5:7 The nobles, in exacting usury of their brethren were violating the law of Moses Exodus 22:25. Nehemiah in calling for them to restore that which they had taken was calling for a spiritual revival. Thus we can see that it can be that there is a spirit to work in the ecclesia and at the same time there can be those with a different spirit.

ch.6 Because Nehemiah would not walk into the trap that Sanballat and his company were attempting to set for him Nehemiah 6:1-4 he changes his approach and begins to slander him instead. Nehemiah 6:6-7. Thus his true motive can easily be seen.
However the plot had not ended. Sanballat had hired a prophet of the Lord - but again Nehemiah, because of his trust in his God would not follow his plans.

5:14 This verse demonstrates that Nehemiah was in Jerusalem for 12 years from the time he first arrived until he returned. Such was his commitment to the work of rebuilding the physical and spiritual life of the city of Jerusalem.

6:18 The relationship between Tobiah and Shechaniah did not only corrupt them. It had an impact of the rest of Judah - so we see that our actions do not only affect our own lives. Others maybe caused to stumble because they see the things that we do.

5:6 Do we think 'anger' is becoming for the servant of God? If we doubt this then think on these examples of anger. Exodus 32:19 Numbers 11:1 1 Samuel 20:34 Mark 3:5. Clearly anger is appropriate in certain circumstances. Maybe we do not get angry often enough when we see the things of God being undermined.

6:9 Whilst it appears that Nehemiah was in control of events in that he did not fall into the trap Sanbalat had laid for him we should appreciate that he was still afraid of his actions. The fact that we are doing the right thing does not remove anxieties about how things will work out.

5:1-5 In contrast to those who built the walls suffering privations there were some who were still more interested in gaining wealth - even when it meant impoverishing their brethren and violating the law (Exo 22:25) Such self centredness is not limited to those in Nehemiah's day.

We can be self centred and selfish by ignoring the needs of our brethren and sisters.

6:4-5 We may resist opposition a couple of times. Nehemiah, on the other hand, had to deal with the same opposition five times. There had already been those (Hag 1:2) who excused themselves from working to build the temple when there was opposition. How easy it would have been for Nehemiah to excuse himself on the grounds that the opposition was a sign from God.

5:14 Nehemiah here points out that he lived the truth as well as proclaiming it. His integrity was unimpeachable, he never accepted these offerings. It appears that the servents of the governor (V.15) usually extracted goods from the people, but Nehemiah's servents had not done so. Because of the fear of God.

5:9 The quotation ‘fear of our God’ from Lev 25:36 is most appropriate for the situation in hand. The passage in Leviticus is encouraging Israel not to take usury of their brethren so that their brother can live ‘with thee’ – echoed in the way that the wall was built recorded in Neh 3:2 etc:

6:14 A lesser man than Nehemiah would not have left things in God’s hands but would have sought to deal with Sanballat himself.

5:9 Nehemiah we would suggest, is alluding to Deut 10:12. Human nature being what it is, requires the fear of failure or punishment as well as the offer of blessing. The fear of God enhances reverence; a godly attribute befitting the relationship of weak, sinful mortals before their Creator. Nehemiah's godly conduct is said to be " because of the fear of God" (V.15). Of what value was it to build a wall to keep the alien and the world outside, and thou act like an alien inside the wall?

5:19 Despite his enthusiasm for ding the work of God it seems that Nehemiah does not think highly of himself. He, in prayer, asks God to remember him for good. Not for his actions.

6:1 In 4:3 we saw that Sanballat and Tobiah could only mock. Now another enemy joins the opposition. He has a plan. Verse 2 gives us the plan. So the opposition was an ongoing thing which changed as time passed. Just as Nehemiah and the people had got used to dealing with one problem another arises. That is just like our lives. However we should not simply lament our situation but, as Nehemiah said, recognise that we are doing ‘a great work’ and not be knocked off course in our building the temple of God – the ecclesia.

6:1,10,14 Nehemiah had the physical difficulty of rebuilding Jerusalem.  Added to that was the constant opposition of Sanballat and Tobiah.  Now we see another oppositional person to deal with, Geshem (Geshem means rain in Hebrew). 

But, probably the most heartbreaking situation was that prophets within Nehemiah's assembly turned out to be false, and in the pay of Sanballat and Tobiah.  Shemaiah, a descendant of Zerubbabel; and Noadiah, together with other prophets, were the troublemakers from within. 

But, Nehemiah trusted in Yahweh, and Yahweh guided him through. This is a valuable lesson for us.

5:1-4 The return from captivity and the rebuilding the city of Jerusalem was all part of the fulfilment of Bible prophecy. However this did not mean that the people were guaranteed an easy time. But notice the difficulty that the people had was worsened, rather than eased, by the behaviour of their brethren.

Nehemiah attitude in with the Governor bread reminds me of the same principle with Daniel in chapt 1 ,we see as Nehemiah chose not to partake because the bondage was heavy on the people. Like wise Daniel chose the children who had no blemish and had them eat of his wine and meat and he ate beans and drank water   for ten daysand it showed the beautiful out come as quoted before in

5:1 This chapter summarises events which took place over a twelve year period – the time that Nehemiah was not in Jerusalem between his first and second visit.

Neh 5:6-11 - the usury and slavery perhaps reminds of how the religious leaders or nobles of Christ's day enslaved the Jews keeping them from the new covenant in Christ (Matt 5:17;Matt 28:1-15); also reminds how Jesus was angry at the money changers for taking financial advantage of their own  people (Matt 21:12-13); Jesus paid the tax for others and himself (Matt 17:25-27); Jesus feeds us freely (Matt 14:16-21;John 6:27,51) while promising to return (Acts 1:9-11) and establish a kingdom on earth with Jerusalem as capital (Isa 2:1-4;John 10:9).  

Neh 5:14-15,17 - Jesus, like Nehemiah, make their subjects burden light (Matt 11:28-30).

Neh 5:5,8,9 - both did away with slavery (Rom 8:1-3);

Neh 5:18 - both Jesus and Nehemiah provided bread and wine for themselves and others (Matt 26:26-27).  

Neh 5:16 - faithful workers did not acquire any land (Heb 11:13-16).

Neh 6:6-7 - false talk to get other authorities involved (Luke 23:1-3;John 19:12-15).

Neh 6:10-13 - attempts to betray Nehemiah and Jesus by his brethren for money; Nehemiah would not go in the temple as he was not a priest while Jesus was the temple (Matt 7:15-20;John 2:19,21).

Neh 6:15-16 - God was with them in rebuilding the walls (Neh 6:9;James 5:16 - "...the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.").

1:4 the locust hath eaten Deuteronomy 28:38
1:5 the wine ... is cut off Isaiah 32:10
1:6 whose teeth ... a lion Revelation 9:8
1:7 laid my vine waste Isaiah 5:6
1:10 the land mourneth Hosea 4:3
1:10 the new wine is dried up Isaiah 24:7
1:12 vine Isaiah 5:5
1:12 joy is withered Isaiah 24:11
1:14 sanctify a fast 2 Chronicles 20:3
1:14 assemble ... all the inhabitants 2 Chronicles 20:13

1:4 the locust hath eaten Deuteronomy 28:38 is the beginning of the evidence that Joel provides to prove that Judah have gone astray from their God. Deuteronomy 28 promises blessings to Israel if they were faithful but curses and punishment if they were unfaithful. The language quoted here is from the section of the curses.

A Jew would know the blessings and cursings and on hearing Joel quote the curse about the locusts should have appreciated that their current experience was a demonstration of their faithfulness. The fact that their God was bringing the curses to pass on them should also have taught them that they worshipped a loving God who would forgive if repentance was manifest.

V.1 Joel means Yahweh is God . Scholars disagree on the exact dates of Joel's prophecy.  Some put him in 835 BC when Jehoash began to reign (2Kin 11:21).  Others say that he prophesied in 870-865 BC during the reign of Joash.

Joel prophesied to Judah and his theme concerns the Day of Yahweh.  The Day of Yahweh consists, of course, of the second advent of Christ and the Kingdom (2:30-32), but it also concerns the intervening events of Yahweh's dealing with His people Israel (v.15). 

1:7        Laying the vine wast echoes Isa 5:6

1:5,12 The cutting off of the ‘new wine’ is like Isa 24:7 The withered joy is seen in Isa 24:11 possibly indicating that Joel was contemporary with Isaiah.

V.4 The enemies of Judah are not specifically stated in Joel's prophecy.  There is a hint that Judah would have many different invaders.  Four different developmental stages of the locust are discussed, which suggests that there would be four invasions.  Locust in Hebrew is arbeh which means many.

5:6 Much of the warnings in the letter relate to the impending destruction of Jerusalem in Ad 70. 'let us not sleep' in the context of AD 70 takes on new meaning. Paul is alluding to the parable of the virgins which was spoken at the same time as the 'Olivet prophecy'

5:7 the 'night' catches 'at midnight the bridegroom cometh' Matthew 25:6

5:8 The attire which the brethren and sisters were to put on match details of what Paul said to the Ephesians,

Vs.1-11 Following on from Joel's consideration of the Day of the Lord, Paul likewise exhorts the Thessalonians on the same subject. 

In terms of Yahweh's dealing with Israel, this could be referring to Jerusalem's demise in 70 AD.  In terms of end time prophecy, it could  refer to the second coming of Christ.  Of course, it could have a dual application. 

5:3 ‘travail …’ catches the language of Jer 13:21 where Jeremiah is warning about the Babylonian invasion – a patter of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

5:10 The ‘wake’ / ‘sleep’ here speaks of being alive or asleep in Christ awaiting the resurrection. And is not the same concept of ‘sleep’ as we find in verse:6. We must take care to not assume that when the same word is used that the same principle is being developed. The context will show us how to understand the words.

5:11   Notice that the ‘comfort’ has to be ‘together’. The way in which we meet together and talk to each other is to be a comfort to us. If we do not spend time with each other talking about God’s plan and His word we cannot be comforted together.

5:8 We have already seen that some of the language in this verse is similar to Ephesians 6. Additionally the idea of the breastplate can be found in Isa 59:17 where the ‘faith’ here represents ‘righteousness’ in Isaiah. Faith and righteousness are inextricably linked – Gen 15:6

v9-11 Paul appears to be suggesting here that exhortations about judgement have no place in our ecclesia. Instead, he says "we have been appointed to obtain salvation!" That means that God has pre-ordained (commanded / appointed) that we will "live together with him (Jesus)" (v10). Judgement is only ordained for "those who do not know God, and those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2Thess 1:7-9). We should be careful not to get confused and apply it to ourselves for whom there should be no fear (1John 4:17-19).

There is a great deal of confusion over this, partly because of the English word "judgement" which can mean either "condemnation" and "decision". So when we read "there is now therefore no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:1), that's the same word translated judgement elsewhere. This verse is obviously saying that this judgement (condemnation) doesn't apply. Also from the mouth of Jesus himself it is abundantly clear that judgement (condemnation) doesn't apply to believers (John 5:24). What does apply to us is a judgement (decision) by Jesus himself. Does he know us or not? (Matt 7:23, Matt 25:11-12).

Our time should really be spent listening to how we might know Jesus and his teaching better, not worrying about condemnation. If he didn't condemn the tax collectors, harlots and other sinners who came to him, why do you think he would want to condemn you or me? The more we read and learn about his mercy and compassion, the less we will worry about this.

5:23 This is the second time in this letter that Paul has told the believers that he wishes for them to be preserved ‘blameless’. The first being 3:13