Read Nehemiah
1-2 & Acts
2:1-13
To discover:
As you read note Nehemiah’s
qualities.
To ponder:
These events take place thirteen
years after the return under Ezra (445BC, 1v1, 2v1, Ez 7v7). Nehemiah is in Susa
(located in modern Iran)
and “cupbearer” to the Persian king Artaxerxes. He therefore has a providential
opportunity to influence. The destruction of Jerusalem
occurred 140 years previously. Nehemiah’s sudden concern at the report about
the exiles could therefore be over the fact that the exiles had still not
rebuilt the city, or that having tried to, Artaxerxes had stopped them (see Ez
4v21). Perhaps the little that had been done had been destroyed.
As
with Ezra, the mourning, fasting and praying of Nehemiah challenges our
complacency over the spiritual ruin of the church. Nehemiah’s prayer displays a
liturgical introduction (1v5, see Dan 9v4). It affirms the LORD as “God of
heaven” – a reminder of his supremacy over all in a world of many nations
claiming the power of many gods. It also relies on God’s particular
covenant-relationship with Israel
in which he acts for those who love and obey him (Deut 28v1-14). On this basis
Nehemiah prays “day and night.” In confessing Israel’s
sins, he acknowledges he himself is not without fault. He then appeals to God’s
covenant promise to bring the people back to Jerusalem
if they return to him (Deut 30v1-10), reminding him they are his servants and
people whom he redeemed from Egypt
with his “mighty hand.” Here Nehemiah may be acknowledging that those now in Jerusalem
must have previously returned to God. In which case he is asking God to
continue blessing them by aiding his petition to the king on their behalf
(1v11). However, he may have in mind his own desire to return, asking God to
fulfil his promise for him, even though Nehemiah is in the very palace of the
Persian king and one the king relies heavily upon! In this case, he is
exercising great faith, asking God to act mightily, knowing that no earthly
power can thwart him.
There
is much here to build our faith. But the prayer also models how to appeal to
God on the basis of his character, might and word.
It
seems Nehemiah prayed for four months before an opportunity came (Nisan is four
months after Kislev, 2v1, 1v1), which he took although “very much afraid.” This
encourages us to wait upon the LORD, but to take opportunities in faith when
they come, even though fearful. Artaxerxes asked why Nehemiah looked sad, and
Nehemiah tested the water not with a request but an explanation, respectfully addressing
the king and explaining his grief over Jerusalem.
When asked what he wanted, Nehemiah prayed again, no doubt seeing this as the
God-given opportunity he had longed for. He then asked to return to rebuild the
city, agreed to come back when the work was completed, and had courage even to
request a safe passage and timber for the work! The reason his requests were
granted was that “the gracious hand” of his God was “upon him.” Nothing is too
much for him to grant. So Nehemiah travelled to Trans-Euphrates (the province
of the Empire containing Jerusalem)
with a military escort and gave its governors the king’s letters. Here we are
introduced to the enemies who will feature much in the book (2v10). They were
probably “disturbed” because as members of the other nations inhabiting the
area, they would not want the Israelites to fortify their city.
The
number three often denotes a period building anticipation before a significant
action or event. So Nehemiah begins to consider the rebuilding after three days
(also Ez 9v32-33). Although he acknowledged God had put this desire “in his
heart,” he exercised caution, not telling anyone his plans, and examining the
walls and gates at night with “a few good men.” Confidence that God is with us
doesn’t absolve the need for shrewdness.
When
Nehemiah did tell the Jewish leaders he explained how God’s hand had been on
him with Artaxerxes, probably to persuade them God was behind his plans. Their
“trouble” would have been their vulnerability without any defences to Jerusalem,
and their “disgrace,” the shame of inhabiting a ruined city as the people of
God (see 1v3). And so they began the work. However Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem
mocked them, and tried to put them off by suggesting their work would get them
into trouble with the king. Nehamiah’s response is bold. He trusts God to give
them success as his servants, and affirms these opponents have no share or
right to Jerusalem, presumably
because the land and so city had been given to the Jews.
The
act of beginning Jerusalem is
significant because we have seen that alongside the existence of the temple, Jerusalem’s
security was the other key factor necessary for the kingdom to be “established.”
Nehemiah’s work would therefore be seen as another key step towards the fulfilment
of God’s promise to David and the arrival of the Christ (1 Chr 17v11-14).
Praying it home:
Praise God that nothing can hinder
him answering our prayers for his church and kingdom. Pray for your own prayer
life, and your readiness to be God’s means perhaps of answering your own
prayers.
Thinking further:
To read the NIV
Study Bible introduction to Nehemiah, click
here.
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