SERIES O --- RETURN TO THE LAND --- LESSON 06

NEHEMIAH

NEHEMIAH IS SENT TO JERUSALEM

From Nehemiah 1-2

This is the story of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, written by himself. I was living in the palace at Shushan in December, the month Chislev, during the twentieth year of the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia. An Israelite named Hanani came with some other men from Judah, so I asked them about the Israelites who had returned there from the captivity and about Jerusalem. [The Israelites have much trouble and shame,] the men answered. [The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are still destroyed by the great fire.] When I heard this, I sat down and cried, weeping and mourning for days, fasting, and praying to Adonai. [O Adonai YHVH of heaven, Great and Awesome YHVH, Who keeps His Promises with loving kindness for those who love Him and obey Him,] I prayed. [Listen carefully to the prayer of Your servant which I am praying night and day for Your people Israel. I confess the sins of my people which we have sinned against You, for we have sinned greatly by not living according to Your Commandments and Laws which You gave to Your servant Moses. Remember what You Commanded Your servant Moses, when You told Your people through him: ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to Me and obey My Commandments, though you have been scattered to the farthest places on earth, I will gather you again to the place which I have chosen for My Name to dwell.’ Now these are Your servants, whom You saved by Your great Power. O Adonai, I beg You to listen to the prayer of Your servant and all Your other servants who delight to honour Your Name. Help me to be successful today as I go before the king with my request, and grant him compassion on me.] At this time, I was cupbearer for the king. Four months passed until it was the month Nisan, which is April. As I served the king’s wine one day, he noticed how sad I looked. This was unusual, for I was never sad in his presence before. [Why are you so sad?] he asked. [You do not seem to be sick, so you must have a sad heart.] I was, of course, very frightened at this, but I told the king what was on my heart. [Why should I not be sad?] I said. [The city where my fathers lived is in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.] [What would you like?] the king asked me. Then I prayed for Adonai to give me the right words. [If it pleases my king, and if I have found favour in your eyes, send me to Judah,] I asked. [Let me rebuild there the city where my fathers are buried.][How long will you be gone, and when will you return?] the king asked. The queen was sitting with him at the time. I told him how long I thought I would be gone, and he gave me permission to go. Then I asked the king for another favour. [If it please you, give me letters for the governors of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River,] I asked. [Request that they let me pass through their lands to Judah. Also please give me a letter for Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, asking for timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress by the temple, for the wall of the city, and for a house where I will stay.] Since the hand of Adonai was upon me, the king granted all I requested. He even sent army officers and cavalry to go with me as I presented letters to the governors beyond the Euphrates River, But Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite were very unhappy when they learned that someone had come from the king to help the people of Israel. Three days after I arrived in Jerusalem, I went out at night with only a few men with me. {As yet I had told no one why I was in Jerusalem.} The only animal we had was the one I rode; the other men walked. We began our tour of the city at the Valley Gate, heading toward the Dragon’s Well and then to the Dung Gate, inspecting the broken walls and the charred gates. We went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was so much rubble that the animal on which I rode could not get over it. From there we went up through the valley, continuing to inspect the walls. At last, we turned around, went back through the Valley Gate, and came again to the place where we had started. The officials of Jerusalem did not know that I had gone out to inspect the walls, for as yet I had not told the Israelites why I was there, not even the priests, the nobles, the officials, or even the people who would do the work. But the time came to tell them of my mission. [You are aware of the trouble we have, how Jerusalem is in ruins and its gates are destroyed by fire,] I said to them. [So let us rebuild the wall and no longer be in disgrace.] I told them also how the hand of YHVH had been upon me and how the king had shown me favour with all his gifts. The men were encouraged. [Let’s get to work and build the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be in disgrace,] they said. And so, they began the work at once. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they made fun of us. [What are you doing?] they said mockingly. [Why are you rebelling against the king in this way?] [Our YHVH of heaven will help us,] I answered. [We, who are His servants, will rebuild the wall, but you will have no part, right, or memorial in Jerusalem.]

COMMENTARY

THE NATIONS OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE: PART 2

The administration of the Persian Empire was an extremely complicated task. As the largest empire the world had ever known, it was called upon to govern and unify more than one hundred territories filled with people of different religions, economies, cultures and languages. Part of the Persian solution lay in adopting for their own use the most profitable, practical or beautiful techniques in art, building, writing and economics from each country they conquered. At the same time, they permitted the defeated peoples to keep as much of their own cultural identity as possible under Persian rule. Unlike the Assyrians or the Romans, the Persians treated defeated countries with tolerance. Persian armies destroyed enemy towns only when necessary. Foreigners were welcomed into royal service. Some privileged minorities were granted their own land. Priests of the conquered country’s religion often served as local rulers. Because they were in contact with so many religions, the Persians came to believe that their major god, Ahuramazda, also ruled over the foreigners’ gods. As a result, the Persians allowed their subjects to continue worshiping the gods of their own religions. Their acceptance was so great that Persian emperors often asked for prayer to foreign gods -- as Cyrus the Great did with Ezra. One interesting economic problem was solved in an equally interesting and typically Persian way. The Greeks, Lydians and Indians used and accepted coins as currency. The Egyptians, Babylonians, Syrians and Phoenicians, also Persian subjects, used an older method of payment -- carefully weighed bars of gold or silver. And the people of the eastern provinces used an even more primitive method of exchange -- they bartered in trade, exchanging one kind of goods for the equivalent of another kind. Since people from all these areas were employed by the king, the only possible solution -- short of force -- was to pay all these people in a way each would accept. So Greek, Lydian or Indian government officials and troops were paid with money, and the others received food, gifts or land. The Persians gained a great deal from some of the conquered countries. Median ceremonies and dress determined court etiquette. The Phoenician alphabet, changing as it moved, spread across the Empire. Aramaic became the common language. On the opposite extreme were the people of the deserts and mountains, among them the Scythians. The Persians were never able to subdue these people and their neighbours at the frontiers of the Empire.