Week 19: Nehemiah - Esther 2

Reading schedule for this week:

• Weekend: Nehemiah 1 - 2
• Monday: Nehemiah 3 - 4
• Tuesday: Nehemiah 5 - 7
• Wednesday: Nehemiah 8 - 10
• Thursday: Nehemiah 11 - 13
• Friday: Esther 1 - 2

This week the reading continues with the book of Nehemiah. The books of Ezrah and Nehemiah really are 1 book - split in two - that deals with the return of the remnant of Israel to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. The book of Nehemiah consists of 3 parts. Chapters 1-7 covers Nehemiah's activities as governor. He gets approval from the Persian king Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem and rebuild it. Despite opposition, he is able to rebuild Jerusalem's city walls in a stunning 52 days! Nehemiah also implements rules against social injustice (Chapter 5). What I love about the book of Nehemiah is that he wrote down his inner thoughts, which gives us a great picture of how he interacted with God, see for example the little prayers in 2:4 and 4:4.

Chapters 8-10 focuses on the renewing of the remnants spiritual/church life. The priest Ezra reads from the law of Moses, and the people understand and respond. Note the parallel between Nehemiah 8:12 and the book Acts 2:43-45. When a church understands the true meaning of God's word, beautiful things happen in the way the church body interacts with each other.

The last part 11-13 consists of lists of people who return, as well as a description of the consecration of the temple and some reform measures.

Finally, we'll make a start with the book of Esther this week, which is written in between Ezrah and Nehemiah, and tells the story of the exiled Jewish girl who became Queen to the King of Persia. More on that next week.

We're hoping you're still enjoying reading through the Bible. It isn't always easy to make time, but it certainly is rewarding to continue. An pdf file of the complete reading schedule is now available. It is a one page that you can keep in your Bible with a summary that allows you to mark off each day when you finish it. Make sure you get one at the church or send an e-mail to wccbible@gmail.com. Keep up the hard work!

Dick