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Nehemiah 13

 [Nehemiah] TWELVE: Love that challenges_ 

Nehemiah 13_ 

If relationship with God is THE most important thing in the world... then to help people get back into right relationship with God is the best thing we can do for them. 
When we DON’T do this, what we are really saying is that we are more concerned about what that person thinks than what God thinks... 

 

[Discussion starter] Why do you think that we find it so hard, in this culture, to correct a sister or brother in the Lord? 

 

Between Nehemiah 2:1 – 13:6, Nehemiah spent twelve years in Jerusalem before going back to king Artaxerxes. We don’t know how long it was before Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem to check up on things, but chapter 13 tells us about how things were when he returned... 

 

[Read Nehemiah 13] 

 

What are the indications, in this chapter, that the Israelites have backslidden? 

 

 

Think of a time when you have been corrected or when you have had to correct someone else... what happened when someone came to correct you or when you went to someone to correct them? 

 

 

Considering the people made such a strong covenant in chapter 10, how do you think they could have gone this far astray in chapter 13? 

 

 

 

What does this chapter reveal about how Nehemiah felt when he came back and saw how bad things were spiritually? 

 

 

 

 

 

[Activity] Compare Nehemiah 10:30 and Nehemiah 13:23-28. 
Do you see anything in the texts that show you why Israel has backslidden? 

 

 

What right does Nehemiah have to be so harsh on people in verse 25? 

 

 

Nehemiah’s response, in verse 25, is very dramatic and physical. 
What principles does this suggest to you for how we should deal with sin today? 

 

 

Why does Nehemiah take such drastic action in verses 6-7 and verse 28? 

 

 

In what ways do you need to be more direct with others about their sin? 

 

 

How would you like others to help you in dealing with your own sin? 

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