Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (22 page)

As I discuss this paragraph, I’ll highlight the questions that I ask the text in boldface, as I did in
chapter 6
.

Verse 4 begins, “Now it came about when I heard these words.”
What is the significance of the word
Now
?
It’s a connective. It links this paragraph with something else. Furthermore, the phrase
these words
compels me to ask,
what
words
? So both of these questions force me to go back to the beginning of the book to check out the context.

The beginning of verse 1 gives me an introduction to the book.
What do I find there?
Three very important clues—clues that most people ignore. First of all I discover something about the nature or contents of the book—these are the words of a particular man. Second, I find out who that man is— Nehemiah. Third, I learn about the family from which Nehemiah came, which is especially helpful because the name
Nehemiah
appears elsewhere; but it is a different Nehemiah.

In the last part of verse 1 I read, “Now it happened,” and
then what do I notice
? Three prepositional phrases: “
in
the month Chislev,
in
the twentieth year,
while
I was in Susa the capitol.” So I ask myself,
what does this refer to? What word could I put beside the first statement?
Time
, because it tells me the month and the year.

A Bible dictionary can help me find out what month Chislev is. I discover that the ancient Hebrews had a calendar altogether different from ours. They didn’t go by January, February, March, and so on. Chislev was their ninth month, beginning in November and extending into December. So assuming that this occurs in the northern hemisphere, the story is taking place in early winter.

I also discover that the Hebrews’ calendar differed from that of the Persians, which becomes significant when I learn that Nehemiah was an exile in Persia. In fact, he had a very high position in the government. But he was marking time by the Jewish calendar.

Next he points out that this is taking place “in the twentieth year.” That forces me to ask,
the twentieth year of what
? I can’t answer that here. It is not given to me. I don’t find that out until I get to the beginning of chapter 2.

Finally,
what does “Susa the capitol” tell me
? That answers the question, Where? But I still have to wonder, What is Susa the capitol? When I look it up in my Bible dictionary, I discover that there were two palaces in this kingdom. Susa was the winter palace. (Remember, this is taking place in November/December.) There was a summer palace, too, in Ek-batana. But Nehemiah was at the one in Susa—and it was no shack! In fact, it covered five thousand acres, and it was extremely plush.

So here’s a man living in a luxurious, privileged situation. And he gets a report (v. 2): Hanani comes to him.
What does Nehemiah do?
He asks something.
What two things does he ask?
First of all, “concerning the Jews.” That has to do with his people. And then he asks “about Jerusalem.” That has to do with the place, his home.

Verse 3 gives Hanani’s response. So I notice a dialogue here, a question-and-answer session.
What relationship does the answer have to the question?
Nehemiah asks about the people and the place. The brothers give him a three-part answer: (1) “The remnant. . .are in great distress and reproach” (that has to do with the people); (2) “the wall of Jerusalem is broken down” (that’s the
place); and (3) “its gates are burned with fire” (also having to do with place).

So the order of the answer is exactly the same as the order of the question: the people first, then the place. I think that says something about Nehemiah. His first concern was for people, not places. Later I discover how much that figures into the story.

OK, I’ve plugged into the context. Now I come to my paragraph at verse 4. Once he hears about the condition of his people and his place, what does Nehemiah do? Four things: he weeps, he mourns, he fasts, and he prays.

Can I find a way to gather these together?
Well, weeping and mourning have to do with emotions, right? What about fasting and praying? They indicate a spiritual response.

One of the things you need to do in your Bible study is to hang some labels on your observations. They will help you get a handle on the material. For instance, beside verse 1b I can put
report
. If you prefer a different word, use it; but choose something that summarizes the contents for you.

If verse 1b is the report, verse 4 is the response. Nehemiah has a total response, emotionally and spiritually, to the report.

Moving along to verse 5, I find a prayer. Or, to keep the pattern, I could label it the
request
that Nehemiah made. We’ve already looked at this prayer in chapter 12. Remember the pattern? Nehemiah starts with adoration (v. 5). He praises God for His steadfast love. Then he moves to confession (vv. 6–7). Seeing God as He really is always helps us to see ourselves as we really are— sinners in need of His mercy. Then, only after confessing his sin and the sin of his people, Nehemiah begins to petition God on the basis of His promises.

Nehemiah’s prayer is a model for how we can approach God. But looking at it in context, I notice how it ties directly to the report of Hanani and the brothers. They come and say, “The people are in great distress, and the walls are in ruins.” And Nehemiah’s immediate response is prayer, but it is prayer based on the Word of God. God had promised that if Israel disobeyed Him, He would scatter them; if they returned to Him, He would restore their land (vv. 8–9). Nehemiah hears the report, he reviews God’s Word, and then he falls to his knees in prayer.

Is that the end of the paragraph? No.
What should I notice in the last part of verse 11?
Nehemiah adds an interesting detail: “I was the cupbearer to the king.” That’s terribly important. Yet most people pass right over that crucial statement. But in the step of observation, I’m asking, What do I see? I assume the role of a biblical detective—and no detail is unimportant.

What was a cupbearer? I’ve found that most people figure he was a guy walking around carrying a cup, as if he had nothing better to do. But here again is where a good Bible dictionary will help. Looking up “cupbearer,” I find that his title derives from the fact that he was responsible for tasting the king’s
wines. As you might imagine, this was an era of intrigue and constant attempts to eliminate people. So rulers trusted no one—except the cupbearer.

The cupbearer was virtually the prime minister, the second-in-command. He had a personal expense account and direct access to the king.

So the Holy Spirit includes this detail about Nehemiah to show me how God accomplished His purpose. Later in the book I discover that it was because Nehemiah was the cupbearer that the king gave him permission to go back to the land and rebuild the walls and the city. God had His man in a strategic position. Nehemiah was able to leverage that position to accomplish God’s purposes.

Have you ever asked yourself where God has placed you? Maybe you’re a schoolteacher, a nurse, a computer expert, a carpenter, or a doctor. Whatever your situation, what opportunity has God given you to accomplish His purposes? I guarantee that He places every one of His children in a strategic position. He wants to use you for His honor and glory.

There are many more observations to be made about this paragraph from Nehemiah. In fact, this book is one of the most fascinating I’ve ever studied in the Word of God. But I didn’t start out seeing things in the text the way I do now. Far from it.

Not long after I became a Christian, someone encouraged me, “Now that you’ve come to faith, you need to get into the Word.”

“Wonderful,” I said. “Where do I start?”

“Start anywhere, brother. It’s all profitable.”

So I went home and opened my Bible—and landed in Ezekiel. Right in the middle of the wheels. I struggled with that passage for a while, until I thought,
This has to be an exception.
So I tried the other end of the Bible— Revelation. Bowls and vials and wrath, which completely confused me. So, I’m ashamed to say, I closed the Book for one solid year. I was convinced that what the clergy of my childhood had told me was true—you needed a professional to dispense the Word.

By God’s grace someone came along and asked me, “Hey, Hendricks, are you in the Scriptures?”

“No, as a matter of fact I’m not,” I told him. “I don’t know how to go about it. I don’t know where to begin.”

By now, you know considerably more than I did when I began studying God’s Word for myself. You’ve seen how to observe a verse, and now a
paragraph. You’ve also discovered that you’ve got to learn to read. You’ve got to read Scripture better and faster, as for the first time, and just as you would a love letter. And you’ve been exposed to ten strategies that are guaranteed to turn you into a first-rate Bible reader.

But not only must you learn to read, you must learn what to look for. In the next few chapters, I’ll give you six clues that will help you further unlock the biblical text.