SUMMER QUARTER SUNDAY SCHOOL 2013
THEME: “COME LET US WORSHIP THE LORD…”
Unit One: A Prophet’s View of Worship
Unit Two: A Priest’s View of Worship
Unit Three: A Plenipotentiary’s View of Worship
“COME LET US WORSHIP THE LORD…LIKE NEHEMIAH THE LOYAL LAYMAN OF THE LORD”
Sunday School Lesson No. XIII – August 25, 2013
Presented by Rev. Frank A. Davis, III, Pastor-Teacher
Lesson Text: Nehemiah 13:15-22
Required Reading: Nehemiah 13:1-31
Motto Text: Nehemiah 13:18 (NIV), “Didn't your fore-fathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.”
Nehemiah 13:22 (NIV), “Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, O my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love.”
Reliable Resources: Logos Bible Software; Union Gospel Press Expositor and Illuminator; Precepts for Living (UMI);
Worship by A. P. Gibbs; The Outline Bible, H. L. Wilmington; Word Search 10 Electronic Library, MacArthur Study Bible Notes; Wesley’s Commentary; Life Application Bible Study Notes; 10 Steps to Spiritual Renewal by Dr. David Jeremiah
INTRODUCTION
Our focus this quarter has been to labor in “The Worship Zone.” But again, what is worship? A. P. Gibbs in his book entitled
“Worship” gives the following quotes on the subject of worship: “Worship is the overflow of a grateful heart,under a sense of
divine favor…Worship is the outpouring of a soul at rest in the presence of God…Worship is the occupation of the heart, not
with its needs or even with its blessings, but with God.”
This week I want us to remember worship through the eyes of Nehemiah, God’s loyal layman. Not a prophet, priest, or pulpit preacher, but a layman working as a plenipotentiary (“one, especially a diplomatic agent, invested with full power or authority to transact business on behalf of another.”) As we follow him in the Sunday School text, he seeks to rebuke and reset Israel’s thinking concerning the celebration of the weekly Sabbath. According to Smith’s Bible Dictionary, “SABBATH (shabbath), “a day of rest,” from shabath “to cease to do,” “to rest.” The name is applied to divers great festivals, but principally and usually to the seventh day of the week, the strict observance of which is enforced not merely in the general Mosaic code, but in the Decalogue itself. Exodus 31:13-17,“Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’” But beloved, I want to expand this lesson further than the Sabbath; I want to focus on Nehemiah’s example and zeal as a worshipping loyal layman. Note my Anticipated Power Points:
· He Believed in a Separated People. Nehemiah 13:1-3
· He Exposed a Sell-out Priest. Nehemiah 13:4-7
· He was a Serious Plenipotentiary. Nehemiah 13:8-31
LESSON OUTLINE
I. Nehemiah Believed in a Separated People. Nehemiah 13:1-3
There is always a danger when believers fellowship with the mixed multitude. God said in Deuteronomy 23:3-4 (NKJV), “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever, because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.” These were the incestuous unions of Lot and his daughters after they left Sodom (Genesis 19:30-38). Beware of the mixed multitude – Exodus 12:38, Numbers 11:4-6, and remember I John 2:15-17!
II. Nehemiah Exposed a Sell-out Priest. Nehemiah 13:4-7
Remember, “Affiliation will bring about assimilation.” The priest Eliashib who in Nehemiah 3:1 led the list of godly workers, became a traitor to the people he represented as High Priest! Why? Because one of his relatives was married to Sanballet’s daughter (13:28) and he was a close associate of Tobiah the Ammonite. Now because of family ties, the priest gave Tobiah an apartment of God’s enemy in the house of God. This eventually hindered the livelihood of the workers of God and their families and above all, desecrating God’s house!
III. Nehemiah was a Serious Plenipotentiary. Nehemiah 13:8-31
A. His act of sanctification. vss. 8-14
1. He cast out the intruder. vs. 8
2. He cleansed the temple rooms. vs. 9
3. He called the Levites back to work. vs. 10
4. He contended with their leaders. vs. 11
5. He consecrated new stewards. vss. 12-13
6. He called upon the Lord. vs. 14
B. His act of Sabbath restoration. vss. 15-22
Nehemiah after returning from the service of the King, contended with the people for their compromise with the surrounding people who dishonored God's Sabbath. Such a thing had caused Israel to go into 70 yrs. of captivity and Nehemiah wanted them to not repeat the same sins! The Sabbath was to be kept holy and sanctified! (Read Exodus 20:8-11). According to Wiersbe, “When they signed the covenant, the Jews promised not to do business with the Gentiles on the Sabbath day (10:31);but Nehemiah found the people not only doing business on the Sabbath, but also doing their daily work and carrying unnecessary burdens.”
1. His contention. vss. 15-16
2. His confrontation. vss. 17-21
3. His consecration. vs. 22
C. His act of segregation. vss. 23-31
1. Because their activities were unbiblical. vs. 23
Read Deuteronomy 23:3-4 and note that the Lord commanded no fellowship between these people because of the
sin of the Moabites.
2. Because their actions were unsafe. vss. 24-27
The mixed marriages left their children learning the ways of their heathen wives, not even able to speak the Jewish language and properly practice their Jewish faith. Note what happened to King Solomon when he entangled himself in mixed marriages in 1 Kings 11:4 (NKJV), “For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.”
3. Because their actions were unacceptable. vss. 28-29
When leaders fail in their execution of their duties, they should be terminated! God help us to take His work seriously!
D. His eternal act of service remembered. vss. 30-31
Nehemiah prayed and asked God to not forget him or let his work be done in vain. This prayer was answered in the book of Nehemiah which we now have in our hands. We see the answer to Nehemiah's prayers, that God does not forget His people! Nehemiah was a great servant of God who sought to honor Jehovah with his faithful worship and service! Surely God's plenipotentiary is an example to us all that it pays to serve the Lord!
Closing:
Remember the Lord’s words in Matthew 25:23, “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
Bibleway Missionary Baptist Church, New Orleans, LA & Little Bethel Baptist Church, Amite, LA
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 19768, New Orleans, LA 70179-0768
Phone: (504) 486-7876
Website: www.thestudyhour.com (See and hear lesson taught via Video)
Radio Broadcasts: WLNO AM 1060, Saturday 8:30 a.m.; Sunday 5:30 a.m.
WHNO TV-Channel 20, Sunday, 6:30 a.m.
LOOKING AHEAD: September 1, 2013 Psalm 104:5-9, 24-30
Pastor Davis invites you to attend the Sunday School class that he teaches at Bibleway on Wednesdays at noon.