Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

  PART ONE The prophesied 70 year Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people had finally come to an end. There were three deportations of the Jews to Babylon including in the years 605, 597, and 586 BC. The Medo-Persian king Cyrus the Great gave a decree that the Jews could return to Judah and rebuild the House of the Lord in Jerusalem. A minority of Jews heeded the call. Among the returnees were an older man named Haggai and a younger man Zerubbabel. Just as there were three deportations to Babylon, so there were three returns from Babylon: Return One : Haggai and Zerubbabel (536 BC); Return Two: Ezra (457 BC); Return Three : Nehemiah (444 BC). As Cyrus encouraged, the returning Jews set about to rebuild the ruined temple of Solomon. The mere attempt of bringing back the sacred precincts stirred up furious opposition from the non-Israelite neighbours, leading to a decree to cease building. The temple languished for about 16 years while the Jews in Judah sought to recreat...

INTRODUCTION TO NAHUM The Book of Nahum belongs to three minor prophets in the Bible that are directed primarily to a foreign entities: Jonah to Nineveh and Obadiah to Edom are the others. Nahum prophesied to the city of Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire, but he came much later than Jonah. Using dramatic speech, Nahum graphically tells about the fall of the city that once terrified the ancient world, including Jerusalem and Judah. Jonah came to Nineveh 150 years earlier and his ministry was stunningly successful. Despite his reluctance to go, Jonah’s preaching spawned mass repentance; this is impressive for a heathen nation. Would to God we had these kind of results today! After Jonah’s day, Assyria grew to be a great empire. In the time of King Ahab, the Assyrians tried to conquer the 10 tribes of Israel but failed. Then during the reign of Ashurbanipal III, the little tribe of Benjamin was taken. Finally, in the year 722 BC, under Shalmaneser, the other 9 tri...

So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work — Nehemiah 4:6 The challenges could not be greater. In fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah, a minority of the people of Judah chose to leave captivity in Babylon and return to home. The walls of Jerusalem and the temple of God were rebuilt. Yet, they faced much opposition from the neighbours and over time the walls of Jerusalem came into disrepair. The people were greatly discouraged. Then comes Nehemiah. A Judean who served in the Persian court as the king’s cupbearer, Nehemiah’s rise to leadership was birthed in crisis. When he asked about the welfare of his people back home, he heard most distressing news: The people of Judah are in great affliction and reproach. The walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the gates burned with fire. Crisis can be the womb of opportunity. Nehemiah rose up to be one of the greatest Hebrew leaders and indeed one o...