Nehemiah #11 – Study Questions
Liabilities – Faithfulness doesn’t happen by accident.
Nehemiah 13:1-31
INTRODUCTION: For some time now, the people have lived in and around Jerusalem and have made the worship of God in his city a priority. In fact, we just left chapter 12, where the wall was consecrated, and the statutes of the law had been read and re-read and restored to give shape to right worship. But, here, at the end of the book, we are reminded of a truth that we all live, faithfulness doesn’t happen by accident. The people of Israel have drifted back into patterns of habitual sin that plagued their ancestors. They allow the prevailing culture to set their priorities and treat each other with preference to gain favors, standing, or influence. Nehemiah comes back from serving the king (his day job), and his heart is broken at what he has found. In fact, it is likely that he wasn’t planning to come back at all. But the news of the people’s sin had reached him, and he couldn’t stay away. He then restores right practices and pleads with God not to hold the actions of the people against him. He tried. They are repeating the sin of Solomon. Destruction is just around the corner. The truth is we are just like them, aren’t we? Patterns of praise and rebellion persist in our lives. We think we’ll be immune to the consequences of our sins. We tell ourselves that it will be different this time. But it won’t. If we desire to be a faithful people, we must be reminded daily that faithfulness is an intentional pursuit. In other words, faithfulness doesn’t happen by accident.
GETTING STARTED – As you begin your group time, answer the following question. What has been the most important intentional step you have taken in your walk with Jesus? How did that impact your spiritual life?
IN THE WORD – Let’s dig back into the passage. It is important to strengthen our muscles in reading God’s Word. On Sunday, we walked through the passage in the sermon. Hopefully, that helped you to see the landmarks of the passage with fresh eyes. Now, with your group, go back through it and see what God is saying to you specifically.
First, before you read the passage, take a moment to ask God’s Spirit to quiet your mind and heart and to illuminate the text to you. Second, read the passage aloud to the group. Then, follow the simple method below. (O.P.A)
Observe: Make 8-10 observations from the passage. Pay close attention to observe and note repeated words and phrases, names, places, and themes.
Here are some good questions to help make observations in this chapter:
- What has happened so far in the narrative? Have there been any major events, characters, or
themes? - What do you learn about the main characters in this section? How does the author describe
them? How do they describe themselves? - Is there a conflict or high point in the passage?
- What surprises are there?
Principles: From your list of observations, what patterns or big ideas do you see emerging? Can you distill it down into 2-4 big idea truths?
Apply: Moving from your list of principles, it is time to apply God’s Word. Remember, we believe that God’s Word is living and active and that it can change the way we live Monday- Friday. What is one tangible way to apply a truth from your list above?