week of 2/1

Unit 18  Session 1

THE WALL REBUILT

NEHEMIAH 1:5-11 ; 6:2-9, 15-16

 

Key Concept:

God restores His people when they repent so that the world would know He is God.

The book of Nehemiah opens in late fall, early winter of 446 or 445 B.C. Nehemiah was an Israelite living in exile who had been appointed to be the king's cupbearer, a highly honored role that allowed him close access to the king. Nehemiah was in Susa, a royal fortress city of the Medo-Persian Empire, located in modern-day Iran. There, Nehemiah received a troubling report from the Israelites who had returned to the land as God promised, and he prayed for the opportunity to do something about it.

As you examine Nehemiah 1:5-11 ; 6:2-9, 15-16:

 

✞   Highlight that the restoration of God's people began 

    with confession and repentance.

✞   Receive encouragement that even God's enemies

    recognize His powerful work in the lives of His people.

        

week of 1/25

Unit 17  Session 4

THE PEOPLE RESCUED

ESThER 3:7-9, 13 ; 8:5, 11-13, 17

 

Key Concept:

God rescues His people even in the face of imminent destruction.

Though many Jews returned to Judah to reclaim and rebuild the way of life that had been lost, many stayed put. The original exiles who had survived the deportations settled in their new home, married, and had children, just as Jeremiah had commanded them (Jeremiah 29:4-7). Over the seventy years of exile and beyond, generations were born and raised in the foreign lands of Babylon and Persia. But because of the passage of time, these lands no longer seemed so foreign; rather, they had become home. Yet even in these places distant from their homeland, God was watching over His people.

As you examine Esther 3:7-9, 13 ; 8:5, 11-13, 17:

 

✞   Recognize that though it may seem God is not present

    or working, He always is.

     

✞   Rejoice that God keeps His promises and covenants,

    preserving His people.

week of 1/18

Unit 17  Session 3

THE KING PROMISED

ZECHARIAH 9:9-17

 

Key Concept:

God will provide a messianic King who will restore and save His people.

In His perfect timing, the Lord used prophets as His mouthpiece to deliver divine messages to His people. Often they warned the people of consequences for their sin while also holding out a future hope. The book of Zechariah is split into two sections. Chapters 1-8 called the Jews to reject complacency and return to God. After declaring God's call to repentance and the restoration obedience would bring, Zechariah unveiled chapters 9-14 a hope-filled, divine plan - a promise that stretched far beyond their immediate horizon and wildest dreams.

As you examine Zechariah 9:9-17:

 

✞   Notice how Zechariah described the coming king who

    would restore God's people and kingdom.

     

✞   Take comfort in the truth that the Lord will save His

    people because they are precious to Him.

week of 1/11

Unit 17  Session 2

THE TEMPLE REBUILT

EZRA 6:6-12 ; 16-22

 

Key Concept:

God will restore worship of Him, resulting in a joyful celebration of His faithfulness.

After the return to Jerusalem, God's remnant people prepared to rebuild the Lord's temple. The task ahead was daunting with opposition at every turn. On the surface, their work seemed insurmountable. Yet theirs was not a man-made assignment. They were commissioned by the Creator and Sustainer of all - the same God Who providentially brought them back to their ancestral home and provided abundant supplies for the temple's reconstruction. This faithful Deliverer would continue to pave the way for them to complete the task, enabling them to proclaim His excellencies along the way. 

As you examine Ezra 6:6-12 ; 16-22:

 

✞   Reflect on the reality that though enemies of God tried  

    to stope the rebuilding of the temple, God had a plan

    in place.

     

✞   Recognize that joy comes with worship as we remember

    God's faithfulness in the past, present and into the future.

week of 1/3

Unit 17  Session 1

THE PEOPLE RESTORED

EZRA 1:5-8 ; 3:1-7

 

Key Concept:

God is faithful to reconcile and restore His people to Himself.

After decades of disobedience and defeat, God's covenant people were a threadbare bunch. The best and brightest had been deported to Babylon, while the poor, the worn out, and the weak were left behind to work the land for the benefit of another nation. But after seventy years, a new power arrived on the scene to crush Babylon for their excesses, just as the Lord had promised. And King Cyrus of Persia then issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple. God's people now held onto a thread of hope that restoration might come to their ragtag remnant.

As you examine Ezra 1:5-8 ; 3:1-7:

 

✞   Recognize that even through discipline, God desires to

    restore His people.

     

✞   Highlight how King Cyrus recognized God's power and

    gave Him the praise He deserved.

week of 12/26

Unit 16  Session 4

DOMINION

DANIEL 7:2-14

 

Key Concept:

God will establish His forever kingdom through Jesus Christ, the Son of Man.

The book of Daniel is divided into two main parts. The first six chapters are narratives, such as the fiery furnace, the writing on the wall, and the lions' den. The last six chapters contain four visions of the future the Lord gave to Daniel as a prophet. Daniel 7 is the pivot point bridging the two halves, connecting the narratives to the grander events happening in the world. In this first vision, which Daniel received in the first year of King Belshazzar's rule over Babylon (7:1), sometime before the writing on the wall, Daniel describes four beasts representing four powerful kingdoms, but above them all is the kingdom of God.

As you examine Daniel 7:2-14:

 

✞   Recognize that because of sin, human empires will try to

    establish dominion over this world.

     

✞   Rejoice that Christ is reigning and will reign and judge

    over all people at the end of time.

week of 12/21

Unit 16  Session 3

FAITHFULNESS

DANIEL 6:13-24

 

Key Concept:

We honor God when we live in faith and trust God in all situations.

In the waning years of Nebuchadnezzar's rule, the Lord humbled him for seven years and then restored him to his throne, for which the king praised the Lord as "the King of the heavens" (Daniel 4:37). But the king's descendant failed to learn this lesson. On a night of revelry, Belshazzar defiled the gold vessels taken from the Lord's temple. He the observed mysterious fingers writing on the wall, which Daniel interpreted as God's coming judgment upon the king. That very night, Belshazzar was killed, and Babylon was conquered by Darius (Cyrus) of the Medo-Persian Empire. Daniel then served Darius as an administrator of the kingdom.

As you examine Daniel 6:13-24:

 

✞   Recognize that Daniel felt honoring God with his life was more 

    important than preserving it.

     

✞   Consider that when we are falsely accused, we can rest in

    God's justice.