Background of the Book of Nehemiah

(Sorry this is a little late!)

Background of the Book of Nehemiah

1. Background of the book: In the Hebrew Bible, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah go together as one book. There is scholarly debate regarding the authorship, but I believe Ezra wrote the book that is called Ezra and the same with Nehemiah. Nehemiah and Ezra worked together. Ezra was the Bible teacher and Nehemiah more of the administrator and overall leader.
2. Historical Background: Nehemiah was in the king’s palace at Susa in the month of Chislev (which is roughly November or December on our calendar) when Hanani came with men from Judah, and Nehemiah asked him about Jerusalem and the remnant of people who had returned there. Hanani told him that the walls were “broken down and its gates are burned with fire.” This was both a dangerous and embarrassing situation. They were in this predicament because of their unfaithfulness to God so they were failing to be a light to the Gentiles and instead bringing reproach on the name of God. In regard to the historical background, the study notes in the Believer’s Study Bible say, “Just as the Israelites were taken into exile in three successive stages (605, 597, 586 B.C.), they returned in three stages. The first stage occurred under the leadership of Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel (538 B.C.). After a long delay, this return resulted in the rebuilding of the temple (520-516 B.C.), encouraged by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Ezra led the second return in the seventh year of Artaxerxes I (458 B.C.; cf. Ezra 7:1, 8). Nehemiah led the final return in the twentieth year of Artxerxes I.”
3. Background on Nehemiah: Nehemiah was the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes I. He was an ordinary person in the sense that he was not royalty or a religious leader. However, he must have been a man of great character who proved himself trustworthy to be placed in a position such as this, although I am sure it was providential as well. The cupbearer tasted the king’s wine to make sure it was not poisoned and assassinations were common in the Persian Empire. Therefore, he was risking his life, but apart from that, he would have enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle in the king’s palace. The cupbearers often became confidants and advisors to the kings because they were so trusted. God obviously used this when he gave Nehemiah the burden to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem, which was a 140 year old problem. Nehemiah sacrificially left the king’s court to undertake the solving of this problem, which God supernaturally accomplished through his leadership in 52 days. Nehemiah displayed incredible leadership skills in completing this project.
4. Theme: God is sovereignly working on behalf of His people, but He works through the faith, prayers, and obedience of His people. Nehemiah is a tremendous example of the interacting of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. There are also tremendous leadership principles exemplified through the story of Nehemiah (see #6).
5. Outline: This is certainly not an exhaustive outline, but I think there are two main parts to the book. Basically, the first six chapters are about the rebuilding of the wall, and the last seven chapters are about the repopulating of the city, the reforming of God’s people, and the spiritual renewing of those people.
6. Spiritual Leadership Principles In The Book Of Nehemiah:
A godly leader:
1. Is burdened for the good of the world and the good of God’s people (1:4).
2. Prays fervently (1:5-11).
3. Takes bold and obedient action (2:1-6).
4. Strategizes and raises the resources necessary to do the work (2:4-9).
5. Lives in trusting dependence upon the Lord (sprinkled throughout the book, we see Nehemiah asking God to remember him as he faces a situation and him referring to God’s hand being upon him).
6. Clearly communicates vision and calls others to action (2:17-18).
7. Builds a team with people accepting responsibility where they are gifted (ch. 3, this is also exemplified in the book by Nehemiah being the administrator and Ezra the teacher).
8. Perseveres through criticism and opposition to fulfill the mission (ch. 4, 6).
9. Deals with internal problems within the team (5:1-13).
10. Makes personal sacrifices (5:14-19).
11. Refuses to compromise his integrity and the Word of God (6:1-14).
12. Raises up other leaders (7:1-3).
13. Ministers the Word of God and leads people to worship and confess sin (8:8, 9:1-3).
14. Refuses to give up and sees the work through to the end (ch. 13).