McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1922-09-01
LESSON FOR SEPTEMBER 3
NEHEMIAH REBuILDs THE
WALLS OF JERUSALEM

WALLS or JERUSALEM
LESSON TExT-Neh. s:1-7:A
GOLDEN TExT-our God viii hght for
ns.-Neh. 4:20.
REFERENCE MATER1AL~Neh. 2:s-2O;
I Cor. 3:9-17.
PRIMARY ToPIC-How God helped Me-
hemiah Build a Wall
JUNIOR TOPIC-How City Wall Was
Rebuilt.
INTERMEDIATES AND SENIOR TOPIC
-Pra. ing. Watching Working.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
Success Through Leadership and CO.
operation.
Having secured leave of absence
from the Persian court, and creden-
tials from the king, Nehemiah jour-
neyed to Jerusalem. After resting
three days without discloting his pur-
pose to any one, he made survey
of the walls by night. Having thus OBJ
tained flrst-hand information he called
the representatives Of the Jews to-
gether and said, let US build the
walls Of Jerusalem" He then made
known the hand of providence In
bringing him to Jerusalem with the
authority to rebuild Its walls. He thus
showed great wisdom In finding out
for himself the real conditions and
what work would be required to re-
store the walls. The one who is quail
flied to lead In great undertaking
Is the one who has mastered the stu
alton and Is thus able to remove OBJ
jections and show how the work can
be done.
i.-Preparation for the Building
(ch. 81.
The division Of labor In this project
shows Nehemiah's administrative abil-
lty. wise distribution of labor makes
difficult tasks easy. There was not only
evident wisdom in the division of labor,
but the record Of the family heads
entrusted with this important work
would mean much to their descendants
In future years. Men would do their
utmost IL they knew that tiielr
descendants could know In future
years that they had part In the re-
building of the temple, just as men
today do exploits In order that the
record may be left to their descendants.
! Note some outstanding features Of
this great work.
l. Stress Laid Upon Indifference
| $50 In. administrative tasks it is
| Just that unfaithfulness should be
Aointed out. Such action will be a
| warning to some and an encourage.
ment to others by showing the in
| tegrity Of the director.
2. Help Rendered by the Women
| (3:12). Perhaps Stadium had no sons
| to aid him. 1t Is a fine thing for
| women to be able to take hold even
In building wall when there are no
| men to do II. Gods word carefully
notes such extraordinary acts.
s. Stress Laid Upon Earnestness of
Some e :20). If one knows that his
faithfulness win be recognized he will
earnestly pursue his tasks.
4. Every One Built Over Against
His Own House 3:10 %. 2S). Mans
chief concern Is for his family. No in
| centive to exertion is quite so strong
as that which concerns his own fam
lily.
& Certain Guilds of Men Undertook
Certain Work (ch. 3:8, 81, 32). Wise
administration sometimes calls for
such alignment of efforts. Men Of the
same class and craft will usually work
better together.
u. Hindrances Encountered a :1-8:
14).
i. Soothing of SanbaIlot and Tobiah
(4:1-6; Ct. 2:19-20). The opposers of
Gods servants usually begin by hurl-
ing at them shafts Of ridicule. They
called the Jews but feeble folk and
asserted that the tread of a providing
fox would brenk down their stone wall.
2. Conspiracy Of Sudden Attack
(4:7-9). When the enemy saw that
the work was actually succeeding they
changed from ridicule to an attempt
to throw the workmen Into panic
| and thus hinder the work. When the
enemy cannot succeed by scoffing then
he resorts to intimidation.
8. Conspiracy With the Jews "a:
1929. They sought by means of the
Jews from the outside to discourage
their brethren by showing that the
task was hopeless and that at any
time they were subject to a sudden
and secret attack.
4. Greed and Oppression of the
Rulers Glib. The Jews Of that
day. like the protiteers In the recent
World war, took advantage Of the
poor and oppressed them SO that they
mortgaged their land and sold their
daughters into slavery Nehemiah
boldly rebuked them for their crimes
and ordered restoration to be made,
exacting an oath of them that they
would fulfil their promises.
8. Scheme to Take Nehemiah's Life
(6:1-14). When Sanballat and Tobiah
failed In every other way they sought
by craft to get Nehemiah away that
they might kill him.
III. The Wall Completed (6:15-7:4).
So energetically did they pursue
their tasks that In flfty-two days the
wall was completed. When the en-
emies heard that In spite Of all their
schemes the work was actually COM
pleted, they were cast down, for they
perceived that the work was Of God.