Nehemiah - Chapters 9-13

The Amazing Bible. Book Club

The Israelites assemble again, and this time they repent of their sin, and the Levites remind them of their history with the Lord God of Creation, who called Abraham, led them to and from Egypt, gave them the Law of God through Moses, but then the focus shifted to the sinfulness of their ancestors, yet the Lord was faithful. They then acknowledge their disobedience which led them to a binding agreement that they will walk with the Lord. Parts of that agreement was they would not intermarry with people of other faiths, they would keep the Sabbath, and they would not neglect the house of their God. Now that the walls of Jerusalem were complete, the city was rather empty, so 1/10th of the people came to live in the city. There was a dedication of the wall of Jerusalem that was filled with music. There were two choirs led by Jezrahiah, and there was so much rejoicing that it could be heard far away. The last chapter of Nehemiah explained of a time he had gone back to King Artaxerxes, and while away from Jerusalem, issues arose. People had stopped bringing in their tithes and offerings, so the musicians and Levites left the temple and had to go home to their land in order to live. Nehemiah brought them back, and the people brought their gifts to the temple, and there were trusted men put in place to ensure that would not happen again. The priest Eliashib allowed a non-Jew, Tobiah, to take one of the store rooms in the temple. Nehemiah kicked him out. Also other Jews had intermarried with non-Jewish people, and their children did not even know the language of Judah, plus another priest, had married a daughter of Sanballat the Horonite, another of Israel's enemies, and he was removed from the priesthood. The people were not resting on the Sabbath, plus merchants would come from other areas to do business on the Sabbath, so Nehemiah had the gates closed on the Sabbath, and the Levites were told to purify themselves and keep the Sabbath. Throughout this section Nehemiah would send up short prayers asking the Lord to remember him for his faithful service unto the Lord.