Salvation is not found in what you do, but who you know
Questions:
1. What stood out to you in the message?
2. Recall a moment when someone corrected you or told you to do something, and you know that they were right to say this to you. What makes it hard to follow directions when you know you were in the wrong?
3. According to Nehemiah 13, what happened soon after Nehemiah was no longer governing Jerusalem? What reforms did Nehemiah make upon his return?
4. Why do you think Eliashib allowed Tobiah to stay in a room in the Temple even though he probably knew that it was against God’s law to do so?
5. Why did Nehemiah act against Tobiah the way that he did (Nehemiah 13:8-9)? How is Nehemiah’s passion for God’s Word and God’s Temple displayed in this?
6. Read Nehemiah 13:15-22. Why did Nehemiah feel that Sabbath reform was so necessary?
7. Why was the marrying of foreign women such a big deal to Nehemiah? (Hint: Nehemiah refers to Solomon’s fall because of foreign wives in Nehemiah 13:26)
8. What reforms that Nehemiah addresses needs attention in our society? In our church? Which is most contributing to the people of God drifting from Him: (a) not regarding the needs and authority of God’s shepherds, (b) not keeping the Sabbath holy, (c) marriages to unbelievers?
9. How are the sins of Eliashib and Tobiah being played out around you? What are the ways that people within the church use their privileged positions to get what they want or neglect the needs of the church?
Scripture Passages:
Revelation 3-7