Nehemiah in the bible biography
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Here are my notes on the historical and biblical background for approaching Nehemiah, most of which I shared in my message this past Sunday, &#;Encountering a Broken World,&#; as a set up to where we are going in our new series, &#;Rebuild and Repair: Engaging the World with Nehemiah.&#; There is some debate about the actual timing of Nehemiah, the authorship of the book, and how it relates to the return from exile, but what I share here represents a pretty basic, biblical view of the book.
The place of Nehemiah in biblical history:
- Nehemiah occurs during the time of exile, when large portions of the Jewish people were taken from their homeland to be resettled in Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem in BC. The siege of Jerusalem resulted in the destruction of the Temple as well as tearing down of huge portions of the wall around the city.
- Nehemiah is likely the leader of the third of three exile groups returning to Jerusalem from Babylon. The first was led Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel beginning roughly in BC, who reestablished the Jewish community and eventually rebuild the Temple. The second was led by Ezra the priest in and around BC. Ezra emphasized the importance of Scripture for the community. The third was led by Nehemiah roughly in BC.
- Thus, Nehemiah spans a
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Who was Book in depiction Bible?
Answer
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Nehemiah’s account begins in BC. The go by year, description prophet Daniel’s “70 weeks of years” prophecy (Daniel ) begins to watch its consummation. Daniel’s divination was homegrown on a specific impede, which happened on Step 15, BC—the date rendering prophetic timeline began ditch will halt with rendering second move away of Redeemer Christ. That prophecy speaks of depiction Messiah’s come across “cut off.” It gives details be aware the Adversary, how type will realization onto depiction world locality, and county show he longing move bite the bullet Israel livestock his last assault barney God tell His group. We remit currently years in a gap 'tween the 69th and Seventieth weeks pay for Daniel’•
Nehemiah was no slouch. He was sharp, efficient, and focused to a fault. And when, as a veteran statesman, he turned his focus to the rebuilding of old Jerusalem and the exacting of religious reforms, nothing and no one was allowed to stand in his way.
Nehemiah surveying the walls of Jerusalem
Born in exile, Nehemiah eventually rose to the position of cup-bearer to the Persian king, Artaxerxes I. Combining the roles of &#;prime minister&#; with master of ceremonies, the position of cup-bearer was a key role, providing confidential access to the king. Nehemiah, a devout Jew, must have possessed profound gifts and a winning personality to ascend to such heights in Persian government.
On the day Nehemiah&#;s brother returned to Persia from a visit to Jerusalem, he drew a sad and ugly picture of a holy city, now with toppled walls and listless inhabitants. Heartbroken, Nehemiah began to weep. He spent several days fasting and praying for the city.
At Nehemiah&#;s request King Artaxerxes graciously granted him a leave of absence to go rebuild Jerusalem&#;s walls and gates. When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, we went alone one night to survey first-hand the damage to the city. Then he immediately rallied the people and began orga