APPLICATION: Read & watch/listen to Nehemiah 7

Nehemiah 7
 Now what?

1. Organization Needed vs 1-42. Recognition Confirmed vs. 5-653. Participation Given vs 66-73The Shrewd Manager 

Luke 16 tells the story of a supervisor who was found guilty of mismanagement. His boss gave him notice that the following day he would have to find a new job. Dismayed by the realization that he would have to join the ranks of the unemployed, he devised a plan. He began calling up those people who were indebted to his employer. Without the knowledge of his boss, he started bargaining and reducing the debts owed by other businessmen. If someone owed his employer eight hundred gallons of oil, he told him to reduce the bill to four hundred. As manager, he still had the authority to deal and oversee resources.

Eventually, his boss found out what he was doing. Though he never expressed approval of his method, the employer did commend the manager for having foresight. He praised him for being shrewd. By reducing the bills of various people, he had gained friends who would welcome him into their homes and offer him meals once he had lost his job. The wealthy owner approved of the supervisor’s wisdom that compelled him to look ahead and prepare for the future.
Jesus wanted his disciples to adopt that same shrewdness; he wanted his followers to use their earthly wealth and possessions for eternal purposes. He desired that they adopt the wisdom that looks to the future.

After the completion of the wall, Nehemiah used good judgment by implementing a plan that would repopulate Jerusalem with ethnic Jews. The reason for his approach was not racial but spiritual. By moving to Jerusalem those Jews who could trace their ancestry to the time of Zerubbabel, who in turn could trace their ancestry to the preexilic kingdom, he put in place a process that would secure for the future a people dedicated to God and Judah.

Nehemiah was shrewd enough to look beyond the wall, and even beyond his own leadership, to a time when the people must work and worship on their own. He prepared for that time by investing in people. Every leader needs to exercise the same shrewdness that Nehemiah had. By applying insight and sound judgment, those who lead should prepare others to assume leadership.[1]
 

Digging Deeper:
Lists (7:8–73)

In this chapter of Nehemiah, we come across another list of people. A previous list detailed some of the workers on the wall and the various sections they repaired. This list in Chapter 7 actually comes from a genealogical list of the names of those who returned in the first caravan out of Persia. Other lists will follow in chapters 10; 11, and 12 of the Book of Nehemiah.

Many people start reading the Bible, but then stop when they come upon similar records of names or family descendants. They seem boring. We often want to skip ahead to the action. But these lists are important. They demonstrate that God not only watches history but that he guards his people and protects his community. Through these ancient people, the Savior eventually came into the world. Through these individuals, we have received the Word of God, the examples of grace, and perpetuation of hope.

The lists give evidence of God’s care and intimate concern for every individual. He knows what we do, even “in secret,” out of the spotlight of world attention, away from the crowd. He notices the work, the attitude, and the time we give in submission to his goals and love. The implication is that we can be faithful with the responsibilities we have, no matter what they are.

Thank God for the lists![2]
 

Questions to Consider:
1.   Why do you think finances and economics often create divisiveness, even in the church? What can we do to prevent this?
2.   It was said of Hananiah that he “feared God more than most men.” What does it mean to “fear God”? What are some practical implications for those who desire this characteristic?
3.   What helped Nehemiah not succumb to the intimidation of Tobiah or the politics of the Jerusalem nobles? What can you learn from this for your own life and for your church?[3]
 
Prayer Time:



[1] Knute Larson and Kathy Dahlen, Holman Old Testament Commentary - Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, ed. Max Anders (Broadman & Holman Publishers., 2005), 210.
[2] Knute Larson and Kathy Dahlen, Holman Old Testament Commentary - Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, ed. Max Anders (Broadman & Holman Publishers., 2005), 211.
[3] Knute Larson and Kathy Dahlen, Holman Old Testament Commentary - Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, ed. Max Anders (Broadman & Holman Publishers., 2005), 212.