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Series: Unveiling the Bible Story – Seeing Glory & Walking in Grace Today: Reformation & Revival, Pt 7; A Bible-Saturated Lifestyle of Prayer (Today - Neh 1; for next week read & reflect on Neh 8-9)
Intro:
*** Neh 1 calls us to a _______-saturated lifestyle of _______. Neh 1 shows us that reading & meditating on the ______of God:
I. … leads us to _________ in God with stunned _____________.
II. … brings us to the
___________ experience of brokenness & _____________. III. … motivates us to _________ great things from God through intercessions based on God’s ___________.
IV. … empowers us to so live that all we are & do _________ God’s _______.
Digging Deeper Into the Book of Nehemiah
One of the most amazing things about Nehemiah (the book & the man) is it is full of allusions & references to 100’s of other parts of Scripture. It is obvious as commentator Raymond Brown puts it (The Message of Nehemiah, p. 20ff) that Nehemiah “was inspired, taught & fashioned by God’s Word”. Brown also points out the following: Ø Nehemiah refers to Abraham (9:7-8, 23), Moses (1:7-8, 8:1, 14; 9:14, 10:29; 13:1), Aaron (10:38, 12:47), David (12:24, 36-37, 45-46), Asaph (12:46) Zerubbabel (7:7, 12:1 & 47), Solomon (13:46) & others Ø He quotes & alludes to Genesis (9:7-8), Exodus (1:10, 9:9-18), Leviticus (8:13-15), Numbers (9:20, 13:3), Dueteronomy (1:8-9, 9:21-23, 29), Joshua (9:23-25), Judges (26-28), 1 & 2 Kings (13:26 & 9:6). There also allusions to Isaiah (6:9), Jeremiah (13:18), Ezekiel (13:17-18), Daniel (1:4-7) & several Psalms (9:13). Ø It is absolutely obvious that Nehemiah loved God’s Word. His many prayers in the book (some 9 in all) are greatly filled with references to God’s word & promises (1:5, 9; 4:20; 9:7-8, 17) as well as its warnings (1:7-8, 5:9, 9:30, 37, 13:17-18, 26-27). Ø And this is only to name a few. (compare the prayer of Neh 1 with that of Dan 9)
Nehemiah is also filled
with nearly constant opposition. See Neh 2:10, 19ff; 4:1-3, 7ff, 15; 6:1-9,
16. Yet by the Word & prayer Nehemiah wins many spiritual battles! Nehemiah claims God’s promises to “gather” His people. Note especially Dt 30:1-5, Is 11:12, Jer 23:3-6, 29:14, 31:8-10, 19:14; Ezek 11:17, 16:37, 20:34 & Mic 2:12 |