August 20th, 2023- Sunday School
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Prayer
Prayer
Give Scripture: Nehemiah 12:27-36;38;43
Give Scripture: Nehemiah 12:27-36;38;43
27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi;
29 Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem.
30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
31 Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:
32 And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah,
33 And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
34 Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,
35 And certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets; namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph:
36 And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them.
38 And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall;
43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
Read the Aim for Change: Precepts for Living
Read the Aim for Change: Precepts for Living
Give the Subject: Precepts for Living
Give the Subject: Precepts for Living
Have In-Focus Lesson Read: Precepts for Living
Have In-Focus Lesson Read: Precepts for Living
Background
Background
So we have been in the book of Nehemiah for about three weeks now but we have been in this particular section of the Bible for quite some time.
So what are some facts that someone can tell me about Nehemiah as a person or Nehemiah as a book of the Bible?
The Book of Nehemiah was written by Ezra and was originally written as a combined work with that of Ezra. The combined work was originally called Ezra but was later hyphenated to be Ezra-Nehemiah… only to be ultimately separated by us later to distinguish the two works from one another. Now, it is commonly accepted that the book of Nehemiah was written or at least edited and published by Ezra himself. This is testified to the origin of the books being linked together as one complete work, only later being divided.
The inclination is that Nehemiah was written by the namesake of the book whose writings were later adapted by Ezra to part of the finished work. Evidence of editing can be found in the retelling of stories such as the Festival of Booth Celebration (Ezra 3:1-7 and Nehemiah 8:9-17). We have covered this story twice in the last few weeks, once in Ezra and once in Nehemiah, showing where their are two distinct authors to these texts. In addition, their are certain points where it is clearly written in first person by Nehemiah but their are other areas where Nehemiah is referred to in the third person, most likely as a result of the edits of Ezra. Examples of this third person reference to Nehemiah include Nehemiah 10:1-26.
1 Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,
You also see the profession of Ezra at work as their are entire sections dedicated to listing names and specific sets of information that are within the access, authority, and expertise of a scribe to provide. This is heavily incorporated in Nehemiah 10-12 where series of houses and generations are documented, with Nehemiah’s generations being among them.
Overview
Overview
Where have we been. In the last two weeks we have covered the Festival of Booths (Nehemiah 8:13-18) which is a celebration dedicated to commemorate when God delivered them in the wilderness. The objective is to remove yourself from the trappings of life and to live a life that is submitted and altogether humble in celebration and reverence to God. The other event recorded from Nehemiah speaks to the choices that had been made by the people of God to act in disobedience to the law of God and the confession and repentance of those living at the time. From these two stories we see a renewed love for God and a adoration for his law, justice, and an overall appreciation for his forgiveness. All of this comes as a result of finding the law, having it read to them (as was done by Ezra (Ezra 8:1-8)), and choosing to respect and honor the law.
This leads us up to where we are in our journey as we finally approach the zenith of Nehemiah’s ministry and political achievement in that he has finally done what many had seen as impossible and (with the help of God and the work of the people) he has finished the wall that lines the outside of Jerusalem.
For us to understand this, we have to see the importance of a wall… something we have not had to contend with on a political level in reality.
In that time, geographical areas were not as populated as they are now. The Kingdom of Israel for example was not so much one giant unified kingdom or nation but was more accurately a collection of cities and villages that together were a kingdom or nation of people. This same thing is true of many great empires and kingdoms from that time in that they had one major city which was the focal point for the entire kingdom and then their were anchor villages sprawled around it where the common people lived and worked to help supply the city but they did so under the protection of the city. In this sense, Kingdoms were more like collections of villages with a large capital than a single unified entity. This fact in mind, one of the major things that separated a city from a common village was the existence of a wall which functioned as a bastion against attackers and could be used to protect the villagers in the event of an invasion. When a city was conquered one of the first things to go was the wall for obvious reasons (as it allowed troops in to complete the conquest) but more importantly it represented the failure of that Kingdom as its capital city did not have the walls necessary to protect the villages which had pledged themselves to it.
This fact in mind, Jerusalem’s lack of walls was not purely about protection but was symbolic of their restoration as a kingdom and a nation among the others in the area. Its a lot like having your own house… you can live behind someone else’s walls and be protected but their is something about having your OWN WALLS that protect you that gives you a sense of freedom and peace. So if you live behind your “own walls” or in your own house and to suddenly have it stripped away from you and you finally come into a place where you can have your own it creates a level of joy that can scarcely be contained.
Scripture Study
Scripture Study
27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
What are we seeing here?
The people of Jerusalem do not just begin the celebrations haphazardly but they go to all the areas to which the Levites had been assigned and they bring them into the celebration because the goal is to have all of the pomp and circumstance that they can have.
It is important to recognize that they are not calling for the priests necessarily but they are instead calling for the Levites.
It is important to recognize that the Priests are Levites themselves, but to call for the Levites speaks to a more broad calling as the Levites functioned in all areas of worship… they were the Praise and Worship teams of the time...
Some were singers, others played instruments, and even others still engaged in the activities and requirements of worship in terms of sacrifice and cleansing.
Why is this remarkable?
The action we see, in the construction of a wall, is not one that is religious in nature.
And yet, we see that they use it as an opportunity to celebrate God.
Their is not formal way to celebrate God for this feat in terms of sacrifices and offerings… they can of course make offerings at any time but no prescribed method of celebration exists but we see that in honor of the achievement they make up something and the first thing they want is music to be played.
How many of our seemingly natural based accomplished do we take credit for and hold back on God?
28 And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi;
29 Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem.
This speaks to the nature of this celebration that it was bigger than what could be achieved based on the population inside of Jerusalem.
They had to call upon Levites from towns and villages that surrounded Jerusalem.
The existence of Levites in these areas speaks to the confidence in their God and in their nation that the people had, as they were willing to live on the perimeter of a recently fallen and restored city.
30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
And yet, despite these event seeming natural and having more a political and militaristic element about them they had enough understanding of God to know that he was worthy of their praises because he made it possible in the first place.
31 Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:
Princes represented leaders throughout the community.
Typically, the princes were responsible for providing political leadership to the villages, towns, and other cities which were part of the Kingdom.
In some respects the princes represented the tribes of which they were apart, but at minimum they represented a middling level of leadership designed to help support the King (or in this case governor).
This is significant because what role do we see leaders taking in the celebration of the work and the glorification of the God who made it possible?
What does this tell us about our role and function as leaders?
You set the tone…
And it is important that we acknowledge our role as leaders in some way even if it not the most obvious.
If you are a husband, you lead a house.
A wife, leaders her children (biblically).
A manager leads his staff.
An educated person leads in their area of expertise.
An aunt often leads her nieces and an uncle his nephews.
Somewhere in your life… people look to you for guidance, assurance, and leadership even if you do not realize it.
These facts in mind, as a leader you have a burden to lead the charge not just in getting the work done but even if celebrating the work and glorifying God for the work.
32 And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah,
33 And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
34 Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,
35 And certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets; namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph:
The leadership of the tribes takes the first steps in praise and the priesthood comes behind them in the playing of music not to signify, honor, or glorify the princes… but to uplift the name of Jesus.
36 And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them.
David was gifted in the harp, and they honor David and his relationship with God in the playing of his instruments and likely in the singing of the Psalms written by David in dedication to God.
37 And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.
38 And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall;
How grateful are you for the basic and simple things of Life?
When is the last time you thanked God for something as simple and yet profound as a roof over your head and four walls to protect you and your family?
43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
The entire city is overcome with joy because of what God has done.
This is why I do not understand people who say that God is quiet… he is very clearly engaging with a loud and boisterous people who want to glorify him for his goodness and mercy.
Provide Key Takeaways
Provide Key Takeaways
Three key takeaways from our lesson
Everything we do or achieve, we owe to God.
Their is nothing wrong with celebrating what you have achieved, so long as credit is duly given.
Do you thank God for the simple things?
Allow for Final Questions?
Allow for Final Questions?
Write some of the questions down if possible.
Roll Call & Prayer Requests
Roll Call & Prayer Requests
Prayer: Do yourself unless otherwise led
Prayer: Do yourself unless otherwise led