Nehemiah

For such a short book, it sure took me a long time to finish Nehemiah.

It has been a busy month, so I will give myself some grace.  My father-in-law moved to Colorado after a lifetime of living in the Midwest.  We helped him find an apartment, get settled in and tried to make him feel happy that he made this move.  It has been hard on him, I am sure.  He lost his wife of sixty years, said goodbye to friends and family, and moved across the country during a global pandemic.  But, sometimes, a fresh start is just what is needed.

Nehemiah, like Ezra, is a book of fresh starts.

The book of Nehemiah parallels Ezra, but Nehemiah is told by Nehemiah himself.  (I am not sure who wrote the book of Ezra.)  He often speaks in first person.  He details out his former life (a cupbearer to the king who hears about the walls of Jerusalem being destroyed, prays to God for help rebuilding the wall, and is eventually sent by the king to Jerusalem to do just that.)  Nehemiah goes from cupbearer of the king to governor of Judah in one swift move.  He frequently asks God to remember him with favor - look at all the good I have done.

Nehemiah finds Jewish descendants from all over to come help build the wall.

They arrive in Jerusalem and begin to rebuild the walls and the gates.  Nehemiah is governor who, in his own words, treats the Jews fairly by not taxing them.  He does encounter opposition to the wall, but is able to get past that, assuming the opponents were just afraid of God and all the help he is giving the Israelites.

With the walls and gates repaired, Nehemiah sets to fill the city with houses and people.

He makes a list of all the exiles who return to the city.  Then he has Ezra read the law to the people of Israel.  And the Israelites confess their sins by reviewing the history of their people, from Egypt to today.  They confess the failings and betrayals of their people, along with praise for God's frequent forgiveness.  They ask God to set them free once again and promise to obey his word.

Of  course, as soon as Nehemiah goes back to Babylon, someone messes up.

When he hears what is going on, Nehemiah asks for permission to return to Jerusalem.  Upon his arrival, Nehemiah chastises the priest in charge of the Temple, as the priest let a friend live in a part of the sacred house of God.  The priest wasn't giving the Levites what they were allotted so they, along with the musicians, all left.  People were working on the Sabbath.  Men are marrying foreign women.  What a mess!

So, Nehemiah has to set it all straight, again.

He concludes his writing by reminding the reader (and God) of all the bad everyone else did, how he set them straight and saved the day, asking God to remember him with favor.