The Historical Setting of Nehemiah

Last night, Garry started a new series on Nehemiah. His previous series looked at God’s Heroes, and examined the Beatitudes to look at the characteristics God views as heroic. This new series focuses on one of God’s heroes in the Old Testament, Nehemiah, who was responsible for overseeing the rebuilding of the walls in Jerusalem after the exile.

The historical context of the book is very important (see below; click on the image to enlarge it.) The events narrated in Nehemiah are closely connected with the events narrated in the books of Ezra and Esther.

NehemiahWhen Israel first entered the Promised Land, God warned them that obedience was a key requirement of their prosperity. Eventually, after years of repeated disobedience and idolatry, the Jews were deported from their land by invading forces and lived in exile for many years, a direct consequence of their sins. God, in His faithfulness, continued to work out His plans, however, using Persian kings (eg Cyrus, about whom Isaiah prophesied in Is 44:24-45:7 years before he came to power) to bring His people back to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was first destroyed and burned in 586 B.C. (2 Kings 24), a devastating blow to the Jews. After seventy years in exile (as prophesied by Jeremiah), Cyrus issued the edict to allow the Jews to return, and the first set of exiles to return were led by Zerubbabel (see Ezra 1-6). Ezra led the second set of exiles to return in 455 B. C. (see Ezra 7-10). Nehemiah is set after this time, as Nehemiah (still living in exile) hears about what is happening back in Jerusalem and decides that still more work is required!

The book shows us, therefore, the overarching fact that God is in control not only of our personal history but of world history. God’s history is linked to world history. He orchestrates history in ways that are often largely invisible to our eyes, but we must never be lulled into a sense that God is powerless. Ps 2 reminds us that no matter what world leaders may plan and devise, God is in ultimate control of the world and is working all His plans out with precise timing. The spread of the gospel was in no small part attributable to the historical context in which God worked: there was a common language (Greek), good road systems from the Romans and the ‘pax Romana’ meant that there was relative peace and Roman citizens could travel freely. God works in history!

The book also shows us the vital role that individuals make in God’s plans! He has prepared good works for each one of us to do (Eph 2:1-10) and although many of us feel that our lives are very ordinary and unspectacular, each individual role is vital to the success of God’s plans. We are all significant and need to understand that in God’s world, He is the One who does the spectacular and the impossible. All He requires from us is faithful obedience.

An Unlikely Heroine

Dave spoke this morning from the book of Ruth. Non-Christians may well view the Bible as irrelevant, boring, violent or full of ‘thou shalt nots‘, but tucked away in its pages, we find this unusual love story which points also to the generous and undeserved love of God. Ruth, the eponymous heroine of the book, is seen as a remarkable woman, loyal and steadfast and ultimately extremely important since she was the great-grandmother of David and therefore features in the genealogy of Jesus.

The book is set in the time of the judges, when Israel did as they saw fit in their own eyes and lacked spiritual leadership (Judges 21:25). Elimelech (whose name means ‘my God is king’) chose to leave Bethlehem (‘house of bread’) during a time of famine for Moab. He took his wife (Naomi, ‘pleasant one’) and two sons with him, but what started as an understandable desire for food during famine turned into a ten-year stay during which not only Elimelech, but his two sons, died.

Elimelech, presumably, was trying to provide for his own family, but in doing so, he forgot to depend on God his king, allowing his sons to marry women from Moab, which God had expressly forbidden. He sought bread, but found graves instead. When we step out of God’s will, we lose our joy and gain only bitterness and death (Naomi refused to be known by her name after this, wishing to be called ‘bitter’.) Yet 2 Chron 7:13-14 reminds us that when we face God’s restorative discipline, He has made a way through repentance for us to return to Him.

Ruth’s devotion to Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17) reminds us that God’s purposes are worked out through individuals who are prepared to stand for Him. She is a jewel of hope, refusing to abandon Naomi and modelling love and loyalty for us. Naomi returns to Bethlehem, hearing reports of better times there and understanding the need to repent. Five of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 are urged to repent by Jesus and this is always the way to revival.  God calls us to repent, to humble ourselves and pray and depend on Him for all we need. When we do this, we will find He is with us to bless and to make beauty out of ashes.

Big Church Night In

Last night’s Big Church Night In was at Huddersfield Christian Fellowship and featured Phil Wickham and Rend Collective (pretty much a dream combination for me…!)

Phil Wickham is an American worship leader whose songs have had a massive influence on our family, some of which we sing regularly in church (‘Beautiful’, ‘At Your Name’.)  Earlier this year, he underwent surgery on his vocal cords and had to be completely silent for over a month, communicating through a variety of apps on his mobile phone and sign language! For anyone, that must be difficult; for someone whose living is through singing and whose calling is to lead worship, that must have been extremely testing. It was good to hear conclusively the success of the surgery and to share in the evening. He wrote ‘Been so blessed and blown away by church here in the UK. Such massive hearts for worship. Huddersfield, it was a joy to sing with you all! Thank you so much!‘ and all who were there were so blessed by him too. His songs included (if you click on highlighted ones, you can listen to the songs):

  1. The Ascension
  2. Heaven fall down
  3. At Your Name
  4. When My Heart Is Torn Asunder
  5. chorus of ‘Amazing Grace’
  6. Heaven Song (my personal favourite… so grateful I got to hear this live!)
  7. Beautiful
  8. This Is Amazing Grace

Rend Collective are a Northern Irish worship band whose catchy melodies, Scripture-soaked lyrics and amazing range of instruments somehow capture the essence of joy. Any concert they do leaves you hoarse from singing, exhausted from the sheer pace of worship and extremely blessed: we had confetti cannons (twice!), bubbles and joy orbs to add to the experience! Their songs included:

  1. Joy
  2. Burn Like A Star
  3. You Are My Vision
  4. Build Your Kingdom Here
  5. My Lighthouse
  6. Finally Free
  7. Boldly I Approach (The Art of Celebration)
  8. More Than Conquerors
  9. Praise Like Fireworks

They ended with a harmonica rendition of Jingle Bells (their Christmas album ‘Campfire Christmas Volume 1’  was available to those attending on the night, and is officially released on 18th November) and with two final songs, Simplicity and the old classic ‘I Love You, Lord.’

It’s always good to worship with so many other Christians (meeting Chris Lee again, formerly from the Salvation Army in Goldthorpe and now working in Huddersfield itself and others we know from local churches) and to reflect on the ‘bigger picture’ of how God is working in other parts of the UK and the world. The evening also included an appeal on behalf of Compassion, a charity which works to support children in poor communities around the world. Worship is, as we were reminded, about much more than singing, and must include every aspect of our lives which should reflect our gratitude and thankfulness to God for all He has done for us.

The Goldthorpe Newspaper

Barnsley charity Action Space Mobile (which deals with creative arts in the community) is looking for volunteers to create a Goldthorpe village online newspaper. The charity has secured funding from Awards for All to hold a series of workshops to develop people’s skills in journalism, social media, digital photography, creative writing, factual writing and research. There are 24 free places for the registered unemployed (aged 19 and over) starting in January 2015 and the project will be launched on Monday 15th December this year.

This is a great opportunity to ‘work with a professional team of storytellers in using photography, film and creative writing to turn local events into world class stories’ and would be a useful addition to anyone’s CV.

The charity also needs a local resident to recruit these volunteers and there is some funding available to pay this person a small amount to help recruit others and attend the workshops in a supportive capacity. If you’re interested or know anyone who is outgoing, a good communicator and keen to be involved in local village life, please contact Kate Roberts at Goldthorpe’s Community Shop on Barnsley Road or ring Action Space Mobile on 01226 391112.

Goldthorpe Newspaper Flyer - Digital JPEG

Pudsey

Pudsey Bear, champion of Children in Need, made an appearance via cake at the Parent & Toddler group at church this morning!

Pudsey cakeOur thanks to Bev for her baking and to all who support this group. The Parent & Toddler Christmas party will be on Friday 12th December from 9.30 until 11.00 a.m. and we are sure that will be an exciting end-of-term activity for all!