Lesson 1 · July 4, 1908
Prevailing Prayer
Questions
- 1.How many years intervened between Ezra's going up to Jerusalem, and the opening of the book of Nehemiah? Compare with .
- 2.Where was Nehemiah? . Note 1.
- 3.From whom did Nehemiah learn of the situation in Jerusalem? . Note 2.
- 4.Describe the condition of Jerusalem at this time. .
- 5.How did Hanani's report affect Nehemiah? .
- 6.What did he connect with his prayers and how did he address the Lord? .
- 7.How continuous was this prayer? .
- 8.In what characteristic did Nehemiah's prayer resemble the prayer of Daniel and Ezra? Compare with . Note 3.
- 9.What promise did Nehemiah plead? ; .
- 10.In thus pleading, what scripture did he follow? .
- 11.By whom did the Lord save His people in a great crisis? .
- 12.How does Nehemiah speak of his brethren? .
- 13.Whose prayer does Nehemiah pray that God will hear? . Note 4.
- 14.What was his position before the king? Same verse.
Notes
1. Shushan, the capital of Elam, was a very ancient city. It is mentioned in the inscriptions of Asshur-bani-pal as captured by him, about B. c. 650, and a plan of the city is given. It passed into the hands of the Babylonians at the division of the Assyrian Empire between Nabopolassar of Babylon and Cyaxares of Media. In the third year of Belshazzar Daniel was at Shushan "on the king's business," when he beheld "the vision of the ram and the he-goat," . The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus transferred Shushan to the Persians, and it became the capital and chief residence of the ⟦Achæmenian?⟧ kings, being cooler than Babylon and more central than Ecbatana and Persepolis, their summer resorts. Darius Hystaspes founded at Shushan the grand palace referred to in Esther as occupied by his son and successor Xerxes, . Nehemiah was at Shushan when he received from Jerusalem the intelligence that led him to seek leave from Artaxerxes to rebuild the walls of the holy city. Neh. ⟦1:1-28?⟧. As Susa, Shushan is often mentioned by classic authors as the Persian capital, the province of Elam being called Susis or Susiana, and also Cissia. The city retained its eminence till the Macedonian conquest, when Alexander found there treasure worth £12,000,000. After this period Susa declined and Babylon increased. It was taken by Antigonus, B. c. 315.—" Dictionary of the Bible," Published by American Tract Society. Article "Shushan."
2. Hanani was the brother of Nehemiah. .
3. It will be noticed that each of these godly men counted himself as being guilty of the sins that brought upon Israel the great calamity. Their attitude is very different from that of those who think they have not sinned. Daniel and Nehemiah were both men of God, and beloved of the Lord.
4. One special point in Nehemiah's prayer was that God would hear the petition of those who fear His name, and would prosper his undertaking and grant him mercy in the sight of the king. He recognized the fact that many others were praying, and he believed that God would hear their prayers.
Bible texts in this lesson
Nehemiah 1:1 · Nehemiah 2:1 · Ezra 7:7 · Nehemiah 1:2 · Nehemiah 1:3 · Nehemiah 1:4 · Nehemiah 1:5 · Nehemiah 1:6 · Daniel 9:3-15 · Ezra 9:5-15 · Nehemiah 1:8 · Nehemiah 1:9 · Deuteronomy 4:25-31 · 1 Kings 8:47-50 · Hosea 12:13 · Nehemiah 1:10 · Nehemiah 1:11 · Daniel 8:1 · Daniel 8:2 · Daniel 8:27 · Esther 1:2 · Esther 1:5 · Nehemiah 7:2
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