Nehemiah Chapter 3: Willing Servants

Nehemiah Chapter 3

(Quick note: this is SO much easier to understand in NASB)

The Verses

1)Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

2)And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.

3)But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

4)And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baanah.

5)And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.

6)Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

7)And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river.

8)Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.

9)And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem.

10)And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.

11)Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahath–moab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces.

12)And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.

13)The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate.

14)But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth–haccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

15)But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Col–hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David.

16)After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Beth–zur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty.

17)After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part.

18)After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah.

19)And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against the going up to the armoury at the turning of the wall.

20)After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

21)After him repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.

22)And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain.

23)After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house.

24)After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner.

25)Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king's high house, that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.

26)Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.

27)After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel.

28)From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house.

29)After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate.

30)After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber.

31)After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner.

32)And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.

Some Context

These verses are pretty straight forward. Mainly just a lot of names and measurements for the restoration of the walls and gates.

A Summary

(Keep in mind everything that has happened in Chapters 1 & 2. If you need to, re-read the posts.)

Nehemiah has prayed and prayed and prayed some more, and has gone before his king (oh whom he had a good relationship with, resulting in the king's willingness to grant Nehemiah's requests). Nehemiah has made the journey over to him homeland, and only when God told him did he reveal his purpose to those that were traveling with him of why he came. Now he and his companions begin to rebuild. They are rebuilding the walls and the gates of this once proud city. Everything was coming together. The burden that God had placed on Nehemiah's heart was finally becoming a reality.

Apply It

The amazing thing to me in this chapter is that all of these men began helping Nehemiah build. I mean people just started showing up and building! Nehemiah gave in to the calling that God had placed within him and things just start happening. It's almost as if God has things ready to fall into place for those that He burdens...... Oh wait..... Also, others are ready and willing to serve our Almighty and Powerful God! People of all types of occupations came to rebuild these city walls and gates. Fathers and Daughters, High Priests, Perfumers, and Goldsmiths, everyone came. It's very possible that God has something planned for you, and the moment that you give in someone will be there ready to work along side you, but if you are never willing, not only will God's desire not come true, but you could stunt someone else's calling and blessings. Will it always be easy peasy? NO! Remember that the governors of the surrounding cities aren't please with what Nehemiah is doing. Sometimes it's going to be difficult, and sometime's you'll have problems. But just remember: it isn't about YOU. It's about God. He wants us to lean on Him every step of the way. 

Nehemiah Chapter 1: Doing Something

Nehemiah Chapter 1

The Verses

1)The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

2)That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3)And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

4)And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

5)And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

6)Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

7)We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

8)Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

9)But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

10)Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

11)O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

Some Context

This is the first Chapter of the Book of Nehemiah. Now Nehemiah is leading the Third and LAST return to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile. He is so burdened with concern over both Jerusalem and its inhabitants that He makes a bold move: rebuilding the wall. But more on that later. Nehemiah is a contemporary of Ezra, meaning that he was a prophet and was around the same time as Ezra, and he was also the cup-bearer to the king in the Persian Palace. 

A Summary

In this first chapter, Nehemiah realizes that the wall of Jerusalem has been destroyed (verses 1-3) and then the rest of the chapter is spent in prayer. (In the first verse, the month of Chisleu was their ninth month, and it contained part of November and December. When Nehemiah says brethren in verse 2, he means another Jew, like him. Province in verse 3 means in Judea. In verse 11, when it says fear thy name, it's meant in the sense of worshiping thy name.) Nehemiah is in the Shushan Palace, when Hanani and some other men come by. Nehemiah asks about the state of the Jews and Jerusalem itself, when he's told just how bad things really are: The people are in bad shape, and the walls and gates are dwindled down to rubble and cinders. This greatly upsets Nehemiah (he sat down and wept when he heard the news). He actually mourned for Days, and was fasting and constantly praying to God. He begins praying and asking forgiveness on behalf of his people. But before Nehemiah begins praying and asking for help, he FIRST gives God glory and praise (verse 5). THEN He tells God that they (his people) have brought corruption to God's name, not living by the rules that God had set forth for them to live by. He even brings up scripture from the book of Leviticus when God said to Moses that if God's people become unfaithful, there will be consequences, but if they return to me, then I will forgive you and bring you out of your turmoil (Leviticus 26:33). He finishes by asking God to hear him, Nehemiah, His Servant, who worships His Name, and to help give him Victory. Then in verse 11 it leads into Nehemiah interceding between his people and the King or Persia.

Apply It

Nehemiah heard about the needs of his people, and was tore up inside about it. It bothered him. So he began to pray about it, and he eventually did something about it! Isn't that crazy?! He actually DID something. He didn't just brush the need off, or stand around saying, "Man, somebody should REALLY do something about that!" and then continue on with his day. No! He DID something. All through out our lives, we hear about horrible things happening all the time. Turn on the news, look at your phone, get on Yahoo! to check your e-mail, etc., and you'll hear about some natural disaster or a school shooting or this or that. It's become a routine part of our lives. Think back: when was the last time that you as a Christian were affected by something like this. When was the last time you turned on the news, heard about a mass shooting, and wept because of it. When was the last time you cared for more than the few minutes you kept the TV on? I'm not trying to make anyone upset by reading this, I'm trying to make a point. Nehemiah heard about a city and a people in a horrible conditions, and he WEPT. It truly upset him. So he began to pray like nobody's business. He FIRST gave God the glory that God so rightly deserves, and then he prayed about the people and the city. He asked God for forgiveness, and he asked God for victory so that something could be done to change it. Live by Nehemiah's Example! Be concerned about the well-being (and more importantly the Spiritual-being) of those that are in need! Don't let this world harden your heart. Then Pray about the need (but first Give God the Glory He Deserves [The Bad that this world causes does NOT outweigh the Good the God blesses us with]). Finally, ask God to help you DO SOMETHING about the Need! That's why God gave us the Book of Nehemiah, to show us how we should be living.

This is what the posts will be like. Please pray that God will use this to change our lives and draw us closer to Him! Please share this with someone that needs it, and comment below your thoughts. Next week: Nehemiah 2. Until then, God Bless!

An Introduction To The Blog

I've felt convicted to start this blog for a while now. A friend of mine asked if I wanted to help him with a Biblical-Based Blog. Basically the idea was to start a blog and help people read scripture that wouldn't normally get to. It was a blog for people who were too busy to necessarily sit everyday and have a daily allotted time to study. It was for people who worked 40+ hours a day and were.... just busy. Our idea was that people would get on Facebook more than they would sit and read. I made a post on Facebook about it, so here: 

"Hello There Everyone,

As some of you know, I've taken up blogging this past month and I always share a link to my posts on my Facebook page (by the way, if you haven't checked it out the link is 2ndtierguardian.blogspot.com I'm up to over 500 views now!). Well, recently I've been asked by Jared Conatser to join him and a few others to start a weekly blog dedicated to bringing a small portion of God's Word to everyday busy working Christians.

Now some of you may think that that's silly; why would you bother taking the time to blog to busy Christians?? If they don't read the Bible, what makes you think that they'll read your blog post?? But, come on. Let's get real for a second. 100% Honesty: Most Christians will set down on Facebook after a long, hard days work then they will read their Bible. It's true. This is designed for people who are so busy that they probably only read their Bible when the Pastor tells them what the text is for his sermon.

We aren't going to be harassing people on whether or not they could or could not have taken time out of their day to read their Bibles (of course they should be, we all know that). We just want to do what we can to make it slightly easier. We're going to be bringing a series of verses and then essentially providing a sermon-... I mean commentary (it is being run by preachers, but we'll try not to be "to preachy", we all have our own pastors for that). It isn't meant to take place of your own personal study, or take time from your churches and families. It's meant to be an encouragement.

We know how busy people can be and how neglectful people can be towards God and His Words for us. We know that there are umpteen million things on your to-do lists. We understand. That's why we're doing this: for you. The people who work 80+ hours a week. The people who have to raise their families on their own. The ones whose days are so run together from stress that they forget weekends, birthdays, holidays, special occasions, etc.. This is meant for you.

Again, you may think it's silly, and that a person that busy doesn't have time for Facebook and to read a blog post. You may be right. But, we feel like we're still meant to try. After all, Christ died for people who "may not have time" to accept Him, but it still didn't stop Him. he laid down His life for all of us.

So please, join us. Share with your friends what we're trying to do. Right now the website is being built on Wordpress, but it'll be up very soon and we'll take turns posting every Monday so that you the readers can come home, unwind, get spiritually fed, and hopefully start your week right. Pray for us, and please help share this with someone that needs it. God Bless."

Unfortunately, Jared is just too busy to get the blog started the way he had it planned. So. I've decided to start my own blog. 

The Blog is called "It's Dangerous To Go Alone! Take This." because I wanted this blog to be connected to my blog Geekery (2ndTierGuardian.blogspot.com). I want it to be evident in both blogs that I am a major Geek, but even more than that a souled-out Christian. In this life, IT IS dangerous to go alone. If we take what God's Word teaches us, we'll be safer. And we won't be alone, either, because God's Word is active and breathing. He's speaking to us THROUGH His word!

The blog is going to be structured like so: 

1) Verses (KJV- Usually a chapter per post)

2) Context (A bit of information to keep things in perspective [time period, info about the author, etc.])

3) Summary of the Verses

4) Application to our own lives. 

Sometime either this week or Next Monday I'll start with Nehemiah. My pastor delivered a Major Heavy Hitter of a Sermon this past Sunday and really inspired me to start this blog with this book. Nehemiah is all about Reconstruction and Restoration, which are two things I personally need this New Year. 

So join me in this New Quest! I'll have a new post uploaded Every Monday. Please, if you can, take a few minutes Every Monday and dive into God's Word with me. I promise that you'll grow from it and that it won't kill you. I'll be sure to let my personality come out during the Summary and Application.  And if you don't mind, please share this with someone else that you know needs to do better at reading and studying. This is a 100% Safe and Non-Judging Zone (the Bible may feel like it's judging you sometimes, but it's just pointing things out to you that God knows you need help on). 

Comments are always Welcome!!!

Look for the First Official Post for Nehemiah Chapter 1 soon! Be sure and also check out what's new at Geekery! God Bless!!!!