Day 277: Reading Schedule: Nehemiah 4~7 

Nehemiah 4: The Challenge of the Wicked and Nehemiah's Response

[Summary]

When Sanballat and Tobiah the Ammonite first heard the news of the Jews building the wall, they laughed at it, saying it was impossible (verses 1-3). However, the Jews built the wall in faith and made considerable progress (verses 4-6). Sanballat, the Ammonites, and the Arabs were embarrassed and threatened to invade Jerusalem to stop the construction of the wall. Due to these threats and schemes by their enemies, the morale of the Jewish builders was lowered and the hearts of the Jews began to divide little by little (verses 7-12). However, Nehemiah did not lose courage, but encouraged the people and strongly exhorted them to remember the Lord (verses 13-14). Thus, all the people regained their strength and became one in faith, holding weapons in one hand and a sledgehammer in the other, and simultaneously carried out the work of defending against the enemy and building the wall (vv. 15-23). ​​

Nehemiah 5: The People's Complaints and Nehemiah's Problem Resolution

[Summary]

During the construction of the wall, serious problems arose within Israel, including food shortages due to famine and the threat of excessive tax burdens (vv. 1-5). Nehemiah believed that the most fundamental problem was the fact that the local officials and leaders were exploiting their fellow countrymen through usury and even selling them into slavery. Therefore, Nehemiah urged the officials and leaders to repent for such behavior and proposed to help their poor fellow countrymen unconditionally. His proposal was accepted, and a great national movement was launched (vv. 6-13). The reason why Nehemiah was able to carry out the strict reform policy described above without much opposition was because he himself did not seek personal glory, took only enough food for his family to live on, did not exploit the people, and showed a devoted attitude of working hard for the Lord (vv. 14-19). 

Nehemiah 6: Nehemiah defeats the plots of his enemies

[Summary]

When the enemies, including Sanballat and Tobiah, tried to get rid of Nehemiah by suggesting a false meeting after their various sabotage attempts failed, Nehemiah knew about their plot in advance and refused the proposal for a meeting (vv. 1-4). When Sanballat sent envoys to propose a meeting four times but was rejected every time, he sent an unsealed letter the fifth time, saying that Nehemiah was planning a rebellion. The unsealed letter was a plot to spread rumors, but Nehemiah did not care and boldly ignored Sanballat’s letter (vv. 5-9). After this, Sanballat again bribed a false prophet named Shemaiah to prophesy falsely, and plotted to have Nehemiah commit the crime of entering the temple, which only priests were allowed to enter, but Nehemiah made wise judgments and did not commit a crime before God (vv. 10-14). Overcoming all temptations and difficulties, he successfully completed the construction of the wall in 52 days (vv. 15-19). 

Nehemiah 7: Measures after the Rebuilding of Jerusalem

[Summary]

After the construction of the walls of Jerusalem was completed, Nehemiah took measures to defend the walls (vv. 1-4). He then began a census of the returned captives, and compiled statistics by household and region (vv. 5-69). After this, the heads of the clans donated much of their wealth, and the common people also collected their own offerings and gave them (vv. 70-73).