Title- Old Testament History 101
I. Israel’s History
II. Nehemiah’s History
III. Guiding Theological Principles
I. Israel’s History
As many of you know, I spent a few years teaching out at WCS high school. One of the subjects that I was asked to teach was history. I’ll be honest; history was not one of my favorite subjects. It was a lot better than math, but it still just seemed like a bunch of boring dates and events that I had to memorize.
So when I was faced with the challenge of teaching history, I really didn’t want to force the kids to have to memorize a bunch of dates and names of dead people. The value of history lies not in the details, but in the big picture.
The real importance of history is that it gives us a sense of context. It answers some important “why” questions about the present. And it gives us some clues as to what the future might hold.
For example, understanding family history can answer a lot of questions as to why you are the way you are, and give you some clues to what the future might hold. My father died of colon cancer when he was in his mid 40’s. Having that in my family history means I need to be screened for colon cancer a lot earlier than most people- yeah!
Understanding American history can also be helpful. When you understand how the economy and the government have gone through periods of growth and decline, we can take comfort that the current economic downturn won’t last forever.
Understanding world history gives us a context to better understand things like the current conflicts in the Middle East, the development of certain religions, and the differences between world-views.
Understanding church history gives us a context for understanding the development of Christianity, and helps us avoid old mistakes. It also helps us understand why we are here and how we can better reach out to the world around us.
I say all this because my main objective today is to offer a mini history lesson of early OT events. This is information that will cost you $300 a credit in seminary, but I’m going to give it to you for half that price today.
Today we are going to begin a study of the book of Nehemiah.
So far I’ve done most of my preaching from the NT. But there is incredible value in studying the OT. It isn’t merely Jewish history, it is the story of God working with His people. Without a proper understanding of the OT, many of the NT events won’t make a whole lot of sense.
I want us all to have a solid understanding of the OT so that we will be drawn into a deeper and closer walk with God.
Nehemiah is a particularly relevant book for us to study today. It is the story of a nation struggling with political problems, economic difficulties, external threats, internal strife, discouragement, and the need for spiritual revival. Do any of those things sound like problems this nation struggles with today?
Before we really dig into the book of Nehemiah, it is important that we understand a little OT history. I know a lot of this will be review for many of you, but it will help get things in perspective.
OK, I want you to start by opening your Bible to that page close to the very beginning where it gives you the list of all the books of the Bible. Every Bible has that section. It will say “contents” or something like that. Find that because it will help you follow along.
Really, Nehemiah is the last book of the OT. I know that Malachi comes last in your Bible, but that’s because the OT is split up into three sections. Up on the screen is a visual representation of what I’m talking about.
The first seventeen books of the OT are historical books. When we think about the history of Israel and the Jewish people all that historical stuff is contained within those books. Nehemiah being the last one chronologically. Esther is placed after Nehemiah, but that story actually took place during the time of Ezra. So really, Nehemiah is the final chapter in the OT.
Next are the poetic books. Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. These books were all written at various points within the timeline of the historic books. For example, the poetical books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon were all written during the time of 2 Kings.
You see what I’m saying? These aren’t continuing history, but a different genre of writing during that period of history. That’s also true with the prophetic writings. These aren’t continuing history, but they are warnings and cautions from God during different periods in OT history. Malachi is the final book listen in our OT, but he was actually a contemporary of Nehemiah. He prophesied during the time Nehemiah was doing his thing.
Does that all make sense?
If you are in the habit of reading through the Bible on a regular basis, it might be nice to pick up a chronological Bible and read through that way. A chronological Bible lists all the books of the Bible in the order that they took place. So it weaves the poetic and prophetic writings into the historical books. It can be a great way of better understanding how the whole story fits together.
So that should give you a general overview of the basic structure of the OT. Since Nehemiah is the final chapter of the OT history, it will be helpful if we do a quick review of some of the key events that led up to that point.
The start of Jewish history really begins with Abraham back in Genesis 12. Abraham’s son was Isaac, and Isaac had Jacob and Esau- God blessed Jacob and changed his name to Israel. Jacob had twelve sons, who mad eup the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph rose to prominence in Egypt and the whole family moved there.
Skip ahead a few hundred years and we have Moses and the Exodus, the giving of the ten commandments, and the law, the conquest of the promised land, the period of national and political upheaval marked by the book of Judges, and then the establishment of a king over the nation.
The first king was Saul, who turned out to be a bust. Then David expanded Israel’s territory, defeated their enemies, and ushered in a period of peace and prosperity for the country.
After King David, his son Solomon took over as King. Solomon is described as one of the wisest kings who ever lived, but he ultimately compromised his integrity by allowing idolatry to creep in through all those wives and concubines he had.
Because of the idolatry that Solomon let in, the nation was torn apart when he died. Different military leaders split the nation in two.
Ten of the twelve tribes moved up north and were called “Israel”. The other two tribes moved south, to the area around Jerusalem, and were called “Judah”. (Picture/Map)
The country was split in two. Each of the two kingdoms had their own kings, and lots of problems staying true to God. They both eventually slid further and further into idolatry and worshiping pagan gods. Even though God had sent prophets to warn the people of the consequences of turning their backs on Him. Those prophetic books are for the most part, accounts of these spokesmen for God trying to convince the people to turn back to Him.
One of the things that the prophets warned about was the destruction of the nation of Israel by outside countries. Well, unfortunately they didn’t listen, and God did send His judgment on the people.
The first of the two kingdoms to go was Israel. It was attacked by the Assyrian army and the people were killed or drug away into captivity and slavery. Some fled to the south to Judah for safety, but Israel was done for. That was the ultimate end of the Northern Kingdom forever.
The southern Kingdom did a little bit better. They were able to hold on for about another 300 years before they were invaded by Babylon and drug into captivity also.
2 Chronicles 36:18-21 describes what happened when Babylon attacked…
2 Chronicles 36:18-21 8 All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. 19 Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. 20 Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.
When the Babylonians attacked, they destroyed the temple, looted everything of value, destroyed the city walls, which left the city in a state of total and complete ruin. Those who managed to escape the sword were carried away to Babylon as slaves.
The prophet Jeremiah warned the nation that this was going to happen. God tried to get the people to turn back to Him, but they simply refused to listen and obey. Just like stubborn children they needed to be disciplined. And God used the nation of Babylon to administer that spanking to His children.
Jeremiah also prophesied that after 70 years in captivity the people would be allowed to return to Jerusalem. The fulfillment of that prophecy came when the people returned to Jerusalem.
They returned, but the city was a mess. The people had learned their lesson, and wanted to turn back to God, but they had no temple to worship Him in. So Ezra led the work of rebuilding the temple. He also helped them to reform some of their pagan ways and turn their hearts fully back to God.
The temple was a huge spiritual boost to the returning Jews, but without walls, the city was vulnerable and weak and in disgrace. Broken down walls and burned gates was not just a security problem, it was a sign of great disgrace and humiliation. They lived this way for almost 100 years.
That brings us to the book of Nehemiah.
Are you all still tracking with me? This is a lot to digest. I basically gave you a whole semester of OT survey in about fifteen minutes.
I know that history lessons aren’t always the most exciting, but it really is important for us to see the big picture so that we can better understand the details found in Nehemiah. Again, it is this context that will help us make better sense of what Nehemiah was doing and why it was so important, and why he faced so many challenges.
Now that we’ve had a refresher course on Israel’s History, let’s take a look at Nehemiah’s History.
Nehemiah was a Jew who was born into captivity. He must have been very successful and very trustworthy because it says that he held the position of cupbearer to the king. Now the position of cupbearer might not sound like that great of a job, but it was really one of the most prominent positions. It was like being 2nd in command.
The cupbearer was the guy who tasted all the kings’ food first. He tested it to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. This was a guy who the king had to trust completely. He trusted him with his life every day.
One commentary I read said that the cupbearer held more influence than the kings own family; he was a person who acted as an advisor and a friend to the king. God had placed Nehemiah in this important position at just the right time in history.
Even though Nehemiah was born in captivity and raised in a foreign land, and served the King of Persia, he was still clearly a very devout Jew. He had a strong relationship with God. He had a vibrant prayer life. As we will see Nehemiah had a connection to God that was constantly open.
Nehemiah’s task was to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem that had been destroyed. Here is a picture of the city walls. This is a newer wall, but you can get a sense for the size and scope of the project. It was a big job.
Here’s a map of the city at that time. All around the city were walls with different gates of entry. You have the fish gate, the sheep gate, the fountain gate, the dung gate(don’t go in that way). And right there on the right side was the temple.
The last thing I want us to look at today is just a quick overview of some of the guiding theological principles that we can expect to find from our study of this great book of the Bible.
First, this book helps remind us that no matter what the circumstances are around us, God is still in control. No matter who takes office, no matter what the economy is like, no matter what the opposition does, God is still in control.
Israel being taken into captivity wasn’t an accident. It didn’t happen because God wasn’t paying attention that day. No God warned them that it was coming. God used the Babylonians to chastise His people.
God placed Nehemiah in that position of authority and leadership. God wasn’t absent.
During times in our lives when the economy is bad, the leadership isn’t what we might want, it is important to remember that God hasn’t abandoned us. He is still there.
Second, this book teaches some important lessons about the amazing power of prayer. When Nehemiah heard about the problem in Jerusalem, the first thing he did was pray. Before he went to speak with the king, he prayed. All throughout the book Nehemiah tosses up these quick prayers to God right in the midst of whatever he is doing. He doesn’t just have a morning prayer time, he has an open line of communication with God all day long. I have always loved that concept. I don’t want to limit my prayers to a particular time or place. My memory just isn’t that good. I want to have the freedom to pray to God anywhere at anytime.
Nehemiah asked God for some very big things, but he prayed with faith and with confidence in what God was going to do. We can and should pray with that same level of confidence.
Third, Nehemiah is an awesome case study in effective leadership. I have this great book on leadership written by Charles Swindoll that is all about the life of Nehemiah. These lessons on leadership are not only important for me within the context of the church, but they are important for all of us in each area of our lives. As we lead at work, at home, or here at church, Nehemiah gives us a great template to work from.
1. Nehemiah was trustworthy. He must have been to be cupbearer. Any good leader has to be very trustworthy and have complete integrity.
2. Nehemiah prayed. When presented with a problem he didn’t start by brainstorming solutions. He went straight to God. Any good leader will turn to God for solutions first.
3. Nehemiah developed a plan. He studied the situation, investigated for himself, and then came up with a plan of action. He didn’t leave it up to someone else to fix the problem, he got right to work.
4. He was a servant leader. He worked with the people, not over them. He encouraged them, but himself in harms way for them, listened to them, and loved them. Any good leader will understand that he is first and foremost a servant.
5. He understood that the ultimate goal was to glorify God, not himself. He didn’t lead so that he would get recognition or money or some material reward. He lead so that God would receive the praise and the glory.
Is it possible for us to lead with that as our primary goal in the secular workplace? Is it possible to lead in a way that honor God even around people who don’t? I think so. Although it might not be easy.
Well there are a lot of other lessons on leadership that we will glean from this book, but those or some of the big ones.
Finally, Nehemiah teaches us the importance of God’s law. After the wall had been built, there was a time of spiritual renewal. The scripture was read and the people rededicated their lives to God.
The whole story of the rebuilding of the wall is really all about restoration and reconciliation. The people knew that it was God who allowed the walls to be destroyed in the first place. And they knew that the only reason they had been rebuilt was because God’s favor was upon them. They also knew that they needed to hold fast to God’s law in order to prevent the same thing from happening again.
For a book that was written thousands of years ago, Nehemiah has amazing relevance to us today. It is my hope that in studying this chapter from Israel’s history it will help us understand more about who we are and who God wants us to become.
