Ezra and Nehemiah Part 5: From Revival to Regression

Episode 2.21
The Final Chapters of Ezra and Nehemiah
In the concluding episode of our Ezra-Nehemiah series, we walk through Nehemiah 8–13—an emotional and theological rollercoaster. From the public reading of the Law and national covenant renewal to the bittersweet failures that follow, this episode traces Israel’s spiritual high points... and its all-too-human shortcomings. We see the people hunger for God's Word, confess generational sin, and recommit to obedience. But by the final chapter, old sins resurface—neglect of worship, disregard for Sabbath, and compromise through intermarriage.
What do we learn? That revival is real—but it’s fragile. That leaders like Nehemiah can reform, but only God can transform. And that our ultimate hope isn’t in policy or perseverance, but in the unshakable faithfulness of the Lord.
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License code: 2QZOZ2YHZ5UTE7C8
Find more Take 2 Theology content at http://www.take2theology.com
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You ever heard the phrase
Michael, you peaked in high
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school?
Not, not you, not you.
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I'm not saying, but have you
heard like people say, like, oh.
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This guy peaked out soon or
something?
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, my mom, they like their
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house is really damaged in, in
flooding from a hurricane like
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last fall.
And so they're getting some work
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on their house and people
working on it are finally like
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they're getting work done like
in their attic or they're
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raising their house now.
And so they have to now they
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have to get like stuff out of
their attic, out of the house.
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She was like, oh.
It's all the important stuff is
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in the attic.
Oh yeah, yeah.
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Yeah, I was like, thanks mom.
She's like, hey, I got some some
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of your old trophies from like
school from a long time ago.
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I was like, oh, I forgot about
these.
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And yeah, you know, there's
nothing better than going to a
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small school where you can,
like, be good at stuff.
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It's great.
It's like, not the real life.
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But I, I, I found some trophies.
I was like, Michael Mott might
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have been proud of middle school
Zach.
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Yeah, yeah.
So it.
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Might not be peaked in high
school, might be peaked in
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middle school for me and and
when I say I used peaked loosely
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loosely 'cause these trophies
are not nothing really to brag.
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About you, as we'll see.
So the first one is my is my
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best trophy, but the least it's
the highest placing, but the the
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least challenging 1.
So I got a a first place trophy
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at CBS.
My school was called Central
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Baptist School chess tournament.
Yeah, get that get the camera on
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there.
I think about.
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Six people see a chess piece up
here and it looks like a little
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king, yeah.
And so this was, I think I won
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out about 6 people.
So for first place, I think this
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tournament was actually at my
house.
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It was like classmates first
place, not a whole lot of
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competition.
Nice.
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Next next one I found this is
2nd place at Rosemark Chess
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tournament which I think was a
school in in.
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Looks like the same person's
buying the the trophy here.
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So this one was slightly better.
It was at A at a different
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school.
Several schools came, but it was
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like a bunch of small
Christians, right?
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So it's not, it's not like
really.
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Right.
It's not first place, but the
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the crowd was much better.
Yeah, the competition was
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steeper.
And then this one is the best
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competition, but the lowest
place.
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OK, alright, so.
This was a This was a Memphis
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chess tournament.
Oh, these?
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So the all three of these are
chess.
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These are all chess, OK.
For the junior high, I don't
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know what, but I got the the
trophy looks impressive.
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It's taller.
Yeah.
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Yeah.
Can you read what place I got
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here?
2nd honorable mention.
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I didn't even place but but why
would you give a trophy for a
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second?
Honorable mention.
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But there were a lot of people.
It's like a packed out, you
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know?
It's like he's a the the top
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five get trophy.
OK so so this might be like.
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Yeah.
So top three or fifth or
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something?
Probably top three and then
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first honorable, second
honorable because.
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That's what it is.
This was like my best one
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because it was like Memphis, a
lot of kids there and I got
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lucky and like beat a couple
people I shouldn't have beat
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probably like, and I was like in
6th grade.
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So kids don't think things
through all the way.
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And I, I played this kid who he
like did a, he was like
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devastated.
Like he was like really highly
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ranked.
But he did like a dumb move that
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he like would never do.
And I got his queen or
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something.
And then it was like, oh, great.
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And then I got.
Blundered the queen, Did he, did
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he resign or did you checkmate
him?
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Oh.
I, I checkmate he, I think he
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was holding out that I would
make a mistake because.
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Obviously, I mean, if you're in
a tournament, I, the, the, the,
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the advice I've been told is
never resigned.
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Never.
Resigned and I so I and he was
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like, I was like a low seed.
He was like a high seed.
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It was amazing.
And then the next guy I played
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like just wiped the floor.
Obliterated.
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You but it like helped me get to
like this like it was it was
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really cool.
And then so what's the 2003 that
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was those were the years.
But I was like surprised I had a
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chess trophy.
I was like, oh man, you know.
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What year did you graduate?
I graduated in 2008 from from
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high school, so you know, and in
my defense, I I think I might
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have talked about before I blame
my parents.
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I I like I was always the.
Talking to you, breaking his
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parents.
I started school.
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I was always the youngest in my
class.
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Saying that you graduate, you're
17.
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It's like, man, I could have
used the extra year for.
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Sports.
There was it was actually Jill's
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second grade teacher.
She got her doctorate, but I
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guess she's following up with
some research that is about old
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guys who are held back.
Like they'd be really young in
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their class and they just decide
to hold them back and and the
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research generally shows that
it's good for.
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Them everyone does it, whether
it's sports or cognitive, I mean
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like you know, or social like I
think in almost all of the
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different areas.
On the social side.
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You're like this.
So that is the number one social
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cues.
And yeah, I might have mentioned
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it on the podcast, so just sorry
if I did.
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But if you look, they did this
study of like US and Canadian
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men's national hockey teams and
not just like who's in the
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Olympics, but like the U16 team
and the U15 team.
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And if you were born January
through March, you had like a
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90% greater chance of being on
the team because just when the
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birthdays fell.
There's, it's funny, you said,
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because Jill's pregnant with
Phoebe and it's an unexpected
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pregnancy and we're like, maybe
it's a boy, maybe it's a boy.
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And this guy I worked with who
coaches hockey, I was like,
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yeah, her due date is the 24th.
He's like, do everything you can
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to delay that pregnancy to
January 1st.
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He's like, I'm telling you, like
if your boy is going to play in
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any U, you know, 12U basketball,
you know football, hockey, it's
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to their advantage if they're
born in January and disadvantage
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if they're born in December.
If you're.
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Born in December, it's like the
worst like if you are like
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October through December,
you're.
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Saying that to Jesus right now.
I take it back for for hockey
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specifically, if you are divine,
you are excluded from this.
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But it's like insane that
percentages go down.
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Like if you're if it's like
April through May, not great,
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but better than June through,
you know, so it just goes down.
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It's so funny.
It's very predictive.
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Very predictive.
Maybe they should change their
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model.
They should change your model
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because you miss people, right?
Because they get weeded out when
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they're 11 years old instead of
and maybe they would have been
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great, but the system starts
when you're like 8. 1011 it
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needs to be 11 1/2 you.
I know, man.
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I don't.
I don't.
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Know what you know.
It's a problem because anyway,
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I, I shouldn't look up what the
theory is.
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Malcolm Gladwell did like a
study on this and he has like
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some solutions, but it was
something like that where you
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have like rolling seasons and I
don't know what it is like
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different, but it's, I don't
know.
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That's that's why, man, I could
have been.
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I could have really peeked in.
High school, so my, my parents
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were, were trying to do the
'cause I was born in October,
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late October, but they were
like, he is ready for school.
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Like it's OK if he's the
youngest because he's doing
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math, he's spelling, he's asking
questions all the time.
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He is ready.
And the school's like, Nope.
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And, and we're, we're not taking
them.
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You know, he can wait a year.
So I had a year with my
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grandparents, 'cause you know,
my mom and dad were working.
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So I spent like every day I get
up and they basically watch me.
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It was probably it's where I
learned to to cope with boredom
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for sure because it was like it
was crazy but probably did me
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good.
Man, I love it also.
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Well, I won't get out there.
I should.
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Michael, this trophy I have, it
was like a cardboard cut out of
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me.
It's like great.
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I was like, they should do more
trophies like that.
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That's like hilarious.
It's.
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Like a, it's like an actual, you
know, you know, like the card,
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you know, like huge, but it's a
it's like a trophy of of little
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7 year old, 7 year old.
That's great.
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It's great.
Well, you know this connects to
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Nehemiah.
Very well.
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Very well.
Yeah, Chef.
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Tournaments, middle school
birthdays, you know, we'll give
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another shout out to NLT.
They do instead of saying the
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you know, we're I'm we're rating
actually from the ESP.
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But if you were in NLT, it would
be like in November.
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Me and my did this instead of in
a month of chill sale or.
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Whatever you know so.
Anyway, I don't know if there's
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a way to make a transition.
I just think we just say let's
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take it to the next level.
From the hearts of the Low
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Country in South Carolina.
It's the Take Two podcast, but
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we take theology to the next
level.
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All right, Nehemiah 8 through 13
second-half.
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Of Nehemiah.
Of Nehemiah.
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But last podcast in this series,
right?
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Nailed it.
I, I would love to do like 3
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more, but I I think they're 5 or
6 or whatever we landed on is
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probably the really sweet spot.
Look into the back stories of
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Sand Ballad and that other guy
Tobiah or whatever his name was.
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That's great.
Well, if you want to kick us
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off, can you read verse 1 of
chapter 8?
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It says and all the people
gathered as one man into the
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square before the Watergate, and
they told Ezra the scribe to
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bring the book of the Law of
Moses that the Lord had
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commanded Israel.
Anything stands out to you?
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Well, Ezra's back on the scene.
He's back.
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He wrote a book and stuff and
then we forgot about him and now
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he's back.
So, so yeah, it's kind of so a
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lot of people will say this is
kind of the beginning.
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Of the end of the end.
Where it's kind of coming to a
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conclusion, like all of it.
We've kind of heard these
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individual stories and this is
kind of it's culminating.
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We're going to see almost three
different series of the people
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hearing the Torah covenant
renewal, like it's go, it's
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crescendoing to a very high
point where the wall's built.
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Ezra's reading the Torah.
Things are really good before
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things tip and go really bad.
And this is part of the good
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part where he's reading the
Torah from early morning until
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midday.
Try that at your church Sunday.
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I dare you, Pastor, go, go for
it.
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See, see what happens.
It even says the ears of all the
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people wore attentive not not
just to Scripture, but to the
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book of the law, Leviticus.
They're like, give me more.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's those were some fanatical
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people because you know,
Leviticus when you start talking
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about, you know, the different
spots showing up in your house
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and you know how you deal with
it, you're like, OK, all right,
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all right.
Let's keep going.
216
00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,840
But they were pumped.
He opened it, the book, everyone
217
00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,080
stood, they bowed their heads,
they worshipped the Lord with
218
00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:09,360
their faces to the ground.
And then we've got a list of
219
00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:12,200
people, Joshua's in this list
and I don't know, 10 other
220
00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:15,200
people they, they broke out
into, maybe it's the first small
221
00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:16,640
group, I don't know.
They, they broke out and they
222
00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,320
helped people understand the law
while the people remained in
223
00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,120
their places.
They read from the book, from
224
00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:24,000
the law of God clearly and they
gave the sense so that the
225
00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:28,840
people understood the reading
going really, really well,
226
00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:32,600
spending a lot of time in
Scripture, a lot of respect for
227
00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:34,440
God's Word.
They're standing for God's Word,
228
00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,800
they're bowing, they're
worshipping, they're all
229
00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:39,520
understanding.
They have this hunger for God's
230
00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:44,640
word really, really good.
We'll keep going.
231
00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,680
If you look at the paragraph
verse 9 through 12, we see
232
00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:51,960
that's the people actually maybe
before they they started to
233
00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,520
mourn, they started to weep.
They're probably broken over.
234
00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,800
We're not, we're not keeping the
Torah and they're broken about.
235
00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,720
Actually, if you want to read
verse 9.
236
00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,800
Says and Nehemiah, who is the
governor, and Ezra the priest
237
00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,760
and scribe, and the Levites, who
taught the people, said to all
238
00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:12,800
the people, this day is holy to
the Lord your God, do not
239
00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,960
mourner weep for all the people
wept as they heard the words of
240
00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:19,480
the law.
And and actually there
241
00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:23,880
Nehemiah's gonna say go, go eat
fat, drink sweet wine.
242
00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:26,680
Like this is like a good day,
not a sad day.
243
00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,040
But I mean, it's good that
they're repenting and they're
244
00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:32,040
sorry, broken over their sin.
But it's good that that some of
245
00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:34,560
these people may not have even
heard the law to know that they
246
00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:36,400
were breaking it.
Yeah, yeah, it's probably very
247
00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:39,120
eye opening to be like, wow.
That's what we're supposed to be
248
00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:41,520
doing.
No wonder things are going so
249
00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:42,880
bad.
And then can you read verse 10?
250
00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:44,960
If if no one knows anything
about Nehemiah, they probably
251
00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,880
know this verse.
Verse 10 says Then he said to
252
00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:50,160
them, Go your way.
Not this part of it, but you
253
00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:51,640
keep.
Going eat the fat and drink
254
00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:55,680
sweet wine and send portions to
anyone who has nothing ready.
255
00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:00,520
That that's in there for this
day is holy to the Lord.
256
00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:03,760
And do not be grieved, for the
joy of the Lord is your
257
00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:05,440
strength.
Yeah, so this is the context of
258
00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:06,880
the joy of the Lord is your
strength.
259
00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,440
If you read different
commentaries, they make a big
260
00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,280
deal about this word strength.
In the Old Testament, this
261
00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:16,680
Hebrew word, which I don't know
if the top of my head is almost
262
00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:19,160
never translated strength.
Very rarely.
263
00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:24,200
It's usually translated fortress
or refuge like we see in the
264
00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:25,720
Psalms, you know, God is our
fortress.
265
00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,120
And so that that kind of gives
not a totally different meaning,
266
00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,520
but the Lord's.
And it's like, is it your joy
267
00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:35,600
and the Lord or the Lord's joy
as your refuge and your
268
00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:37,080
fortress?
It might have a different shade
269
00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,040
of meaning that might be.
Most in our in our English
270
00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:41,200
translation.
Exactly.
271
00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,600
And it's one of those verses, I
think, that is so familiar to
272
00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,920
people that they cling to this
and it's like we can't change
273
00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:49,760
the trend.
It's like people don't want to
274
00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:51,720
mess with it as much even though
it might not be the best.
275
00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,200
The joy of the Lord is my
fortress.
276
00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,640
The joy of the Lord is my
fortress.
277
00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,160
You've got to work everything.
It doesn't.
278
00:12:59,200 --> 00:12:59,760
I'm the.
Same.
279
00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:01,360
Yeah.
And so then the people have
280
00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,560
great rejoicing.
This is great.
281
00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:07,240
And they're going to go on to
celebrate the feast of booths.
282
00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,120
And there's something to it.
Like we don't do it in our
283
00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,400
modern context, especially if
you're, you know, we're not
284
00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,160
necessarily Baptist, but non
denominational.
285
00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,080
Like if you go to the Anglican
Church or the Catholic Church or
286
00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:18,640
whatever, they follow like the
church count.
287
00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:20,440
There's like different beats.
So we kind of do with Christmas
288
00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:22,440
and Easter.
But you know, when that the
289
00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:24,920
Jews, they had the Feast of
Booths, they're celebrating,
290
00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:28,880
they're kind of getting back to
some of their roots.
291
00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,840
They're talking about from the
days of Joshua, the son of nun.
292
00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:33,560
They're reading about these
things and saying, oh, we want
293
00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:36,680
to do this.
We want to kind of participate
294
00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:39,320
with what the people of God have
been doing for so long.
295
00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,480
They find out what they're
missing and they want to
296
00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:47,840
remember all these great things.
And that brings us to Nehemiah.
297
00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:53,880
We'll look at chapters 9 and 10,
and really, 9 is just a long a
298
00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,640
long a long prayer.
That's well, if you want to read
299
00:13:57,640 --> 00:13:58,840
it.
Probably worth reading verses
300
00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,920
one through 3.
OK says Now on the 24th day of
301
00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,480
this month, the people of Israel
were assembled with fasting and
302
00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:08,320
in sackcloth and with earth on
their heads.
303
00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,280
And the Israelites separated
themselves from all foreigners
304
00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:13,680
and stood and confessed their
sins and the iniquities of their
305
00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:16,200
fathers.
And they stood up in their place
306
00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,080
and read from the book of the
Law of the Lord their God for
307
00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,680
1/4 of the day.
For another quarter of it, they
308
00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,040
made confession and worship the
Lord their God.
309
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:26,400
Yeah.
And if if you're reading this
310
00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,880
like they are doing this like
for days on end, like several
311
00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,640
hours worshipping, I was
spending a lot of time.
312
00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:36,320
They're confessing their sins.
If we look to the end of verse
313
00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,560
5, it says stand up and bless
the Lord your God from
314
00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:40,920
everlasting to everlasting.
Blessed be your glorious name,
315
00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:43,200
which is exalted above all
blessing and praise.
316
00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:45,000
This is really going in a good
direction.
317
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:49,840
There's fasting, there's
sackcloth, there's prayer, a lot
318
00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:52,760
of confession.
It's like man, the book would it
319
00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:54,880
were were to end like here.
This is like really the
320
00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,000
Christian.
It would say just keep pushing
321
00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:58,200
through.
Things are great.
322
00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:03,000
We keep reading.
We get to his prayer again.
323
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,160
Nehemiah's gonna praise God's
character.
324
00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:07,240
He's gonna use God's covenantal
name.
325
00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:09,840
He's gonna praise Yahweh and
really recount all of his
326
00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:13,280
redemptive acts from Moses all
the way up.
327
00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:15,880
It's almost like a Psalm.
It's yeah, exactly.
328
00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,880
And it's like just reflecting on
all this great greatness of our
329
00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,440
God who keeps his promises, who
is faithful and righteous even
330
00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:27,560
when his people aren't.
We aren't going to read all that
331
00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:31,840
stuff.
I'm kind of glancing Israelites
332
00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,720
rebuild, but God was good to
them.
333
00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,200
Let's see.
Oh, and even we even get a shout
334
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:41,760
out to the land of Ogg, King of
Bashan.
335
00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:43,480
Isn't that interesting that
that's I was like Clay would
336
00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:44,760
appreciate.
That it's still there, Yeah.
337
00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,400
So.
And just a side note, Yeah, Oh,
338
00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:50,520
we got a text from Clay.
You were on that same text.
339
00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:51,600
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
340
00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:55,760
Oh yeah, during because we just
started Abraham and we skipped
341
00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:58,920
over, you know, we kind of were
sat in the context and we were
342
00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:01,560
talking about Noah and we
skipped over the part that
343
00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:03,200
talked about the nepheline.
Clay was furious.
344
00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:04,600
I think he walked out of that
service.
345
00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:06,720
I'm just kidding.
He like he like started messing
346
00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:07,960
with the sound.
Ezra.
347
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,320
Ezra doesn't even leave it out,
you know?
348
00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:11,760
That's right.
That's like, I saw that.
349
00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,120
I was like, that's interesting
that that is like, man, we're
350
00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,160
going to keep keep that in
there.
351
00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:18,680
Do you want to read verses 26
and 27?
352
00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,200
Yeah, it says.
Nevertheless, they were
353
00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:26,720
disobedient and rebelled against
you, and cast your law behind
354
00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,120
their back, and killed your
prophets who had warned them in
355
00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:34,040
order to turn them back to you,
and they committed great
356
00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:36,480
blasphemies.
Therefore you gave them into the
357
00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:40,240
land, into the hand of their
enemies, who made them suffer.
358
00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:44,000
It's we see God's goodness and
then it's like, I mean, it fits
359
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,040
really nicely with Ezra,
Nehemiah, it fits nicely with us
360
00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,640
today.
It's like mankind, humanity just
361
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,440
disobedient, rebellious.
If you skip down to verse 31.
362
00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,120
Nevertheless, in your great
mercies, you didn't make an end
363
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:59,880
of them or forsake them for you
are a gracious and merciful God
364
00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:03,160
and then appeals to God.
You're great, you're mighty,
365
00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:05,880
you're awesome covenantal God
steadfast to love.
366
00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:10,280
You know he's he's really crying
out that you've been faithful.
367
00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,040
We've been wicked and they've
renewed this covenant.
368
00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:16,520
So they're reading the Torah
covenant renewal lot of praise
369
00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:22,520
to God in verse in chapter 10 we
get a list of all the people who
370
00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:25,400
like sealed this covenant that
they're like, hey, I promise I'm
371
00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:27,560
going to keep Torah.
This is the start of something
372
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,120
new.
Now would these people go on to
373
00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:32,560
be Pharisees?
These people are promised you
374
00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:34,840
can keep Torah.
It's yeah, I don't know, you
375
00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:35,840
know, I don't.
Yeah.
376
00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,040
It's like all these names are
there.
377
00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:43,040
It's like a huge list of names
of presumably heads of
378
00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:44,680
households who are going to keep
this.
379
00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,360
Then then we get the obligations
of the covenant that they're
380
00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:51,680
agreeing to.
It deals in all of these areas
381
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,320
where they have failed kind of
it goes through these different
382
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,760
Levitical laws.
So we're going to skip through a
383
00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,560
lot of that talks about tithing,
first fruits, sacrificing, don't
384
00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,720
neglect the temple Sabbath.
Intermarriage.
385
00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:05,040
Intermarriage.
Yeah, it almost talks about a
386
00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:06,960
lot of the things that they had
previously messed up, like, hey,
387
00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:08,760
we're going to get this right
now.
388
00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:10,960
They.
Talk about the year of Jubilee.
389
00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,040
Year, yeah, yeah, year of
Jubilee.
390
00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:15,920
They they're really doing some
deep cuts in in the tour saying,
391
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:20,400
hey, we are going to be faithful
to all of this.
392
00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,680
We get to Chapter 11.
It says now the leaders of the
393
00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,200
people lived in Jerusalem and
the less of the rest of the
394
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:29,000
people cast lots to bring out
one out of tend to live in
395
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,840
Jerusalem, the holy city.
Well, 9 remained in other towns
396
00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,120
and the people blessed all men
who live.
397
00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:37,160
So it was almost like it was
kind of gonna be tough to live
398
00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:38,120
here.
It's like a new city.
399
00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:40,600
They had to cast lots.
For it, it's like on a
400
00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,320
mountaintop, so.
It is a high, Yeah, yeah, yeah.
401
00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,800
I mean, I guess they probably
have some agriculture there, but
402
00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:47,440
it's not like they're gonna have
like these.
403
00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,640
It's not the fertile, fertile
area, right?
404
00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:52,760
Right.
Yeah, exactly half of it.
405
00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,280
Where the?
Water and rainfalls.
406
00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:56,920
When I was reading too, they
were like, man, if you're in the
407
00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:00,440
city, a new city, probably much
more likely to get attacked.
408
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,400
I don't know how much that
matters where they were living.
409
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:05,760
Like they're not going to attack
the rural areas probably as
410
00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:07,280
much.
But it just wasn't.
411
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:09,640
Whatever it was wasn't super
attractive to live in the city
412
00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,040
at that time.
And then buckle up.
413
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:15,000
A lot of names, a lot of chiefs,
a lot of valiant men, a lot of
414
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,240
sons of Benjamin and priests and
Levites and gatekeepers.
415
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,160
We won't bore you there, but
talks about all the villages.
416
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:26,080
Just just a lot of specifics.
Ezra saying, hey, all these
417
00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:27,960
people were here.
Nehemiah 12.
418
00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:30,040
Kind of.
Keeps the names rolling.
419
00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:33,880
Keeps them going and and these
names like go back to Ezra.
420
00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:37,360
So kind of re repeating a lot of
this.
421
00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:44,280
We could go on and on and then
we get to verse 27 and we kind
422
00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,560
of get to this dedication of the
wall.
423
00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:47,160
Wall.
It's great.
424
00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:49,160
They get all the instruments out
there celebrating.
425
00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,600
Tubas were definitely there.
I think that's in a different
426
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,720
translation.
Cymbals, harps, liars, and
427
00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,040
people purified themselves.
It's great.
428
00:19:58,080 --> 00:19:59,800
They're dead.
So Tor is red.
429
00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,320
They're sensitive to it.
Covenant renewal, people making
430
00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:04,600
formal covenants.
They're dedicating the wall.
431
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,120
Even 2 great choirs come.
He's got a choir walking from
432
00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:09,640
the east, from the West.
They like, dramatically, like,
433
00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:11,240
walk together.
They're singing, swaying in
434
00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:12,600
choir robes while they're
walking up.
435
00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:17,240
Definitely the choir robes on
and it's it's a really big deal,
436
00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:20,760
a huge scene.
It even says that the joy of
437
00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:25,160
Jerusalem was heard far away.
Verse 43 says that we see joy
438
00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:29,960
mentioned a lot here.
We read in verse actually, this
439
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:33,160
is actually a big turning point.
This is probably the turning
440
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:37,560
point where once we get to verse
44, we start seeing more
441
00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:39,600
negativity.
Specifically after this
442
00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:46,360
paragraph, we see, you know,
long ago in the days of David,
443
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:48,560
in the days of David and Asaph,
there were directors singings,
444
00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:50,840
there were songs.
He's appealing back to David
445
00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,920
like this is a great time.
He's kind of re establishing
446
00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:56,200
duties of the Levites like they
were in the day of David.
447
00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,040
So they're trying to kind of
bring that Davidic kingship into
448
00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,320
here.
I'm very excited for it.
449
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,080
And then verse 13.
Let's go ahead.
450
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:10,960
Read verse one for me of
chapter. 13 on that day and you
451
00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:13,680
have I guess this is your
parenthetical statement or is
452
00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:17,320
this Yeah, they read from.
The book It might be longer than
453
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:18,920
a.
Day Oh yeah yeah, on that day
454
00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:22,560
probably longer than a day maybe
even months I appreciate that in
455
00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:23,720
there I've.
Never made that connection.
456
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,160
They read from the book of Moses
and the hearing of the people,
457
00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:32,080
and in it was found written that
Noamonite or Moabite should ever
458
00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:35,400
enter the Assembly of God.
For they did not meet the people
459
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:38,520
of Israel with bread and water,
but hired Balaam against them to
460
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,680
curse them, that our God turned
the curse into a blessing.
461
00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:45,280
So this is this is just
interesting that I read.
462
00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:47,960
So they're reading back in the
Torah and they're like, hey, no
463
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:51,000
Ammonite, no Moabite that really
traces its origin back to
464
00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,360
Abraham, and lots.
And his two daughters.
465
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:54,760
So that's like the.
Origins great.
466
00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:58,080
A great family story.
Yeah, go family devotions.
467
00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,120
Let's hit that one hard.
And so it goes back to that.
468
00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:05,120
And their response is no,
foreigners are out loud, which
469
00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:07,000
isn't necessarily the same
thing, so.
470
00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:08,880
It's easy.
You can't even look at it or
471
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:10,920
touch it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
472
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:12,480
Exactly.
And so and now read this.
473
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:14,880
Read verse 4.
OK, it says.
474
00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,360
Now before this, Elisha of the
priest who was appointed over
475
00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:22,560
the chambers of the House of our
God, who was related to Tobiah,
476
00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,560
prepared for Tobiah a large
chamber where they had
477
00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:28,280
previously put the grain,
offering the frankincense, the
478
00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:30,440
vessels, and the ties of the
grain, the wine and the oil,
479
00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,160
which were there by commandment
to the Levite singers and
480
00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,520
gatekeepers, and the
contributions for the priests.
481
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,640
We've read this a lot, Do you
remember what Tobiah was?
482
00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,680
Yeah, he was an Ammonite.
It's like, so they're not
483
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,320
letting any, they're excluding
all foreigners, but they let one
484
00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:47,360
guy in, presumably, and it's
specifically what they're not
485
00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:49,560
supposed to do from the Torah.
This is not good.
486
00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,960
And not only that, it was
allowed by this guy, Eliashib,
487
00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:54,960
the priest is the one who said,
hey, this is cool.
488
00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:58,440
You can even like he was, hey,
he was related to Tobiah and he
489
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,200
said, hey, you can have a
chamber like in the storehouses
490
00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,160
of the temple.
This will be like totally fine.
491
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,520
So so we see this covenant
renewal and then immediately
492
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:11,760
after we see the temple being
defiled, like right away they're
493
00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,000
letting in the people they
promised they wouldn't.
494
00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,000
Nehemiah read, read verse 6.
This is Nehemiah's alibi.
495
00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:21,560
While this was taking place, I
was not in Jerusalem, but.
496
00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,880
Don't get me.
He was up there with Artis
497
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:27,880
Grixes.
Yeah, so he's like, I wasn't
498
00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:29,800
here.
I came back and I saw this and I
499
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:32,880
was furious.
We see like a major shift.
500
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:34,800
Basically it's.
This guy where he's like pulling
501
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:36,640
his hair out.
Yeah, we're about to get to that
502
00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,400
part.
So the temple's kind of defiled.
503
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:43,240
We're gonna see if we were to
keep reading everything that
504
00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:45,040
people are like using wine
presses.
505
00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:47,680
They on the Sabbath.
They're like trading on Sabbath.
506
00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:50,480
Not only are they trading on the
Sabbath, but the wall that
507
00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,560
Nehemiah built now was like the
place to be on the Sabbath to to
508
00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:56,680
do business and the temples have
filed the wall that was just
509
00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:59,200
dedicated is being used to
intentionally break the Sabbath.
510
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:03,200
No one's keeping Tora worship.
Everything they basically have
511
00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,840
done has been undone and it's
still with Nehemiah.
512
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:08,440
It's not like this has been 100
years later.
513
00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,800
It's like not not that far
different.
514
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:13,800
And we see this kind of thing
happen at least two or three
515
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:15,880
times in verse 14.
He'll say, Remember Me, Oh my
516
00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,600
God, don't wipe out my good
deeds that I've done.
517
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,160
This is like not but he's like.
Remember from yeah, in the
518
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:24,480
beginning of the book he's like
corporately confessing sin.
519
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:26,840
And now he's like, OK, not me,
not me, them.
520
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,040
Them yeah and this is a good
shift we see I don't know how
521
00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:31,760
much we're supposed to read into
this, but in the beginning
522
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:34,880
Nehemiah is I mean he's kind of
emotional when he blurts up
523
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,480
before the king, but he's taken
3 days to assess the situation.
524
00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,920
By the end of it he's like
pulling being violent with
525
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:43,400
people.
We see kind of like this shift
526
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:47,800
where where where things aren't
going great he's like and so
527
00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,640
verse 15 does say I saw on Judah
people treading winepress on the
528
00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:53,320
Sabbath, bringing heaps of grain
on the donkeys this kind of
529
00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:57,440
stuff.
If we keep going through, he's
530
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:00,520
saying we're gonna close the
gates because of all this stuff.
531
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,560
He says I will lay hands on you
if you don't listen to me.
532
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:05,600
Remember this.
Oh, my God.
533
00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:07,040
Spare me.
According to the greatness.
534
00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:08,880
He's like, come on.
This is not not me.
535
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:11,880
He makes physical threats.
He's like, you better keep the
536
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:13,160
Sabbath.
I'm going to beat you.
537
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,560
Like, come on.
We've talked about this over.
538
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,440
And people were killed when
Moses first came out.
539
00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:19,520
Yeah.
So you know.
540
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:23,120
It's.
Not that is kind of kind in
541
00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:24,960
comparison.
We get to verse 23.
542
00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:27,400
You go ahead and read verses 23
through 25.
543
00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,440
It says in those days also I saw
the Jews who had married women
544
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:36,440
of Ashdod, Amon and Moab, and
half of their children spoke the
545
00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,520
language of the language of
Ashdod, and they could not speak
546
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,760
the language of Judah, but only
the language of each people.
547
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,320
And I confronted them and cursed
them and beat some of them and
548
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:47,920
pulled out their hair.
So.
549
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,640
So not only has intermarrying
happened, but their kids don't
550
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,040
even know Hebrew.
It's like they don't even have
551
00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:54,840
the culture at all.
They just sort of like we what
552
00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:56,520
we love the Feast of Booths.
This is great.
553
00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:58,560
Like we're loving these
traditions.
554
00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:01,200
And I don't know the timeline,
how much different, but it's not
555
00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:03,640
that much.
And it's like Sura Bull has been
556
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,200
there, Ezra's been there,
Nehemiah's been there.
557
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,160
It's like all just falling
apart.
558
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,720
And then and.
If you can't speak the language,
559
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:17,040
you can't read the Torah.
Makes a lot harder.
560
00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:21,240
You can't follow the law.
And and basically I does this
561
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:23,000
end in verse 30.
He's like, that's like cleanse
562
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:24,880
them from everything for and I
established the duties of the
563
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:26,920
priests and the Levites each and
his work Have I provided for the
564
00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:30,520
wood offering at appointed times
and for the first fruits.
565
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:32,880
I guess I skipped over this.
He he chased Sam ballot away.
566
00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:34,080
He's like, I'm getting Sam
ballot out of here.
567
00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:36,040
But that that's and it it's
done.
568
00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,280
It's over.
The book drops off where if I
569
00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,840
was writing the story, it's like
if you stop at that covenant
570
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:43,880
renewal, it's like so nice.
And then it's like kind of flat.
571
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:47,440
Or you might want to say, and
they learn their lesson finally,
572
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:50,520
you know, after 10 years, none
of this happened anymore.
573
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:53,440
I we fixed it, but it's kind of
left it just.
574
00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,480
Left there and it's like, man, I
never picked up on this, but
575
00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,960
it's like over and over and over
again, you know, and you're
576
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,040
you're still confronted like
Jeremiah still wrote something
577
00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:06,640
in Jeremiah 31 that is true.
And this immediately this
578
00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:10,360
happens after this Jeremiah
prophesied the edict of Cyrus a
579
00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:14,000
little bit and you look at this
and you're like, OK, this isn't
580
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:15,640
it.
So what where where does it not
581
00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,840
jive up?
And you're like, oh, there's no
582
00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:21,400
new heart.
There's no spirit of God at work
583
00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:23,920
here.
And it's not like Nehemiah and
584
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:25,840
Ezra were like the worst people
in the.
585
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:30,600
World and you know, hopefully
you would kind of looking back,
586
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:34,880
you may assume that God is
saying the new covenant what
587
00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,080
Jeremiah spoke in 3131.
You're not going to find it
588
00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:39,560
here.
I'll let you come back here.
589
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,800
I'll let you rebuild here, but
this is going to be empty
590
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:45,360
because this is just a shadow of
the thing that I'm actually
591
00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:47,400
going to bring.
Man, it's it's so great and
592
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,000
there's so there's more just
thinking.
593
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,520
I mean the people are just
longing for something else and
594
00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:55,600
it's just I I it's such a great
lesson.
595
00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,400
It's like I feel like everyone
just been more Tom and Ezra and
596
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:02,560
am I because it it speaks to
where we're at not really good
597
00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:04,640
the new covenant, but it's like
we're still longing for the
598
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:06,520
consummation when Christ
returned we're.
599
00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,000
Like Fulfillment 3131.
Yeah, that's right.
600
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:10,720
That's right.
It's like we have so much more
601
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,640
than they had, but it's like,
man, everything is just pointing
602
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:15,160
to.
The good thing is we never sin,
603
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:19,000
right?
Right, it is a great picture of
604
00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:23,160
even Nehemiah recounts from the
time Moses up to him, everyone's
605
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:25,560
rebelling and we can probably we
can go back to the time of Ezra
606
00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:28,120
and pick up the story and say
everyone's been rebelling since.
607
00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:31,440
And it's like, man, we don't
learn our lesson, but we can,
608
00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:33,920
you know, look forward to what
God will do.
609
00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,080
So I think Nehemiah was probably
a good leader.
610
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,360
I think Ezra was a good leader
is a real good leader.
611
00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,960
But it's like, man, you might
not you might hope that your you
612
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:44,920
know, your endeavor goes better,
better than theirs.
613
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,800
But anyway, I like the series,
it's Good Hope.
614
00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:51,280
Hopefully it's a little bit of a
fresh perspective 'cause you
615
00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:52,280
know, you just read through
scripture.
616
00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,000
Sometimes it's hard to pick up
on this 'cause you're probably
617
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,080
not hearing a sermon series on
this because.
618
00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:00,360
And if you are, it's probably
not picking up these.
619
00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:01,560
Particulars.
That's another point.
620
00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:03,560
Yes, yeah.
So it might be good to read it
621
00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:05,760
back.
You know, Ezra and me, my fresh
622
00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,440
eyes and go, OK, yeah, yeah, I
see, I see that.
623
00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,400
And oh, I hear all those names
that Michael and Zach skipped.
624
00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:13,160
That's great.
Yeah.
625
00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:15,120
Work on that, you know,
vocabulary.
626
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,760
Get it, get it, get it going.
That's great.
627
00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,720
I really enjoyed this series.
Probably time to move on to
628
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:22,760
something else, but any any
other closing thoughts?
629
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:25,520
No, I think this has been good.
I'm glad that you brought it.
630
00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:27,240
So, yeah, great.
But what?
631
00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:28,040
What?
What is next?
632
00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:31,640
Do we know what's next?
I think aren't we doing 2 on the
633
00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:33,840
Kingdom of God?
And I think that fits so well
634
00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:35,720
with this because it's like they
were trying to usher in the
635
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:37,920
Kingdom of God.
We can kind of pick up on that.
636
00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,560
Theme and then our pastor just
started Abraham alluded to that
637
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:42,480
I.
Like some of your ideas on
638
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:44,000
Abraham like that are like a
little bit.
639
00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:46,200
So we're I don't yeah, we're
going to try to.
640
00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:48,560
We're not going to just let's do
sermon recaps like with Romans,
641
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:50,280
although I thought Romans was
really good.
642
00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,280
But we're going to maybe look at
some, you know, some things that
643
00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,200
Joel probably is not going to
talk about with Abraham and
644
00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:58,360
maybe investigate some behind
the scenes stuff, you know?
645
00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:00,440
I love it, I'm excited for it.
Well, thanks for hanging in
646
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:02,960
there for this series.
That's our take.
647
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:05,800
Thanks for listening to Take
Two.
648
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,120
Find us wherever you find
podcasts and on YouTube for
649
00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:10,840
those who want to watch our
video cast.