The Story of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther

• Meroz did not want to get involved (Judges 5:23)

• Edom did not want to get involved (Obad. 11)

• The priest & Levite did not want to get involved (Lk. 10:31-32)

• Laziness

• Fear of criticism or rebuke

• Lukewarm mediocrity

• Materialism / worldliness

• Excuse making (Prov. 24:11-12)

• Concerned individuals got involved with rebuilding the temple: Ezra 1-6 (Ezra 2:26; 6:14; Hag. 1:8)

• Concerned individuals got involved with rebuilding the walls: Nehemiah 1-7 (4:6; 6:3)

• Concerned individuals got involved with rebuilding the people: Ezra 7-8 and Nehemiah 8-12 (Ezra 7:10, 25-26; Neh. 8:1-8; 9:5ff; 10:28ff)

• “Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:11)

• “Abounding in the work of the lord” (1 Cor. 15:58)

• “That which every joint supplies” (Eph. 4:16)

• “Hazarding his life” (Phil. 2:30)

• “Ready to distribute, willing to communicate” (1 Tim. 6:17-19)

• “Zealous of good works” (Tit. 2:14)

• “But whoso has this worlds good and sees his brother in need” (1 Jn. 3:17)

• “Contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3)

• Concerned individuals like Ezra removed the sin of mixed marriages (Ezra 9-10)

• Concerned individuals like Nehemiah removed the sin of usury (Neh. 5), the mixed multitude, the absence of the tithes, the Sabbath breakers, and the mixed marriages (Neh. 13)

• “Rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin” (Lev. 19:17)

• “If you warn the wicked” (Ezek. 3:17-21)

• “If thy brother sin … go show him his fault” (Mt. 18:15)

• “Herod … being reproved by him” (Lk. 3:19)

• “If thy brother sin, rebuke him” (Lk. 17:3)

• “Deliver such a one unto Satan” (1 Cor. 5:5)

• “Have no fellowship … but rather reprove” (Eph. 5:11)

• “Withdraw yourselves” (2 Thess. 3:6)

• “You suffer the woman Jezebel” (Rev. 2:20)

• Concerned individuals like Mordecai and Esther got involved in saving their people from destruction (Esther 4:1-17)

• Mordecai got involved “behind the scenes” encouraging Esther to do the right thing

• Esther got involved directly by approaching the king and foiling Haman’s evil plan

• “Go … make disciples of all nations (Mt. 28:19)

• “Go … tell them” (Mk. 5:19)

• “Come over … and help us” (Acts 16:10)

• “I am ready to preach” (Rom. 1:14-15)

• “Woe is unto me, if I preach not” (1 Cor. 9:16)

• “Restore such a one” (Gal. 6:1)

• “And one convert him” (Jas. 5:19-20)

• “Some save snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 23)

“To him who knows to do good and does it not, to him it is sin” (Jas. 4:17)

The service of the Lord

The sin of the lawless

The salvation of the lost