Devotion
What’s wrong Nehemiah? Why do you look sad?
David Jacobs
If you have read the Old Testament closely, something may jump out at you when you read this passage. Do you notice something different? Notice the first sentence of the book: it is written from the first-person perspective. Parts of the book of Ezra are also written from the first-person perspective (Ezra 7:1-11). If you are anything like me, you are excited by this and also wondering why these books are written in a similar style.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were originally written as one book. Ezra is believed to be the author of these books as he was a noted scribe (Ezra 7:6-10) and it would explain why parts of the book of Ezra were written from the first-person perspective.
Now let's look at the verses I selected. Nehemiah is a Jewish servant working for King Artaxerxes. The king notices Nehemiah looking sad and inquires as to why. Nehemiah wonders inwardly whether he should say his true feelings, prays to God, and tells the king why: he is unhappy because Israel has been destroyed, the people exiled, and he is doing nothing about it. He asks the king to let him go and, perhaps to his surprise, the king grants his wish. "Ask and ye shall receive" (Matthew 7:7).
Prayer
There is so much beauty to be unlocked in the Bible. Reading these verses for the first time and noticing the perspective change encourage me to learn more. The verses themselves are inspiring and touching, with Nehemiah mustering the courage to ask a benevolent king to let him go on a mission to rebuild his homeland. Get excited about the Bible! It makes reading it so much more meaningful.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
