The walls of Jerusalem are finished and all Israel is living in their cities.  Together the people hear God’s Law, which was given to Moses and confess their sins and the wicked things they did.  Then they make a promise to live by God’s law.  Will they keep their promises?

The walls and gates of Jerusalem are still broken from the destruction of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah prays to the Lord to restore Israel and Jerusalem but there are enemies all around that will try to stop them.  What will happen?

Israel had been in the land for multiple generations, but while the temple had been rebuilt, the people had rebelled. They, like their forefathers, had taken foreign wives, resulting in the worship of foreign gods. So Ezra, eighty years aft er Cyrus’ decree, led a second group to return to Jerusalem. This return, made successful by “the hand of God,” led to the repentance of God’s people and the restoration of true worship.

It had been almost 70 years since Nebuchadnezzar had forced the Jews from their own country. The Jews remembered Jeremiah’s prophecy that they would return to Jerusalem after 70 years (Jer 25:11), and they long for that day to happen. Would God keep his promise to bring His people back to their land and to their God?