bChurchSchoolLessonb - Saint Matthew A.M.E. Church

THE IMPROVED ADULT TEACHER QUARTERLY

Lesson 11 May 11,2008

REBUILDING THE WALL

LESSON SCRIPTURE: NEHEMIAH 1:1-2:20

PRINT: NEHEMIAH 2:1-8, 11, 17-18

Key Verse: I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, "Let us start building!" So they committed themselves to the common good. Nehemiah 2:18.

Nehemiah 2:1-8 (NRSV)

1 In the month of Ni'san, in the twentieth year of King Ar-ta-xerx'es, when wine was served him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. Now, I had never been sad in his presence before.

2 So the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This can only be sadness of the heart." Then I was very much afraid.

3 I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my ancestors' graves, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"

4 Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5 Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors' graves, so that I may rebuild it."

6 The king said to me (the queen also was sitting beside him), "How long will you be gone, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a date.

7 Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may grant me passage until I arrive in Judah;

8 and a letter to A'saph, the keeper of the king's forest, directing him to give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple fortress, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy." And the king granted me what I asked, for the gracious hand of my God was upon me.

11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days.

17-18

17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace."

18 I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, "Let us start building!" So they committed themselves to the common good.

Nehemiah 2:1 -8 (KJV)

1 And it came to pass in the month Ni'san, in the twentieth year of Ar-ta-xer'xes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.

2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid.

3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Ju'dah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.

6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Ju'dah;

8 And a letter unto A'saph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

17-18

17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS
May 5-May 11

Monday - Psalm 137:1-7 (A Lament for Jerusalem)

Tuesday - Nehemiah 1:1-4 (Weeping and Fasting)

Wednesday - Nehemiah 1:5-11 (Nehemiah's Confession)

Thursday - Nehemiah 2:1-10 (Permission to Return)

Friday - Nehemiah 2:11-16 (A Secret Inspection)

Saturday - Nehemiah 2:17-20 (Determination to Rebuild)

Sunday - Psalm 138:1-5 (Giving Thanks to God)

The Bible Story

Nehemiah was the cupbearer for King Artaxerxes when word came to him about the people who had returned to Jerusalem and the shape the city was in. It hurt Nehemiah to his soul and he prayed to the Lord for the strength and guidance to know he could rebuild Jerusalem and to be of help to those who had returned from being held captive.

The sadness in his heart shown on his face one day as he was serving the king and the king asked him what was wrong. Nehemiah prayed a quick small prayer and then told the king the problems that existed in the city of Jerusalem. He told King Artaxerxes about the walls being torn down and how the gates to the city were broken and burned. The king asked Nehemiah what he could do to help the situation. Nehemiah asked for permission to leave and go home and rebuild the city. He also asked for letters that would allow him safe travel and would allow him to get the lumber from the king's forest to do the job and to complete the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

The king agreed to the request of Nehemiah, who held a position of trust in Artaxerxes' administration. It was Nehemiah who sampled all food and drink served to the king. The king had learned to rely on Nehemiah's judgment and probably admired the character of an aide, who although a captive in Babylonia, did not let his status interfere with performing his job with a cheerful, cooperative spirit.

Nehemiah left and went home to Jerusalem to begin the process of restoring the walls that protected the city. A quick survey of the walls filled his heart with such sorrow that Nehemiah fell to the ground weeping, emotionally overwhelmed by what he saw. God's temple and Jerusalem, the key worship center for God's people, lay vulnerable to outside attacks.

With renewed fervor, Nehemiah met with the officers and leaders of city and told them of his plan to begin rebuilding the city walls. Nehemiah explained how the Lord answered his prayer and gave him the vision to rebuild the walls. He also explained how the king gave him the permission and the materials to get the job done. God was gracious to him. King Artaxerxes was stirred to provide all of the materials and safe passage to Jerusalem. Nehemiah had come home to complete the vision the Lord had placed in his heart and mind. The people agreed to follow Nehemiah's vision. They began rebuilding the walls which would fortify the city of Jerusalem.

Life Application

There are times when the Lord will give us a vision of something that may seem impossible at the time. Yet if the vision is truly from God, a way will be found to complete it. Older saints many times are heard saying "where God guides, God provides." Remember Philippians 1:6, "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

Who would have thought Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, men of African descent, humble backgrounds, who were rejected because of their color and status in Philadelphia would build an environment in which others like them could freely worship God? George Washington Carver, born a slave, used his God-given gift of working with plants to become one of the world's most brilliant botanists. He was able to lay the foundation for building food and industrial industries from the raw materials God provided to him.

Visions come in all shapes and sizes, just as a visionary may be any shape, size, age or gender. People who follow leaders with a vision are placing their trust, belief and hope in that person. Leaders need to be aware that their followers will line behind them because that is where the follower wants to be. No person will follow a leader they do not respect, trust and believe in. The people followed Nehemiah because they caught his vision and then they saw him work that vision with his whole heart and mind.

People today have given up following some leaders because they see two sets of rules and two different agendas. One set for the leader and another set for the followers. When people lose faith in those who are leading they stop following. People followed and follow Jesus because they could and can trust Him. If you are a leader and people have stopped following you, check to see if they still have the faith they once had in you and in your vision.

Many individuals follow those who claim to have been called by God. Paul tells us to follow him as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Following a follower of Jesus Christ is easy because people can see the hand and the presence of the Lord on that person. They will follow until something happens that makes them lose respect, trust or faith in the person or group they are following. The people of Jerusalem worked with and followed Nehemiah because they could see the hand of God on him. People today follow religious leaders when they see the hand of God on them and when they sense that hand is gone the followers begin falling away.

The rebuilding of the wall could not have started without the presence of the Lord. The rebuilding and the restoring of our communities today will not truly get started until people sense and then see the presence, the power and the hand of God in the midst of the work to be done. When the Lord's agenda becomes the leader's and the people's agenda, real change and progress will begin to take place. Until then the world will work at getting better but it will not succeed. The success of restoring Jerusalem was begun because it started with the Lord.

Questions

1. Why do you think prayer was the first thing Nehemiah did when he heard of the condition of Jerusalem?

2. Why is it important for church leaders to have a vision from God to take before the people?

3. King Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah what he asked for to rebuild the walls. What has God given to the leaders of your congregation to help them build lives of hope, joy, and service?

Prayer

Lord, You have placed a vision in my heart and on my mind to help in the building of the kingdom. Thank You trusting me with Your vision. Amen.

APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; the third day He arose from the dead, He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Church Universal, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

D E C A L 0 G U E

Superintendent-And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

School-Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law

Superintendent-Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

School-Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law

Superintendent-Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.