Nehemiah Rebuilds.
BROTHERS & SISTERS !!! THERE WERE FOUR RETURNS FROM BABYLON TO JERUSALEM.
THE THIRD RETURN (Nehemiah 1-13) The third return, that of Nehemiah, came in the 20th year of Artaxerxes I, 444 BC (Neh. 1:1). Nehemiah’s purpose lay in the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. - No indication is given regarding the number of Jews who went along in this return, but there were enough to warrant the Persian king providing “army officers and cavalry” (Neh. 2:9) to act as guards. - Nehemiah held a responsible position at the Persian court, as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. He had direct access to the king to speak intimately regarding a return to Jerusalem. - Nehemiah was granted unusual privilege, like Sheshbazzar and Ezra before him, in connection with the return. - In 444 BC the king noticed sadness on Nehemiah’s face one day and asked the reason. Nehemiah told him of Jerusalem’s plight, asked if he might journey there to help, and even requested letters to officials in Abarnahara to grant him safe passage and material aid for rebuilding. The Persian monarch responded with an affirmative answer and granted him all for which he asked, thus cheering and encouraging his faithful servant’s heart. He further assigned army officers and cavalry to convey Nehemiah safely over the many miles of travel.
Nehemiah Builds the Wall (Nehemiah 2:11-6:19) On arrival, Nehemiah set himself quickly to the task of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. - Workers were quickly recruited, both from Jerusalem and outlying cities; and all were assigned particular sections of the wall on which to labor. - The work moved forward with opposition from the outside. - The king had given Nehemiah full authority for the task, but enemies still did their best to hinder the work. Heading the opposition was the governor of Samaria, Sanballat the Horonite of Bethhoron; (Neh. 2:10).
o At first these adversaries were content merely to mock (Neh. 2:19-20; 4:1-3). Then plans were laid to attack Jerusalem (Neh. 4:7-8). News of this terrorized the Jews, but Nehemiah responded by dividing the builders into two groups, one to continue building and the other to bear arms. In this way the work progressed, though more slowly.
o A schedule was kept from dawn until dark to achieve as much speed as possible. During the night, a heavy guard was posted to protect what had been accomplished. All this was effective and resulted in the main attack being called off though smaller raids were conducted on outlying districts.
o The work of rebuilding was completed in only 52 days, amazing in view of the opposition, and much to the consternation and displeasure of the enemies. An Elephantine Papyrus (fig. 16), which dates back to about 407 BC, actually makes mention of Sanballat. The letter was found in the ancient city of Elephantine and was written by the priests who lived there requesting authorization to rebuild a Jewish temple in the city. In the letter, they describe how the Jewish temple in the city had been destroyed by the priests of a Pagan Egyptian god. They make the whole incident known to Delaiah and Shelemaiah, the sons of Sanballat governor of Samaria.
