Skip HeitzigSkip Heitzig

Skip's Teachings > Bible from 30,000 Feet - 2018, The > Flight NEH01

Message:

BUY: Buy CD
Player will resume where you were momentarily. Please wait...

Cancel
Loading player...
Enter your Email Address:

or cancel

Flight NEH01
Nehemiah 1-13
Skip Heitzig

Jump To: Worship | Message

Nehemiah 1 (NKJV™)
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel,
2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said to me, "The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire."
4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
5 And I said: "I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments,
6 "please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father's house and I have sinned.
7 "We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.
8 "Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;
9 'but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.'
10 "Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.
11 "O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." For I was the king's cupbearer.
Nehemiah 2 (NKJV™)
1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.
2 Therefore the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart." So I became dreadfully afraid,
3 and said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?"
4 Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it."
6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), "How long will your journey be? And when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
7 Furthermore I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah,
8 "and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy." And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9 Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.
11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.
12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode.
13 And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire.
14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass.
15 So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.
17 Then I said to them, "You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach."
18 And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. So they said, "Let us rise up and build." Then they set their hands to this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?"
20 So I answered them, and said to them, "The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem."
Nehemiah 3 (NKJV™)
1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They built as far as the Tower of the Hundred, and consecrated it, then as far as the Tower of Hananel.
2 Next to Eliashib the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.
3 Also the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars.
4 And next to them Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz, made repairs. Next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok the son of Baana made repairs.
5 Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord.
6 Moreover Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors, with its bolts and bars.
7 And next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, repaired the residence of the governor of the region beyond the River.
8 Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Also next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs; and they fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
9 And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, leader of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs.
10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs in front of his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabniah made repairs.
11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens.
12 And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh, leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs.
13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it, hung its doors with its bolts and bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Refuse Gate.
14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, leader of the district of Beth Haccerem, repaired the Refuse Gate; he built it and hung its doors with its bolts and bars.
15 Shallun the son of Col-Hozeh, leader of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate; he built it, covered it, hung its doors with its bolts and bars, and repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the King's Garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the City of David.
16 After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, leader of half the district of Beth Zur, made repairs as far as the place in front of the tombs of David, to the man-made pool, and as far as the House of the Mighty.
17 After him the Levites, under Rehum the son of Bani, made repairs. Next to him Hashabiah, leader of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district.
18 After him their brethren, under Bavai the son of Henadad, leader of the other half of the district of Keilah, made repairs.
19 And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the leader of Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the Ascent to the Armory at the buttress.
20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai carefully repaired the other section, from the buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
21 After him Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz, repaired another section, from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib.
22 And after him the priests, the men of the plain, made repairs.
23 After him Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs by his house.
24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress, even as far as the corner.
25 Palal the son of Uzai made repairs opposite the buttress, and on the tower which projects from the king's upper house that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs.
26 Moreover the Nethinim who dwelt in Ophel made repairs as far as the place in front of the Water Gate toward the east, and on the projecting tower.
27 After them the Tekoites repaired another section, next to the great projecting tower, and as far as the wall of Ophel.
28 Beyond the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house.
29 After them Zadok the son of Immer made repairs in front of his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs.
30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah made repairs in front of his dwelling.
31 After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the Nethinim and of the merchants, in front of the Miphkad Gate, and as far as the upper room at the corner.
32 And between the upper room at the corner, as far as the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.
Nehemiah 4 (NKJV™)
1 But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.
2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish--stones that are burned?"
3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, "Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall."
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!
5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.
6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
7 Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry,
8 and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.
9 Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.
10 Then Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall."
11 And our adversaries said, "They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease."
12 So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, "From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us."
13 Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14 And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses."
15 And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
16 So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.
17 Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.
18 Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, "The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.
20 "Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us."
21 So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared.
22 At the same time I also said to the people, "Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day."
23 So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.
Nehemiah 5 (NKJV™)
1 And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren.
2 For there were those who said, "We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live."
3 There were also some who said, "We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine."
4 There were also those who said, "We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our lands and vineyards.
5 "Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards."
6 And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
7 After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, "Each of you is exacting usury from his brother." So I called a great assembly against them.
8 And I said to them, "According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?" Then they were silenced and found nothing to say.
9 Then I said, "What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?"
10 "I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury!
11 "Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them."
12 So they said, "We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say." Then I called the priests, and required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.
13 Then I shook out the fold of my garment and said, "So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said, "Amen!" and praised the LORD. Then the people did according to this promise.
14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor's provisions.
15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God.
16 Indeed, I also continued the work on this wall, and we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work.
17 And at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us.
18 Now that which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this I did not demand the governor's provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people.
19 Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.
Nehemiah 6 (NKJV™)
1 Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates),
2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono." But they thought to do me harm.
3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?"
4 But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.
5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand.
6 In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king.
7 And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, 'There is a king in Judah!' Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together.
8 Then I sent to him, saying, "No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart."
9 For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, "Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done." Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
10 Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you."
11 And I said, "Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!"
12 Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13 For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
14 My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.
16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
17 Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them.
18 For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.
Nehemiah 7 (NKJV™)
1 Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,
2 that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.
3 And I said to them, "Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house."
4 Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt.
5 Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return, and found written in it:
6 These are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city.
7 Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
8 the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two;
9 the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two;
10 the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two;
11 the sons of Pahath-Moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen;
12 the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;
13 the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five;
14 the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty;
15 the sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight;
16 the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight;
17 the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two;
18 the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven;
19 the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven;
20 the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five;
21 the sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight;
22 the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight;
23 the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four;
24 the sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve;
25 the sons of Gibeon, ninety-five;
26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight;
27 the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight;
28 the men of Beth Azmaveth, forty-two;
29 the men of Kirjath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three;
30 the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one;
31 the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two;
32 the men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three;
33 the men of the other Nebo, fifty-two;
34 the sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;
35 the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty;
36 the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five;
37 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one;
38 the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three;
40 the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two;
41 the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven;
42 the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the sons of Hodevah, seventy-four.
44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.
45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight.
46 The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,
47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,
48 the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Salmai,
49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,
50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,
51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah,
52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephishesim,
53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,
54 the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,
55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah,
56 the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.
57 The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,
58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,
59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of Amon.
60 All the Nethinim, and the sons of Solomon's servants, were three hundred and ninety-two.
61 And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not identify their father's house nor their lineage, whether they were of Israel:
62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two;
63 and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.
64 These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.
65 And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.
66 Altogether the whole assembly was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,
67 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five men and women singers.
68 Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,
69 their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
70 And some of the heads of the fathers' houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand gold drachmas, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly garments.
71 Some of the heads of the fathers' houses gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand gold drachmas, and two thousand two hundred silver minas.
72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly garments.
73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.
Nehemiah 8 (NKJV™)
1 Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel.
2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month.
3 Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
4 So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.
6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place.
8 So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.
9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep." For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.
10 Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, "Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved."
12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.
13 Now on the second day the heads of the fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law.
14 And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month,
15 and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, "Go out to the mountain, and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written."
16 Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim.
17 So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.
18 Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner.
Nehemiah 9 (NKJV™)
1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.
2 Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God.
4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God.
5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: "Stand up and bless the LORD your God Forever and ever! "Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.
7 "You are the LORD God, Who chose Abram, And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, And gave him the name Abraham;
8 You found his heart faithful before You, And made a covenant with him To give the land of the Canaanites, The Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, And the Girgashites--To give it to his descendants. You have performed Your words, For You are righteous.
9 "You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea.
10 You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants, And against all the people of his land. For You knew that they acted proudly against them. So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.
11 And You divided the sea before them, So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; And their persecutors You threw into the deep, As a stone into the mighty waters.
12 Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road Which they should travel.
13 "You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.
14 You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant.
15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.
16 "But they and our fathers acted proudly, Hardened their necks, And did not heed Your commandments.
17 They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them.
18 "Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, 'This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,' And worked great provocations,
19 Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go.
20 You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst.
21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell.
22 "Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, And divided them into districts. So they took possession of the land of Sihon, The land of the king of Heshbon, And the land of Og king of Bashan.
23 You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, And brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers To go in and possess.
24 So the people went in And possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, The Canaanites, And gave them into their hands, With their kings And the people of the land, That they might do with them as they wished.
25 And they took strong cities and a rich land, And possessed houses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great goodness.
26 "Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations.
27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies.
28 "But after they had rest, They again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, So that they had dominion over them; Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,
29 And testified against them, That You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, 'Which if a man does, he shall live by them.' And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not hear.
30 Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31 Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.
32 "Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty, and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy: Do not let all the trouble seem small before You That has come upon us, Our kings and our princes, Our priests and our prophets, Our fathers and on all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.
33 However You are just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, But we have done wickedly.
34 Neither our kings nor our princes, Our priests nor our fathers, Have kept Your law, Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, With which You testified against them.
35 For they have not served You in their kingdom, Or in the many good things that You gave them, Or in the large and rich land which You set before them; Nor did they turn from their wicked works.
36 "Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its bounty, Here we are, servants in it!
37 And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, Because of our sins; Also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle At their pleasure; And we are in great distress.
38 "And because of all this, We make a sure covenant, and write it; our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it."
Nehemiah 10 (NKJV™)
1 Now those who placed their seal on the document were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,
2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,
4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests.
9 The Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, and Kadmiel.
10 Their brethren: Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11 Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13 Hodijah, Bani, and Beninu.
14 The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
18 Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
26 Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
27 Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.
28 Now the rest of the people--the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding--
29 these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:
30 We would not give our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons;
31 if the peoples of the land brought wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and we would forego the seventh year's produce and the exacting of every debt.
32 Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to exact from ourselves yearly one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:
33 for the showbread, for the regular grain offering, for the regular burnt offering of the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the set feasts; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God.
34 We cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for bringing the wood offering into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at the appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God as it is written in the Law.
35 And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the LORD;
36 to bring the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God;
37 to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities.
38 And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the storehouse.
39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and the singers are; and we will not neglect the house of our God.
Nehemiah 11 (NKJV™)
1 Now the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities.
2 And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.
3 These are the heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem. (But in the cities of Judah everyone dwelt in his own possession in their cities--Israelites, priests, Levites, Nethinim, and descendants of Solomon's servants.)
4 Also in Jerusalem dwelt some of the children of Judah and of the children of Benjamin. The children of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the children of Perez;
5 and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni.
6 All the sons of Perez who dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.
7 And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah;
8 and after him Gabbai and Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight.
9 Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city.
10 Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, and Jachin;
11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the leader of the house of God.
12 Their brethren who did the work of the house were eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah,
13 and his brethren, heads of the fathers' houses, were two hundred and forty-two; and Amashai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,
14 and their brethren, mighty men of valor, were one hundred and twenty-eight. Their overseer was Zabdiel the son of one of the great men.
15 Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;
16 Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the heads of the Levites, had the oversight of the business outside of the house of God;
17 Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the leader who began the thanksgiving with prayer; Bakbukiah, the second among his brethren; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.
18 All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four.
19 Moreover the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren who kept the gates, were one hundred and seventy-two.
20 And the rest of Israel, of the priests and Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance.
21 But the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel. And Ziha and Gishpa were over the Nethinim.
22 Also the overseer of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha, of the sons of Asaph, the singers in charge of the service of the house of God.
23 For it was the king's command concerning them that a certain portion should be for the singers, a quota day by day.
24 Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was the king's deputy in all matters concerning the people.
25 And as for the villages with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt in Kirjath Arba and its villages, Dibon and its villages, Jekabzeel and its villages;
26 in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth Pelet,
27 Hazar Shual, and Beersheba and its villages;
28 in Ziklag and Meconah and its villages;
29 in En Rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth,
30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish and its fields; in Azekah and its villages. They dwelt from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.
31 Also the children of Benjamin from Geba dwelt in Michmash, Aija, and Bethel, and their villages;
32 in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah;
33 in Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim;
34 in Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat;
35 in Lod, Ono, and the Valley of Craftsmen.
36 Some of the Judean divisions of Levites were in Benjamin.
Nehemiah 12 (NKJV™)
1 Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3 Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their brethren in the days of Jeshua.
8 Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who led the thanksgiving psalms, he and his brethren.
9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, stood across from them in their duties.
10 Jeshua begot Joiakim, Joiakim begot Eliashib, Eliashib begot Joiada,
11 Joiada begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua.
12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of the fathers' houses were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 of Melichu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 of Abijah, Zichri; the son of Minjamin; of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 During the reign of Darius the Persian, a record was also kept of the Levites and priests who had been heads of their fathers' houses in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua.
23 The sons of Levi, the heads of the fathers' houses until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib, were written in the book of the chronicles.
24 And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, to praise and give thanks, group alternating with group, according to the command of David the man of God.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storerooms of the gates.
26 These lived in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites,
29 from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem.
30 Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. One went to the right hand on the wall toward the Refuse Gate.
32 After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah,
33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,
35 and some of the priests' sons with trumpets--Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,
36 and his brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe went before them.
37 By the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went up the stairs of the City of David, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of David, as far as the Water Gate eastward.
38 The other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I was behind them with half of the people on the wall, going past the Tower of the Ovens as far as the Broad Wall,
39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, above the Old Gate, above the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped by the Gate of the Prison.
40 So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me;
41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;
42 also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly with Jezrahiah the director.
43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.
44 And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered.
45 Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification, according to the command of David and Solomon his son.
46 For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
47 In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for each day. They also consecrated holy things for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them for the children of Aaron.
Nehemiah 13 (NKJV™)
1 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God,
2 because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing.
3 So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.
4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with Tobiah.
5 And he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests.
6 But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king,
7 and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God.
8 And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room.
9 Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
10 I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field.
11 So I contended with the rulers, and said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I gathered them together and set them in their place.
12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.
13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.
14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services!
15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions.
16 Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, "What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?
18 "Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath."
19 So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.
20 Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.
21 Then I warned them, and said to them, "Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!" From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath.
22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!
23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people.
25 So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.
26 "Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin.
27 "Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?"
28 And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me.
29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
30 Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service,
31 and to bringing the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times. Remember me, O my God, for good!

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

Previous | Next Cookies must be enabled to support these options.
Bible from 30,000 Feet - 2018, The

At the end of Ezra, the temple in Jerusalem had been rebuilt and dedicated, but the city walls were still in ruins. After gaining permission from the king of Persia, Nehemiah led a group to repair and rebuild the walls. Though he was met with hostility and conflict, we see how Nehemiah gathered his spiritual strength from God during trialing times.

Take your knowledge of the full scope of Scripture to soaring heights with The Bible from 30,000 Feet. In this series, Skip Heitzig pilots you through all sixty-six books of the Bible, revealing major themes, principles, people, and events from Genesis to Revelation. Fasten your seatbelt and open your Bible for this sweeping panorama of Scripture that will increase your faith in God's plan for the world-and for you.

Buy series | Buy audiobook

Transcript

Open as Word Doc Open as Word Doc    Copy Copy to Clipboard    Print icon    Show expand

Nehemiah 1-13 - The Bible from 30,000 Feet - Skip Heitzig - Flight NEH01

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The Bible from 30,000 Feet, soaring through the Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.

Turn in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah. Let's get ready in the book of Nehemiah. Tonight, as we look out the plane in our 30,000-foot view, we are seeing migrations from Persia to Jerusalem, three of them if we consider last week and this week together, three movements of Jews from Babylon-- actually now from Persia since the Medo-Persians have taken over the world-- three of those migrations of about 50,000 people total going from Medo-Persia about 900 miles to Jerusalem.

The first group that came back came under the leader named Zerubbabel. Remember him last time? I'm saying his name slowly because it's not a name that you're going to be familiar with unless you read some of these portions of the Old Testament, like Ezra or like some of the minor prophets. So Zerubbabel brings the first group back. Ezra brings the second group back. And now the third group coming back from Medo-Persia to Jerusalem comes under the leadership of a guy named Nehemiah.

Now, some of us identify with Old Testament characters. There's probably one or two that you love, and you go, man, I identify with that one-- maybe Joseph. Maybe like Joseph, your brothers didn't like you. And yet the Lord has just arranged your life in such a way that He just showed you favor anyway.

Or others, if you relate to Daniel, standing up against a world, a sea of unbelievers. And you just really love the faithfulness of Daniel. You relate to him. Many love David and relate to David, those psalms. Maybe he's more of the emotional type in some of those psalms, and you relate to him.

But probably very few of you say, Nehemiah, he's my favorite. I identify with him. Maybe you do. I think if my dad had been a student of Old Testament Scripture more than he was, he probably would have known Nehemiah and said, I relate to him, because my dad was a builder. He loved to take land, subdivide it, sell it off, develop it, sell houses on it. He saw potential.

Nehemiah was such a man. He goes from cupbearer to construction builder. He is a cupbearer for a king in Persia. And he becomes a construction builder for the kingdom of Judah in Jerusalem, bringing back a group of people. He is a contemporary with Ezra, though Ezra was probably older than he was.

And it takes Nehemiah a total of 52 days along with the people in Jerusalem to finish building the protective wall around the city of Jerusalem at the time. One of the key verses is Nehemiah chapter 6. And, yes, I am reading ahead. But after all, this is a 30,000-foot view.

In chapter 6 of Nehemiah, verse 15, "So the wall was finished on the 25th day of the month of Elul in 52 days." Now, we're going to see what he has done in the meantime in those 52 days and how those walls were built. Rebuilding something that is busted up, that is ruined is a daunting task. And it takes not just one but several people with a common desire and a common plan to see it through.

I remember when I had the privilege several years ago after the Towers fell in New York City after 9/11, September 11, 2001. I had a privilege of spending about 20, 22 days working at Ground Zero along with the workers there in New York City. I was credentialed with the Red Cross. I became an FBI chaplain. And so we had access down to Ground Zero.

And I just remember every worker every day looking at that gigantic mess, that hole, those Towers that had collapsed, and trying to get parts of bodies out, people out, identify who they were, and just that whole part of Manhattan so utterly devastated, destroyed, everything affected, and the sense of despair at the thought of not only the loss but the prospect of rebuilding such huge buildings.

Now you go there today, and it's a complete makeover, completely different. But in those days, a daunting task. Nehemiah, as we call him, his Hebrew pronunciation is Neh-ha-me-ah. And Neh-ha-me-ah means "Yahweh comforts" or "God is my comforter." And he becomes a comforter to those people living in Jerusalem as he comes back now to build the wall. The temple has been built by Ezra and his gang. But now that protective wall needs to be built.

Nehemiah was born in captivity, meaning he had never seen Jerusalem before. Keep that in mind as we get into chapter 1. A couple of verses are insightful into his character, having never seen Jerusalem, born in captivity, raised in captivity. He had never known freedom until a certain request that he makes to the king that he serves.

Now I'm going to sum up the book for you in three words. I always give you an outline when we do a 30,000-foot view like this. But I'm going to give you three words that sum up the whole book of Nehemiah-- rebuilding, reviving, resettling. Those three words sum up the entire portion of the book of the Bible called Nehemiah-- rebuilding, reviving, resettling.

The first seven chapters are about rebuilding a city's protection. Nehemiah is all about securing the wall, getting the gaps in the wall secure, finished, the gates hung so that the city is protected. So rebuilding a city's protection, that's chapters 1 through 7.

Second word, reviving. Chapters 8 through 10 are about reviving a city's passion, their passion for God, their worship of God, and their obedience to the word of God. The third section is resettling. They are resettling the city's population. They have to move some people around, as you'll see in chapters 11 through 13.

Let's begin, then, with the first, rebuilding. The book of Nehemiah opens up not in Jerusalem but in the kingdom of Persia. And in this chapter and in the first few chapters, Nehemiah discovers, Nehemiah weeps, Nehemiah prays, Nehemiah travels, Nehemiah builds. That is the activity that you will see.

Chapter 1, verse 1-- "The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hakaliah-- it came to pass in the month of Chislev"-- that's the late autumn, late November, early December-- "in the 20th year that I was in Shushan the citadel."

Now, you know that Babylon had once been in control of the world, right? You know that. You know that the Medo-Persian Empire took over from Babylon. You know that. So the leadership of the Persian Empire was always in one of three places. I mentioned one of them last time. I just want to reiterate this.

In the winter months, they would rule from Babylon, which was the center of the Babylonian Empire at one time but now taken over by the Medes and the Persians. But Babylon, the city of Babylon, is a great place to spend the winter. Think of Palm Springs or Phoenix. Great place to be in the winter, not so great to be in the summer.

So they would be in Babylon in the winter. In the springtime of the year or the cooler months of the year as it's just starting to cool down, they would move to Shushan or Susa, the city of Susa. And then in the summer months when it got hot, they moved into the mountain range in a place called Ecbatana.

And Ecbatana is where the royal records were kept, the archives of the kingdom. You want to find out who reigned when and what edict was given at what time, you have to look in Ecbatana. So we are in that part of the year where they're still in Shushan the citadel.

So Nehemiah says, I was in Shushan or the city of Susa in the palace, the citadel. "Then Hanani, one of my brethren, came with men from Judah. And I ask them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, concerning Jerusalem."

So he sees a guy that he knows has gone to Jerusalem and come back. And so he's just shooting the breeze. Hey, tell me what's happened since they've gone back to Jerusalem. I know that a bunch of them, 50,000 almost, went. So how's that going?

But this is what he hears. Verse 3-- "He said to me, 'The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.'"

At hearing this, Nehemiah's ears perked up like a doberman pincher because he knows what that means. You may have a temple built. Yes, they did. You may have worship occurring. Yes, it was. But if you have no wall, you have no protection. And the gates are burned with fire still? The destruction of the Babylonian captivity are still there? That's all they've done is build the temple? The walls are not intact?

So he knows what that means. In verse 4, "So it was when I heard these words that I sat down and wept." Very interesting insight into the kind of man he was-- emotionally moved, couldn't hold back the tears, had never been to Jerusalem, was just getting information about what's going on in Jerusalem. He falls down. "I sat down and I wept and mourned"-- not for a moment, not for the rest of the day-- but "for many days. I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven."

In his prayer-- we don't have time to go through all of this chapter, all of this book. But he prays. He confesses the sins of the nation in the plural pronoun "we." So he identifies himself with their sin. Down in verse 11, "O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name. And let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer."

Who is the king? The king is a guy by the name of Artaxerxes, full name Artaxerxes Longimanus. Very interesting person. He happened to be the stepson of somebody you know named Queen Esther. Queen Esther had been married to Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus was this guy's father. Ahasuerus is off the scene. So now Artaxerxes is king.

He says, "I was the king's cupbearer." There was probably no more position closer to the king except for his wife than being the cupbearer. It was a very trusted position. The cupbearer meant that you would taste the king's food and taste the king's wine before it ever got to the king. So if somebody poisoned the food or the wine, long live the king. But you better look for another cupbearer. That's how close Nehemiah was to the king.

Now, according to ancient protocol, to be a cupbearer of the king of Persia, you had to be cultured. You had to be knowledgeable in law. You had to be conversant in politics. And you had to be handsome. You had to have all those things working for you. You had to be a man of high integrity, good-looking guy, a knowledgeable person, intelligent person.

And so he hears. He prays. He weeps. He prays, asks God for the next step. It's been said that big doors swing on small hinges. And now you're going to see how God uses a simple conversation that Nehemiah will have with the king that he serves.

But I find it interesting that Nehemiah, in hearing what's going on in Jerusalem, sits down and he weeps. He's never been to Jerusalem. But his heart-- though he lives in Persia, his heart is in Jerusalem, as is the heart of every true Jewish person. It's amazing the connection that the Jewish people have for Jerusalem.

In fact, some of you who aren't even Jewish, but you've been with us to Israel-- when you pull into Jerusalem and you see it for the first time, so many people on our tour buses just break out and start weeping. It's like this connection that goes. But for the Jew, it's so much deeper. You know the psalm that says, "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning. May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I forget Zion as my chief joy."

So Nehemiah, feeling that pull, feeling that tug-- if it helps, think of it this way. He sat down and wept. He knelt down and prayed. And then he stood up and worked. That follows his life as we see it in this book.

Chapter 2-- notice how innocuously it opens. It's sort of a bland opening of chapter 2. It says, "And it came to pass in the month of Nissan in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes." Yeah, see, that doesn't move you. But now listen to it in the Living Bible. "One day in April, four months later."

Here's why I'm giving it to you in the Living Bible. Nehemiah prayed fervently, but it's been four months before he sees any answer to prayer. Now, he's weeping, man. He's fervent. He is so intense in his prayer. It's not, "O Lord, bless this food in Jesus." It's just-- it's intense, man. And you read his prayer, and you see the intensity. And you think, man, this prayer's got to be answered tomorrow or at least in a week.

But weeks go by. Months go by. But one day in April, God answers this prayer. Take heart when your fervent, effective prayers-- the Bible says they avail much but don't get answered the next day or the next moment. Don't walk away and say, I prayed about it. It never happened. Keep at it.

He mourned for many days. He fasted. He prayed. But four months later, God's about to answer it. So verse 1, "It came to pass in the month of Nissan in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes when the wine was before him that I took the wine and gave it to the king." So he tried it first, didn't drop dead, gave it to the King.

"Now I had never been sad in his presence before." What a statement. I never was bummed out. I smiled all the time. You'll find out why in a moment. "Therefore, the king said to me, 'Why is your face sad?'" Why art thou so bummed out?

[LAUGHTER]

"'Since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.' So I became dreadfully afraid and said to the King, 'May the king live forever.'" He's worried. May the king live forever. I might not live past the end of the day, but may the king live forever. "'Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste and its gates are burned with fire?'"

Servants in the Persian court were always expected to put on a happy-- a professional face. You're in the workplace. People come in. You can't wear your heart on your sleeve, before the king of Persia especially and just, man, I'm sort of bummed out. I just got to really be authentic with you, king. No, none of that. Your head will be lifted off your shoulders.

[LAUGHTER]

So the idea was the king has to be protected from sadness. So you would act merry, put on the best face. Verse 4, "The king said to me, 'what do you request?'" Wow, what a setup. Talk about teeing up the ball.

So what is it you want? So he's praying. He's sad. Four months go by. The king goes, what do you want? What a great moment this is. What do you request? "So I prayed to the God of heaven."

Since you have your Bible open, turn with me to Proverbs chapter 21. A verse I mentioned last week, I want you to look at it with your own eyes this week-- chapter 21 of Proverbs, verse 1. "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. Like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He wishes."

It's a great verse. I hope you know it. I hope you mark it. I hope you memorize it. The king's heart is in the Lord's hand. He can turn that heart. He can make things happen. He can deal with your boss, the people who are hassling you, troubling you. Are you having trouble with somebody? Then take their name and write it just in verse 1, chapter 21 above where it says the king's heart.

Your boss's heart is in the hand of the Lord. Your husband's heart is in the hand of the Lord. That creepy dude who cut you off on the way to church tonight is in the hand of the Lord. The person who stole your car, cussed you out is in the hand of the Lord. So the king says, what do you want? And then it says, "So I prayed." How do you think he prayed?

Silently.

Silently, quickly. The king done ask you question, and he gets on his knees and goes, "Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." That wouldn't work before the king. And you can't take too much time because the king would get suspicious. So it's what I call a popcorn prayer.

So I prayed, God help me right now in Jesus' name. Of course, he wouldn't praying in Jesus' name at that time. But he just shot up a quick one, shot it up to heaven. "I prayed to the God of heaven." Verse 5-- "I said to the king, 'If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me.'" He's a trusted person in the king's court.

But he's saying, relieve me of my duty and "'send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it.'" Now, that's a heart because he's got it made. He's in the palace. He gets the best food, the best wine, the best position, the best comfort, closest to the king. He's asking to go to the city whose gates are burned with fire. No protection. He says, "Send me."

So he's bold with his request. The king notices he's sad. He prays. He stands up, and he's respectful but bold. Here's the principle. When you kneel before the King in heaven, you can stand before any king on Earth.

Amen. Amen.

He stands up, and he says, I'll tell you what I want. I want you to send me to Judah, to the place of my ancestry, that I may get involved in the work. Verse 11-- "So I came to Jerusalem. I was there three days." Now Ezra had already been there 14 years by the time Nehemiah comes to the city. I'm sure they were glad to see each other.

But look at verse 12. "Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I told no one what my God put in my heart to do at Jerusalem." Now, he will tell them. But at first, he tells no one. It's just in his heart. He's wrestling with it. He's trying to figure out a game plan.

"Nor was there any animal with me except the one in which I rode." So he goes out to survey the walls at night, I imagine, under a full moon. He's with his donkey, goes out just to survey and assess the need, to inspect the wall. He did not immediately go into action.

Now, again, I see lots of principles in this book. Don't have time to go through all of them. But this is an important one. He didn't hit the ground in Jerusalem and go, "I'm here. Let's get to work right now. I heard about this place. Yeah, you built a temple, but the walls are busted up. The gates are still burnt. Come on."

He first kept it inside, no doubt praying as he went, praying as he surveyed, trying to get a plan going first before he started working. One of my favorite AW Tozer quotes goes like this. "Aimless activity is beneath the worth and dignity of a human being. The great weight of exhortation these days is in the direction of zeal and activity. 'Let's get going' is the favorite watchword for Gospel workers with the result that everyone feels ashamed to sit down and think."

Nehemiah has to go around the walls and think first before he speaks, before they work. He just wants to take it all in and think before the zeal, before the activity. After this, he rallies the people. They're all on board. Let's build. Let's do it.

Now, it's a great plan. It's under the providence of God. It's under the favor of the king. Therefore, expect opposition. Please remember this principle. If you think, I'm in God's will and therefore everything's just going to flow smoothly, you will be shocked a lot. In fact, many of you, if that is your attitude, will stop working for the Lord.

Verse 19-- "But"-- uh-oh. "But." That means that's not a good sign if everything's good, they're going to build-- "but." "But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official"-- those are sworn enemies of the Jews-- "and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us and said, 'What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the King?'"

Well, of course not. They're not rebelling against the king. They're responding to the king. The king said go. Nehemiah asked permission. The king gave him permission. But they're all acting all haughty and cool, and we represent the king. They had no clue.

"So I answered them and said to them, 'The God of heaven Himself'"-- interesting response. Nehemiah didn't put his chest out and go, let me tell you something about the king. I was his cupbearer, dude. I was as close to the king as you could get. He gave me permission. He didn't even bring the king's name up.

He says, "The God of heaven Himself." He appeals to the King of kings. "The God of heaven Himself will prosper us. Therefore, we His servants will arise and build. But you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem." So now the plot thickens.

He comes to Jerusalem after hearing the report. He starts in motion the idea of rebuilding the protective walls. And as soon as he does, the enemies come. And you're going to read about these enemies all through the book to the very end. Ever heard of Murphy's law?

Yes.

You've heard about it, right?

Yes.

Do you know who came up with it? Do you know what it is? Tell me. What is Murphy's law?

If anything can go wrong--

That's it. If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. It started on an American Air Force Base in California, Edwards Air Force Base, started by a guy named Murphy. They were doing a bunch of tests. I won't get into the minutia. But he came up with this idea, and it became kind of coined as Murphy's law.

So you know that. But there's another law you need to know about. It's called Lucifer's law. And Lucifer's law is this. Whatever God loves, Satan hates. So if you attach yourself to what God loves, and if Satan hates that, you can expect some opposition. If you do right, if you live righteously, expect to be attacked.

I believe that if Nehemiah would have gone to anywhere else in the Persian Empire to build a city, he would not have gotten the kind of blowback that he got here. And whenever you undertake any work for God, expect to get a bullseye put on your back. You're a target. Get prepared to pay the price.

Think of David, a simple shepherd enjoying the stars, enjoying his sheep, enjoying life until the day Samuel the prophet said, you're the next king. Then for a decade of his life, the king of Israel tried to kill him, tried to put a spear through him, tried to eliminate that one who would be that messianic fulfillment of the promise of the Messiah.

So just a friendly caution. Satan would love nothing more than to take the wind out of your sails. Don't let him. Don't let him. Know it's coming. Don't let it happen. Let's see what happens. Chapter 3, they build. Jerusalem gets an extreme makeover. In 52 days, they take a pile of rubble, they build up those walls, surrounded by enemies, and they finish it.

Now, if you go to Jerusalem today and we show you some of the piles of stones and some of the rubble, you'll get all excited. Wow. Look at that pile of rubble. That's so cool. Man, that was part of that building and that time, and it's in the Bible.

But a pile of rubble to people in Nehemiah's day wasn't, wow, what a cool tour we're on. It's like, what an enormous job we have to do. It brought despair to them, not joy, not encouragement because those rocks should be up on a wall to protect them.

So they go to building. And the chapter begins by showing them building the northern wall of Jerusalem. I'm going to give you relative directions now. They start on the northern wall, work their way to the western side and then the southern side, then the east side. So they move counterclockwise.

And in chapter 3, there's a phrase that is used 16 times. If you see it, you just might want to circle it a couple times. It's the word "next to" or the phrase "next to." This guy worked next to this guy. This group worked next to this group. This section worked next to that section. They're next to each other. They're working together with, not against, each other.

So the work of building is not one man's job. It's the job of the team. In fact, understand this. 38 individuals are mentioned in chapter 3, and 42 different groups are mentioned in chapter 3. They're identified. Nehemiah's name isn't mentioned once in chapter 3. It's this group and that group and this person and that person. And they all work together. Yes, Nehemiah is there. But he is not mentioned.

That's how the church works. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12, "The body is not one member but many members." Moses learned that. His father-in-law Jethro-- not Bodine but Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, the Midianite-- said, Moses, what you're doing is not good. You need help.

Moses had to understand that one person, no matter how gifted, can do the ministry alone. You need a team. You need a group. So it is with the church. The church is not a spectator sport, where I'm going to come to church, and my job in my church-- here's my job in my church. I come to watch.

That's what I do. I come to the feeding trough, and I eat. I come to the gas station, and I get filled up, fill my tank. I get ministered to. Then I live my week. Then I come back. That's a good start. But just to come to the field and sit in the dugout and not get out on the field becomes a problem eventually.

I loved how one coach was asked, what is the definition of football? And he said, here's my definition of football. It's 22 men on the field who desperately need rest and 50,000 people in the grandstands who desperately need exercise.

[LAUGHTER]

And isn't it funny? One of those fans or a lot of them-- one of the players on the field does something they don't like, [GRUMBLES] you're a horrible player. Boo. Well, he's just munching his Doritos, gaining weight up there, doing nothing at all. Couldn't make that play to save his life.

[LAUGHTER]

But I digress. Chapter 4 is more opposition. I'm going to quickly move through it and then show you opposition of four different kinds, first of all, opposition of ridicule. Verse 1-- "But it so happened when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall that he was furious and very indignant and mocked the Jews or ridiculed them. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria."

So evidently, he's brought an army with him just in case. He wants to be prepared for military action, probably provoke a war. So "he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria and said, 'What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish, stones that are burned?'

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and said, 'Whatever they build, if a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.'" Wow. That's ridicule. What does Nehemiah do? What's his response? Does he go out there, let me tell you guys something?

Look at his response. Verse 4-- "Hear, O God." See, here's a man who knew. When I'm touched with a need and I fall on my knees and pray, it might be four months before I see the answer. But that prayer worked. So he saw in his own life the evidence of answered prayer. So immediately, he hears the ridicule. He prays.

"Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their reproach on their own heads"-- kind of a mafia prayer-- "and give them as plunder into a land of captivity." I pray, Lord, that you bring a nation to take them captive. Wow.

Verse 6-- "So we built the wall. And the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work." I love that. It's one of my favorite verses in this, my favorite book of the Bible this week.

[LAUGHTER]

Nehemiah. "The people had a mind to work." Not a mind a watch. Not a mind to mock. Not a mind to gossip. Not a mind to disrupt. But a mind to work. That's good. But the opposition won't stop. The opposition, we've already seen, comes, and it will continue. And that's important just to make note of. When you attempt anything for God, get used to it. You'll have opposition.

Listen to these verses. 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 12-- "Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold of eternal life." Why would Paul have to write about the Christian life like it's a fight? Because it is. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 3-- "You must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

We're in a battle together, not a playground, a battleground. 2 Timothy chapter 4-- "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith." So that's the first opposition, the opposition of ridicule.

Second is the opposition of discouragement. Chapter 4, verse 10-- "Then Judah said"-- not the person of Judah. He's long gone. The tribe of Judah, the people in Jerusalem. "Then Judah," these people, "said, 'The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.'"

Why do they call it rubbish? Because in verse 2, the enemies called it rubbish. In verse 2, the enemy said, will they revive the stones from the heap of rubbish? They heard the enemy say that. Now they're believing the spin. You just say something over and over and over again, and people start-- that's where their mind goes.

So what was once rocks to them is now rubbish to them. These stones, these precious rocks that are part of God's wall to protect the city, it's just rubbish. They're pretty low in their spirits. That's the opposition of discouragement.

So Nehemiah responds to this. Verse 14-- "And I looked and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, to the rest of the people, 'Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.'

And it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work." So Nehemiah responded to this by encouraging those who were discouraged in building.

Chapter 5, we have a third kind of opposition. Let's call this opposition by greed or selfishness. What's going on is this. There's a famine. Things aren't growing very well. Crops aren't growing very well. And the leaders unfortunately are raising the taxes, hurting the people by high taxes.

So you got a famine. You've got high taxes. Then people are lending money with a high interest rate, an exorbitant interest rate. That's called usury. Look down in verse 7. Nehemiah gets mad about this. "After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and the rulers and said to them, 'Each of you is exacting usury from his brother.'

So I called a great assembly against them. And I said to them, 'According to our ability, we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?' Then they were silenced and found nothing to say."

You get his logic. We just came out of captivity, man. We were sold to another nation. We came back from that captivity. You're taking them captive again by the way you are lending to them, making them in bondage once again.

Now, in chapter 6, we have another form of opposition. I'm going to call it opposition by distraction. The enemies come, verse 2, and they say to Nehemiah, "'Come let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.' But they thought to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, 'Oh, no.

[LAUGHTER]

I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.'" I love this, too. This is another one of my favorite verses in the book. I'm busy doing God's work. I don't have time for the lightweight stuff. I don't have time. "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?" It's a great answer.

I was reading an article the last couple of days. I get these articles sent to me, and I think the article was like "13 Habits of Insanely Successful People." And one of the quotes was from Warren Buffett, who said, the difference between a successful person and a very successful person is a very successful person says no most of the time.

He is so or she is so narrowed down the focus. So this is what I'm good at. This is what I'm called to. I'm not going to do that other stuff. That's important stuff. It's urgent stuff. But it's not important to me right now. This is what I'm going to do and get others to do it, but I won't do it. I'm not coming down.

Well, that didn't go very well with the enemies. They did this. They requested to meet with him four different times after this. When you're opposed by people, you're going to have to learn how to turn off those voices who clamor for attention and just plow right through their intimidation, the intimidation of the critic. Just keep going. Keep plowing.

Finally, chapter 6, verse 15, I read it to you a moment ago. "So the wall was finished"--

Woohoo.

Yeah-- "on the 25th day of Elul"-- that's October-- "in 52 days." This is one of the key verses of the book. "And it happened when all our enemies heard of it and all the nations around us saw these things that they were very disheartened in their own eyes." It's about time. "For they perceive that this work was done by our God."

Now, in chapter 7, there's a list. There's a lot of names in it-- leaders, citizens, those who returned from Persia to Jerusalem, and were a lot of different portions of land. Now let's begin in chapter 8 where we come to the second section, right? We said that you can divide the book into the three words-- rebuilding, and now the second word, and that is reviving, reviving a city's passion, chapters 8 through 10.

Now I mentioned a couple verses that are some of my favorite verses, right, in the book. This is my favorite chapter. Truly is, to me, the highlight of the book. I'm calling chapter 8 the Water Gate Revival.

Yeah.

Now, when I say Water Gate, some of you were around in 1974, was it? Was that when Watergate happened in Washington under President Nixon? That was a scandal that occurred. This is another Water Gate that was a place in Jerusalem called the Water Gate, one of the gates in the wall of the city by the Gihon Spring facing the Kidron Valley.

So chapter 8 is where they get together and they consecrate. After construction comes consecration. Now, Ezra, remember him last week? I mentioned Ezra is in Jerusalem when Nehemiah comes. Ezra now enters the scene. He has been there as a spiritual leader. Now he comes on the scene.

Verse 1, chapter 8-- "Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square, the large patio that was in front of the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Bible, bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel.

So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month." That's Rosh Hashanah. That's the Jewish new year. And the seventh month has all those great feasts like the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Trumpets, the Feast of Yom Kippur. So it is that month.

Verse 3-- "Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday." He read the Book of the Law, the Bible. He's reading Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy half a day. That's a long sermon. It's a long reading.

"He read it from morning till midday before the men and the women and all who could understand, and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law." I'm guessing like six hours. This is a spiritual appetite. Man, if you've been deprived of Bible study for a long time, it's like they're salivating as he's reading Leviticus.

[LAUGHTER]

Verse 4-- "So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood." The Old King James says a pulpit of wood. Verse 5-- "And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up." Verse 6-- "Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, 'Amen! Amen!' So it's OK for you to do that.

Amen!

If you like a truth, if you like a truth when you hear it, shout it out.

Amen.

Amen. Get vocal. I'm good with that.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

You know what it means, right? So be it. Let it be. I agree with that. So they shouted, "'Amen! Amen!' while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground." Verse 8-- "So they read distinctly from the book in the Law of God and gave the sense or the meaning and helped them to understand the reading."

Amen.

This is expository preaching. This is where you take a text of Scripture, drill down, explain the meaning of the text of the Scripture. And it's not just my favorite topic or a little exhortation here and there. It's Bible study and Bible teaching, and it's expositional. The people had an appetite for that. Ezra gave it to them.

"And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and the scribe, all the Levites who taught the people said to the people, 'This day is holy to the Lord, your God. Do not mourn nor weep.' For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.

And then he said to them, 'Go your way. Eat the fat. Drink the sweet. Send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.'"

Amen.

It's great that they were convicted. There is a time for that. But the leaders knew today, yeah, I know you're listening to this, and it's gripping your heart and convicting you of the sin you and your forefathers have committed. But today's a day of joy, a day of consecration.

So Ezra unrolls the scroll. As he unrolls the scroll or opens the book, as says here, people stood up. By the way, that is a practice that still goes on in the synagogue. When you open the Word of God, people stand. In many churches, there's a reading at the beginning of the service. Many Protestant churches reopen the Bible for like a Psalm. The people stand up and maybe read the section and then sit down.

So here's what I want to say before we move on to finish the book. There has never been revival, genuine revival without people returning to the Word of God. Look at it in church history.

The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century was a Catholic priest who rebelled against all of the traditions of the church and said, we don't even know what the Bible says in this church. We need to find-- go back to the Bible. And he taught through the Scriptures. And it was revival based upon the reading of and the exposition of Scripture.

First Great Awakening in the United States, Second Great Awakening in the United States-- first in England and the United States, second and third in the United States-- based on the Scripture from Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, et cetera. A return back to the Bible. Let's get back to the Bible. Let's read the Bible again. That is what brings revival.

A man was in India, and he heard a leader talk about revival happening in India. But the particular Indian dialect that he was speaking, he put it this way. (INDIAN ACCENT) We are having a great re-Bible.

[LAUGHTER]

I like that, a re-Bible. You bring the Bible in again, and the re-Bible brings the revival.

Amen.

That's good.

So here, they go back to the Word. Ezra gives exposition. Well, by the 24th day of that month-- days have gone by. It's now day number 24 of the seventh month. Not the first day, not the 10th day. It's the 24th day. You think people will be over it by now. They're not over it by now. They're still sensitive. They regather. They're still bothered by the great sin of the past and even the present.

Chapter 9, verse 1-- "On the 24th day of this month, the children of Israel were assembled with fasting in sackcloth"-- that's a sign of mourning-- "with dust on their heads," a sign of distress. "All those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners. And they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their father."

"And they stood"-- verse 3-- "in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord, their God, for one-fourth of the day." There it is again, this long Bible study. "And for another fourth, they confessed and worshipped the Lord, their God." It wasn't like 40 minutes go by, and they look at their sundials, make sure-- why is Ezra going so long?

[LAUGHTER]

Fourth of the day. Three hours they stood as the Scripture was read. Three hours they confess their sin and they pray and they worship. Then in chapter 9, Ezra prays, a very long prayer, the longest prayer recorded in the Bible. I commend it to you. We don't have time to look at it. But verse 6 through verse 38 is his lengthy prayer.

Why a long prayer? Not to impress people but to express to God his heartfelt conviction, sorrow, and worship. And what's great about this prayer is the prayer reflects what Ezra has just read in the Law of the Lord. There are nuances of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy in the prayer.

There are also hints of Joshua and Judges and Kings and Chronicles in the prayer. So it's based upon what has been read and understood by the people. It reminds me of Jeremiah chapter 15, verse 16. It was a verse that I was reading to some of our worship team before the service.

Jeremiah said, "Your words were found, and I ate them. And they were to me the joy and the rejoicing of my heart." I love it when people have such a hunger for the word of God. It's like, oh, a meal. Read more. Do more. Speak more. "Your words were found. I ate them. They were to me the joy and the rejoicing of my heart."

I honestly-- not this church. This is a Bible church. I've been in some churches in my travels where when I opened the Bible, mine is the only Bible open. It's sad, isn't it? Mine was the only Bible open. It was more of a pep talk. It wasn't a Bible study. It was more of a rally. I could get that anywhere. I could go to an Elks Club and get that.

[LAUGHTER]

Preacher, give me a Bible verse. Tell me thus sayeth the Lord. Ezra did. He brought revival. Chapter 10, there are 84 names, many of them difficult. I do not commend exhaustive reading of it, though you should at least read through it at least once in your life.

It's a chapter that begins with the name of Nehemiah. It includes the names of priests, Levites leaders, those who were touched by, affected by Ezra's sermon, his public reading of the Law. And they are listed because they commit to obey.

Chapter 10, verse 29-- "These joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law, which was given by Moses, the servant of God." I commend to you to read Deuteronomy 28, Deuteronomy 29. You'll get a flavor of that curse and that oath.

And it says, it continues, "--to observe and to do all of the commandments of the Lord, our God, and His ordinances and His statutes." So after the rebuilding, after the reviving comes the third phase, and that is resettling a city's population. That's chapters 11 through 13.

Now we have a massive relocation program. Here's what I mean. There's a problem. They build this great city. There's a temple in it. There's walls around it. And there's gates hung. Here's the problem. Nobody's living inside of it.

There are more people living outside of the city than inside. So let's build a cool town, but nobody wants to live in. Nehemiah sees this as a problem. So he gets the outlying districts, the towns surrounding Jerusalem where people are living, to tithe people, to tithe people literally.

Verse 1, chapter 11-- "Now the leaders of the people dwell at Jerusalem." "Now the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring 1 out of 10"-- that's a tithe-- "to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities."

Chapter 11 lists those cities inside and outside-- or the families who are inside the city and outside. Chapter 12 lists the priests as well as the Levites who returned from the captivity. Now the best part, the closing part. Now comes the shindig. Now comes the hoedown, the hootenanny, the party.

Amen.

It's time to party in Jerusalem. It's dedication day. And the emphasis is on joyful praise. In this section, singing is mentioned eight times, thanksgiving mentioned six times, rejoicing mentioned seven times, musical instruments three times.

Chapter 12, verse 27-- "Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought out the Levites in all their palaces to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgiving and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps."

Verse 31-- "So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. One went to the right on the wall toward the Refuse Gate." Go down to verse 38. "The other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I was behind them with half of the people on the wall, going past the Tower of the Ovens as far as the Broad Wall."

Next time we're in Jerusalem together, remind me of this verse. I want to show you the wall that Nehemiah built. It's still there. They, the archaeologists, have found a section of wall that extends throughout the Jewish quarter.

But they have exposed just a small part of what they have actually discovered underneath-- but this small portion of this thick, huge, broad wall built by Nehemiah. You can see, touch the Broad Wall that Nehemiah built. So remind me next time we're there.

Verse 43-- "Also that day, they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy. The women, the children also rejoice, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off." Notice how that's phrased. Not the singing was heard. The joy was heard. It was a palpable sense of joy. How do you sing when you come to church? Well, I don't.

[LAUGHTER]

But I'm really good at folding my arms and sitting like a bump on the log and listening to others sing. Well, shame on you, man. Get into it. Get into it. Make a joyful noise. Sing. You've heard me preach on this a lot of times.

[APPLAUSE]

Let people hear the joy down at Starbucks, down at the corner, across the street. Just a quick note-- praise is almost always linked to music in Scripture. You'll read that. You'll see that. Both instrumental and vocal worship together.

Martin Luther said a lot of great things. One of my favorite is, "Next to theology, I give to music the highest place of honor." And he called music the handmaiden of theology second only to theology. He also said this. It's my favorite quote, perhaps, he's ever said. Well, not my favorite.

But he said, "How does it happen that in the secular field, there are so many fine poems and so many beautiful songs, while in the religious field we have such rotten, lifeless stuff?"

Come on.

Amen.

And then he said, "If any man despise his music, as all fanatics do, for him, I have no liking, for music is a gift and grace of God, not an invention of man. Thus it drives out the devil and makes people cheerful. Then one forgets all wrath and impurity and other devices," close quote.

OK, walls are finished. Book is finished almost. You might think, they built the walls. They lived happily ever after. Is that what happens? They live happily ever after?

[LAUGHTER]

Did they? They did not. Building a new structure never guarantees a new heart. They built a cool temple, and they built walls. Yet chapter 13, we're not going to look at it, just going to mention it. Chapter 13, last chapter, there are three problems.

Problem number one, people are not supporting the Levites financially. Problem number two, people are breaking the Sabbath, carrying burdens on the Sabbath day. Problem number four, they're marrying foreigners. So Nehemiah deals head on with them.

And every time he deals with a problem, he closes out the resolution with the phrase, "Remember me, O God. Remember me, O God. Remember me, O God." Verse 14, verse 22, verse 31-- "Remember me, O God." I'm going to deal with the problem, but remember me, O God. I'm going to deal with this problem. Help, God. I need your strength. Remember me. I'm doing this to honor your name.

That is the book of Nehemiah. Let's pray. Father, thank You for this book. Rebuild our hearts. Rebuild the walls, Lord of protection. I know that we put up walls sometimes, and we talk about that in a negative sense, that we wall people out that we should let in. But we should keep out certain things.

And there are enemies who come in, and they don't want us to shore up our spiritual defenses. They want us to walk in the world and be of the world and be like the world. I pray, Lord, that we would be in the world but not of it and that strong walls of protection in our hearts, in our minds, in our eyes, our ears would be present. In Jesus' name, amen.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

We hope you enjoyed this message from Skip Heitzig of Calvary Church. For more resources, visit CalvaryNM.church. Thank you for joining us for this teaching from The Bible from 30,000 Feet.

Additional Messages in this Series

Show expand

 
Date Title   Watch Listen Notes Share Save Buy
8/8/2018
completed
resume  
Flight GEN01
Genesis 1-11
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
We're going back to the beginning in this first flight. Written by Moses and inspired by God Himself, Genesis means origin. From the formation of all created things and the fall of man to the flood and the fallout of man's rebellion, Genesis 1-11 chronicles the beginning of everything. It all starts here.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/15/2018
completed
resume  
Flight GEN02
Genesis 12-50
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
This flight takes us through the biographical part of Genesis and God's response to man's rebellion. Four men are prominent in the formation of the nation of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Through this lineage, God would fulfill His promise of salvation for humanity.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/22/2018
completed
resume  
Flight EXO01
Exodus 1-18
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The central event in this flight through Exodus is the redemption of God's people, the Israelites, from their bondage in Egypt. We fly over Egypt and the wilderness where Israel wandered for forty years. The plight of the Israelites, their disobedience, and God's deliverance all foreshadow Jesus Christ.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
9/5/2018
completed
resume  
Flight EXO02
Exodus 19-40
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The Sinai Peninsula is the backdrop for this flight to Exodus, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments along with detailed instructions for how He was to be worshiped. Miraculous signs of God's absolute power abound, along with the revelation from God that would define Israel's national identity.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
9/12/2018
completed
resume  
Flight LEV01
Leviticus 1-27
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Leviticus describes the worship life of the nation of Israel. We discover how the Israelites were instructed to make atonement for their sin through sacrifice. The overarching theme of this book can be summed up in one word: holiness. After centuries of captivity in Egypt, the Israelites needed a reminder of who God is, His absolute holiness, and how they were to live set apart for Him.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
10/10/2018
completed
resume  
Flight NUM01
Numbers 1-36
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Numbers contains two censuses of the Hebrew people. The first is of the generation that left Egypt, including how they were organized, their journey in the wilderness, and their refusal to enter the Promised Land. Due to their disobedience, the first generation of Israelites failed to enter the land God had promised; however, God remained faithful by leading a new generation into the Promised Land.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
10/17/2018
completed
resume  
Flight DEU01
Deuteronomy 1-34
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
After forty years of wandering, the Israelites were finally ready to enter the Promised Land. The book of Deuteronomy can be organized around three messages Moses gave while the Israelites waited to enter the land. With the key word of this book being covenant, Deuteronomy speaks of the special relationship God established with His people.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
10/24/2018
completed
resume  
Flight JOS01
Joshua 1-24
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In this flight over the book of Joshua, we get to know its namesake, who shared in all the events since Exodus and held the place of military commander under Moses' leadership. We'll also get a tour of the Promised Land and follow Israel's conquest of Canaan, after which Joshua divided the land among the twelve tribes.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
11/7/2018
completed
resume  
Flight JUD01
Judges 1-21
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The Israelites experienced a period of victorious conquests in Canaan after Joshua's death. But as their obedience to God's laws and their faith in God's promises diminished, Israel became entrenched in the sin cycle. God divinely appointed Judges to provide leadership and deliverance during this chaotic time. Sadly, God's people repeatedly did what was right in their own eyes.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
11/28/2018
completed
resume  
Flight RUT01
Ruth 1-4
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In this flight, we'll see the godly love and courage of two very different women from very different backgrounds. And we'll meet Boaz, who became Ruth's kinsman-redeemer, a type of Christ. Although the book of Ruth is short, it is prophetically important in terms of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Ruth's story of romantic grace places love at the center of each of its four chapters.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
12/5/2018
completed
resume  
Flight 1SAM1
1 Samuel 1-31
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In this flight, we find the nation of Israel in desperate need of direction and leadership. We will meet the man whose good looks, physical stature, and success in war made him an obvious choice from a human perspective, but Israel's first king had a tragic flaw: pride. From the ashes of King Saul's calamitous reign, God raised up an unlikely man who would become Israel's next king, a man after His own heart.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
1/16/2019
completed
resume  
Flight 2SAM1
2 Samuel 1-24
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
David went from shepherding livestock to serving as God's sovereign king in Israel. His faith and obedience assured him military and political victory as one by one he defeated Israel's enemies. In this flight, we both celebrate David's successes and identify with his failures as we get to know this man whom God called, "a man after My own heart."
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
1/23/2019
completed
resume  
Flight 1KIN1
1 Kings 1-22
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
After years of being a powerful unified nation under King David, Israel, because of their disobedience, became a divided nation under many different kings. This book reveals a story of good kings and bad kings, true prophets and false prophets, and faithfulness and disobedience to God.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
2/6/2019
completed
resume  
Flight 2KIN1
2 Kings 1-25
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Despite the many kings who took control of Israel, the nation still lacked true leadership. Second Kings continues the history of a divided Israel, and we see what happens when a nation passes from affluence and influence to poverty and paralysis.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
2/13/2019
completed
resume  
Flight 1CHR1
1 Chronicles 1-29
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The book of 1 Chronicles recounts the lineage of King David as well as God's promise that He would establish His reign on earth through this man after His own heart. As we see how God fulfilled His promises to David, we discover how that presents a witness of His faithfulness to us today.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
3/6/2019
completed
resume  
Flight 2CHR1
2 Chronicles 1-36
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
After King Solomon's reign and death, the nation of Israel went on a spiritual roller coaster ride that ended with the division of the kingdom and the people's exile. From the temple's building to its decline and destruction, we see a parallel to 1 and 2 Kings from a spiritual viewpoint.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
3/27/2019
completed
resume  
Flight EZR01
Ezra 1-10
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The book of Ezra begins with King Cyrus' decree for the children of Israel to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. Ezra tells of two different returns: the first led by Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple, and the second by Ezra to bring reformation to the people. In this flight, we see God's faithfulness in keeping His promise to return His people to their homeland.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
4/10/2019
completed
resume  
Flight EST01
Esther 1-10
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Esther reads almost like a fairy tale: A Jewish maiden becomes queen of Persia. The villain launches an attack to destroy the Jews. In the end, his plot is thwarted by the hero and the brave maiden, who risks her life to save her people. Though the name of God isn't mentioned once in this short book, we clearly see God's providence and faithfulness in dealing with His people.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
4/24/2019
completed
resume  
Flight JOB01
Job 1-42
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The book of Job opens in the throne room of heaven with a conversation between God and Satan regarding the faithfulness of a man named Job. God allowed Satan to test Job, and Satan caused Job to lose his health, wealth, and even his beloved family. But in the midst of Job's tragic circumstances, God revealed His sovereignty and faithfulness, and Job's steadfast faith prevailed.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
5/1/2019
completed
resume  
Flight PSA01
Psalms 1-150
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The book of Psalms is a collection of songs, prayers, and poetry that express the deepest of human emotions. These artistic masterpieces were compiled over a period of roughly 1,000 years from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra and the return from the Babylonian exile. As we fly over the Psalms, we'll see beautiful writings of gladness and grief, pleading and prayers, and reverence and worship—all with one overarching theme: a complete dependence on the love and power of God.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
5/8/2019
completed
resume  
Flight PRO01
Proverbs 1-31
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Known for the wisdom it contains, the book of Proverbs reveals how to deal with everyday situations. But more than just good advice, it is God's words of wisdom, which we need in order to live righteously. These proverbs are universal principles that apply to all people for all times, because they speak of the character of God and the nature of man—both of which remain constant.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
5/15/2019
completed
resume  
Flight ECC01
Ecclesiastes 1- 12
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The book of Ecclesiastes records King Solomon's intense search to find meaning and fulfillment in life. In this flight, we discover some significant truths—namely, that all worldly things are empty and that life's pursuits only lead to frustration. After tasting all that this world has to offer, Solomon ultimately concluded that life without God is meaningless.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
5/22/2019
completed
resume  
Flight SON01
Song of Solomon 1-8
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The Song of Solomon portrays a moving love story between King Solomon and a shepherdess. The story reveals the intimacy, love, and passion that a bridegroom and his bride share in a marriage relationship. Even more than the fulfillment found in the love between a husband and wife, we'll discover that the spiritual life finds its greatest joy in the love God has for His people and Christ has for His church.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
5/29/2019
completed
resume  
Flight ISA01
Isaiah 1-27
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The prophet Isaiah's ministry lasted around fifty years and spanned the reigns of four kings in Judah. His prophecies are quoted in the New Testament more often than any other prophet's. In this first flight over Isaiah, we focus on his prophecies of condemnation that pulled no punches and pointed out Israel's need for God.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
6/26/2019
completed
resume  
Flight ISA02
Isaiah 28-66
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Of all the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah is thought by many to be the greatest, in part because of his clear prophecies about the Messiah. In this second flight over his book, we see his continued work and how God used his prophecies of both condemnation and comfort to generate change in the individuals he encountered.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/3/2019
completed
resume  
Flight JER01
Jeremiah 1-20
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The book of Jeremiah is a series of oracles written in the southern kingdom of Judah over a period of fifty-plus years. It speaks of judgment, the promise of restoration, and the protective hand of God over those He loves. In this flight, we catch a glimpse of the man behind the prophecies as he allowed God to speak through him in unusual ways to open the eyes of the people of Israel.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/10/2019
completed
resume  
Flight JLA01
Jeremiah 21-52; Lamentations 1-5
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The prophet Jeremiah allowed God to speak through him in unusual ways to open the eyes of the people of Israel. As we complete our flight over his book, we find the prophet reinvigorated by God's promises as he continued to prophesy Babylon's impending invasions and, ultimately, Judah's captivity. Then our flight continues over the poetic book of Lamentations, which Jeremiah wrote as he wept and grieved over Jerusalem's destruction, ending the book with a prayer for Israel's restoration from captivity.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/17/2019
completed
resume  
Flight EZE01
Ezekiel 1-48
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Written by Ezekiel the priest, this book takes place during the second Babylonian captivity and documents the fulfillment of several prophecies from previous Old Testament books. In this flight, we see God continue to offer promises of restoration through Ezekiel, bringing the nation hope despite their tribulations.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/24/2019
completed
resume  
Flight DAN01
Daniel 1-8
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Chronologically, the book of Daniel links the time of the kings in 2 Chronicles to the restoration of Jerusalem in the book of Ezra. It begins with the first Babylonian captivity and ends with Daniel's vision of seventy weeks. In it, we witness both prophetic history and the four prophetic visions of Daniel, as well as powerful stories that reveal a faithful man of God who was unwilling to compromise his beliefs.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/31/2019
completed
resume  
Flight DAN02
Daniel 9-12
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Midway through the book of Daniel, the focus shifts from the historic to the prophetic. Daniel's four prophetic visions reveal the stunning accuracy of biblical prophecy, as well as Daniel's uncompromising faith in God's fulfillment. From the rise and fall of human kingdoms to the Messiah and the day of judgment, Daniel's visions drove him to his knees in fervent prayer for the people of Israel.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/7/2019
completed
resume  
Flight HOS01
Hosea 1-14
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Hosea prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Jeroboam II, and he had a clear message to deliver: Israel had rejected God, so they would be sent into exile and become wanderers in other nations. On this flight, we see a clear parallel between Hosea's adulterous wife—whom God had instructed Hosea to marry—and Israel's unfaithfulness. But even as Hosea endured a rocky marriage, he continued to share God's plan that He would bring His people back to Himself.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/14/2019
completed
resume  
Flight JAO01
Joel 1-3; Amos 1-9; Obadiah
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Through three ordinary men—Joel, Amos, and Obadiah—God delivered extraordinary messages to His people, warning them against greed, injustice, false worship, and self-righteousness. On this flight, we witness God's patience and love for Israel, and we see how He stands ready to forgive and restore all who turn away from their sin.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/21/2019
completed
resume  
Flight JON01
Jonah 1-4
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Rather than focusing on prophecy, the book of Jonah narrates a prophet's story. Jonah was blatantly disobedient to God's call, but despite his defiance, God redirected his path through a unique situation. The resulting revival in Nineveh shows us that God's grace reaches beyond the boundaries of Israel to embrace all nations.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/28/2019
completed
resume  
Flight MNH01
Micah 1-7; Nahum 1-3; Habakkuk 1-3
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
God used three prophets—Micah, Nahum, and Habakkuk—to criticize, comfort, and inspire: Micah encouraged social justice and the authentic worship of God. Nahum prophesied against the Assyrians for returning to their evil practices. And though Habakkuk didn't address Israel directly, his message assured them that evil does not endure forever. Through these prophets, God's people confessed their sins and grew confident in His salvation.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
9/4/2019
completed
resume  
Flight ZHA01
Zephaniah 1-3; Haggai 1-2
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The prophet Zephaniah addressed the social injustice and moral decay of Judah and her neighbors, proclaiming the coming day of the Lord and His wrath upon the nations—both an immediate judgment and a future end-times judgment. God sent Haggai the prophet to preach to the restored community of Jews in Jerusalem after their return from exile in Babylonia. Haggai encouraged the nation to set aside their selfishness and finish rebuilding the temple, an act of obedience that would align their desire with God's desire.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
9/18/2019
completed
resume  
Flight ZMA01
Zechariah 1-14; Malachi 1-4
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
As we fly over the last books of the Old Testament, we first look at the expanded message of rebuilding the temple when Zechariah encouraged Israel to anticipate their ultimate deliverance and the Messiah's future reign. One hundred years after the temple was rebuilt, the book of Malachi revealed that God's chosen people had once again slid back into their sinful practices. Malachi declared God's promise of a coming messenger, John the Baptist, and a coming Messiah.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
10/2/2019
completed
resume  
Flight INT01
Intertestamental Period
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In between the Old and New Testaments lies 400 years of history. During this intertestamental period, God chose not to speak to His people through prophets as He orchestrated people, politics, and events in preparation of the coming Messiah. Scholars have come to call these four centuries the silent years. Remarkably, the silence would be broken by a newborn baby's cry in Bethlehem.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
10/9/2019
completed
resume  
Flight MML01
Matthew 1-28; Mark 1-16; Luke 1-24
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
These three Synoptic Gospels give us our first glimpses of Jesus' life and death here on earth. Matthew, Mark, and Luke present Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, and the Son of Man, respectively. On this flight, we'll see the service, sermons, sacrifices, and sovereignty of Jesus as we witness the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
10/16/2019
completed
resume  
Flight JOH01
John 1-21
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The spiritual depth of John sets it apart from the other Gospels, with one-third of its content dedicated to the last week of Jesus' life. Rather than focusing on what Jesus did, John focused on who Jesus is, presenting Him as God incarnate and highlighting His deity. On this flight, we'll see seven miraculous signs of Jesus, as well as seven statements that He used to identify Himself as God.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
10/23/2019
completed
resume  
Flight ACT01
Acts 1-28
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The book of Acts presents the history of a dynamic, growing community of believers that started in Jerusalem and went on to spread the gospel throughout the known world. In this book, the gospel writer Luke also recorded how the early church received the Holy Spirit, who enabled them to witness, love, and serve with boldness and courage, even when faced with persecution.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
10/30/2019
completed
resume  
Flight ROM01
Romans 1-16
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The book of Romans is the apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, and it focuses on God's plan of salvation for all humankind. Romans is the most systematic of Paul's letters, reading more like an elaborate theological essay rather than a letter. On this flight, we look at Paul's strong emphasis on Christian doctrine as well as his concern for Israel.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
11/13/2019
completed
resume  
Flight 1COR1
1 Corinthians 1-16
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In 1 Corinthians, Paul confronted the problems that had infiltrated the influential church at Corinth and defended his position as an apostle of Christ. He later rejoiced over their repentance and acceptance of his God-given authority. On this flight, we discover the power of a new life in Jesus as we see how Paul shared the heart of the gospel with his fellow believers.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
11/20/2019
completed
resume  
Flight 2COR1
2 Corinthians 1-13
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
After Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, false teachers began spreading opposition to him in the Corinthian church. Paul sent Titus as his representative to deal with them, and most of the church repented. Paul wrote this epistle to express his joy at the turnaround and to appeal to them to accept his authority, which was confirmed by the many hardships he suffered for the gospel. On this flight, we find beautiful truths to carry with us through our own times of suffering.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
12/4/2019
completed
resume  
Flight GAL01
Galatians 1-6
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Galatians is a firm statement of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith. When Paul wrote this letter, the false doctrine of legalism and faith by works had infiltrated the church throughout Galatia. As a result, believers had traded their freedom in Christ for bondage to the old Jewish law that had been fulfilled by Jesus. On this flight, we discover the differences between law and grace as well as the practical application and results of the proper doctrine of grace.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
1/8/2020
completed
resume  
Flight EPH01
Ephesians 1-6
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Who are we in Christ? In Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, he answered that very question as he addressed a group of believers who were ignorant of their spiritual wealth in Jesus. He explained how the Christian is the bride of Christ, a temple in the Lord, and a soldier for the gospel. On this flight, we see how Paul also emphasized unity among believers, describing the church as a body that works together for a common goal.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
1/15/2020
completed
resume  
Flight PHI01
Philippians 1-4
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Referred to as the epistle of joy, Philippians contains the message that joy is possible in all of life's circumstances, including suffering. Paul wrote this very personal letter while in prison, and despite his trials, he rejoiced over the caring and generous church in Philippi and encouraged them in unity, humility, and prayer.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
1/22/2020
completed
resume  
Flight COL01
Colossians 1-4
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
On this flight, we see how the young church in Colossae became the target of a heretical attack that included angel worship, the depreciation of Christ, and reliance on human wisdom. In Paul's letter to this church, he refuted the heresy by exalting Christ as the very image of God, the preexistent sustainer of all things, the head of the church, and the first to be resurrected.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
2/12/2020
completed
resume  
Flight THE01
1 Thessalonians 1-5; 2 Thessalonians 1-3
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The apostle Paul wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians in response to a report that some errors and misunderstandings about his teaching had crept into the church at Thessalonica. But Paul also used the opportunity to encourage the believers there, exhorting them in the Word, warning them against pagan immorality, and urging them to remain steadfast in God's truth in the face of persecution.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
6/10/2020
completed
resume  
Flight TIM01
1 Timothy 1-6; 2 Timothy 1-4
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
These loving letters to Timothy, a young pastor in Ephesus, reveal Paul's true love for his brother in Christ. Timothy was facing a heavy burden of responsibility, so Paul not only instructed him about the conduct of the church and its ministers but also encouraged him to stand strong for the faith against false teachings, to endure hardship, and to preach the Word.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
6/17/2020
completed
resume  
Flight TPH01
Titus 1-3; Philemon
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Paul's brief letter to Titus focuses on Titus' role and responsibility in the organization and supervision of the churches in Crete. Throughout the letter, Paul also stressed the importance of sound doctrine and church order. In Philemon, on the other hand, the apostle took a more personal approach and spoke on the application of the great principles of Christian brotherhood to social life.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
6/24/2020
completed
resume  
Flight HEB01
Hebrews 1-13
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Although this well-written book's author is unknown, it reveals a man with a great desire to encourage Jewish believers to live in the grace of Jesus, especially since many of them were slipping back into the rites and rituals of Judaism to escape persecution. The letter centers on the person and work of Christ, inspiring believers through all the ages to pursue Jesus in every area of life.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/1/2020
completed
resume  
Flight JAM01
James 1-5
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
While it's vital for Christians to understand that salvation comes by faith, the book of James emphasizes an active faith, characterized by good deeds that flow from salvation. In this unmistakably Jewish epistle, the author encourages believers to live out and grow in their faith by embracing trials, carefully controlling their speech, and letting God's love flow through them to others.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/15/2020
completed
resume  
Flight PET01
1 Peter 1-5; 2 Peter 1-3
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The apostle Peter wrote these letters to encourage persecuted Christians and to defend the authenticity of God's Word against false teaching that had infiltrated the church. He called on believers to grow in their faith so they might detect and combat the spreading apostasy. On this flight, we see how these letters uniquely encourage us as we live in conflict with our culture, giving us incentive for holy living as we look forward to Jesus' second coming.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/22/2020
completed
resume  
Flight 1JOH1
1 John 1-5
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In this letter, John lived up to his nickname—the apostle of love—as he urged the church to continue living a life of faith in Christ. He defended the nature of Jesus against heretical teachings and warned his readers about those who taught such things. John not only addressed the preeminence of God's love for us but also emphasized our duty to love others in return. This flight shows you how God can transform your life when you follow Him wholeheartedly.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/29/2020
completed
resume  
Flight JJU01
2 John, 3 John; Jude
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
These three epistles were written to encourage the church to keep a strong biblical foundation. The authors exhorted believers to walk in love but to be discerning in their expression of love, to have and enjoy fellowship with other Christians, and to stay strong in the faith. On this flight, you'll discover why it's so vital to balance love and truth to reach a lost world with the gospel of Jesus.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/5/2020
completed
resume  
Flight REV01
Revelation 1-11
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Considered to be one of the most powerful books in Scripture, Revelation is a direct vision from God to the apostle John. It's both a warning to the world of a coming tribulation and a source of hope for believers as we anticipate Jesus' return. The book is filled with prophecies of future judgment, but in it, we find a glimpse of heaven and the glories awaiting Jesus' bride, the church.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/12/2020
completed
resume  
Flight REV02
Revelation 12-22
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In the second half of Revelation, we read some of the most thrilling text in the entire Bible, getting a preview of a future judgment, Jesus' thousand-year reign on earth, the eventual fate of unbelievers, and the church's eternal destination in the new heaven and earth. As we conclude our journey at 30,000 feet over the Scriptures, we discover how the history of the world culminates as we look to Jesus in all His splendid glory.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/19/2020
completed
resume  
Visit to the Cockpit Q&A with Pastor Skip
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Our midweek series The Bible from 30,000 Feet came to a close with a final Visit to the Cockpit Q & A session. In the last message of our series, Pastor Skip answers questions from the congregation on topics throughout the Bible, from creation to the end times.
Message Trailer
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
There are 58 additional messages in this series.
© Copyright 2024 Connection Communications | 1-800-922-1888