Tuesday

9-July

Nehemiah 4-5; Psalm 84; 2 Corinthians 11

Nehemiah 4:  Who were Sanballat and Tobiah? Why were they angry?  (You might refer to Nehemiah 2:9-10 and 19-20).  What did Nehemiah do to ensure the work would continue.

Nehemiah 5: What was Nehemiah’s position?  Why was Nehemiah angry?

2 Corinthians 11: Who is Paul referring to when he speaks of the super-apostles? How does Paul illustrate his apostleship?

Journal Prompt:  Consider Nehemiah’s prayer in verses 4-5.  How might you pray in a similar way for difficult situations or issues you are facing?

Answers:

Nehemiah 4: Sanballat the Horonite was a governor of the province and Tobiah the Ammonite was an official. I think they probably lived in Samaria – they mentioned they were “in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria.”  They initially made fun of Nehemiah and his efforts to rebuild the wall, but then they became angry and threatened Nehemiah.   

Nehemiah’s first line of attack was prayer!  He reassured the Jews that God would protect them.  He also enlisted more support and had a system of 24 hour guards and arming of the workers while they were rebuilding the wall.

Nehemiah 5:  Nehemiah was the governor – appointed by Arxtaxerxes I.  Nehemiah must have been so frustrated and angry.  He’s facing a huge task, and then he has opposition from enemies, and now he is finding out about problems among the Jews.  Some of the wealthy Jews are taking advantage of their fellow Jews by lending money and exacting interest which is forcing the Jews to enslave their children.