Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

Nehemiah 12:31-13:31 “Songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” (Nehemiah 12:46) – Where does the song of praise come from? It comes from You: “God had given them great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43). You look  at the way we are living – and what do You see? “Why is the House of God forsaken?” (Nehemiah 13:11). Does it have to be this way? Is there not a better way? Can we stop forgetting You – and start remembering You? Can we rise above our failure – and be lifted up into Your victory? Help us to keep on believing that You have not abandoned us. You have not turned Your back on us. You still love us. Let Your love come to us – and fill us with Your joy.

The book of Nehemiah begins with distressing news - “The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). Nehemiah takes this situation to the Lord in prayer (Nehemiah 1:4-11). With the help of God, the work of rebuilding begins. This work was pleasing to the Lord (Nehemiah 2:18). This work would not be easy. There was opposition: They “mocked and ridiculed us, ‘What is this you are doing?’” (Nehemiah 2;19). The opponents would not succeed. Why? - “The God of heaven” would give “success” to His people (Nehemiah 2:20). God’s work is done by many people, working together. Nehemiah 3 gives us a list of all the people who played their part in the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. Nehemiah and his fellow-builders face determined opposition from their enemies: “What they are building - if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” (Nehemiah 4:3). When the enemies “heard that the repairs to Jerusale...

The book of Nehemiah begins with distressing news - “The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). Nehemiah takes this situation to the Lord in prayer (Nehemiah 1:4-11). With the help of God, the work of rebuilding begins. This work was pleasing to the Lord (Nehemiah 2:18). This work would not be easy. There was opposition: They “mocked and ridiculed us, ‘What is this you are doing?’” (Nehemiah 2;19). The opponents would not succeed. Why? - “The God of heaven” would give “success” to His people (Nehemiah 2:20). God’s work is done by many people, working together. Nehemiah 3 gives us a list of all the people who played their part in the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. Nehemiah and his fellow-builders face determined opposition from their enemies: “What they are building - if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” (Nehemiah 4:3). When the enemies “heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls ha...

Nehemiah 1:1-2:18 When we have big problems, help us to remember that You are bigger than all of our problems. Where do our problems come from? they come from our sin. That’s our biggest problem. That’s no problem to You, Lord – “Christ has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus. What a great Saviour He is! Nehemiah 2:19-4:9 What are we to do when we encounter opposition? We’re seeking to serve You – and the enemies of Christ and His Gospel are making life difficult for us. Help us, Lord, to look to You. May we know, in our hearts and lives, the truth of Your Word: “The people who know their God will be strong” (Daniel 11:32). Nehemiah 4:10-5:13 “Our God will fight for us” (Nehemiah 4:20). What tremendous encouragement there is in these wonderful words! We are not alone in our battle against Satan. You are with us – and You are stronger than Satan! When Satan attacks us, teach us, Lord, to take our stand on Your W...

Nehemiah 1:1-2:18 When we have big problems, help us to remember that You are bigger than all of our problems. Where do our problems come from? They come from our sin. That’s our biggest problem. That’s no problem to You, Lord – “Christ has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus. What a great Saviour He is!

Nehemiah 11:1-12:30 Our lives lay in ruins until You put us together again. You call us to build our lives on Christ (Matthew 7:24-27). Help us, Lord, to come to You, again and again – confessing our sin, receiving Your forgiveness, building on Christ, our Saviour. When we feel ourselves being pulled away from You, help us to choose Christ. May we choose to be holy. May we choose the way of blessing, the way that brings glory to You.

Nehemiah 10:1-39 Lord, You’re calling us to commit our lives to You. At the heart of this commitment, there must be worship: “We will not neglect the House of our God” (Nehemiah 10:39). Help us to worship You. This is our reason for coming to Your House. We come to worship You. May our worship be more than words. Help us, Lord, to give ourselves to You.

Nehemiah 9:6-38 What a great God You are – “You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Nehemiah 9:17). Your love is greater than our sin. We look at ourselves – and everything seems to be hopeless. We look to You - and everything changes. We see Your grace and Your mercy. Your love fills us with hope.When everything seems to be getting too much for us, we remember that Jesus died for us – and we rejoice: “His blood cleanses us from all sin” (1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 John 1:7).

Nehemiah 8:1-9:5 What happens when Your people “gather together” (Nehemiah 8:1)? We hear Your Word (Nehemiah 8:2-3,8). We thank You for Your Son (Nehemiah 8:13-18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). We dedicate our lives to You (Nehemiah 9:2). We worship You (Nehemiah 9:5). Lord, help us to enter in, with all our hearts, to all that You promise to bring into our lives when we respond to Your gracious call: “Let us worship God.”

Nehemiah 7:1-73 What kind of people are we? Are we “faithful and God-fearing” people? Lord, it is so easy to lose our way. We forget You – and we wander away from You. Draw us back to Yourself. Speak to us in love. Assure us that You haven’t given up on us. Let us know that “There’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin.” Bring us to “Calvary’s Cross” – and let us begin again with You.

Nehemiah 5:14:6:19 What are we to do when we face those who are “scheming to harm” Your servants and Your work? We are to devote ourselves to Your work – and we are to pray for your strength (Nehemiah 6:2; Nehemiah 5:16; Nehemiah 6:9). When Satan, our great enemy, tries to pick an argument with us, help us to give him this answer: “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you” (Nehemiah 6:3). Help us, Lord, to keep on working for You – and to pray that “many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:3).

Nehemiah 4:10-5:13 “Our God will fight for us” (Nehemiah 4:20). What tremendous encouragement there is in these wonderful words! We are not alone in our battle against Satan. You are with us – and You are stronger than Satan! When Satan attacks us, teach us, Lord, to take our stand on Your Word: “The Lord your God will go with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory” (Deuteronomy 20:4).

Nehemiah 2:19-4:9 What are we to do when we encounter opposition? We’re seeking to serve You – and the enemies of Christ and His Gospel are making life difficult for us. Help us, Lord, to look to You. May we know, in our hearts and lives, the truth of Your Word: “The people who know their God will be strong” (Daniel 11:32).

Each day, we stand between the past and the future. In our prayers, we call upon God to "remember" (Nehemiah 13:14,22,29,31). There are two different kinds of 'remembering' here. God remembers his faithful servants. He also remembers those who have been unfaithful. As we face the future, we must be guided by both the Gospel invitation and the Gospel warning (Revelation 22:17-19). Salvation is offered to all. It is to be received by faith in Christ. There is also judgment for those who refuse to "come" to Him. Whatever our reaction to Him may be, God maintains His saving intention. He waits patiently for us to heed the call to "praise the Lord" (Psalm 150:1,6). "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord" (Psalm 150:6).

“At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem”, the keynote of the service was joyful thanksgiving. They gathered together “to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving” (Nehemiah 12:27). “On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43). They sang “songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” (Nehemiah 12:46). This joyful thanksgiving is only a foretaste of the greater joy and thanksgiving of heaven: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). In the city of God, “the glory of God” will be shining with everlasting brightness (Revelation 21:23). The Church of God will be “prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). The beautiful picture of the godly wife in Proverbs 31 gives us an outline of what God is seeking to do in His people. It is summarized in Proverbs 31:30: “A woman...

The Lord’s people, in Nehemiah’s time, made this commitment: “We will not neglect the House of our God” (Nehemiah 10:39). Such a commitment to God and His work is not easy to maintain. There is an enemy who opposes God and His work – “the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan” (Revelation 20:2). Whatever chaos Satan may cause in the Lord’s work here on earth, we are left in no doubt about his eternal destiny: “The devil … will be tormented day and night for ever” (Revelation 20:10). Satan’s eternal destiny is very different from that of God’s people: “The Lord takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with salvation” (Psalm 149:4) – “This is the glory of all His saints” (Psalm 149:9).

In the history of Israel, we read a great deal about the history of human sin. First and foremost, however, it is the story of God's grace and mercy. Israel's sin is there in the forefront: "We are slaves today ... Because of our sins ... We are in great distress" (Nehemiah 9:36-37). Even more significant is the God of grace and mercy: "But in Your great mercy You did not put an end to them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and a merciful God" (Nehemiah 9:31). The God of grace and mercy is "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Revelation 19:16). He reigns in grace and mercy. This is not to suggest that there is no judgment. There will be judgment. People from all walks of life come under the divine judgment (Revelation 19:18). There is, however, a way of escaping judgment. It is the way of coming to the Saviour: "Come, gather together for the great supper of God" (Revelation 19:17). When the redeemed of the...

We are called to "worship God" (Revelation 19:10). Our worship is to be with reverence and joy. "Be still: "This is the call for reverence (Nehemiah 8:11). Alongside this reverence, there is to be joy: "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). We are to "rejoice" in the Lord (Revelation 18:20). This joy is not a superficial emotion. It is accompanied by the reverence which comes from taking seriously the "woe" that is pronounced on the "great city" that lives for this world only (Revelation 18:19). Joyful worship arises from "a great multitude in heaven" (Revelation 19:1). Four times, in Revelation 19, we read, "Hallelujah!" (Revelation 19:1,3,4,6). "Hallelujah" means 'Praise the Lord.' Our praise is to be characterized by joy: "Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!" (Revelation 19:7). This joy is grounded in an awe-inspiring face...

Again, the combination of prayer and work is seen in Nehemiah - "I devoted myself to the work on this wall" (Nehemiah 5:16), "I prayed, 'Now, strengthen my hands.'" (Nehemiah 6:9). "So the wall was completed ... this work had been done with the help of our God" (Nehemiah 6:15-16). We may contrast the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and the fall of Babylon - "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!" (Revelation 18:2). The contrast between Jerusalem and Babylon - the 'tale of two cities' - is the contrast between God and the devil, between holiness and sin, godliness and ungodliness, righteousness and unrighteousness, good and evil. the triumph is the Lord's. The word of judgment concerning Babylon has been spoken (Revelation 18:10,16-17). Proverbs 31:10 tells us that "noble character ... is worth far more than rubies." Again, what a contrast there is between the rich blessing of noble char...

God's people faced opposition. What did they do? They kept on working - "The people worked with all their heart" (Nehemiah 4:6). They kept on praying - "We prayed to our God" (Nehemiah 4:9). They were watchful -  "Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other,  and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked" (Nehemiah 4:17-18). God calls us to work for Him. As we work, we must also pray. In all of our praying and working, we must never forget that we are involved in spiritual warfare. In this battle with our spiritual enemies, we can say with confidence, "Our God will fight for us!" (Nehemiah 4:20). Revelation 17:14 speaks of conflict and victory: "They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome  them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings - and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers." It is important th...