As the Exiles re-affirm their covenant with God, they review His faithfulness and is loyal-covenant love for them.

The Exile community in Jerusalem confesses the sins of the nation and reviews the faithfulness of their Sovereign Creator.

The Jewish Exiles in Jerusalem became the “People of the Book” as they heard Ezra read the Word of God. They engaged the Word with their minds and emotions, which then resulted in obedience.

Nehemiah neutralizes his enemies and completes the wall in 52 days, after which Jerusalem is re-populated.

Nehemiah is an exemplary servant leader in how he organized the wall’s rebuilding and how he dealt with the opposition.

As a leader, Nehemiah had to deal with threats from external enemies as well as oppression & exploitation within the Jerusalem community.

As Nehemiah and his people begin to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls they face mockery, a conspiracy from their enemies, and discouragement, fear and exhaustion.

Nehemiah, a strategic leader, was a man of prayer—prayers of adoration, confession and petition; and a man who fired straight-arrow prayers to God.

The historical background of the Exile to Babylon, which began in 586 BC, and the return to Jerusalem, which began in 539 BC, provide the context for Nehemiah’s request of the Persian king Artaxerxes.

As Paul closes his epistle to the Colossians, he emphasizes the centrality of prayer and a life of wisdom.