Through the Bible - Nehemiah

God, we do thank You and we praise You for the opportunity to study Your Word now. Lord, we even think of those in other countries who don't have the same opportunity because of persecution or the laws of their land. We ask, Lord, that You would continue to bless those who are fellowshipping in underground churches in China, Burma, and so many different places throughout the world.

But Lord, we thank You for the privilege that we have to gather together as one body in a public place to be able to go through Your Word. We ask that You would teach us tonight and give us understanding as we look into this book. Lord, transform and renew us as we continue to go through Your Word, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, the book of Nehemiah is similar to the book that we looked through last week, the book of Ezra. This book could be titled "The Road to Restoration." You'll remember that the children of Israel were at the end of 2 Chronicles, exiled into the land of Babylon. They went into Babylon because of their own sin, not their own choice, but their own sin.

In Babylon, for 70 years, they experienced the judgment of God because of their sin, the chastening of the Lord. However, we know from Hebrews chapter 12 that the chastening of the Lord comes only upon those whom He loves. The Lord disciplines His children, the ones that He loves. Because He loved His people, the children of Israel, He allowed them to go into exile for those 70 years.

He had given a promise through the prophet Isaiah that after those 70 years, a king would rise up by the name of Cyrus, who would give a decree to allow the children of Israel to return to the land of their birth, back to the land of Israel. That was really what the book of Ezra focused on: the first influx of people leaving Babylon and going to Jerusalem under the kingly leader, the man from the tribe.

Of Judah, Zerubbabel took just about 50,000 people back to the land of Israel. Several years later, almost a generation later, Ezra, the scribe and priest, brought another group of people, a much smaller group, into the land. Now, about 15 years later, after the book of Ezra finishes, we come to the book of Nehemiah. It is a great book, and we see in this book two divisions that we will look through tonight.

The first seven chapters deal with the reconstruction of the wall. You will remember that in the book of Ezra, they were building something, but it wasn't the wall; they first focused on building the temple. You would think that during this time in history, they would build the wall first. However, we notice God's sovereignty and the way He does things because these books picture our lives and how our lives are to be when we return to God. The first thing that needs to be dealt with is the temple, not the wall or the protection, but the worship and praise. So, they focused first on worshiping the Lord and built the temple there.

The temple, as you will remember from the book of Ezra, took them some time to build because, as is always the case, they met with opposition. We will see the same thing in the book of Nehemiah in these chapters as we go through, because the road to restoration is not an easy one. There is always going to be persecution and trouble that comes.

The first chapter starts this whole move towards restoration, and it begins with a concern. We see it there in verse 4, which says, "And it came to pass when I heard these words." A man came back to Babylon, to the area where Nehemiah was living, and told him that things in Jerusalem weren't going quite as well as the people had hoped. It was a difficult work. They didn't have any protection because they didn't have the wall. They had the temple, which was a joy, but they didn't have the wall yet.

When Nehemiah heard these words, he sat down, wept, mourned for certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. You will never begin to rebuild the wall, and the wall is a picture of reestablishing strength. We need strength in our lives. Every single one of us, as we begin to follow the Lord, receives a new heart at the new birth. Ezekiel chapter 36 talks about this, and when a Christian places their faith in Christ, Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again.

When a Christian is born again, they are given a new heart, and that new heart desires to obey God. But how many of you perfectly obey God? I don't see any hands. The reason for that is we are without strength, aren't we? We need the strength of the Lord, and we will see this building of strength in the book of Nehemiah.

The first thing that needs to take place before you can reestablish this strength, before you can build this wall, is a concern for the ruin. There must be a concern about the ruin that exists in life. Nehemiah comes to this concern about the ruin he sees in the city of Jerusalem as he receives the report.

As we follow along into verse 5, this concern turns into confession. Nehemiah sets himself to seek the Lord in verse 4. He prays before the God of heaven and says in verse 5, "Both I, and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, nor your statutes, nor your judgments, which you commanded your servant Moses." He continues, "Remember, I beseech you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, 'If you transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations. But if you turn unto me and keep my commandments and do them, though there were of you cast out into the uttermost part of heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them into the place that I have chosen to set my name there.'"

This concern for the ruin moves into a confession to the Lord. Nehemiah, as we see in this passage and as we will continue to see in the book of Nehemiah, is a man who loves the Lord and seeks the Lord. Yet, he includes himself in the sin of his nation and his people. He confesses, "I and my father's house have sinned." He acknowledges that God said if they sinned against Him, He would scatter them into other nations. However, God also said that if they turn and seek Him, He would restore them.

Thus, the rebuilding begins with a concern, but that concern turns into confession. This confession is followed by a commitment, as seen in verse 11. He says,

Nehemiah had a plan. He had committed himself to doing some sort of work, and he prayed, "Lord, grant me mercy in the sight of this man." Which man was he talking about? In verse 4, he clarifies, "For I was the king's cupbearer." We will meet this king in chapter 2. His name is Artaxerxes, the king of the Medo-Persian Empire at this point in time.

We will read a little more about Ahasuerus or Artaxerxes in the next book, the book of Esther, because Esther takes place a little before the book of Nehemiah. In chapter 2, verse 6, we see that the king and the queen were sitting by him. Notice that the queen was sitting by him; there is a very good possibility that this was Esther who was sitting there by the king.

Nehemiah, a Jewish man, was the cupbearer to the king. This was a very privileged position, but also a dangerous one. He was the one who would take the cup of the king and taste the wine or food to see if it might be poisoned. He would lose his life if it was poisoned. Therefore, he was very close to the king and recognized that the privileged position he had was important, and that God had placed him there for a reason. He prayed, "God, grant me mercy in the sight of this man because I am the cupbearer to the king."

I want you to notice a few contrasts in the book of Nehemiah compared to Ezra. Both were great men of God. Ezra, the scribe and priest, is actually seen in the book of Nehemiah. Back in Ezra chapter 8, he did not want to ask for the help of the king. He had told the king, "The Lord is on our side, and He is going to help us." Therefore, he felt he could not ask for the king's help because he had already declared that God was on their side.

Nehemiah, however, is different. They serve the same God and love the same God, but their personalities are different. Nehemiah says, "I have this position with the king; I am going to use it." The next day, it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, that wine was before him. I took the wine.

And gave it unto the king. Now, I had not been sad in his presence before. He had never seen me sad, but this time I was sad because I had concern for my people in the city of Jerusalem. Therefore, the king said unto me, "Why is your countenance sad, seeing you are not sick?" He asked, "You're not sick, so what's the problem? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart."

I was very sore afraid and said unto the king, "Let the king live forever." The first thing I said was to smooth everything out and make sure everything was okay. I continued, "Why should not my countenance be sad when the city, the place of my father's sepulchers, lies in waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?"

Then the king said unto me, "Well, what do you request? What do you want me to do about that?" I love this verse because it presents such a clear and simple prayer. I prayed to the God of heaven and said to the king, "If it pleased the king, and if thy servant has found favor in thy sight, that thou would send me to Judah, unto the city of my father's sepulchers, that I may rebuild it."

In chapter 2, the first thing we see in verses 1 through 8 is the commission of the king. The king gives him letters and a commission to return to the land of Israel, back to the region of Judah and the city of Jerusalem to rebuild it. All the king really asked was, "How long are you going to be gone? Give me a time frame." So, I told him the period of time I would need. The next day, the king sent me on my way with a commission.

As soon as I arrived in Jerusalem, in verse 9, we read, "Then I came to the governors beyond the river and gave them the king's letters." The king had sent captains of his army and horsemen with me. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant of the Ammonite heard, it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

Here, the plot thickens. After the commission of the king, in verses 9 through 11, we see the concern of the enemies. They hear about this man coming with the decree of the king to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the walls, and they say, "This is not good. We don't like this."

As the passage continues in verses 12 through 15, we see the courage of Nehemiah. He gets up in the middle of the night and spies out the city. He goes through the city by night with just a couple of his servants.

Nehemiah looked at all the walls and gates, wanting to survey the damage of the city and figure out what he was going to do. Before he even approached the rulers of the city, the people who had come with Zerubbabel and Ezra, he first inspected the city. This act demonstrated Nehemiah's courage.

In verse 16, he called to the rulers. The rulers did not know what he had done or where he had gone. He had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, or the rulers, nor the rest who were doing the work. Nehemiah said to them, "You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies in waste and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach." He then shared about the hand of God that was upon him and the words of the king that he had spoken to him. The rulers responded, "Let us rise up and build." They strengthened their hands for this good work.

Nehemiah gathered the rulers of the city and emphasized the need to rebuild the walls so that they would no longer be a reproach. In that time in history, a city could not truly exist without walls for protection. The presence of walls was what made a city significant on the map. However, the enemies around them did not want them to have walls, as this was a strategic stronghold.

In verse 19, we read about the contention of the enemy. When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the servant of the Ammonite, and Gershom the Arabian heard about the rebuilding efforts, they laughed at them and despised them, saying, "What is this thing that you do? Will you rebel against the king?" These adversaries did not realize that they had the authority of the king behind them to rebuild the wall. Instead, they attempted to deflate their purpose, as the enemy always does. The enemy comes in and mocks, especially when someone desires to walk closely with the Lord again after a time of backsliding. The mockery of the devil often says, "Oh, come on, you've tried this before. You're not going to be able to stand. There's no way. You're the laughingstock of everything."

Despite this, we see the confidence of Nehemiah in verse 20. He answered them, saying, "The God of heaven will prosper us."

Therefore, we, His servants, will arise and build, but you have no portion, no right, nor memorial in Jerusalem. He says to these individuals, "Our God will prosper the work." It is important for us to understand and recognize that truly it is God who does the work in our lives of restoration. When we return to Him, the first thing that takes place is the reestablishment of worship, as we saw in the Book of Ezra. Then, the strengthening of the city comes in the Book of Nehemiah, and we all need to be strengthened in this way. However, we must understand that it is God who does the work.

Philippians chapter 2, verse 12, says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." If the verse ended there, we would all leave here with fear and trembling. If all we knew was that God says we have to work it all out with fear and trembling, we would be in trouble. But the next verse says, "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure." It is God who starts the desire in your heart in the first place, and He is also the one who will give you the power to perform by His Spirit.

The children of Israel began the process of restoration in chapter 3. They all gathered together to build the city. This building of the city surrounds the erecting or reestablishing of the ten gates of the city. As you read through chapter 3, you see each of these ten gates spoken of. The work was accomplished in a very short period of time because all the people engaged in the work. They did the work on the wall that was right in front of them, just opposite their homes. They did not start at one end of the wall and try to encircle the city. No, every single person who lived in the region around Jerusalem and in the city of Jerusalem began to construct the wall that was right in front of them.

There is an important principle for us in that. When we begin to restore the strength of our lives, these ten gates we will look at briefly in a moment speak to how we restore that strength. However, when we begin to focus on it, it is easy to become scatterbrained as a Christian. We start thinking, "I've got to do it by going to prayer meetings. I've got to go to this class. I've got to go to this service. I've got to read this many pages in the Bible each morning. I've got to pray for this amount of time." We get so scatterbrained that often we become flustered. Have you ever experienced that?

The principle here is to do what is right in front of you at that time. The Lord desires that we obey Him in the simple things that are right in front of us. He shows us those things in His Word and leads us.

By His Spirit, we are called to accomplish the task that is right in front of us. We saw a similar picture in the book of Joshua when the children of Israel began to take the Promised Land. They didn't send armies into all the areas or strongholds of the Promised Land. Instead, they went to the first city that was right in front of them, which was Jericho.

Notice that when they went to Jericho and encircled the city for those seven days, after the city walls fell down flat, the book of Joshua tells us that the children of Israel went straight into the city, taking all that was right in front of them. They didn't try to tackle everything in the city; they focused on the one thing that was before them at that point in time. It is important for us to glean this principle from the Scriptures. When we begin to follow the Lord, it is easy to become deflated by the enemy when we stretch ourselves trying to do fifty different things in Christian service. Instead, we should focus on the one thing that the Lord has called us to do that is right in front of us right now.

Now, these ten gates are important, and it begins at the only place where the work of restoration could start. Notice what it says in verse 1: they built the sheep gate. The sheep gate was the entrance through which the sacrifices would be brought into the city. You cannot think of the sheep gate without considering the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sin of the world. It speaks of the Lamb of God and the work that Jesus did in His sacrifice on the cross for you and me.

So where does our strength start? The first place it starts is at the sheep gate. It begins at the cross. We have no strength apart from the work that Jesus did on the cross for us. The next gate mentioned in verse 3 is the fish gate, which the sons of Hassanah built.

Thinking about fish, where else do we see fish in the New Testament? Early on, one of the first things Jesus said was, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Two verses later, in Matthew 4:19, He says, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." This speaks to the witness of you and me as Christians. One of the first things we encourage new believers to do after they have professed faith in Christ at the foot of the cross is to share their faith with someone. We tell them to go and share the commitment they made that day with a friend or family member, saying, "Today, I received Christ Jesus as Lord."

Thus, the fish gate is important in re-establishing this defense, the stronghold of our faith.

The city, the wall of the city, and the fact that we need to be those who are ready to share our faith with others are all important aspects to consider. Not only that, but we also have the old gate. In verse 6, we read about the old gate. What is the old gate all about? I want you to turn over in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 6, because I think it gives us a small answer to the question about the old gate.

Jeremiah says in verse 16, "Thus saith the Lord, Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein." Remember back in the book of Joshua, as the children of Israel were coming into the promised land, God told Joshua not to be afraid, but to stand in the Word of God. He instructed him not to turn to the right hand or to the left. This old gate speaks of the truth. We must be those who stand in the truth, ask for the old paths, and walk on that straight and narrow path that the Lord has given to us.

In addition to the old gate, we also have the fish gate and the sheep gate. However, down in verse 13, we read about the valley gate. When I speak of the valley, what do you think of? Psalm 23, the valley of the shadow of death. It is that place of death, lowliness, and humility. Jesus would tell His disciples in Luke chapter 9, "If any man desires to come after me, let him take up his cross, deny himself, and follow me." Therefore, this valley gate speaks to us of that place of death, of putting off the flesh, and following the Lord in humility.

When we begin to follow the Lord in humility and put off the old flesh, what do we find? Look down in verse 14. The dung gate was repaired by this family. The dung gate is the place through which the filth and refuse of the city were taken and cast out into the valley of Hinnom, which would go on to be called Gehenna in Greek, the place where they would burn all the trash and refuse.

You know what? Every single one of us, in our lives, when we're trying to establish the strength of the Lord and rebuild the walls, needs to get rid of the junk. We must have this refuse gate where we take out the filth and clutter that hinders our walk with God.

The junk is to be left to be burned with the Lord. He is faithful and just to forgive us, but also to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. The dung gate is very important, but not only the dung gate; the fountain gate is seen down in verse 15.

Anytime I think of the fountain, I think of that living water that Jesus spoke of in John chapter 4 and also in John chapter 7. In fact, why don't you turn over to John chapter 7? It is such an important passage of Scripture, and it tells us what this whole fountain gate is all about.

Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. There, on the great day of the feast, the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, there was a solemn assembly. A little background on the Feast of Tabernacles: for seven days, the children of Israel would gather in the city of Jerusalem. A whole group of people would gather at the Temple Mount, while another group would gather at the Pool of Siloam. Along the route between the Pool of Siloam and the Temple Mount, there would be a parade of people who would watch as the priests came down from the Temple.

The priests would go down to the Pool of Siloam with tall silver pots, gather water, and carry it back up to the Temple Mount to pour it out. For six days, they would do this, and the children of Israel would rejoice the whole time, cheering as the parade passed by and the water was poured out from the Pool of Siloam.

However, on the seventh day, the great day, it was a solemn assembly. It was a time when no one would shout or scream or praise the Lord. Everyone would be silent as the priests carried the pot down to the Pool of Siloam. They would put it down into the water, but they wouldn't take any water up. Instead, they would carry the empty vessel back up to the Temple Mount and tip it over, but nothing would come out.

They didn't understand what this was all about. They used this as a time of remembrance because the Feast of Tabernacles commemorated the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness and how God provided them with water during that time. The last pot they brought up, which had no water, symbolized their coming into the Promised Land when the water ceased from the rock.

But that was not the true meaning of the event. On that great day of the feast, just as you could hear a pin drop and it was completely silent, the priests turned over the pot, and no water came out. At that moment, Jesus stood and cried with a loud voice in verse 37 of John chapter 7.

Can you imagine for a moment what this must have been like? It's complete silence. It's a solemn assembly. The priests turn over the pot, and no water comes out. Then, this man stands up and screams at the top of his lungs, "If any man thirsts, let him come unto me, and he that believes on me, out of his belly shall flow forth rivers of living water."

John gives us insight in verse 39, stating that this he spoke of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost had not yet been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. So, out of his belly shall flow forth like a fountain rivers of living water.

Back here in the book of Nehemiah, chapter 3, they built the fountain gate. That living water is essential. Not only do we need the sheep gate in our lives, which represents coming to the cross and remembering the sacrifice that God has given, but we also need the fish gate, ensuring that we are bringing the Word of God out and being fishers of men. The old gate symbolizes standing in the truth, while the valley gate represents humbling ourselves and denying ourselves. The refuse gate is about casting off all the old wicked flesh, but we must also have the fountain gate. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Once you go to the dung gate and get rid of the refuse, you have to be filled with something. We must be filled with that living water. Interestingly, the next gate mentioned as we continue through this passage is verse 26, the water gate. This is not about Nixon or a hotel in Washington, D.C. The water gate is significant because water in Scripture is used for cleansing.

We read in Ephesians chapter 5 that God desires to wash us by the washing of the water of the Word. As we establish strength in our lives, building the gate and the walls, we must ensure that the water gate is present and that the Word of God is there.

Additionally, at the end of verse 26 and later on down in verse 29, the east gate is mentioned. The east gate still remains today in Israel; it is sealed up. Whenever you see pictures of the Temple Mount, you'll notice a gate in the wall that is sealed. That is the east gate, the gate of hope. We believe, based on prophetic Scriptures, that there is coming a day when Christ returns, and when he does, he will go through the east gate. This is the gate of hope.

The hope of the resurrection gives us something to look forward to: the day of the return of our Lord, the coming of our King. In verse 28 of the horse gate, we see that the horse in Scripture is constantly used as a symbol for warfare. We need to understand that when we are building the gate and the wall, we will all experience warfare—spiritual warfare. Paul spoke of this in Ephesians chapter 6, where he tells us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual principalities and powers in the darkness of this age.

We must ensure that we put on the whole armor of God: the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of truth, the belt of salvation, and the shoes that shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We need to be ready for battle because warfare will come, and that is what the horse gate speaks of.

The very last gate is mentioned in verse 31, which is over against the gate of Mifkad. Mifkad is a Hebrew word that translates to "commandment." It speaks of the command that God had given His people through Moses in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. As the children of Israel were preparing to enter the promised land, remember what God spoke to them through Joshua. In verse 6 of Joshua chapter 1, He said, "Not that you may take the land, not that you may be valiant in warfare, but that you may observe to do according to all the law that Moses, My servant, commanded you. Do not turn from the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go."

This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein day and night. Why? So that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.

The gate of Mifkad speaks of the command of the Lord, reminding us that we need to be dedicated to following Him in His commands. It is important to note that these commands do not save us; it is the sheep gate that brings us our first bit of strength. Interestingly, when you read verse 32, the very last verse of Nehemiah chapter 3, it says, "And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate." It begins and ends with the sheep gate.

The sheep gate is significant, but in the middle is also the command of God. We need to be those who are seeking to and willing to obey God's word and what He has commanded us. If you want to be strong in your life, there's a great book by Andrew Murray, a very small one, called The Blessings of Obedience.

In each of our lives, if we are going to have a wall that is complete with all of these gates, they must be present. Whether it's the sheep gate, the fish gate, the old gate, the valley gate, the dung gate, the fountain gate, the water gate, the horse gate, the east gate, or this one of the commandment, we have to walk with the Lord in His commands. The cool thing to note is that this wall was built in only 52 days. Why? Because the people were determined to do that which was right before them, and they accomplished the work quickly.

Chapters 4 through 6 deal with something that always comes when you begin to strengthen your life: persecution and tribulation. Persecution and tribulation are found in these chapters. The first thing that comes in chapter 4, verses 1 through 7, is contempt. Sanballat and Tobiah came against the children of Israel with contempt for what they were doing. When that didn't work, they conspired together in verse 8 of chapter 4 to fight against Israel and hinder it. They came first with contempt and then with conspiracy.

In chapter 6, we find that they came with cunning. This is always the way the enemy works; he tries to come cunningly with craft, using the wiles of the devil. In chapter 6, we read how they tried to trick Nehemiah into coming and meeting with them so that they could essentially kill him. However, he wouldn't do what they wanted him to do.

Notice what we read in verse 12. After they had sent a false prophet to him, saying, "Here, this is what you need to do," Nehemiah perceived that God had not sent him. He recognized that the prophecy was against him because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired the prophet. The Lord was with Nehemiah when they came with cunning, trying to deceive him even with the word of a false prophet. He said, "I perceived that the Lord was not with him."

As a result of this, we read in verse 15 of chapter 6 that the wall was finished on the 25th day of the month of Elul, in 52 days.

And it came to pass that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes. I love that. When the wall was constructed after only 52 days, even though the enemy had come against them with cunning, conspiracy, and contempt, and even though they had mocked the children of Israel, they set themselves to the work. Why? Because the scripture tells us in the book of Nehemiah that the people had a mind to do the work. They were focused on what was in front of them, and so they accomplished the work. All of their enemies round about were cast down in their own eyes, for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. Beautiful. They perceived that this work was wrought of our God.

Chapter 7 finishes up this first section, this first division of the book, which deals with the reconstruction of the wall, covering Chapters 1 through 7. In chapter 7, we see the gathering of all the people. Once the wall was complete and the city was protected, they gathered all the people together. Then, it begins in chapter 8, the next portion of this book. It is a really powerful passage that deals with the restoration of the people. There is the reconstruction of the wall, but now Chapters 8 through 13 focus on the restoration of the people.

The people gathered themselves together, as we read in chapter 8. This is a really great passage, and this is really where we at Calvary Chapel get our whole order of service. Why do we do the things we do on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings here at Calvary Chapel? Read along with me in chapter 8 because I think it's important. All the people gathered themselves together as one man in the street that was before the Water Gate. They spoke unto Ezra the scribe, the same Ezra from the book of Ezra, to bring out the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both men and women, and all that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seventh month.

Notice that they gathered all the people together who could hear with understanding. We often receive questions from people asking why we don't allow children in the main sanctuary on Sunday morning. The real reason behind it is that we hope through our children's ministry, they can hear with understanding a little bit better than in the main sanctuary. Sometimes, I have a way of being over people's heads, especially if they are younger children. However, we have the opportunity to provide children's ministry for the kids.

Because it's a place where they can hear with understanding the word of God. Mark and Sonia run our children's ministry on Sunday mornings, and they have put together a curriculum that goes through the word verse by verse, but at a level that our kids in the children's ministry can understand.

The people gathered together, all those who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. Ezra read before the street that was before the Water Gate from morning until midday. Now, you might think our services are a little too long, but here Ezra read from morning until noon, and that was just reading the word. They hadn't even gotten to the point of explaining it yet. From morning until midday, he read before the men and the women, and again, he mentions those who could understand. The ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.

Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for this specific purpose, and beside him stood a group of Levites mentioned in verse 4. In verse 5, Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Imagine that! Here you are standing all day long from morning till noon. We provide chairs for you, and while you may not think these are very comfy, in the main sanctuary, there are even more comfortable chairs, and you don't have to stand for the whole service. But they had to stand.

Ezra opened the book, and all the people stood. He blessed the Lord. Notice this: they read from the word, and then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen and Amen." With the lifting of hands, they bowed their heads, and they worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

The same group of Levites mentioned earlier caused the people to understand the law, and the people stood in their place. Ezra read from the word, and then the Levites stood and explained what it meant. They wanted to give the understanding of the law. This is why I do what I do in teaching the word. We read from the word, but we want to give the understanding of what it says. The people stood in their place.

In verse 8, they read the book, the book of the law of God, distinctly. They gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading. Do you see a little bit why we do what we do here at Calvary Chapel? It's based in the scriptures; it's exactly what they did on that day. However, we've cut the service time down just a little bit. In verse 9,

Nehemiah, along with Tersheta, Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, "This is a holy day unto the Lord your God. Do not mourn nor weep," for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. The word of the law had not been read in this way before, and they had not followed the Lord as they ought to have. When the law was read to the people, they wept, but notice what was said to them.

Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat and drink the sweet wine, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this is a holy day unto the Lord. Neither be you sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." They emphasized that this was not a day to weep or mourn. The walls had been built, the temple was erected once again, and they had worship and protection. Now, the word of God was going forth. He said, "Don't weep. The joy of the Lord is your strength."

He continued, "Hold your peace, for this day is holy. Neither be you grieved." They caused the people to understand the words that were declared to them. On the second day, they gathered together all the chiefs and elders of the people, along with the priests and Levites, to Ezra the scribe, to understand the words of the law. They gathered once again for more instruction and teaching.

They found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month. This is the Feast of Tabernacles, which we already discussed in John chapter 7. It was a time of remembering what they had gone through, how they had wandered in the wilderness for that 40-year period. That is what the Feast of Tabernacles was all about.

The people read in the law that they were to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, and so they did so here in chapter 8. In chapter 9, we come to the confession of the people. They gathered together once again and recounted almost the entire history of the children of Israel.

In verse 7, we read, "You are the Lord God who did choose Abram, and you brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and you gave him the name Abraham. You found his heart faithful, and you made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Girgashites, and all the termites. To give it, I say, to his seed, and you have performed your words, for you are righteous. God, you've performed your words."

And you did see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and you heard their cry by the Red Sea. You showed signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, all his servants, and all the people of his land, for you knew that they dealt proudly against them. So did you get the name as it is this day.

You divided the sea before the children of Israel, and they went through the midst of the sea on dry land. Their persecutors you threw into the deeps as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover, you led them in a day by a pillar of cloud and by night by a pillar of fire. Why? To give them light in the way wherein they should go.

You came down also upon Mount Sinai, and you spoke with them from the heavens. You gave them right judgments, true laws, good statutes, and commandments. You made known unto them your holy Sabbath and your commandments. You made known to them your precepts, your statutes, and laws by the hand of Moses, your servant.

You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and you brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst. You promised them that they should go in and possess the land which you had sworn to give unto them.

Here they are recounting all that God has done for them since He called Abraham, how He brought them out of the land of Egypt. But in verse 16, we read of what they did. Our fathers dealt proudly; they hardened their necks and did not hearken unto your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of your wonders that you did among them. They hardened their necks, and in their rebellion, appointed a captain to return to their bondage. Remember, they wanted to return back to Egypt.

But you, God, are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. You did not forsake them. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf and said, "This is thy God, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt," they wrought great provocations against you. Yet you, in your manifold mercy, forsook them not in the wilderness.

The pillar of cloud departed not from them by day to lead them in the way, neither did the pillar of fire by night to show them light and the way wherein they should go. You also gave a good spirit to instruct them and withheld not the manna from their mouth. You gave water for their thirst. Yea, for forty years you did sustain them in the wilderness so that they lacked nothing. Their clothes waxed not old.

And their feet swelled not. Moreover, You gave them kingdoms and nations and did divide them into the corners. They possessed the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan. Their children also multiplied as the stars of heaven and You brought them into the land concerning which You had promised their fathers that they should go in and possess it.

So the children went in and possessed the land and subdued it before them, the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites. You gave them into their hands and the kings of the people of the land that they might do with them as they would. God did all these great things even as His people rebelled.

But verse 26 says, "Nevertheless, they disobeyed and rebelled against You and cast away Your law behind their backs. They slew the prophets who testified against them." And why did the prophets come? Notice, here is the purpose of the prophets: they testified against them to turn them to You, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore, just as God had promised in the book of Deuteronomy, You delivered them into the hand of their enemies who vexed them.

In the time of their trouble, when they cried unto Thee, You heard them from heaven. God delivered them into the hands of their enemies, but when they cried out to the Lord, God heard them from heaven. According to Your manifold mercies, You gave them saviors who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

But after they had rest, they did evil again before Thee. Therefore, You left them in the hand of their enemies so that they had dominion over them. Yet, when they returned and cried unto You, You heard them from heaven. Many times did You deliver them according to Your mercies. Is this not a great, powerful, and good God?

You testified against them that You might bring them again unto Thy law. Yet they did proudly and hearkened not unto Thy commandments, but they sinned against Thy judgments, which if a man does, he shall live in them. You withdrew and hardened their neck and would not hear. Yet many years did You forbear them and testified against them by the Spirit and Your prophets. Yet would they not give ear.

Therefore, You gave them into the hand of the people of other lands. Nevertheless, for Thy great mercy's sake, You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them, for You are a gracious and merciful God.

So the people take this time of remembrance here in chapter 9. It is a form of confession. Notice, they are confessing all the things that they had done, confessing all that God had done.

Now therefore, our God, great and mighty, the terrible God who keeps covenant and mercy, even though His people break the covenant, He keeps covenants and mercies. Let not all the trouble seem little before Thee that hath come upon us and on our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all Thy people since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Howbeit, You are just in all that You have brought upon us. They say, "God, You are completely just and that You have judged us. For You have done right, but we have done wickedly." There's the confession. They come again after the temple has been built, after the wall has been erected. They come and confess to the Lord that they have done wickedly.

Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept Thy law, nor hearkened unto Thy commandments and all Thy testimonies wherewith Thou didst testify against them. For they have not served Thee in their kingdom and in Thy great goodness that Thou gavest them, and in a large and fat land which Thou gavest before them. Neither turned they from their wicked works. Behold, we are Your servants this day for the land that Thou hast given unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof. Behold, we are servants in it, and it yields much increase unto the kings that You have set over us because of our sins. Also, they have dominion over our bodies and over our cattle, and everything is at their pleasure. We are in great distress.

Because of all this, we make a sure covenant and write it, and our princes, Levites, and priests seal it unto You. After the confession of the people in chapter 8, which was the instruction of the people, and chapter 9, the confession of the people, now here in chapter 10 is the oath and the covenant of the people. All the people gather together, and it gives us a list of all the rulers and the leaders of the people.

Then down in verse 28, we read, "And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethanims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone having knowledge and having understanding, they clave unto their brethren their nobles and entered into a curse and an oath to walk before the law which was given by Moses, the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord, our Lord, and His judgments and His statutes, and that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land nor take the daughters of their sons."

The rest of Chapter 10 gives a list of the different things that the people were making an oath unto the Lord that they were going to do. After the people were gathered together in Chapter 7, they were instructed by the Levites and the priests in Chapter 8. This led to the confession of the people, acknowledging how great God was and how they had departed from Him. This, in turn, led to an oath and a covenant with the Lord, committing to follow Him in this way.

Chapter 11 leads to a reordering of the people, and then Chapter 12 describes the dedication of the temple. They rededicated the people in the temple once again in Chapter 12. As we wrap things up here, I want to turn quickly to Chapter 13. In this chapter, we see Nehemiah, this great man of God, and his resistance to evil. One of the things that stands out about men and women of God throughout history, who have made a mark on the work of God, is their willingness and readiness to say no to evil. This is clearly evident in Nehemiah.

In Chapter 13, it appears that he went away from Jerusalem for a short period of time and returned to Babylon. Remember, he had told King Artaxerxes in Chapter 2 that he would be gone for a set period of time. After that time, Nehemiah returned to Babylon and met with the king. However, he was only with the king for a short period and obtained leave from him in verse 6 of Chapter 13 to come back to Jerusalem.

When he returned to Jerusalem, he discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by preparing a chamber for him in the courts of the house of God. Eliashib was one of the priests of God running the temple. Tobiah, as you may recall, was that wicked enemy of Nehemiah who had tried to kill him. It grieved Nehemiah sorely to find that Eliashib had made a room for Tobiah in the house of God. I really admire Nehemiah. Back in the book of Ezra, you remember...

The children of Israel had gotten sucked back into marrying people who were not of their land, and they started to serve their false gods. Ezra, when he heard about this back in Ezra chapter 9, tore his clothes, wept, pulled out his beard, and ripped out his hair. He came before the Lord silently and sought the Lord.

Not Nehemiah. When he hears about these things, it grieved him sore. Therefore, he cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber and commanded that they cleanse the chamber. He then found, in verse 10, that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them. The people weren't taking care of the Levites, who were tending to the work of the house of God. Not only had they built a place for the enemy in the house of God, but the people also weren't taking care of the Levites.

So, he contended with them, as stated in verse 11, and said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" He gathered them together and set them in their places, bringing all the people back together and restoring the tithe to them. The first evil he found when he returned to Jerusalem was that the people had brought wickedness into the temple, and he had to cleanse the temple by expelling Tobiah, just as Jesus did in John and also in the other Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

On top of that, he discovered that the people weren't taking care of the Levites, so he set that in order. Then, down in verse 15, he saw in Judah some treading wine presses on the Sabbath day, bearing sheaves, and leading donkeys on the Sabbath day. They were doing work on the Sabbath. In the middle of the verse, it says he testified against them and those who sold this stuff. Not only did he find that the children of Israel were selling their wares, but there were also people from other merchant cities, like Tyre, who had come in and were selling their goods in the city of Jerusalem on the Sabbath.

In verse 17, Nehemiah contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What evil thing is this that you do and profane the Sabbath day?" He told all these people to stop doing this and informed the merchants from other cities that they were not allowed to come into the city on the Sabbath to sell their goods.

So, what did the merchants do? They just waited outside the city walls. They set up camp and waited outside the city walls. Notice what Nehemiah does in verse 20: the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside the city of Jerusalem once or twice. This happened just once or twice. Then he testified against them and said, "Why do you lodge about the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you."

On you. I'm going to beat you up is basically what he said. "You do this again, I'm going to lay hands on you." From that time forth, they didn't come anymore on the Sabbath. So, he took care of that problem.

I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, that they should come and keep the gates, and sanctify the Sabbath. Remember, notice this; he says this several times. I think it's awesome. "Remember me, O my God, concerning this thing also, and spare me according to the greatness of your mercy."

I think Nehemiah recognized that he was not a perfect man. He was always casting himself upon the mercy of the Lord. Not only is he casting himself upon the mercy of the Lord, but he also says, "Remember the work that I've done, Lord. I've served you; remember this."

The next thing that he finds is the same thing that Ezra the scribe had found. In verse 23, I saw Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Their children spoke half the speech of Ashdod, but they could not speak the language of the Jews; they spoke according to the language of each of the other people. I contended with them, cursed them, smote certain of them, plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God.

Now, Ezra in chapter 9 tears his clothes and plucks out his own hair. Nehemiah, however, is a little bit different. As I think about this, those of you who know the other pastors on staff, Ezra reminds me of Pastor Josh. He goes before the Lord and cries out to the Lord on behalf of other people. Nehemiah is like Pastor Eric; he just comes and grabs these guys by the beards, yanks out their beards, and says, "You're going to stop doing this, or I'm going to beat you up."

I contended with them, cursed them, smote certain of them, plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters to the sons of these foreigners, nor take their daughters unto your sons for yourselves."

Notice what he says in verse 26: "Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there no king like him who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over Israel. Nevertheless, even him did outlandish women cause to sin."

But notice down in verse 28, one of the sons of Joida, the son of Eliashib, this high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat. Remember, Eliashib had asked Tobiah to come and stay in the temple, and one of his grandsons was married to the daughter of Sanballat, this wicked enemy.

And so, what did Nehemiah do? He chased him away, saying, "You're not allowed to be around here, buddy." Nehemiah then prayed, "Remember them, oh my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites." Thus, he cleansed them from all strangers and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, assigning everyone to their respective duties. He also made provisions for the wood offering at the appointed times and for the firstfruits, praying once more, "Remember me, oh my God, for good."

Those who truly make an impact on God's work and are remembered by the Lord are individuals like Nehemiah, who take a stand and say no to evil. The book illustrates the reconstruction of the wall and the reordering of the city's strength. In our lives, each of us may have the temple where we worship the Lord, seek Him, and pray to God, but have we been strengthened? Do we have the wall around our lives?

How do we build that wall? We explored several themes in this book, which speaks about rebuilding the wall and regaining strength. The second section of the book, focusing on the restoration of the people, addresses how to retain that strength once we have it. This involves returning to the Lord's word, confessing our sins, and making a covenant to follow Him. I believe this book is important. Amen?

Let's pray. Lord, we do thank You for the truth of Your word. We ask that You would help us to hide Your word deep in our hearts so that we might not sin against You. In a group, even a smaller one, there are people here tonight who worship You. Yet, Lord, they need the strength that only You can provide—the strength found as we come before the cross, the sheep gate.

I thank You that You have made that way open. As we have gone through this passage of Scripture in the book of Nehemiah tonight, I pray that You would help us see how we are to strengthen our lives. Whether it's through sharing our faith with others at the fish gate, standing in the truth at the old gate, denying ourselves in the valley gate, or emptying ourselves at the refuse gate, the dung gate, Lord, we ask You to fill us with Your Spirit at the fountain gate and to cleanse us by Your word.

The water gate symbolizes hope as we look to the east gate, anticipating the time when You will once again return. Lord, perhaps we need to be prepared for war at the horse gate, engaging in the spiritual warfare that lies ahead. We want to be like Joshua, who did not turn to the right or to the left, but walked in Your commands.

Ultimately, it all comes back to the foot of the cross at the sheep gate. We pray, Lord, that You would help us to enter into this strong city. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.