Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Thursday, December 13, 2012 Read – Nehemiah 1 & 2 The book of Nehemiah reflects a somewhat later time than the book of Ezra. The issue in the book of Nehemiah is the rebuilding of the wall surrounding Jerusalem. Nehemiah is pictured as the cup bearer of the Persian king Artaxerxes – a prominent position. Nehemiah hears of the demise that the people of God are now experiencing back in the land. Things are not going well. Nehemiah takes the risk of asking that he be excused from his duties to the king so that he can go and check things out. He is granted his request and at least as far as the book of Nehemiah is concerned he never returns to his work as cup bearer for the king. What may appear as a rather insignificant statement that lends much to the understanding of this time period are the words “The Province Beyond the River.” That is what the land is called at this time and its point of reference is that of Persia. The province is to the west of the Euphrates River from the view of the Persians. What this reference teaches us is that the condition of the people at this time was not one of independence. They were ruled by the Persians. While that rule may have been beneficial for the most part it was none the less a fact of life. Gone were the days of David and all the other kings. Gone was the nation. This reality is one of the factors that grew into the longing of God’s people for the Messiah. They would have to wait a long time and that length of time made the longing even more prominent. The concept of the Messiah as simply the anointing of the king with oil grew into a vision of a deliverer who would bring freedom. But what kind of Messiah would he be? The problem that Nehemiah discovers is once again resistance to the building of the wall. This time the resistance is clearly from non-Israelites – Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite.