Main Point: Take Action!

Nehemiah returns to Persia only to discover the people in Jerusalem have gone back to their old ways. They have allowed enemies in the Temple, neglected those serving in the Temple, compromised Sabbath rest, and allowed mixed-faith marriages. Nehemiah comes back to Jerusalem to handle the situation and get the people back on track.

Questions: 1. Read Nehemiah 13. What is going on in these verses? What questions do you have about this section of Scripture? What things grabbed your attention? 2. Read Nehemiah 13:1-3. These verses are a wrap up of the events in chapter 12. What are the people committed to doing? What do you remember about the story of Balaam? (Balaam = Numbers 22-24 / Commandment about Ammonites and Moabites = Deut. 23:3-6) 3. Read Nehemiah 13:4-9. What is going on in this section? Where was Nehemiah? What did he do when he came back to Jerusalem? 4. Tobiah was an enemy and an Ammonite. Why was it important to remove him from the Temple storage area? How does this connect to Nehemiah 13:1-3? 5. Read Nehemiah 13:10-14. What have result of the people failing to provide for the Levites and the musicians? What does Nehemiah do to correct the situation? 6. Read Nehemiah 13:15-22. How were the people failing to honor the Sabbath rest? What does Nehemiah do? What action does he take to get the merchants waiting by the gates to leave? 7. Read Nehemiah 13:23-31. What issue does Nehemiah address in this section? Were you shocked by his actions? How had this problem affected the priesthood? 8. What did you learn about God in these verses? What did you learn about yourself? What is God asking you to understand or to do as a result of what you have learned? 9. By God’s grace what is one thing you can do to apply what you have learned this week?