Should such a man as I flee?
The wall was finished and when finished was a symbol of God to Nehemias’ enemies that God was with Nehemias. Moral of the story up to this point being perseverance is the key to success. Living life from the inside-out, guided by God, moving in the right direction will undoubtedly have trials and tribulations, challenges as big as mountains, but perseverance will enable one to finish the race coming home to God, that which is called a lifetime, no matter how long, or how short.
Israel had returned home—all 42,360 of the remaining children of God. And in the silence of the multitude, Esdras reread the Book of the Law of Moses—The Ten Commandments, for in the Old Testament all they could perceive was the law for the love, compassion, and mercy of Jesus had yet to come.
What to do with the sinners who broke the law, who in truth was everybody in spirit, pride, and silly ego?
They extracted the inspiration of God through their forefathers and renewed the original covenant with God with gratitude that they have found their way back home to the Promised Land.
Most importantly, they vowed to never to betray or forsake their covenant with God.
Here, in the selected words of the Chapters 6 thru 10 of the Second Book of Esdras (Nehemias), and in the Bible itself, continue on or find your pathway to God:
…and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it…
Come and let us make a league together… But they thought to do me mischief…
I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down, lest it be neglected whilst I come and go down to you…
…that thou and the Jews think to rebel, and therefore thou buildest the wall, and hast a mind to set thyself king over them…
…for they will come to kill thee, and in the night they will come to slay thee…
Should such a man as I flee?
But the wall was finished… in two and fifty days…
And it came to pass when all our enemies heard of it, that all nations which were round about us, were afraid, and were cast down within themselves, for they perceived that this work was the work of God.
But God had put in my heart…
These are the children of the province, who came up from the captivity of them that had been carried away, whom Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned into Judea, every one into his own city.
All the multitude as it were one man, forty-two thousand three hundred sixty… and all Israel dwell in their cities.
And all the people were gathered together as one man… and they spoke to Esdras the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel…
This is a holy day to the Lord our God: do not mourn, nor weep: for all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law… and be not sad; for the joy of the Lord is our strength… Hold your peace, for the day is holy, and be not sorrowful… make great mirth: because they understood the words that he had taught them.
And all the assembly of them that were returned from the captivity made tabernacles, and dwelt in tabernacles… and there was exceeding great joy… and they kept the solemnity seven days…
And there stood up upon the step… and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God:
Arise, bless the Lord your God from eternity to eternity: and blessed be the high name of thy glory with all blessing and praise.
Thou thyself, O Lord alone, thou hast made heaven, and the heaven of heavens, and all the host thereof: the earth and all things that are in it…
Thou, O lord God, art he who chosest Abram… and gavest him the name of Abraham. And thou didst find his heart faithful before thee: and thou madest a covenant with him, to give him the land of… to give it to his seed: and thou hast fulfilled thy words, because thou art just.
Thou camest down also to mount Sinai, and didst speak with them from heaven, and thou gavest them right judgments, and the law of truth, ceremonies, and good precepts.
Thou madest known to them thy holy Sabbath, and didst prescribe to them commandments, and ceremonies, and the law, by the hand of Moses thy servant.
And thou gavest them bread from heaven in their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock in their thirst…
But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments… And they hardened their necks, and gave the head to return to their bondage, as it were by contention.
And thou gavest them kingdoms, and nations… And thou didst multiply their children as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them to the land… And they took strong cities and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods: cisterns made by others… and abounded with delight in thy great goodness.
But they provoked thee to wrath, and departed from thee, and threw thy law behind their backs: and they killed thy prophets, who admonished them earnestly to return to thee: and they were guilty of great blasphemies…
And thou heardest from heaven, and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies thou gavest them saviors, to save them from the hands of their enemies. But after they had rest, they returned to do evil in thy sight: and thou leftist them in the hand of their enemies, and they had dominion over them. Then they returned, and cried to thee: and thou heardest from heaven and deliveredst them many times in thy mercies. And thou didst admonish them to return to thy law. But they dealt proudly, and hearkened not to thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments…
And thou didst forbear with them for many years, and didst testify against them by thy spirit… Yet in thy very many mercies thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them: because thou art a merciful and gracious God.
Now therefore our God, great, strong, and terrible, who keepest covenant and mercy, turn not away from thy face all the labor which has come upon us…
Behold we ourselves this day are bondmen: and the land, which thou gavest our fathers, to eat bread thereof, and the good things thereof, and we ourselves are servants to it. And the fruits that thereof grow up for the kings, whom thou hast set over us for our sins, and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our beasts, according to their will, and we are in great tribulation.
And because of all this we ourselves make a covenant, and write it, and our princes, our Levites, and our priests sign it.
And the subscribers were Nehemias… And the rest of the people… all that had separated themselves from the people of the lands to the law of God… All that could understand promising for their brethren… they came to promise, and swear that they would walk in the law of God, which he gave in the hand of Moses the servant of God, that they would do and keep all the commandments of the Lord our God, and his judgments and his ceremonies… and we will not forsake the house of our God.
Day 163: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Should Such a Man as I Flee???
Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Second Book of Esdras (Nehemias), Chapters 6-10
Bible Notes:
The book is a history of the Jewish restoration under Nehemias, whose name is also given to the book. A servant of the Persian king, Nehemias became governor of Juda after the exile and took charge of the work of reconstruction. He not only helped rebuild Jerusalem but also fostered a spiritual revival.
2 Esdras (Nehemias) Chapter 6: Enemies seek to terrify Nehemias; Delaia attempts to delude Nehemias; The wall is finished; Some Jews correspond with Tobias.
…and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it…
Come and let us make a league together… But they thought to do me mischief…
I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down, lest it be neglected whilst I come and go down to you…
…that thou and the Jews think to rebel, and therefore thou buildest the wall, and hast a mind to set thyself king over them…
There is no such thing done as thou sayest: but thou feignest these things out of thy own heart. For all these men thought to frighten us, thinking that our hands would cease from the work, and that we would leave off. Wherefore I strengthened my hands the more.
…for they will come to kill thee, and in the night they will come to slay thee…
Should such a man as I flee?
And I understood that God had not sent him, but that he had spoken to me as if he had been prophesying… For he had taken money, that I being afraid should do this thing, and sin, and they might have some evil to upbraid me withal.
…and the rest of the prophet that would have put me in fear.
But the wall was finished… in two and fifty days…
And it came to pass when all our enemies heard of it, that all nations which were round about us, were afraid, and were cast down within themselves, for they perceived that this work was the work of God.
And Tobias sent letters to put me in fear.
2 Esdras (Nehemias) Chapter 7: Watchmen for the gates; People who came from Babylon with Zorobabel; Men of Israel; Priests; Levites; Nathinites; Servants of Solomon; Those of unknown ancestry; Summary; Offerings of the returning exiles.
Now after the wall was built… Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened till the sun be hot.
But God had put in my heart…
These are the children of the province, who came up from the captivity of them that had been carried away, whom Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned into Judea, every one into his own city.
The number of the men of the people of Israel… The children of… The men of… The priests… The Levites… The Nathinites… The children of the servants of Solomon… And these are they that came up… and could not show the house of their fathers, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel… These sought their writing in the record, and found it not…
All the multitude as it were one man, forty-two thousand three hundred sixty…
Hitherto is related what was written in the record. From this place forward goeth on the history of Nehemias.
And some of the heads of the families gave unto the work… And some of the heads of the families gave to the treasure of the work… And that which the rest of the people gave… and all Israel dwell in their cities.
2 Esdras (Nehemias) Chapter 8: Esdras reads the Law to the people; The people make merry; The Feast of Tabernacles.
And all the people were gathered together as one man… and they spoke to Esdras the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel…
And he read it plainly in the street… and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book…
And Esdras opened the book before all the people: and when he had opened it, all the people stood. And Esdras blessed the Lord the great God: and all the people answered, Amen, amen: lifting up their hands: and they bowed down, and adored God with their faces to the ground… made silence among the people to hear the law: and the people stood in their place. And they read in the book of the law of God distinctly and plainly to be understood: and they understood when it was read.
Esdras the priest and scribe
This is a holy day to the Lord our God: do not mourn, nor weep: for all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law… and be not sad; for the joy of the Lord is our strength… Hold your peace, for the day is holy, and be not sorrowful… make great mirth: because they understood the words that he had taught them.
…were gathered together in Esdras the scribe, that he should interpret to them the words of the law. And they found written in the law that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in tabernacles, on the feast…
Go forth to the mount, and fetch branches… to make tabernacles, as it is written…
And they made themselves tabernacles every man on the top of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street…
And all the assembly of them that were returned from the captivity made tabernacles, and dwelt in tabernacles… and there was exceeding great joy… and they kept the solemnity seven days…
2 Esdras (Nehemias) Chapter 9: Public fasting and repentance; The prayer of the Levites; Introduction; God’s choice of Abraham; God’s rescue of the Jews from Egypt; From Mount Sinai to the Promised Land; God’s help in conquering Chanaan; Ingratitude of the people; May God’s benefits continue; Renewal of the covenant.
…the children of Israel came together with fasting and with sackcloth, and earth upon them. And the seed of the children of Israel separated themselves from every stranger: and they stood, and confessed their sins, and the inequities of their fathers. And they rose up to stand: and they read in the book of the law of the Lord their God, four times in the day, and four times they confessed, and adored the Lord their God.
And there stood up upon the step… and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God:
Arise, bless the Lord your God from eternity to eternity: and blessed be the high name of thy glory with all blessing and praise.
Thou thyself, O Lord alone, thou hast made heaven, and the heaven of heavens, and all the host thereof: the earth and all things that are in it…
Thou, O lord God, art he who chosest Abram… and gavest him the name of Abraham. And thou didst find his heart faithful before thee: and thou madest a covenant with him, to give him the land of… to give it to his seed: and thou hast fulfilled thy words, because thou art just.
And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt: and thou didst hear their cry by the Red sea… And thou didst divide the sea before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land… And in a pillar of a cloud thou wast their leader by day, and in a pillar of fire by night…
Thou camest down also to mount Sinai, and didst speak with them from heaven, and thou gavest them right judgments, and the law of truth, ceremonies, and good precepts.
Thou madest known to them thy holy Sabbath, and didst prescribe to them commandments, and ceremonies, and the law, by the hand of Moses thy servant.
And thou gavest them bread from heaven in their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock in their thirst…
But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments… And they hardened their necks, and gave the head to return to their bondage, as it were by contention.
Contention—a struggling together in opposition; strife; a striving in rivalry; competition; contest; strife in debate; dispute; controversy.
But thou, a forgiving God, gracious, and merciful, longsuffering, and full of compassion, didst not forsake them… and had committed great blasphemies, yet thou, in ty many mercies, didst not leave them in the desert… And thou gavest them thy good Spirit to teach them… Forty years didst thou feed them in the dessert, and nothing was wanting to them…
And thou gavest them kingdoms, and nations… And thou didst multiply their children as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them to the land… And they took strong cities and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods: cisterns made by others… and abounded with delight in thy great goodness.
But they provoked thee to wrath, and departed from thee, and threw thy law behind their backs: and they killed thy prophets, who admonished them earnestly to return to thee: and they were guilty of great blasphemies…
And thou heardest from heaven, and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies thou gavest them saviors, to save them from the hands of their enemies. But after they had rest, they returned to do evil in thy sight: and thou leftist them in the hand of their enemies, and they had dominion over them. Then they returned, and cried to thee: and thou heardest from heaven and deliveredst them many times in thy mercies. And thou didst admonish them to return to thy law. But they dealt proudly, and hearkened not to thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments…
And thou didst forbear with them for many years, and didst testify against them by thy spirit… Yet in thy very many mercies thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them: because thou art a merciful and gracious God.
Now therefore our God, great, strong, and terrible, who keepest covenant and mercy, turn not away from thy face all the labor which has come upon us…
And thou are just in all things that have come upon us; because thou hast done truth, but we have done wickedly…
Behold we ourselves this day are bondmen: and the land, which thou gavest our fathers, to eat bread thereof, and the good things thereof, and we ourselves are servants to it. And the fruits that thereof grow up for the kings, whom thou hast set over us for our sins, and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our beasts, according to their will, and we are in great tribulation.
And because of all this we ourselves make a covenant, and write it, and our princes, our Levites, and our priests sign it.
2 Esdras (Nehemias) Chapter 10: Signers of the covenant; Conditions of the covenant; Offerings promised in the covenant.
And the subscribers were Nehemias… And the rest of the people… all that had separated themselves from the people of the lands to the law of God… All that could understand promising for their brethren… they came to promise, and swear that they would walk in the law of God, which he gave in the hand of Moses the servant of God, that they would do and keep all the commandments of the Lord our God, and his judgments and his ceremonies.
And we made ordinances for ourselves, to give the third part of a sicle every year for the work of the house of our God. For the loaves of proposition, and for the continual sacrifice, and for a continual holocaust on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, on the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offering: that atonement might be made for Israel, and for every use of the house of our God.
…as it is written in the law of Moses, and that we would bring the firstfruits of our land… the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree… firstborn of our sons… the firstlings of our oxen, and of our sheep, to be offered in the house of our God.
…the firstfruits… to the storehouse of our God, and the tithes of our ground to the Levites… and the Levites shall offer the tithe of their tithes in the house of our God, to the storeroom into the treasure house… and we will not forsake the house of our God.
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