Bible study · Nehemiah 12:1-47
Nehemiah 12: Two great thanksgivings
Read Nehemiah 12:1-47 before you meet.
In a few lines
Nehemiah 12's two choirs are, in Hebrew, "two great thanksgivings"; 12:43 says rejoice or joy five times in Hebrew and says God made them rejoice, the women and the children too, loud enough to be heard far away; and Nehemiah, never "I" from 8:1 to 12:30, is back on the wall.
The verse to carry
“They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even far away.”
Nehemiah 12:43
To talk about
1. The wall was dedicated "with gladness, both with giving thanks and with singing" (12:27). When something hard in your life is finished, how do you usually mark it? What would giving thanks look like?
2. In 12:43, "the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even far away". Who do you want beside you when you celebrate what God has done? Who might be left out?
3. "Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites who served" (12:44), and gave them their portions. Who serves you in ways you rarely notice, and how could you rejoice for them this week?