Nehemiah 1:4

Nehemiah 1:4 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, When Nehemiah heard the bad news about Jerusalem, his home town he was shocked. Did you notice what he did? First, he sat down and cried for a few days. The word used in our verse is mourned. Mourned means to weep like when someone has died. Mourning is deep, deep sorrow. Nehemiah didn’t just cry; he sobbed and wept over his home town’s sad situation. But Nehemiah didn’t just stay in the Mulley-grubs. He cried for a while, but then he fasted and prayed to the God of heaven! Fasting is not eating for a day so that you can devote yourself to special prayer for a special situation. This was serious to Nehemiah. He was seriously affected. And he knew where to go for help. He prayed to the God of heaven. When you have a serious problem, do you know where to go? Do you know how to pray? Be ready for that day. Be close to God now so that when a serious problem comes up, you will know what to do. Just like Nehemiah, you can pray to the God of heaven.

Nehemiah 1:1-3

Nehemiah 1:1-3 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, 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. 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. Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer. That position was good and bad. Back in Bible times, kings were powerful men with many enemies. There were a lot of attempts on the king’s life, and poisoning the king’s food was one way his enemies tried to get rid of him. The king had a trusted servant to taste his food just before he ate it himelf. Of course the cupbearer made sure the food was safe before he sampled it! And you can see why the king had no more trusted servant than his cupbearer. Nehemiah had a brother from Jerusalem to visit him at his job. He asked him how things were. He was shocked at the answer. Nehemiah’s home town was still in ruins from 70 years earlier when King Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed it. Zerubbabel and Ezra had rebuilt the beautiful Temple, but without a wall, Jerusalem was still defenseless. Wow! That was a shock to Nehemiah! He just asked his brother how things were, and what terrible news was delivered! But God had a plan. And God had Nehemiah in an important place to do an important job for Him and for His people. And God has an important job for you to do too! Are you ready for what God has for you to do?

Ezra 10:1

Ezra 10:1 Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. The children of Israel had sinned before God and had taken pagan wives. They had disobeyed God and they knew it. When we sin, the first thing to do is to confess our sin. The next thing to do is to forsake our sin. The song goes, “The things I used to do, Don’t do them anymore, There’s been a great change Since I’ve been born again”. The people knew that they had sinned, and Ezra knew that they had sinned. In their confession to God, they told God that they were sorry that they had sinned. As soon as we know that we have sinned, we should ask God’s forgiveness. He will forgive if we ask Him. God loves us so much.

Ezra 7:6,7

Ezra 7:6,7 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. There were three waves of Jews who came back into the land. The first under Zerubbabel, the second under Ezra, and the third under Nehemiah. God used Zerubbabel to rebuild the Temple. God used Ezra the priest to purify the people and to re-establish the Temple offerings and celebrations. And God used Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Our verses tell us that Ezra had studied the books of the Law of God and he was ready. When the time came, Ezra knew his stuff and he could give the right answers concerning God’s laws. It is so important that we prepare. We must prepare for the future. We don’t know how God will use us, but this is for sure: we must be ready. Study and be ready for whatever God has for you to do.

Ezra 6:14-16

Ezra 6:14-16 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, Six years into the reign of King Darius, the Temple was finished! What a wonderful celebration they had! All of the work over such a long time finally paid off. God had answered their prayers.

Ezra 5:1,2

Ezra 5:1,2 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them. Zerubbabel and Jeshua, along with Haggai and Zechariah began to rebuild the Temple. Tatnai, the governor of the region, accused them before King Darius. But Zerubbabel asked King Darius to search and find the original command from King Cyrus to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. A search was made in Achmetha, and sure enough, Cyrus had authorized the Temple to be rebuilt! So Darius commanded that the work on the Temple should continue. And not only continue, but letters were sent to give the Jews wood and stone for the completion of the Temple. God not only gave them the go-ahead to resume work on the Temple, but God used the new king of Persia to send supplies! God knows what He is doing. His timing is perfect.