The book of Nehemiah opens somewhat in the same way the book of Daniel did (read Dan. 1:1-2), and that was with bad news. Yes, many had returned to their ancestral homeland, but things weren’t going too well for them there.

Read Nehemiah 1:1-4. Why was Nehemiah so distressed? What was his response to the bad news he received?

Nehemiah’s Survey

Some Jews taken captive years earlier were brought to Shushan, one of the four administrative centers of the Persian Empire, where Nehemiah served in the royal palace as a cupbearer. The term used for “Hanani one of my brothers” most likely refers to a blood brother, because there is a similar but more familial-sounding reference to Hanani in Nehemiah 7:2, although it could be a reference to just a fellow Israelite. The conversation with Hanani most likely happened between mid-November and mid-December of 445 B.C., some 13 years after Ezra’s return to Jerusalem. Hanani reports that the situation in Jerusalem is dire. The people have not been able to rebuild Jerusalem, and the enemy had destroyed the walls of the city, leaving it defenseless and desolate.

It bears mention that King Artaxerxes crushed the hope of the returnees by stopping the progress of the construction after the people beyond the river complained (Ezra 4). This allowed the enemies to destroy the walls of the city (Ezra 4:23). Nehemiah would have heard rumors of such disaster, but he didn’t have definite answers until this time.

Even though the temple was rebuilt, it wasn’t fully functioning because the people needed for the temple service were unable to live in Jerusalem. The situation saddened Nehemiah as the implications of the news penetrated his soul: the Jews had not glorified God even though they had returned for that purpose. Instead they had neglected the house of God and the Holy City, due to their fear of the enemy and oppression.

Thus, Nehemiah automatically turns to God. He doesn’t complain that the people of Judah lack faith or put them down as cowards, nor does he just accept the situation as the status quo. Nehemiah just gets down on His knees and starts praying and fasting.

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Read for This Week’s Study: Nehemiah 1:1-2:20,  Deut. 7:9, Ps. 23:1-6, Num. 23:19.

Memory Text: “So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said: ‘I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments’ ” (Nehemiah 1:4-5, NKJV).

To date, two groups of captives have returned to Judah in at least partial fulfillment of God’s promises to the Hebrew nation.

But there is one more company of exiles that God is preparing. The last group of captives is commissioned to fix a problem. Although the first two groups returned to rebuild Jerusalem and to complete part of that project by finishing the temple, the rest of the construction was abandoned as opposition from the surrounding nations arose. The people from the surrounding area didn’t want the Israelites to build the city and its walls because they were afraid that the Israelites might become a mighty nation as they had once been (Ezra 4:6-24). Thus, the return of the Israelites appeared to be a threat, one that they were determined to stop. But God didn’t call His people in order to abandon them in the process of doing what He had called them to do.

Thus, He was preparing another man to carry out His will and to accomplish His purposes. His name was Nehemiah, and to him and his work for the Lord we turn.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 12.

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Attacked With Acid

By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission

Banza Mwela, the pastor of a Sunday church in the Democratic Republic of Congo, nearly died when his wife and son doused him with skin-burning acid on the day of his baptism into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

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But Banza, his face permanently disfigured, clung to life and today is an Adventist lay pastor preaching a powerful testimony that draws crowds to Jesus.

“I praise the Lord that I belong to the Seventh-day Adventist family and that the devil has been defeated”, Banza said.

The story began in October 2013 when Banza attended an evangelistic campaign in the southeastern city of Likasi. Keen to know more about Adventist doctrines, he enrolled in the pastoral training school at the local Philip Lemon University.

On the day of his baptism, Banza returned home, happily singing a hymn about the power of Jesus. As he entered the house, his adult son lunged toward him and threw a pail of sulfuric acid on his face and body. Blinded and burning with pain, Banza cried out in agony and crumpled onto the floor.

Banza’s wife and son, enraged that he had left their church, had plotted the attack and hoped that he would die on the spot, said Robert S. Muhune, president of the East Congo Union Mission.

“But fortunately a miracle happened”, he said. “The man didn’t die”.

Neighbors heard Banza’s cry and rushed him to the hospital.

Doctors weren’t sure that he would make it. He lost an eye and most of the skin on his body. He spent weeks in intensive care, and skin grafts and other reconstructive plastic surgery are continuing even now. The Adventist world church has helped cover the expensive operations.

Banza’s wife and son disappeared after the attack and are on the run.

While Banza remains in pain, he spends little time in the hospital bed. He actively shares his testimony in churches and at camp meetings. His favorite Bible passage is Isaiah 43:1-3, which he reads as he shares his story: “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place”.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

All Rights Reserved. No part of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide may be edited, altered, modified, adapted, translated, reproduced, or published by any person or entity without prior written authorization from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

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Further Thought: 

Read Ellen G. White, “Ezra, the Priest and Scribe”, pages 607–617, in Prophets and Kings.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Consider Ezra’s diligent work: “Ezra became a mouthpiece for God, educating those about him in the principles that govern heaven. During the remaining years of his life, whether near the court of the king of Medo-Persia or at Jerusalem, his principal work was that of a teacher. As he communicated to others the truths he learned, his capacity for labor increased. He became a man of piety and zeal. He was the Lord’s witness to the world of the power of Bible truth to ennoble the daily life” – Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 609.

“In the work of reform to be carried forward today, there is need of men who, like Ezra and Nehemiah, will not palliate or excuse sin, nor shrink from vindicating the honor of God. Those upon whom rests the burden of this work will not hold their peace when wrong is done, neither will they cover evil with a cloak of false charity. They will remember that God is no respecter of persons, and that severity to a few may prove mercy to many. They will remember also that in the one who rebukes evil the spirit of Christ should ever be revealed” – Page 675.

Discussion Questions:

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Read Ezra 7:6 and Ezra 7:10. What do these texts teach us about the importance of proper religious education?

Ezra’s wholehearted devotion to God and his decision to study, practice, and teach the Word of God (Ezra 7:6, Ezra 7:10) prepared him for greater ministry in Israel. The biblical text literally states that he devoted himself to the studying, doing/making, and teaching of the Law of the Lord.

Ezra’s Journey to Jerusalem

Ellen G. White provides an important insight: “Born of the sons of Aaron, Ezra had been given a priestly training; and in addition to this he had acquired a familiarity with the writings of the magicians, the astrologers, and the wise men of the Medo-Persian realm. But he was not satisfied with his spiritual condition. He longed to be in full harmony with God; he longed for wisdom to carry out the divine will. And so he “prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it”. Ezra 7:10. This led him to apply himself diligently to a study of the history of God’s people, as recorded in the writings of prophets and kings. He searched the historical and poetical books of the Bible to learn why the Lord had permitted Jerusalem to be destroyed and His people carried captive into a heathen land” – Prophets and Kings, p. 608.

“The efforts of Ezra to revive an interest in the study of the Scriptures were given permanency by his painstaking, lifelong work of preserving and multiplying the Sacred Writings. He gathered all the copies of the law that he could find and had these transcribed and distributed. The pure word, thus multiplied and placed in the hands of many people, gave knowledge that was of inestimable value” – Page 609.

Notice that though Ezra had learned of the ways of the pagans, he saw that they were not correct; thus, he sought to know the truth from the source of truth, which was the Word of God and the “law of the Lord”. He had to unlearn a great deal of what he learned at the worldly universities, because, no doubt, much of what they taught was wrong. After all, how much good were “the writings of the magicians and the astrologers” going to do him?

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