Spiritual accomplishments are designed so they require both faith in God and grace from God.
Although Ezra and Nehemiah were individual writers inspired by the Spirit, in the Hebrew Bible their books were treated as one. While there is overlap, they each deserve their own place in the Canon. Remember, there were three waves of returnees from Babylon to Jerusalem. The first half of Ezra (chs 1-6) records the first wave under Zerubbabel in the days of Cyrus (538 BC) to rebuild the temple. The work was interrupted, but Haggai (520 BC) and Zephaniah (520-518 BC) encouraged them to finish. Then there is a 57-year gap between Ezra chapters 6 and 7, during the reign of Ahasuerus, where the book of Esther fits in. When Ezra 7 begins, we have recounted the journey of the second wave of captives with Ezra (458 BC), and the spiritual recovery under his ministry. There is then another gap, this time of 12 years (456-444 BC), until the Lord stirs the heart of Nehemiah to bring the third wave back, and that’s where this book begins. Nehemiah (meaning “Jehovah comforts”) was cupbearer to King Artaxerxes in the Persian palace. In those days, you couldn’t vote the king out, so you carried him out—with a little poison slipped into his wine! Thus the cupbearer (and food tester) was actually chief of security, and the man that the king wanted to be the most contented man in the kingdom! The book has two main benefits for the reader. First, Nehemiah models the hallmarks of effective spiritual leadership. Among other lessons we will learn, he demonstrates the strategic role of prayer, the way to tackle large problems and deal with criticism, wise steps in decision-making, the value of encouragement, and the importance of guarding God’s glory. The second crucial theme we meet in the first chapter.