Covenant Communities
Unit 1: Leaders in the
Covenant Community
(Lessons 1–4)
Nehemiah: Motivator for the People
September 27
Lesson 4
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 2
PRINTED TEXT: Nehemiah 2:5, 11–20
Nehemiah 2:5, 11–20
5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.
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11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
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GOLDEN TEXT: I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build.So they strengthened their hands for this good work.—Nehemiah 2:18.
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Lesson Aims
After participating in this lesson, each student will be able to:
1. Tell how Nehemiah assessed the challenge before him, the opposition, and the resources available.
2. Explain the value of assessing a problem.
3. Assess the need in one specific ministry area in his or her church and volunteer to be a leader (or assist a leader) in that area.
How to Say It
AHASUERUS. Uh-haz-you-ee-rus.
AMMONITE. Am-un-ite.
ARTAXERXES. Are-tuh-zerk-seez.
CAMBYSES. Kam-bye-seez.
GESHEM. Gee-shem (G as in get).
HORONITE. Hor-oh-night.
KIDRON. Kid-ron.
NEHEMIAH. Nee-huh-my-uh(strong accent on my).
PAPYRUS. puh-pie-russ.
SALAMIS. Sal-uh-mis.
SAMARIA. Suh-mare-ee-uh.
SANBALLAT. San-bal-ut.
TOBIAH. Toe-bye-uh.
XERXES. Zerk-seez.
ZECHARIAH. Zek-uh-rye-uh(strong accent on rye).
Nickelson, Ronald L., and Jonathan Underwood, eds. The KJV Standard Lesson Commentary, 2009–2010. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 2009. Print.
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