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.
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