What is the book of Nehemiah all about? 

“This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

The book of Nehemiah follows hot on the heels of the book of Ezra. The temple building project is underway, but that is only part of the story. The walls of the city of Jerusalem are still in ruins, which creates a security threat both for the work and more generally for God’s people. There are enemies of God everywhere, looking to frustrate and stop God’s people. Will God continue to work for His people’s good?
 

What do we need to know to read Nehemiah?

The big storyline

Like Ezra, Nehemiah could be described as a “book of two halves”. The first half (chapters 1-7) records how Nehemiah is released from his work serving the emperor of Persia in order to lead the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. This happens in spite of concerted persecution from God’s enemies in the area. The second half (chapters 8-13) describes how Nehemiah teams up with Ezra and other faithful Bible teachers to address problems among the people to do with not living faithfully under God’s law. As we saw in Ezra’s story, the problem is deeper than simply one of infrastructure: it’s a problem of the heart!

Physical rebuilding (chapters 1-7)
Nehemiah is introduced in chapter 1 as a trusted official in the court of Artaxerxes, emperor of Persia. The emperor has already issued a decree allowing exiled Jews to return home to Jerusalem and begin the rebuilding of the temple, but a report comes to Nehemiah that the walls are in ruins: the once-beautiful city of God is in tatters and the people are vulnerable to attack from nearby enemies. This moves Nehemiah’s heart such that he takes a huge risk in requesting the emperor to let him go and join the work. Nehemiah’s prayerfulness in chapter 1 is remarkable, and sets up the rest of the story: this is a record of God working through His faithful people to fulfil His promises.
The story of the rebuilding of the walls is interspersed with various records of threats from enemies in the region. It’s interesting that the way God answers prayer is not by quickly removing the opposition, but by sustaining the people and their work in the face of the opposition.

Spiritual rebuilding (chapters 8-13)

The main event of the second half of Nehemiah’s story is a huge covenant renewal ceremony. It happens in the form of something like an enormous family Bible conference, with pastors and teachers (especially Ezra) reading and teaching God’s Word and applying it to people’s lives. It is a powerful time, with many people moved to tears as they realise the depth of their sin and their need for God’s grace. And Nehemiah’s response to their godly sorrow has become a favourite memory verse for many: “This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
Although the people unanimously agree to renew their covenant commitment to God, it is not a simple “fix”. The book ends with Nehemiah having to confront several lingering spiritual issues – including having to evict one of the key antagonists from earlier in the story after a local leader gave him “office space” in the newly-finished temple! Once again, it’s clear that what was needed wasn’t just institutional change, but heart change.

What do we learn?

Like the book of Ezra, the book of Nehemiah is remarkable for the prayerfulness of its key character. In chapters 1 and 2 Nehemiah offers a wonderful variety of prayer. Longer prayer in chapter 1 (and the suggestion that he prayed persistently for something like four months before the events of chapter 2) and then an “arrow prayer” in chapter 2. Then later on in chapter 9 Nehemiah offers a great example of leading corporate prayer – particularly corporate confession. Nehemiah is often held up as a great example of godly visionary leadership. But the most powerful example Nehemiah gives is his prayers. As Puritan minister John Owen famously said, "A minister may fill his pews, his communion roll, the mouths of the public, but what that minister is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more."