the other scribes wanted to eliminate any lack of knowledge. However, the first generation of Sophim passed away.

The second generation of Sophim took their task more seriously. They said it was not merely good enough for them to expound upon the commandments. They used the imagery (or word picture) of building a fence around the Torah (Hebrew se’ag la-Torah) with new rules and regulations because they wanted to protect it. Their thinking was that the Jews might break the new rules and regulations of the outer fence, but that would keep them from breaking one of the original 613 commandments (actually 365 prohibitions and 248 commandments) and bring divine discipline upon the nation of Isra’el again, as in the Babylonian captivity. The rabbis taught that Moshe received [the Oral Law] from Sinai and handed it on to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets and the prophets handed it on to the men of the Great Assembly (Pirke Avot 1:1), or the Great Sanhedrin (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lg – The Great Sanhedrin).

With all the best intentions they began to work on these new rules and regulations. Over a four-hundred year period, this became known as the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law). The Oral Law refers to the Talmud, which is a compilation of rabbinic commentaries on the first five books of Moses, called the Torah. The Talmud, completed around 500 AD, consists of the Mishnah and well as commentary on the Mishnah called Gemara (Mishnah + Gemara = Talmud). The tradition grew to include a further compendium called Midrash until about the 12^th century. The rabbis taught that when the Messiah came, He would not only believe in the Oral Law, but He would participate in the making of new Oral Laws (Gen.R. 98:9; Tanh.Vaychi 10).

When Christ was born, this common belief was in all of Isra’el, both with the priesthood and the common people. Therefore, with the best intentions, they believed that someone not under the authority of the Oral Law could not possibly be the Messiah. And the unintended consequence of their actions was that their traditions were elevated to a position they were never intended to have. As a result, Jesus would have nothing to do with the Oral Law because He knew that He was not the author. It was man-made.¹⁵¹ And because He rejected it, the Great Sanhedrin rejected Him.

Ezra’s Arrival in Jerusalem
Ezra 8:15-36

Ezra’s arrival in Jerusalem DIG: How does Ezra handle the lack of response by the Levites to his planned pilgrimage? Is he “end-running” divine authority? Or pursuing an additional channel for God’s blessing? Why do you think so (What do the numbers in Ezra 2:40 tell you)? How does Ezra show spiritual dependence, political expediency, and common sense in his journey from Ahava to Jerusalem? What do you make of Ezra praying and fasting instead of (not in addition to) the customary escort (see Nehemiah 2:9)? At face value, it seems that Persian kings gave Ezra over 32 tons of silver and gold to underwrite the Temple project. What principles of financial accountability do you see in the way Ezra handled this vast amount of money?

REFLECT: Is God’s hand more directly involved in the lives of those who strip themselves of all visible means of support and protection? Or are God’s “fingerprints” just more “obvious,” or better yet “necessary,” at such times of naked trust? Why do you think so? Ezra fasted before approaching God for direction, as did Yeshua and His disciples (Matthew 4:2, 6:16-18). How might fasting help you know God’s answer for an important decision that you’re facing? Ezra entrusted 24 men with a vast fortune and held them accountable for every last “talent.” For what talents have you been held accountable (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Jx – The Parable of the Bags of Gold)? How and when have you sensed God’s protecting you from your enemies? What enemies (internal or external) might you still need God’s protection from?

During the ministry of Ezra (see Bf – The Second Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Ezra Memoirs).

The account of Ezra’s return to Jerusalem, along with the list of exiles who returned with him was given in summary from the beginning of Chapter 7. Since then we have been examining the details of all the returnees who accompanied Ezra on the five-month journey in the heat of the summer. Specifically, we have learned that the total number was around six thousand, representing twelve families.

I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. This was an unknown location where a canal or river flowed into the Euphrates River. This was in Babylon, and Ezra chose it as a place where the returning Jews would pray and make preparations to leave for three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there (Ezra 8:15). Because Ezra’s main reason for returning was to reform worship within the Temple, the need for a sizable and loyal group of Levites was paramount. The Levites were the tribe of Israelites descended from Levi, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. When you think Levites – think Genesis. All priests were to be Levites, according to the Torah, but not all Levites were priests. The priests were a group of qualified men from within the tribe of the Levites who had responsibility over the different aspects of Temple worship. It was a significant amount of work – work that none of them had ever done before. And they would need to perform it flawlessly. Their work was lowly, servant work, and perhaps many had enjoyed more favorable circumstances in Babylon. No wonder that there was some reluctance on their part!

Is ADONAI calling you to do something for which there might be little visible reward or personal glory? Are you not volunteering because you are reluctant to get involved in something for which you will receive no applause? Are you more concerned about your own personal comfort than the cause of the Kingdom of God? Is it asking too much for you to be involved in something, however menial, when the Lord Yeshua Messiah was prepared to become a servant on your behalf? He did not have to reach out for notoriety and glory – it was already His – but He emptied Himself – taking on the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled Himself becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8). What task is too menial for you to do for Him when no task was too menial for Jesus to do for you? John the Immerser thought that untying Yeshua’s sandals was not too low for him. Indeed, he felt unworthy of the honor!¹⁴¹

When the Jews received the Torah of Moses at Mount Sinai, ADONAI gave commands regarding a formal priesthood for Isra’el (see the commentary on Exodus Fv – The Selection of Aaron and His Sons as Priests). The priests would be males from the tribe of Levi. Among these Levitical priests was the high priest. The first high priest was Aaron, the brother of Moses. His sons and their descendants were to serve as the future priests, and high priests of the nation of Isra’el (see the commentary on Exodus Gf – Dedicate Aaron and His Sons So They May Serve Me As Priests). Only the high priest was permitted to enter the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle and Temple, and that only once per year on the Day of Atonement (see the commentary on Leviticus – Yom Kippur). When you think priests – think Exodus.

The priests needed to meet certain physical and age qualifications in order to serve. In addition, they had to remain ceremonially clean to perform their duties before a holy God. The priests served as mediators between the Israelites and YHVH. They were the ones
who performed animal sacrifices on behalf of the people. It was only the priests who were permitted to enter the Holy Place in the Tabernacle and, later, the Temple.¹⁴²

Apparently there were no descendants of Levi who were willing to return to Tziyon with Ezra, although others had previously returned with Zerubbabel on the First Return. Ezra was deeply concerned about this because he had no one qualified to serve in the Temple. The sages teach that there were many Levites in the caravan but none were qualified to officiate. All the Levites had bitten off the fingers of their right hand to escape the obligation put upon them by the Babylonians to play Temple music on their harps (Midrash to Psalm 137).

So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, who were leaders and carried some weight in the community, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of learning (men like Ezra himself) and known for their diplomatic skills, and I ordered them to go to Iddo, the leader in Kasiphia. Iddo was evidently a man of influence and authority at a place called Kasiphia, where a Jewish settlement flourished at the time. I told them what to say to Iddo and his fellow Levites, the Temple servants in Kasiphia, so that they might bring attendants to us for the house of our God (Ezra 8:16-17).

Again, Ezra gives YHVH the credit for success in acquiring Levites to go to Jerusalem. Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, the eleven man team (with the help of Iddo) succeeded in procuring the services of two independent Levitical families. They brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi (who were responsible for carrying the Tabernacle in Numbers 3:33-37, 4:29-33; First Chronicles 6:19), the son of Isra’el, and Sherebiah’s sons and brothers, 18 in all; and Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and nephews, 20 in all. Only thirty-eight Levites were willing to join Ezra in the Second Return to Jerusalem. However, this remnant of men whom ADONAI had raised up had understanding and wisdom and recognized that even the mundane tasks in God’s service were of infinitely more value than the most glorified positions in the world. This also helps us to realize the sacrifice that Ezra and Nehemiah made in leaving behind their great Persian positions and return to their homeland.¹⁴³

They also brought 220 of the temple servants – a body that David and the officials had established to assist the Levites. All were registered by name (Ezra 8:18-20). The temple servants (Hebrew: nethinim) were the men who assisted the Levites in performing the humblest jobs connected with the Temple service. According to Numbers 31:30-47, some war captives were given to serve the Levites. They may be identical with the strangers in the Land of Isra’el whom David gathered for the work of building the Temple (First Chronicles 22:2). Gibeonites were also enslaved and set apart for service by Joshua (Joshua 9:21-27). They were, therefore, called the nethinim, the given [to God], or the devoted. They were held in low esteem by the Jews, occupying a social position even lower than the mamzer, or illegitimate offspring. Along with the Jews, they had been taken to Babylon; and like the Levites, had never performed any of their Levitical duties.¹⁴⁴

From Ahava to Jerusalem: Before Ezra led the exiles back to Yerushalayim, he held a fast to pray for Ha’Shem’s protection and appointed priests to carry the gifts for the Temple. There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. It served as the equivalent of tephillath hadderech, “a prayer for a safe journey,” offered by Jewish travelers to this day. The presence of the great gift of the king’s and silver and gold (Ezra 8:25-27 below) only made the caravan a more attractive target for bandits and enemies. Yet, Ezra said: I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had previously told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.” So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer (Ezra 8:21-23).

Ezra refused to ask the king for a military escort back to Jerusalem, for doing so, he reasoned, would be a denial of faith, a shameful request. Nehemiah, on the other hand, was given a military escort for which he gave thanks to ADONAI, seeing the provision as an example of the good hand of God upon him (Nehemiah 2:8b).

Both Ezra and his younger counterpart, Nehemiah, were godly men. Both were committed to discerning the will of the LORD through prayerful study of the Scriptures applied to their particular circumstances. Both were deeply conscious of their role as leaders called by ADONAI to do a significant work for YHVH. Both felt deeply responsible for the people of God and the advancement of the Kingdom. Yet for all that, they came to different conclusions about what faith meant in their respective circumstances. One reasoned that to ask for military protection was a lack of faith; while the other saw it as divine protection. What are we to make of this? Is it possible for two equally godly believers to seek God’s guidance in similar circumstances and come up with different conclusions?

Yes. It is a mark of our freedom in Messiah to show understanding and tolerance when such differences surface over issues that are not threatening to the fundamentals of our faith. In other words, major in the majors . . . don’t major in the minors. Believers in the B’rit Chadashah differed on whether it was right to eat meat that had been offered in a sacrifice at the local pagan temple and later sold at the nearby meat market. Paul urged them not to pass judgment, adding: Don’t let the one who eats disparage the one who does not eat, and don’t let the one who does not eat judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge another man’s servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. Yes, he shall stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand (Romans 14:3-4). Another issue was that people differed on what day of the week they should worship. Once again Paul explains: One person esteems one day over another while another judges every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes that day does so to the Lord (Romans 14:5-6a). The Chronicler made no attempt to favor either Ezra or Nehemiah’s decision in regard to having or not having a military escort. That they reached a different conclusion was as obvious to the author as it is to us, but the matter is left without comment.¹⁴⁵

The treasure entrusted to them was enormous. Artakh’shasta, like his predecessors, marked the occasion with an official gift, and called upon the Jews who were not making the trip to add their share. Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, namely, Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers. And I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the gifts that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Isra’el present there had donated for the house of our God. I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 Persian gold darics (a thick piece of gold having on one side the figure of a king with a bow and javelin, and on the other side an irregular oblong depression)¹⁴⁶, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold (Ezra 8:24-27). These items were gifts for the Temple, donated by Persian officials and by the non-returning Israelites. These were not the vessels from the House of ADONAI that Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem. Those had previously been returned fifty-seven years ago by Sheshbazzar (to see link click Aj – The Return to Isra’el Under Sheshbazzar).

Both the gifts and the men in charge were dedicated to ADONAI. I said to them, “You as well as these articles are dedicated to the LORD. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of YHVH in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Isra’el.” Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred gifts that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem (Ezra 8:28-30). Ezra also made sure that there were sufficient witnesses when the gifts were eventually deposited in the Temple. In addition to the priests and Levites, the heads of families were also present. Evidently Ezra sensed the need for exact records, careful auditing, and doing everything possible to avoid suspicions of wrongdoing with the gifts given to the service of ADONAI. This is an example of faithful, responsible stewardship.¹⁴⁷

The journey and safe arrival: On the twelfth day of the first month of Nisan we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way (Ezra 8:31). Once again, Ezra reminded his readers that Ha’Shem is completely faithful to His promises and His people. The Jews had no need of a military escort in spite of the fact that they were carrying the king’s silver and gold in the caravan. The important fact for us to understand is that the Lord’s hand is always on His children, and He must be the sole source of our security no matter what may come our way.¹⁴⁸

So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days (Ezra 8:32). The journey of nearly a thousand miles is passed over with barely a comment. All that mattered was the destination and the mission to fulfill. From Numbers 3:8, 31, 4:5ff, it is clear that the Levites carried the gifts from Babylon, and the priests handled them once they got to Jerusalem.

The inventory was businesslike, and the implication is that nothing was missing, despite the long and hazardous journey.¹⁴⁹ On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and the sacred articles into the hands of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, and so were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time (Ezra 8:33-34).

These two verses (using the third person) add a few details to supplement Ezra’s own account, which will continue in the next chapter. Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Isra’el (see the commentary on Exodus Fe – The Burnt Offering). Once again there is an emphasis on the number twelve (see Bj – The List of Exiles who Returned with Ezra), which stands for the twelve tribes of Isra’el. Twelve bulls for all Isra’el, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs and, as a sin offering (see the commentary on Exodus Fc – The Sin Offering), twelve male goats that were offered. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. They also delivered the king’s written orders to the highest officials and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God (Ezra 8:35-36).

They had begun with worship in Babylon, and they ended with worship in Jerusalem. To pause and give thanks was the fitting thing to do. It always is. Their sacrificing of burnt and sin offerings was extremely special because it was the first time the exiles had done so. Those offerings spoke of atonement and the acceptance of God. The burnt offering expresses holding nothing back from Ha’Shem because the whole animal was consumed on the bronze altar and ascended in smoke, a pleasant aroma to the LORD. The people had come to give themselves to the work of YHVH, and for now at least they meant it. They wanted God to have all there was of them. Has ADONAI ever asked everything of you? And are you willing to say yes if He does?¹⁵⁰

The List of Exiles who Returned with Ezra
Ezra 7:28b to 8:14

The list of the exiles who returned with Ezra DIG: What shift in the Chronicler’s viewpoint do you see in Ezra 7:27 and continues here through Ezra 9? What do you make of the first reference to “me”? Why was this particular genealogical record important to Ezra? Compare this list with the one in 2:1-70. Which numbers don’t add up the same? What do you make of the similarities and differences in the names and numbers?

During the ministry of Ezra (to see link click Bf – The Second Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from the Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Ezra Memoirs).

The list that follows no doubt included those who lived in surrounding areas. The total number of males in this section was 1,496, along with only 38 Levites and 220 Temple servants (Ezra 8:19). If we add the women and children the number of the Second Return could have easily approached 6,000, about one-seventh of the First Return. However, just as with the First Return, many Jews remained behind in Babylon after this group had departed, content with their established and comfortable lifestyle.

And I gathered leading men from Isra’el to go up with me (Ezra 7:28b). There is an unusual concentration on the number twelve in Chapter 8. The register of those returning with Ezra lists twelve families of Israelites after mentioning the priestly families of Phineas and Ithamar, and the royal family of David. Similarly, Ezra commissions twelve priests and twelve Levites (Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen) to bring the gifts for the Temple, donated by Persian officials and by the non-returning Israelites (Ezra 8:24). At the sacrifice of thanksgiving marking the conclusion of the chapter, the number twelve is also conspicuous. Twelve bulls are offered for all Isra’el; ninety six rams (8X12), seventy-two lambs (6X12) and twelve goats were offered as a sin offering (8:35).¹³⁷

Now these are the patriarchal leaders, and the genealogical records of those who came up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes (Ezra 8:1):

Two priestly families returned: from the sons of Phinehas and Gershom: This was also the name of a son of Moshe and, in a slightly different form, of one of the sons of Levi, and from the sons of Ithamar: the name of the youngest of Aaron’s sons (Exodus 6:23) – Dani’el (Nehemiah 10:7): These, then, were related to Ezra himself, who also traced his lineage to Aaron through Phinehas (Ezra 7:1-5). We can only guess why they had remained in Babylon in the first place. There was little priestly work for them to do in Babylon, with no Temple! But it might be argued in their defense that even those who remained behind needed the help and instruction of the priests, even if they couldn’t participate in the Levitical practices in the Temple the way they were supposed to.

The priests in Ezra 8 are counted after the family of Aaron, whereas in Ezra 2 they follow the family of Zadok. There was apparently a shift in the priority of priestly authority in Babylon between the First Return with Zerubbabel and the Second Return with Ezra;¹³⁸ from the sons of David – Hattush (Ezra 8:2): He was a descendant of David, and Zerubbabel was his great-great grandfather (First Chronicles 3:22). However, he is barely mentioned! The writings of Ezra and Nehemiah lack any explicit hope for a messianic ruler from the house of David. It seems that the most important people were the priests. One indication of their place of honor is that they are listed first among the returning families. Standing in the second rank is the family of David represented by Hattush.¹³⁹

Now follows the names of twelve heads of families who returned with Ezra.

from the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh – Zechariah and with him were 150 males were enrolled by genealogy (Ezra 8:3);

from the sons of Pahath-moab – Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and with him were 200 males enrolled by genealogy (Ezra 8:4);

from the sons of Shechaniah (not the same man as the one mentioned in verse 3 – the son of Jahaziel and 300 males with him (Ezra 8:5).

from the sons of Adin – Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 males with him (Ezra 8:6);

from the sons of Elam – Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 males with him (Ezra 8:7);

from the sons of Shephatiah – Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 males with him (Ezra 8:8);

from the sons of Joab – Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 128 males with him (Ezra 8:9);

from the sons of Shelomith – the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him (Ezra 8:10);

from the sons of Bebai – Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 males with him (Ezra 8:11);

from the sons of Azgad – Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him (Ezra 8:12);

from the sons of Adonikam some had joined Zerubbabel in the First Return ( but these came later, and these are their names) – Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah and 60 males with them (Ezra 8:13). This shows that they didn’t all come at the same time, and that the First Return had divided families. Some had gone in obedience to King Cyrus’ decree (see), while others remained in Babylon. Those who had remained had carefully followed the progress (or lack of it) in Yerushalayim. But it would be several generations before another exodus would occur;

from the sons of Bigvai – Uthai and Zaccur and 70 males with him (Ezra 8:14).

Hattush was not one of the leaders of the community and therefore does not appear in the list in Ezra 8:16. But he was there! David’s line, though now darkened and veiled and almost extinguished among the faithful, still continues. And suddenly, in a place where they least expect it, David’s line will emerge again. Matthew and Luke do not include Hattush in their different genealogies (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ai – The Genealogies of Joseph and Mary). But the covenant made with David’s house (see the commentary on the Life of David Ct – The LORD’s Covenant with David), a covenant that would eventually yield the Messiah Yeshua, though clouded and almost entirely obliterated as a consequence of the Babylonian exile (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule), still remains. These were dark days, but out of this darkness would come one who would say: I am the light of the world (John 8:12).

The promises of ADONAI can sometimes appear to be almost extinguished. There are dark days in Isra’el’s history. The exile itself was one of the darkest in her history. But the mercy of God endures forever; the Word of the Lord endures forever (First Peter 1:25). His promises will never fail.¹⁴⁰

King Artakh’shasta’s Letter to Ezra
Ezra 7:11-28a

King Artakh’shasta’s  letter to Ezra DIG: What doors of opportunity does this letter of endorsement open up for Ezra and his fellow Jews? Besides the royal letter, what other free will offerings (7:15-22) does Ezra have in hand? How does this bounty compare with what was ordered by Darius (see 6:8-9)? What prompts King Artakh’shasta to be so generous (compare 6:10 with 7:23b and 28a)? How long had it taken so far for the Jewish refugees to return to their homeland (compare 1:1-4 with 7:8ff)? Therefore, what job promotion and higher authority was Ezra given (7:25-26)?

REFLECT: How is the “hand of God” evident in your life? What leadership role does that encourage you to take? What meaning for Jews and Christians do you ascribe to the historic restoration of Isra’el then in 538-430 BC, and now? Why is it important for some people to have their religious leader’s pedigree or ordination related to a great high priest (as in Ezra’s lineage in 7:1-5), or even the High Priest (see Hebrews Chapters 7 and 8). What aspect of praise, gratitude, and healthy self-esteem do you enjoy as a result of your devotion to God’s Word?

458 BC During the ministry of Ezra (to see link click Bf – The Second Return).
Compiled by: The Chronicler from Ezra and Nehemiah memoirs
(see Ac – Ezra-Nehemiah from a Jewish Perspective: The Ezra Memoirs).

Now we come to the decree of Artakh’shasta. He was the fifth monarch of the First Persian Dynasty (550-330 BC) – the successive Persian kings who followed Cyrus II the Great and the initial phase of the Jews’ return from Babylon. Museums in Philadelphia and London, among others, house hundreds of archaeological artifacts – clay tablets bearing cuneiform texts as well as vases and silver dishes – all attesting to the reign of Artakh’shasta. Many have Jewish inscriptions evidencing commercial transactions, agricultural lending, and tax-collection agencies. Some Jews evidently were bankers and brokers who loaned almost everything for a price, and some Jews worked as officials of the royal court. There appear to have been few social or commercial barriers between Jews and Babylonians, resulting in the wealth of many Jews. Perhaps it explains why some were reluctant to leave and return to Jerusalem.

Soon after Artakh’shasta came to power, two or three years before the events of Ezra 7, the Persian king faced his biggest challenge – an Egyptian revolt. Led by Inarus the Libyan and Amyrtaeus of Sais, the revolt was successful in defeating the Persian governor in Egypt, Achaemenes, a brother of King Ahasuerus, Artakh’shasta’s predecessor. Then Greeks from Athens sailed a fleet of some two-hundred ships to capture the Egyptian city of Memphis only months before the events recorded in this chapter. Two years later, a sizeable army, under the leader of the governor of Syria, recaptured Memphis with great loss of life on both sides. It was some of the fiercest fighting the Persians had ever known.

Given this background, it may not be surprising that a Persian ruler would commission a devout Jew to administer the Torah in Jerusalem. Ezra came to Jerusalem bearing a letter from the king. With the instability in the Egyptian delta, it made perfect sense for a policy of stability and respect for the Torah to be instituted. The last thing Artakh’shasta needed was for the revolutionary spirit in Greece and Egypt to spread to Judea. A very similar policy had been undertaken decades before, during the reign of Darius, when the Egyptian priest Udjahorresnet was sent back to Egypt to restore respect for Persian law.¹³²

This is a copy of the letter that King Artakh’shasta, king of kings, gave to Ezra. The original was usually kept as an official record. This particular letter was addressed to Ezra because it authorized him to carry it and read it to its intended audience. The king gave it to Ezra, the Cohen, the scribe, a teacher of matters pertaining to the mitzvot of ADONAI and His statutes over Isra’el. This was a powerful testimony to both Ezra’s character and his grasp of God’s Word. He had studied and memorized the commandments of YHVH to the point that he had become a teacher of teachers. It is also significant that the king described Ezra’s qualifications rather than his job description.

Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic, the language that the Persians used in official documents (much like the Roman Empire used Greek).

From: Artakh’shasta, king of kings,

To: Ezra the Cohen, a scribe of the Torah of the God of heaven (Ezra 7:11-12). Just as Joseph, long ago, gained the trust of the pharaoh of Egypt and was enabled to preserve his family and clan, so Ezra won the friendship of the Persian king. It was a friendship that spelled the survival for the Jewish community after the Babylonian captivity.¹³³

I have now issued a decree that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Isra’el – even the cohanim and Levites – who wish to go up to Jerusalem with you may go (Ezra 7:13). Decrees were commonly written as official documents and then reiterated in personal letters that gave the emissary authority in his travels. Ezra would have read this letter to the Jews in Yerushalayim to demonstrate that he had the king’s backing. This was a remarkable decree that showed ADONAI’s sovereign rule as KING of kings (Revelation 19:16) over earthly kings, and His intent to keep the Abrahamic, Davidic and B’rit Chadashah covenants with Isra’el. The letter contained five provisions.

It authorized Ezra (and others with him) to go to Jerusalem to see that the Torah was observed. For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors (this number according to Persian tradition also seen in Esther 1:14) to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Torah of your God, which is in your hand (7:14). Now you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint judges and magistrates who may administer justice to all the people in Trans-Euphrates – all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach those who do not know them (Ezra 7:25). His jurisdiction no doubt included authority over Jews who had remained in Palestine during the exile but who had neglected the Torah and intermarried with non-Jews. The effect of this decree gave a measure of autonomy to the Jews in Judah – exactly what their enemies were striving to avoid. Yet this element of spiritual shepherding was exactly what Ezra had a heart to do. He knew the Jews returning from captivity needed instruction in the Word of God, and this became the focus of his ministry.

It provided a grant to buy sacrifices and Temple vessels. And to bring the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely given to the God of Isra’el, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, together with all the silver and gold that you find in the whole province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and the cohanim for the House of their God in Jerusalem (Ezra 7:15). It is interesting that King Artakh’shasta chose to make a freewill offering to ADONAI, even though he did not worship Him. The King may have been trying to appease the God of Isra’el in hopes of avoiding future trouble from that region of his empire. People during that time thought various gods ruled specific geographical regions. The freewill gifts of God’s people were an important part of the rebuilding effort in Jerusalem, both for the Temple and the walls.¹³⁴

Furthermore, with this silver you should be sure to buy bulls, rams and lambs, along with their grain offerings (Leviticus 2:1 and 13) and their drink offerings (Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:13), and offer them on the altar of the House of your God in Jerusalem (Ezra 7:16). How did Artakh’shasta know what sacrifices were needed? He must have had a Jewish advisor, probably Ezra himself, to help draft the decree. The phrase in Ezra 7:6b, “The king gave Ezra everything he requested,” also suggests that it was Ezra. The Persian kings took seriously the religious rights of their subjects.

The king trusted Ezra to use the money that he sent wisely. You may do whatever seems good to you and your brothers with the remaining silver and gold, according to the will of your God. The vessels originally taken from Solomon’s Temple that are entrusted to you for the service of the House of your God, deliver before the God of Jerusalem. The rest of the needs for the House of your God that you may have occasioned to supply, you may provide from the royal treasury (Ezra 7:17-20). The Persians were careful to support the religious celebrations of the people they ruled.

Knowing about YHVH does not make one a believer. The Adversary and his demons know about Ha’Shem, and one day sh’ol will be thrown into the Lake of Fire for all eternity (Revelation 20:14). Ultimately, their knowledge will do them no good. One must submit to Him as the only God (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Dk – You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me), and accept His free gift of salvation.

It commanded the treasurers in the provinces to give supplies to Ezra. I, King Artakh’shasta, hereby issue a decree to all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates to diligently provide all that Ezra the cohen, scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you – up to 100 talents (or four tons) of silver, 100 cors (624 bushels) of wheat, fine flower used in the grain-offerings (Leviticus 2:1, 13) and drink-offerings (Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:13); 100 baths of wine used in the drink offerings (Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:13), which accompanied other offerings. Oil was used in the continual burnt offering, in the grain offering (Leviticus 2:4 and 15), and in anointing the priest (Exodus 29:21); 100 baths (or 600 gallons) of oil used in the continual burnt offering, in the grain offering (Leviticus 2:4 and 15), and in anointing the priest (Exodus 29:21); and salt without limit (Ezra 7:21-22). Salt was added, especially to the grain offerings. The salt of the covenant is a phrase that appears several times (Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:19; Second Chronicles 13:5; Mark 9:49), salt being the symbol of covenant relationship.

Everything that the God of heaven has required, let it be done with diligence for the House of the God of heaven (Ezra 7:23a). This reminds us of when ADONAI had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for, so they plundered the Egyptians (Exodus 12:35-36). In this case, part of the purpose for such an amazingly generous decree to the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates may have been to provide supplies for the journey. Thus, Ezra could show this letter to the Persian officials during the four month journey.

For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons (Ezra 7:23b)? In Ezra 6:10 King Darius had asked for prayer for his well-being and that of his sons. Here, Artakh’shasta wanted Ha’Shem’s protection even though he also feared other gods. It was important to him that God’s wrath in the form of catastrophes on Jerusalem were avoided. There had been a revolt in Egypt in 460 BC, and in this same year, 458 BC, a Persian army was sent to Egypt. Nevertheless, it is interesting that the king of one of the greatest empires the world has ever known should care about the God of such a seemingly insignificant people.

It freed all Temple officials from taxation. We also notify you that you have no authority to impose tribute, tax or duty on any of the cohanim, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, sanctuary servants, or attendants at this House of God (Ezra 7:24). This was Persian policy and can be seen in other cases.

It authorized Ezra the ability to set up a judicial system to see that the Jews obeyed the Torah. Let anyone who does not observe the Torah of your God and the law of the king, be punished with due diligence, whether it is death or banishment, confiscation of goods or imprisonment (Ezra 7:26). This may not mean that Ezra could punish in the ways listed here, but the governor and Persian authorities were to back him up with these punishments. Ezra, like Joseph many years earlier, had authority in a foreign government. In the LORD’s providence both were used to fulfill His purposes for His people. But depending of a secular government to enforce biblical principles can be dangerous. God’s commandments give us the blueprint for a healthy society. But at the same time, they are part of the covenant between YHVH and His people (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – The Days are Coming, declares the LORD, When I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el).¹³⁵ Ezra’s response to the king’s decree showed what kind of a man he was. He praised YHVH for what He had done, saying: Blessed be ADONAI, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the heart of the king to beautify the House of Adonai in Jerusalem in this way and who has extended lovingkindness (see the commentary on Ruth Af – The Concept of Chesed) to me before the king and his counselors and all the king’s mighty princes. And I gathered strength, as the hand of ADONAI my God was upon me Ezra 7:9, 8:18, 22 and 31; and Nehemiah 2:8 and 18) (Ezra 7:27-28a). The thanksgiving was not for personal favors but for the national blessing bestowed by the king, under God’s guidance, in enabling the Temple to be built. From here to the end of Chapter 9 (apart from a brief return to the third person in Ezra 8:35-36), Ezra speaks in the first person. Once again, Ezra recognized that the king’s generosity was due to the LORD’s intervention. He was grateful to King Artakh’shasta for his benevolence, but he gave the final glory to ADONAI.

One more question comes to mind, “Where is Yeshua in this passage?” If you listen closely, you can hear His answer, “I am the One who caused this pagan king to write this letter!”

Messiah is also a letter-writing King. The Bible is a letter to us – including this letter from a Persian monarch. Jesus is saying in this chapter, “Do you see, I am in complete control? I am ensuring the end from the beginning. I am determining the future of My people. I am aligning the events of history to ensure that My purpose for the redemption of My people will be accomplished according to My plan.” Isn’t that wonderful?¹³⁶