In the aftermath of the feeding of 5,000, there some some carnal disciples who were following Jesus primarily because of natural food. Jesus points them to the true meat, the true sustainer of God’s children in this world which is Christ himself as the bread of life. We partake of Christ as the bread of life by believing and trusting him on a daily basis.
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In Nehemiah’s latter days – that correspond to the prophecy of Malachi – we see a religious culture that is very similar to ours today. Irreverence, lukewarmness, disobedience bathed in self-justification, and a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. We need to learn from the mistake of Malachi’s generation and submit to truly serving the Lord from the heart, not just with outward pretense of religion.
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Unfortunately, God’s people seem to always seem to fall into the same mistakes and sins over and over and over again. After the revival in the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall, the people recommitted to the covenant of God. Then, only 12 years later in the absence of Nehemiah’s leadership, the people have once again fallen into the same sins as generations before – mixed marriages, neglecting the sabbath, and neglecting support of the temple.
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In Jesus’ walking on the water, we find the disciples letting fear and doubt creep in to quench their faith. They should have believed that Christ could do anything right in the aftermath of the feeding of 5,000 men, but instead they crumble during the storm of life. In like manner, we let doubt grow and fear grow to quench our faith in Christ. We ought to overcome those storms by faith in Christ and walk over and triumph over the same water that seeks to overwhelm us.
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God’s people throughout every generation seem to fall into the same cycle of blessings, peace, rest, and prosperity – then sin, disobedience, and judgment. Just like the Old Testament Jews, in spite of our repeated sins, God still shows great mercy unto his people today. Thankfully, the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundantly ready to pardon his people.
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In the studying of God’s word after the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall, the Jews observed the command of the feast of tabernacles. The feast of tabernacles was to remind God’s people that they resided in temporary dwelling places and this world was not their home. When we go through trials in this world, what gives us strength is a future vision, looking towards our eternal joy of the Lord in heaven.
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One of Jesus’ most well-known miracles – actually the only miracle during his ministry recorded in all four gospels – is the feeding of the five thousand (men). We find the disciples’ initial unbelief in Christ’s ability to provide food for such a large number in the wilderness. Despite their unbelief, the Lord uses them to feed his sheep and even sent them each home with a basket full of leftovers to remind them of God’s overflowing grace and provision.
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After the completion of the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall, all of Jerusalem met together in worship. They met in family-integrated worship, were active and engaged in worship with Amens and lifting hands. Multiple preachers stood up and read from the law, read distinctly from the word, gave the sense thereof, so God’s people could understand the scriptures. Today, we also hope in the church to read distinctly and give the sense of God’s word so we can understand and apply in our lives.
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In the aftermath of claiming and proving his co-equal nature with God the Father, Jesus Christ then gives multiple independent witnesses of his divinity. John the Baptist testified of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, as well as the testimony of God the Father at Jesus’ baptism. Jesus’ own works and miracles, and the scriptures – principally Moses’ law – testified to Christ as the Son of God. Now we have still have the witness of the scriptures that is our only necessary witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ.
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After the completion of the wall, they prepare a census and read the genealogy register from Zerubabbel’s return to Jerusalem. In that day, only 42,360 Jews returned from Babylon, a microscopic remnant from the heyday of Judah, and many Jews chose to not return and just remain in Babylon. The older men wept when they saw the temple’s foundation bemoaning it in comparison to Solomon’s temple, while the younger men shouted for joy for God’s blessings. We need to be thankful for God’s blessings today, and not bemoan we aren’t in the supposed good old days.
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