We have a saying that when the cat is away, the mice will play. This modern proverb is a good summary for how the book of Nehemiah ends. We are told in Nehemiah 13:6 that Nehemiah had to return to Persia. Remember that Nehemiah was sent by King Artaxerxes of Persia to rebuild Jerusalem. But he was only granted a set amount of time (1:11; 2:6). He was not to stay in Jerusalem permanently. He was the cupbearer to the king and therefore an important person in Artaxerxes administration. So Nehemiah is back in Persia. We are not told how long he has to be away in Persia. But verses 6-7 show that after some time Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to see how things were going. Chapter 13 records what had happened by Nehemiah was back in Persia…
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