CONCERN FOR ONE’S NATION

SS 2 CRS

3rd Term

Week 3

CONCERN FOR ONE’S NATION

The captivity and destruction of Jerusalem (2kings 24; 25:1-17): jehoiakim, king of Judah sinned against the Lord and he stirred up foreign nations to come against him. He was killed and Jehoiakim his son succeeded him. But he didn’t repent from his father’s evil ways. Thus, when king Nebuchadnezzar came against him, he willingly surrendered. He was taken captive into Babylon along with all his people. But Mattaniah his uncle was made king in his stead after being renamed Zedekiah. Zedekiah himself continued in the evil ways of his predecessors and he rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar. So, Nebuchadnezzar sent his army to besiege the city. This caused the famine in the land and as the king attempted to flee, he was caught and taken to Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuzaradan his captain led his army into Jerusalem to destroy the temple, palace and other big buildings. All the valuables were taken away into Babylon

Report on the condition of the nation (Neh. 1-3): When Hanani came to visit Nehemiah, he told him how bad the situation was for people in Judah and Jerusalem. Then, Nehemiah became sorrowful. He fasted and prayed earnestly. As a servant in the king’s palace, Nehemiah went to serve king Artexerxe wine one day, and the king saw that he looked sad, he asked Nehemiah why he was  sad. Nehemiah told him that it was because of the land of Judah and Jerusalem lay in waste. And that he would like to go there and repair the city. The king gave him both supply of material and permission to go and renovate the city. When he got to the land of Judah, Sambalat and Tobiah were angry to know that he had come to renovate the city. But he went secretly to inspect the whole area first without telling his people his intentions. Eventually, he called the people together and told them to cooperate with him in building the walls of Jerusalem. They agreed, and the work started. While they were working, Sanbalat, Tobiah and Geshem came to mock them. But they refused to be discouraged. At last, God helped them to complete the project.

Concern of Nehemiah, Ezra and Zerubabel for their nation and their response to the state of the nation despite opposition. (Neh. 1:1-11; 2:9-20; Ezra 1:5-11; 7:1-10): the spirit of God stirred up Cyrus king of Persia to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem which king Nebuchadnezzar’s men destroyed. So, the people of Judah that were exiled in Babylon returned and gathered resources and started building the temple. Among them were Zerubabel and Nehemiah. They started offering burnt sacrifices while the foundation was being laid. At the completion of the foundation, the people shouted with a loud voice.

When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles have started rebuilding the temple they approached them and asked them to allow them build with them, but they refused. Then, they started to frustrate their purpose. Hence, the completion of the building was delayed all the days of Cyrus king of Persia. Then, in the days of Artaxerxes, the adversaries wrote a letter to tell the king that this city has been a rebellious city whose rebuilding will make the people to stop paying tribute to the king. The king agreed with them and the work was stopped even until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

During the reign of king Darius, the adversaries came again to query the builders thus: “who authorized the rebuilding of this temple?”. They forced them to suspend it until they report to Darius and he sends his reply concerning the matter. Darius replied saying that they should allow them continue the reconstruction. Thus, the house was completed in the sixth year of the reign of Darius. And the house was dedicated.

Reconstruction of the nation in the face of opposition (Ezra 4:5; 1-2; 6:13-22; Neh 4:1-23):

Responsibility to our nation – (Nigeria) political and economic stability, spiritual reawakening, etc.: taking a clue from the likes of Nehemiah, Ezra and Zerubabel, the youths, being leaders of tomorrow, should be devoted to the development of their nation as a way of serving God. E.g. in Nigeria, there are lots of problems which need solution. Some of the problems of the country include political and economic instability, corruption, etc. there are people in the country that are benefiting from the underdevelopment of the nation. So, when a child of God rises to cause a positive change in these areas, he or she would get oppositions just as Nehemiah, Ezra and Zerubabel were opposed for wanting to repair their nation. The message we should learn in this story is that we should not be weary in good doing because God will always give us the needed support.