Sermon Tone Analysis

Restoring the City of God

Intro: The Third Wave

Intro

Halfway through Ezra-Nehemiah.

Beginning of the Third Movement in our Rebirth narrative.

It’s the story of God restoring His chosen from exile to the land He promised them, in the city of His peace, for His glory, to be a blessing to all nations.

So before we dive into this , want to recap & 2.

The Rebuilding and Reestablishment of the TEMPLE

The PRESENCE of the God of heaven and earth amongst His people

The PRESENCE of the God of heaven and earth amongst His people

Led by Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the High Pries

Led by Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the High Priest

The Reestablishment of the LAW

The Reestablishment of the LAW

The setting apart of the PEOPLE for God

The setting apart of the PEOPLE for God

Ezra sent in the Seventh year of Artaxerxes with his blessing.

Ezra sent in the Seventh year of Artaxerxes with his blessing

Briefly, the 1st Movement in this narrative account tells of the rebuilding and re-establishment of the temple - the dwelling place of the God of the heavens in Jerusalem.

The 2nd movement was the re-establishment of God’s Law - the setting apart of his chosen people.

Holiness.

Purity.

Justice.

Mercy.

And now we come to our story today, the third movement, when Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls, seeking to re-establish the city of David in its glory.

The seat of the kingdom.

The Rebuilding and Reestablishment of the CITY

The Rebuilding and Reestablishment of the CITY

After the Law was reestablished we read briefly is about the rebuilding of the City Walls

After the Law was reestablished we read briefly is about the rebuilding of the City Walls

Governors of the province Beyond the River write to Artaxerxes saying this was once a great and powerful city and if it is rebuilt it will rebel against your empire

Governors of the province Beyond the River write to Artaxerxes saying this was once a great and powerful city and if it is rebuilt it will rebel against your empire

Artaxerxes stops the rebuilding by Force

Artaxerxes stops the rebuilding by Force

Nehemiah, a Jew serving as the cupbearer to the king, hears of the destruction of Jerusalem and the disgrace of the people.

Nehemiah, a Jew serving as the cupbearer to the king, hears of the destruction of Jerusalem and the disgrace of the people.

After mourning, fasting, and praying for four months, we see that Nehemiah has asked God for deliverance TODAY as he hopes to change the king’s mind

After mourning, fasting, and praying for four months, we see that Nehemiah has asked God for deliverance TODAY as he hopes to change the king’s mind

READ

2 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king.

Now I had not been sad in his presence.

2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick?

This is nothing but sadness of the heart.”

Then I was very much afraid.

3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever!

Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?”

So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.”

6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?”

So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.

7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.”

And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.