This is Spoken Gospel.

We are dedicated to seeing 
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s 
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

Nehemiah’s tenure in 
Jerusalem is temporarily over.

With the wall rebuilt and a new leadership in place, 
the Persian king calls Nehemiah home for a full report.

But before he leaves, Nehemiah once again
pushes to populate the city with fellow Israelites.

By a roll of the dice, a tenth of the Israelites living in
the surrounding territories volunteer to live in Jerusalem.

And for God’s people to live in God’s city and worship
properly, they need priests to work God’s temple.

Before he leaves Nehemiah is careful to name
the returning families who are qualified to do so.

The wall is formally dedicated and, more importantly, 
the establishment of God’s city is celebrated.

Instead of just a tenth, every temple singer that
can be found is called into the city to participate.

Tons of instruments and hundreds of voices parade from
the wall to the temple where worship of God is finally restored.

Once again, the law is read, and Israel repents.

Nehemiah celebrates that Israel has broken her idolatrous
unions with foreign nations, reestablishing the practice of
the Sabbath and finally consecrating the temple.

God’s people are back in God’s city 
with God’s priest in God’s temple.

Nehemiah leaves the city in the hands of 
his newly appointed governor and priest  

as he returns to Persia
and reports to the king.

   But several years later, Nehemiah returns and finds his
people are breaking all the commands they just swore to keep.

They had rejoined their idolatrous unions with
foreign nations, broken the Sabbath,
and profaned the temple.

Nehemiah immediately
breaks their foreign alliances,  

kicks out the Sabbath breakers, and 
restores the operation of the temple.

Three times Nehemiah intercedes for his people, asking
God to remember his good deeds and not their evil.

In fact, those are the last words of the 
book: “Remember me with favor, my God.”

Nehemiah hopes that he can be a stand-in
for Israel and avoid another act of God   

that would destroy the walls he just built, 
sending his people into exile once again.

[music]

Israel never recovered
from her idolatry and exile.

The nation and land would pass from 
empire to empire until the time of Jesus.

But Jesus does what Nehemiah 
wanted to do but couldn’t.

On the cross, Jesus acts as our stand-in.

And God remembers his
good deeds instead of our evil.

Like a faithful priest, Jesus intercedes for us and
makes a way for us to be a new people of God  

who can faithfully live in
God’s city and Kingdom.

That’s because when Jesus leaves 
his people to go back to the King,  

we are not fated to fall
back into our patterns of sin.

Unlike Nehemiah, Jesus leaves us with his Holy 
Spirit to continue the obedience he began in us.

Because of the Spirit, we are not fated to
continually break the commands
we have vowed to keep. 

Instead, we are empowered by God to obey 
Jesus’ commands as we wait for his return.

And when he does, a New Jerusalem 
and a new Kingdom will come too.

The home and city Israel 
hoped for, will finally come.

Jesus won’t just bring a tenth of his people,
but all his people inside his walls.

And with far more joy than all Israel’s 
singers could muster, we will sing  

with full-throated triumph as we 
enter into our final home with God.

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see the God
who has an eternal plan to bring us a hope and a future.

And may you see Jesus as 
the fullness of God’s plan  

who brings us the hope of an eternal home 
with him by dying in our place on the cross.