What is the purpose of the book of Nehemiah? The primary purpose is to show God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel. Even though they have disobeyed God and are now out of the land, God still has plans to be faithful to his covenant with Abraham. In Genesis 13 God promised to give Abraham’s seed the land of Israel “forever” (v. 15). Though Israel is unfaithful, the faithful God brings them back to the land, first through Zerubbabel, then through Ezra and ultimately through Nehemiah. The book of Nehemiah documents the rebuilding of the walls amongst turmoil and persecution. It then documents a revival and restoration of Israel to God’s covenant. God still has plans for Israel.

 

The major themes of this letter include Nehemiah’s obedience. Nehemiah who is serving in Persia under the King develops a burden for the nation of Israel that is in turmoil. He gains favor with the King and returns to rebuild the temple even amongst persecution. After rebuilding the wall, Nehemiah hashes a plan to repopulate the city of Jerusalem. He attributes this to God as he says, “So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families (7:5).”  Nehemiah is faithful to God’s plans.

 

Another major theme in the book is persecution. As soon as Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, those who are profiting from Israel’s misfortune begin to antagonize Nehemiah. They mock him and the Israelites. They send out rumors that Nehemiah is rebelling against the King. They plot to come against Israel in battle. In fact, there is even division amongst the leaders in Israel as some are siding with the enemy. Nehemiah receives some type of persecution 7 times throughout the book (Nehemiah 2:19; 4:1-3; 4:7-23; 6:1-4; 6:5-9; 6:10-14; 6:17-19). Faithfulness to God always brings persecution and trials. However, Nehemiah and Israel still complete the rebuilding of the walls in only 52 days. 

 

God’s sovereignty over Israel is also a resounding theme throughout the book. Nehemiah seeks favor from the King in chapter 2 in order to go and rebuild the land. When the King grants his request, Nehemiah attributes this to God’s gracious hand over his life (Nehemiah 2:8). Also, when Nehemiah is telling the Israelites of his plan to rebuild the wall, he also attributes his success to God’s gracious hand (v.18) guiding the process. God was prospering this plan to restore Israel. 

 

In addition, prayer is a major theme of the book of Nehemiah. Eleven times Nehemiah is seen praying in this book and each time God’s answers his prayer. In chapter 1 it is Nehemiah’s fasting and prayer which leads to his plan to seek favor from the King. In chapter 2 when Nehemiah approaches the King for permission to go to Israel, it even says that Nehemiah prayed right before asking the King (v. 4). Nehemiah is a man of prayer and it was prayer that led to the rebuilding of the walls and the restoration of the people.

 

Finally, another major theme of the book is clearly leadership. We see Nehemiah coordinating and making plans on how to get to Israel and what would be needed for the building project before he left Persia. We see him motivating the Israelites to rebuild the wall that had been down for some 100 years. He encourages the Israelites to be faithful in the midst of persecution from without and turmoil from within. Nehemiah even stands up to Jews in leadership who were mistreating their fellow Jews (Nehemiah 13). Nehemiah is a tremendous book in which we can learn a great deal about leadership.