Nehemiah | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9:1-5 | 9:5-38 | 10 | 11-12 | 13:1-14 | 13:15-31 | Test | PDF |

These free online Bible study guides of Nehemiah 1 contain cross-references, commentary, Bible study discussion questions, and applications.  Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth practical Bible studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.

Nehemiah 1 Inductive Bible Study – Verse by Verse Lesson for Small Groups

Outline

I. The problem: disrepair (1-3)
II. Nehemiah’s prayer (4-11)

I. The problem: disrepair (1-3)

Discussion Questions

• What is the month Kislev?
• What does the twentieth year refer to? (Artaxerxes reign. 445 BC.)
• Where is Susa?
• Who came and talked with Nehemiah?
• What news did he bring?
• When had the first group of exiles gone back?
• Where can we learn about that?

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. Susa – Located in modern-day Iran, Susa became one of the royal cities of the Persian elites after Babylon was conquered. Darius Hystaspis built a palace there, the ruined remains of which can still be seen. The Persian court rotated between Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis. Susa itself is one of the oldest cities in the world and is the background for a number of biblical events, including those in the book of Esther.

2. Verse 2 – The Jews were scattered. They lived throughout the Persian Empire. Originally, many had been taken captive by the Babylonian kingdom. Eventually, the Persians conquered Babylon. In keeping with God’s promise to return the Jews to the land He had given them, God worked through the Persian kings to allow the people to return to the land. It’s unclear whether Hanani was a resident of Judah or if he was just visiting. Since he was Nehemiah’s brother and Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer, it would seem likely that they were not born in Jerusalem. The fact that Nehemiah was also the cupbearer shows us that he was likely a resident of one of the royal cities of the Persian Empire.

Therefore, it is likely that this group of men went to Judah specifically to investigate how things were going for those who had returned almost 90 years before. It is even possible that Nehemiah commissioned them with this task and they were coming back to Babylon to give Nehemiah a report. In any case, it shows that Nehemiah cared a lot about his fellow Jews who lived in Judah.

3. Verse 3 – The report was not good. The remnant of people descended from those who had originally returned, as recorded in the book of Ezra, were not doing well. They were in “great distress.” The city was in disrepair. They lived with reproach, meaning their position was shameful. Other people around them looked down on them. All of Jerusalem’s ancient protections were gone. The wall had been destroyed by Babylon over 150 years earlier. Though the people had returned 90 years before, the wall was still not rebuilt. Even the gates were lying in ruin.

Basically, the people were living in the middle of ruins. That would be discouraging to wake up every day and see ruins around you, but more than that, it was a continual reminder of their precarious situation as well as all that they had lost through their own nation’s sin. We must understand that in the Old Testament, God often physically and materially blessed those who were obediently following with those whom He was pleased with. Since the Jews were living in a ruined city, this visible picture of outward decay would seem to indicate that there were much worse spiritual problems as well. We can see some of those problems in Ezra and Haggai when the people intermarried with other nations and focused on paneling their own homes rather than building God’s temple. Though there was a remnant and this was something to be encouraged about, generally, the outlook for the country was not good.

II. Nehemiah’s prayer (4-11)

Discussion Questions

• How did Nehemiah react to the news from Hanani?
• What can we learn about Nehemiah from his reaction?
• Have you ever mourned/fasted/prayed for days? Why or why not? What are some common obstacles we face that may keep us from fasting?
• What can we learn here about Nehemiah’s view of God?
• What does he request of God?
• What do we learn about confession?
• What point is Nehemiah making in verses 8-9?
• What does Nehemiah remind the Lord of in verse 10?
• What did a cupbearer do?

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. Verse 4 – Nehemiah’s reaction shows us a lot about him as a person.

Nehemiah 1:4 – As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

He was empathetic, mourning for days. Nehemiah himself didn’t face any of the problems the people of Jerusalem faced. He was an important official, one of the upper class. He could have kept on living and enjoying his life without dwelling on the problems of others. But he didn’t. From this, we learn that Nehemiah was others-centered. He had a heart for others and hearing about the struggles others were having deeply saddened him and affected his entire outlook.

Application: Do you have a heart for others? When you hear about other people’s struggles, are you indifferent? Do you perhaps feel empathy with them for a few minutes and then forget it? We should rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. Consider if there is someone in your life who needs a listening ear or a compassionate heart.

He was persistent – He wept/mourned/fasted/prayed for days. This was an important issue. He didn’t just offer up a 1-minute prayer and then move on. He spent a lot of time before the Lord praying about it and searching for God’s will about what he could do. Nehemiah’s persistence reminds us of the story Jesus told us about the persistent woman who continued to come to the judge until she got an answer to her appeal.

Application: Have you ever felt so strongly about something that you prayed about it for days at a time? Many of us have not. But maybe we should.

He sought God and the wisdom that comes from God – Nehemiah didn’t just weep and cry and throw himself a pity party. He turned to the Lord. He fasted. He prayed. He knew the only place real help could come from. He knew where help could come from. Nehemiah didn’t rush to the king to get help immediately. Neither did he start issuing orders. Neither did he immediately consult with Hanani and the others. He didn’t rely on his own wisdom to begin taking action. An observer might think that Nehemiah was indecisive and passive, hearing the news and doing nothing for days. But he wasn’t doing nothing. He sat down and he prayed. Prayer was the most important thing he could do.

Reflect – Has there been a time or situation when you rushed in and reacted based on your own understanding without taking time to pray? How did that work out?

Application: Prayer should become this natural to us. When faced with challenges and difficulties, our first instinct should be to pray. Don’t be in a rush to take action. Pray first.

2. Verse 5 – Nehemiah had a high view of God. Look at how Nehemiah describes God in this verse.

• God of heaven.
• Great
• Awesome
• Who preserves the covenant
• Preserves lovingkindness

Nehemiah had a high view of God. From this, we can see Nehemiah’s humility. He didn’t approach God as an equal, as a peer. In his prayer, he recognizes that God is above everything else. He is in control of everything and everything good comes from Him. Our prayers should reflect the same exalted view of God. From this prayer, we see Ezra’s humility. And humility is the first step of true confession.

3. Verses 6-7 – Starting in these verses, we see one of the great prayers of confession in the Bible. We can learn from this prayer many important principles about confession.

The first thing you may observe is that Nehemiah uses many personal pronouns. He uses “I,” “we,” and “our.” He says, “We have sinned against you, I and my father’s house.” He realized that all of them were guilty, himself included. He is one of the people and identifies himself as linked to the group. The prayer would also not seem nearly as genuine if he kept saying how evil the other Israelites were. We will learn later in the book that many of them committed a lot of sins which Nehemiah did not, but he still repented because he, too, was sinful. When one wants to confess to God, there should be no blaming or pointing fingers. When people first sinned, Adam pointed to Eve and blamed her and Eve pointed to the snake and blamed it, but in fact, they were both culpable for the sin they had committed.

No one can make you sin. We are responsible for our own choices. It is not a true confession if we seek to blame other people for the wrong that we have done. Your sin is not your parents’ fault (as much as psychologists try to tell you that it is.) It is not your boss’s fault, your wife’s fault, or your friend’s fault. Each one of us has a choice. Other people may influence us, but the final choice is our own.

True confession takes personal responsibility and doesn’t blame others.

4. Nehemiah realized that all sin is against God –

He admits, “We have acted very corruptly against You.” Every sin is a sin against God. Peter said that Ananias and Saphira’s lie was against the Holy Spirit. Every sin we commit is an instance of disobeying God’s law. Disobeying God is sinning against God. David also admitted that his sin with Bathsheba was a sin against God alone, showing that our sins are primarily against God. Since our sins are against God, confession is not complete until we ask God to forgive us.

5. True confession doesn’t minimize sin –

Notice that Nehemiah doesn’t say, “We have sinned against you a little.” He says we have acted very corruptly. Their sin problem was not a little problem. It was a big problem. I often ask people when sharing the gospel with them, if they have sin. Most of them admit that they do. I then ask, “Is your sin serious?” Most answer, “No.” That, in a nutshell, is our problem. We think that our sin is not serious. But it is. Don’t minimize it.

6. True confession includes the offense –

Nehemiah says, “And have not kept the commandments…which You commanded Your servant Moses.” The problem wasn’t some vague mistake. It wasn’t vague at all. The problem was that they had as a nation specifically disobeyed many of the commands God had given to Moses. A real apology is not a vague “Sorry.” It is not insincere like, “Sorry if I offended you.” A real apology is clear. A real apology must include what you are apologizing for. Let’s make a habit of confessing to others when we wrong them and when we do, make it clear what we are apologizing for.

Activity: Go around the table and ask each person to give an example of a real or insincere apology. If time permits, you may also ask each person to give an example of an insincere apology.

7. Verse 8 – In verse 8, we see Nehemiah admit that the problems they faced as a nation were a direct result of God’s discipline for their sin. He quotes Moses saying, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you.” He is admitting that the people were unfaithful and that is why they were scattered. This doesn’t mean that all trials are the result of sin. As we learn in the story of the blind man in John 9, not every affliction is the result of sin. There are many possible reasons for them. But in the case with Israel, God had already told them that He was disciplining them because of their sin.

But many times (not always), people’s difficulties are the result of poor life choices. Marriages fail because of sin (of one or other or both sides). A son or daughter won’t speak to their parent many times because of the mistakes of that parent. A student fails an exam and misses a chance to enter college because he didn’t study hard. A family loses their home and everything they own because of poor financial decisions and getting into too much debt. A person goes to jail because of a lapse of judgment in which he drank too much, drove, and ran over someone. The list goes on and on.

Can you think of any examples where your own sin/mistakes caused you a trial or hardship? Many times in these types of situations, people would grow bitter.

They would complain, get depressed, grow angry at other people, or even lash out at God. This is the wrong response. Instead of blaming others for our problems, we should realize that our own sin has brought us to this low, confess and seek to make right what we have done wrong.

True confession realizes that sin comes with consequences.

8. True confession seeks and claims God’s forgiveness –

The goal of confession is not a pity party. We are not to roll around on the ground all the time saying, “Woe is me.” We see that Nehemiah quotes God’s promise to bring them back to the land if they return to Him and keep His commandments (in other words, if they repent).

We have a merciful God. He promises to forgive us if we truly repent. Nehemiah knew this and that is what drove him to pray this prayer. It is pointless to pray and confess if we do not worship a God who is loving and forgiving. See 1 John 1:9. The good news for us is that if we are sincere in our repentance, God will forgive us.

9. Verse 10 – In this verse, we see Nehemiah remind God of the relationship He has with His people. These are His people. He chose them. He redeemed them. He has performed miracles for them. Don’t forget them!

10. Verse 11 – Nehemiah asks God to pay attention and listen to his prayer. He then asks God to make him successful and grant him compassion before “this man.” It would seem that during his prayer, God was working in Nehemiah’s heart, beginning to show him what he must do. While praying and confession were a good first step, this was not the end of God’s plan for Nehemiah. It wasn’t enough for him to recognize the problem. It wasn’t even enough to pray about the problem. Next, God required action.

True confession will cause us to ask the question, “What next?”

A righteous person falls seven times and rises again. Confession restores our relationship to God and readies us to serve Him again. Nehemiah saw the problem and that God wanted to use him as part of the solution to the problem. Prayer is absolutely necessary. It is one kind of working for God. But our work for God must not stop there. Believers are to get down on their knees to approach God and then get up from their knees to go out into the world to serve Him. We pray for the lost. Then we must preach to the lost. We pray for our test. Then we must study for our test. We pray for wisdom. Then we must read His word and ask our brothers and sisters. We pray for our daily needs. Then we must find a job and work diligently at it.

Nehemiah understands this principle. He knew what he had to do. He had to face the king and get his help for the next step. That was no easy task. He needed God’s strength and boldness. We will see in the next chapter how God answers his prayer.