Reading for July 7th

 Read Nehemiah 2.9-16. In 2.9-16: Nehemiah's coming to Jerusalem. As with the account of Ezra, there are few details of the lengthy journey from Persia to Jerusalem. The focus is on significant opposition to Nehemiah's task and his consequent need to be cautious in his planning. In verse 9: Gave them the king's letters: Since Nehemiah came directly from the imperial court, it would be convenient for him to carry vital dispatches as well as official declarations of his office. The king had sent officers of the army and cavalry with me highlights both the military nature of Nehemiah's commission and the importance the imperial court placed on his success. In verse 10: Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official: Sanballat is a Babylonian name and is known from Aramaic documents of the Persian period to have been the name of the governor of the Persian district of Samaria. Horonite probably means his family was from beth-horon, two israelite cities located some 12 miles north of Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 8.5) and controlling a strategic pass. Tobiah is a Hebrew name, his exact role is less certain. The Ammonite official is perhaps a reference to his region of Administrative responsibility. Some have linked him to a powerful family of the same name of a later period that had significant interests in the Transjordan. Others have suggested he is the same as the Tabeel of Ezra, apparently a junior official  in the regional administration. As a Ammonite (if this is a reference to family of origin), Tobiah would be excluded from the "assembly" of Israel (Deut 23.3-6). It displeased them: Perhaps because the new preference the imperial court is showing to Jerusalem, which will bring new revenues and prestige to the city. In verse 11: The account of the rest of the three days parallels Ezra's account (Ezra 8.32). In verse 13: I went out by night by the Valley Gate: Nehemiah's inspection of the city's fortifications that could be communicated to the king and cause delay in the project. His inspection tour seems to follow the area known as the "City of David," a spur of land that lies along the western edge of the Kidron valley south of the temple area. Nehemiah moves from the northwest corner of this region along the city's walls, which stretched southeastward along the city wall, which stretched southeastward until they turned and went back north above the Kidron. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 6th

 Read Nehemiah 2.1-8. In 2.1-8: Artaxerxes' grant to Nehemiah. Just as Ezra's mission was the result of a gracious act by Artaxerxes, so Nehemiah's appointment as governor is by the favor of the same king. This account shows the conditions of Nehemiah's appointment and underscores God's working through both Artaxerxes and Nehemiah. In verse 1" In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year: Nisan is early spring roughly March-April in our calendar, some three months after receiving the report of 1.3. The twentieth year of Artaxerxes would place this in 445BCE, about 13 years after Ezra's mission. In verse 3: The city, the place of my ancestor's graves, lies waste is a somewhat exaggerated description, though it is probable that sections of the city remain uninhabitable from the ruins of the Babylonian conquest. In verse 6: How long will you be gone, and when will you return? Artaxerxes' reply assumes the granting of Nehemiah's request to rebuild Jerusalem, and the value of Nehemiah to the court. In verse 8: To give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple fortress, and for the wall of the city: Nehemiah's task in rebuilding the city will include refortification, something the Persian empire would not allow without royal dispensation. Since the beams over the gate ways need to be of larger and stronger wood than is readily available in the region, Nehemiah asks for timber from the imperially controlled sources, probably the cedar forests of Lebanon. The granting of timber supplies was also the empowering of Nehemiah to refortify the city, an act undertaken because of troubled conditions in the Egyptian holdings of the empire. the gracious hand of my God was upon me parallels Ezra's claim of divine support (Ezra 7.6, 28). Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 5th

 NEHEMIAH'S MISSION

1.1-7.5: Nehemiah opens with a first person narrative relating his concerns over Jerusalem and the Persian monarch's appointment of himself as governor over the province. The bulk of the account covers the various incidents of Nehemiah's rule as governor as he attempted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. The narrative must constantly balance Nehemiah's leadership of the community and the active opposition of leaders in the surrounding areas. These are several points of connection with the first person narratives of the book of Ezra.

Read Nehemiah 1.1-11. In 1.1-11: Nehemiah's concern over Jerusalem.  The opening explains Nehemiah's appointment as governor and his relentless pursuit of the rebuilding of the city walls. The section ends with a lengthy prayer that gives voice to the author's concept of the proper approach to God. In verse 1: The words of Nehemiah: The Hebrew term for words can also be rendered "matter." The opening does not necessarily support the existence of a "Nehemiah memoir." In the twentieth year : Apparently the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes (see 2.1). Susa was a season a palace for the Persian monarchs, though Artaxerxes seemed to have favored it and spent protracted periods there. In verse 2: One of my brothers may indicate a family member (see 7.2) or may simply mean a colleague. The Jews that survived: it is unclear what specific group or groups Nehemiah is asking about, but the main point is his concern with the entire community's welfare as well as the city's. In verse 3: The wall of Jerusalem is broken down: this should have been known, following on the destruction of the city by the Babylonians in 587 BCE. Some believe the report must relate to a more recent event, and suggest that the events of Ezra 4.23 may provide the background, though nothing in that account would suggest a destruction of the work that had been accomplished. Possibly the report is taken as a sign of the royal disapproval of Ezra 4.23. The wall of Jerusalem is still broken down,  and thus Nehemiah must try a different means to aid Jerusalem. Given the use of the terms such as great trouble and shame, another possibility is that the wall and gates are metaphors for the separation that Ezra was trying to achieve. In verse 4: I sat down and wept, and mourned for days: this is a sign of grief,and also a sign of the literary character of the account, since it is hard to conceive of a figure as forceful as Nehemiah acting so victimized for several months. In verse 5: God of heaven was a characteristic title for God in the Persian period (see Ezra 7.12, 23). In verse 10: They are your servants and your people: After confessing his own guilt, Nehemiah calls on God to remember his people since Nehemiah's prayer on their behalf. In verse 11: Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man: Nehemiah apparently has formed a plan to address them is fortunes of Jerusalem, but the reader does not yet know what it is. Man is clearly a reference to Artaxerxes. In the Persian court, cupbearer as a formal office, with responsibility for ensuring the safety of the kings\'s wine supply as well as acting as a royal adviser. Comments or questions..

Reading for July 4th

 Read Acts 28.16-31. In 28.16-31: Paul's arrival in Rome. In verse 16: Chained (v. 20) to a soldier, Paul lives in Rome under house arrest for two years (v. 30). In verse 17: Paul takes the imitative to consult with local leaders of the Jews (vv. 17-22), identifying with them as brothers (2.37; 15.13; 22.2; 23.6; 28.21) of our people and our ancestors (22.3; 24.14; 26.6). In verse 18: On the Roman desire to release Paul, see comment on 26.31. In verse 19: The objections of the Jews have been recounted in detail (20.27-29; 22.21-22; 23.1-10; 24.2-9; 25.2, 7, 15, 18-19, 24; 26.2-3). Paul's appeal to the emperor (25.11-12) is as a defendant, not bringing a charge or case against Israel. In verse 20: Paul is not only defending him self but the hope of Israel for God's promised restoration (see. 1.6; 3.21), in augurated through the resurrection of the messiah, Jesus (24.14-15; 26.6-7, 16-18, 21-23). In verse 21: Letters often accompanied visits as official means of communication (9.2; 15.22-23). In verse22: On the Way as a Jewish sect or "party" see 5.17; 15.5; 24.5, 14; 26.5. In verse 23: Paul's explanation of Israel's scriptures (17.1-4; 18.4, 28; 19.8-9), that is Moses and the prophets (see Lk 24.27, 44; Acts 3.22-24; 26.22) In verse 24: The divided response is characteristic of both gentile and Jewish audiences (2.12-13; 14.1-2, 4; 17.32-34; 18. 21.20, 25), but to say refused to believe is to make a prophetic judgment (compare 18.27). In verse 25: Isa 6.9-10 is cited as reproof of the Holy Spirit, where God promises as cited against Israel or a portion of Israel to call for repentance, never as a final verdict (see also Jesus in Lk 8.10; Acts 13.40-41; Rom 11.8). In verse 28: For a third time (13.46-47; 18.6) the Gentile mission is a warning to those in Israel who do not believe (Rom 9-11). Paul's mission does not display undivided listening among gentiles either. In verse 29: This verse is not recorded in the best manuscripts, but echoes the divided response of verse 24. In verse 30: To live at his own expense may suggest enough freedom (v. 16) to practice his trade (18.3). All who came to him probably means both Jews and gentiles (vv. 24, 28). In verse 31: The boldness of apostolic witness (2.29; 4.13, 29, 31; 9.27-28; 13.46; 14.3; 18.26; 19.8) continues without hinderance in accord with God's promise (23.11), even in the midst of opposition and chains. Comments or Blessings..

Reading for July 3rd

 Read Acts 28.7- 15. In verses 8-9: Paul's healing of the fever of Publius' father followed by the healing of the people recalls Jesus' healing of Peter's mother (Lk 4.38_40). In verses 12-15: The Last phases of the voyage lead from Syracuse on Sicily, to Rhegium on the toe of Italy, to dock at Puteoli, the great port of Naples. Then the group travels overland through places called the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns with Christian believers coming south from Rome to meet us.  Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 2nd

 Read Acts 27.27-28.6. In 27.33: Paul intervenes for the fourth time (vv.10, 21, 31). In verse 34: On the assurance that they will not lose a hair from your heads, see Lk 21.18; 12.7. In verses 43-44: So Paul was saved, and so all were saved (27. 24). In 28.3: A viper (Lk 3.7) could refer to many varieties of snakes, which traditional reharded as representing spiritual forces. In verse 4: Justice is viewed by the locals as a personal power executing vengeance on one who almost escaped (Am 5.19). In verse 6: His power over snakes (Lk 10.18-19; My 16.18) makes them think he is a god (14.11-12). Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 1st.

 Read Acts 27.1-26. In 27.1-28.31: Paul's journey to Rome. In 27.2-28.15: This journey is filled with nautical details, but less theological content then the rest of the Acts narrative. In 27.9-11: The fast or "Day of Atonement," appears to be a calendar reference for the late season (contrast 20.16) In verse 17: The sea anchor provided dag but did not arrest the ship's movement. In verses 21-25: I have faith in God echoes 24.15. Paul testifies that the safety of the journey on God's promise to him (23.11) rather than the ineptitude of their sailing. In verse 26: Paul predicts the ship wreck on Malta (28.1),  Comments or Questions..