I am going to keep this super short because tomorrow is one of my favorite chapters….and I will not be able to contain myself. Nehemiah records 3 separate plots against him
Chapter 6:
- The plot to distract him (verse 1-4)-if he went with them to Ono, he would have been gone several day (and I assume they would have attacked Jerusalem.
- The plot to discredit him (5-9)-it was an open letter to the Jews to cause strife and division
- The plot to deceive him (10-14)-Nehemiah knew the Word of God and knew a foreigner could not take refuge in the temple
6:15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.
Chapter 7-Notice Nehemiah tells them to open the gates late. During the “light”. It is important that we protect God’s work by not letting the enemy in.
1 Peter: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
The record of people is not who was at the temple that day BUT who came back years ago through the exile. Think of it this way: have you ever gone to an event where you had to look for your name on a list to see where to go? Your heart would skip a beat if suddenly your name was left off the list. It was very important that as Jewish people continued to return to Jerusalem that they had a family name on the list.
Reading the Bible - 2021 