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O God, Strengthen My Hands

"Then I [Nehemiah] sent to [Sanballat] saying, 'No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.' For they all wanted to frighten us thinking,'Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.' But now, O God, strengthen my hands." - Nehemiah 6:8-9 As Nehemiah and the Jews continue to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 445 bc, they come under severe pressure from the leaders of the surrounding nations to stop. These leaders use every trick the...

The People Had a Mind to Work

"So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work." - Nehemiah 4:6With God's help, Nehemiah rallies the Jews living in the land of Israel in 445 bc to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, the same walls that had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 bc. The temple had been rebuilt in 516 bc, but Jerusalem was still wallless and open to attack. These walls would provide the Jewish people living in Jerusalem comfort, safety, and securit...

I Sat Down, Wept, and Mourned for Days

"And they said to me [Nehemiah], 'The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.' As soon as I heard these words I sat down, wept, and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven." - Nehemiah 1:3-4When Nehemiah learned of the very poor condition of the Jewish remnant in the land of Israel, of their trouble and shame, and of the broken down wal...

The Welfare of His People

"For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people." - Esther 10:3Through the brave, wise acts of Esther and Mordecai, the Jewish people living in the Persian empire were able to defend themselves against their enemies and survive. Mordecai, for his loyalty to the king of Persia and because of his wisdom, was elevated to second in comm...

Esther Stood in the Inner Court

"On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favour in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the sceptre." - Esther 5:1-2This was Esthe...

Such a Time as This

"Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, 'Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?'" - Esther 4:13-14Haman the Agagite has persuaded King Ahasuerus to order the killing of all Jews in the Persian empir...

Mordecai Took Esther as His Own Daughter

"[Mordecai] was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter." - Esther 2:7Mordecai and Esther were Jews living in Persia under King Ahasuerus around 483 bc. Esther's parents died, and Mordecai, Esther's cousin, raised her and looked after her as his own daughter. Esther ended up becoming the qu...

Setting Our Hearts to Study

"...[T]his Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Torah of Moses that Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given, and the king [Artaxerxes] granted him all that he asked, for the hand of Yahweh his God was on him. ...For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Torah of Yahweh, to do it, and to teach his st...

They Shall Mourn for Him

"On that day Yahweh will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of Yahweh, going before them. And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a Spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him,...

The Prophets of God Were Supporting Them

"Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them." - Ezra 5:1-2Work had begun on the second temple in Jerusalem. But then, due to outside pressure, it stopped. Years later, God sent two prophets,...

They Rebuilt the Altar of God

"Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Torah of Moses the man of God. They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to Yahweh, burnt offerings morning and evening." - Ezra 3:2-3 At Cyrus's command, many Jews returned from Babylonia to...

Yahweh Stirred Up the Spirit of Cyrus

H - "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 'Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be wit...

Those Who Sleep Shall Awake

H - “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and eve...

No Harm to the King

H - "Then Daniel said to the king [Darius], 'O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me because I was found blameless before him. And also before you, O king, I have done no harm.' Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God." - Daniel 6:21-23E - Darius threw Daniel into the lion's de...

Fall Down and Worship the Golden Image

H - "And the herald proclaimed aloud,'You are commanded, peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.'" - Daniel 3:4-6E - Nebuchadnezzar made a huge image of gold and set it up in the plain of Dura in Babylon. He gathered al...

Learning and Skill in All Literature and Wisdom

H - "As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams." - Daniel 1:17E - Nebuchadnezzar deported the king of Judah and many top men of Judah to Babylon. Among these men were four Jewish youths--Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. These four were trained at for three years at the university of Babylon for service to Nebuchadnezzar. They could have lost their identity, shed their belief in Yahweh, an...

The Nations Will Know

H - "Thus says Lord Yahweh: 'Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone and will gather them from all around and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgress...

It Came to the Point

H - "For because of the anger of Yahweh it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence." - 2 Kings 24:20E - Judah's rebellion against God had come to the point where he finally cast them out from his presence, exiling her to Babylon. He had given her chance after chance to turn back to him. He was so patient with her, like a husband patiently waiting for the return of his adulterous wife. But Judah kept following the ways of the nations. She turned her back o...

One Heart and One Way

H - "And [Israel] shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul." - Je...

Yahweh Persistently Sent the Prophets

H - "'For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of Yahweh has come to me [Jeremiah], and I have spoken persistently to you [Judah], but you have not listened. You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although Yahweh persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets saying, "Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that Yahweh has given to you and your fathers ...

Dress Yourself for Work

H - "'But you [Jeremiah], dress yourself for work. Arise and say to [Judah] everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares Yahweh, to deliver you.'" - Jeremiah ...

There Was No King Like Him

H - "Before [Josiah] there was no king like him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Torah of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him." - 2 Kings 23:25E - Hezekiah was a good king. Manasseh and Amon were horrible kings. Josiah was a great king. When Josiah first heard the words of the Book of the Torah, he tore his clothes (2 Kings 22:11). This showed his heart attitude toward God. He was 26 years old at the time (2 Kings 2...

The Customs of the Nations

H -  "And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced." - 2 Kings 17:7-8 E - God allowed Assyria to conquer and deport the northern tribes of Israel because they chose to walk in the custo...

He Bore the Sin of Many

H - "Therefore I [the Father] will divide him [Jesus] a portion with the many [believers], and he [Jesus] shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors [sinful humanity]. Yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors." - Isaiah 53:12E - God informs Israel, through Isaiah, that his Servant, the Messiah, will suffer and die for the sins of the people. Through this death, payment for sin will be ma...

He Shall Be Their Peace

H - "And he [Messiah] shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God. And they [the remnant of Israel] shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace." - Micah 5:4-5E - Severe discipline is coming upon Samaria and Jerusalem, Israel and Judah. But there will come a time when God raises up a king from the line of Judah and David. This king will be born in Bethlehem, the city of David. H...