Nehemiah

Pray And Act

97

Introduction

Benjamin Merkle writes of Alfred the Great:

As he returned to his men, Alfred was faced with a difficult task. He was barely twenty-two years old and had only experienced his first combat four days earlier, an experience that had not gone well for him or his troops.

After he had returned to his men, he wasted little time before informing them of the task at hand. He charged them to acquit themselves like men, to be worthy of the king they served, to remember their God, and to trust in God’s strength and mercy.... [H]e led his soldiers, marching silently, fighting back the uneasiness in the stomach and the trembling in the hand, through the frosted woods that cluttered the base of Ashdown. After a short march, they spilled out of the woods and onto the rising slope of the battleground, into the full view of the Viking throng.

Upon seeing the arrival of the men of Wessex, the Vikings erupted into a barrage of derisive howls and jeers....

But far more dismaying to Alfred than the taunting force on the hillside ahead was the absence on either flank of his brother and the second half of the Wessex army. The plan had been for both Alfred and Æthelred to immediately muster their forces and march to face the Danes. But Æthelred was nowhere in sight. Alfred would later learn that after the two 98had made their battle plans and separated, Æthelred had returned to his tent and summoned his priest in order that he might hear mass before facing the morning’s combat. The king was late for battle because, as the historian would later explain, he was lingering long in his prayers. (The White Horse King, 53-54)

The Vikings saw that the Wessex army was smaller than expected, and they saw the army’s confusion and uncertainty about being alone. The king’s men would have to stand alone, so stand they did.

Need

Where does one find strength of character for such a moment? When it looks like the kingdom of the world will overcome the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, on what shall we depend? On whom shall we call in the dire hour of need? And how shall we compel others to join us in a cause not just desperate but perhaps also doomed to fail?

Preview

In this passage we will see that Nehemiah’s strength of character was forged from his study of God’s Word. We will see that he knew he could rely on the one true and living God to answer his prayers because he knew from his study of the Bible what God had promised to do. And we will see that the boldness that grows from Bible study and the blessing that falls when prayers are answered enable leadership that draws others to stand for the cause of all that is good and right and sacred.

In the first chapter of the book, Nehemiah gets a report in Susa from one of his brothers about how things are in Jerusalem—not good. He responds to this report with earnest prayer to God. In 2:1-8 the Persian king grants Nehemiah’s request to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. Then 2:9-20 relates what happened when Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem.

Report And Prayer

Nehemiah 1:1-11

The book of Nehemiah opens with a statement that serves as a heading for the whole book: “The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah”99 (Neh 1:1). This is the only heading of this nature in the book, so even though the narrative will later switch to a third person narration of what Nehemiah did (e.g., 8:9), no new heading is supplied. Since no new heading is supplied, it is more likely than not that Nehemiah himself switched to the third person, so on the basis of this heading I will refer to Nehemiah as the author of the book.

In the rest of verse 1 Nehemiah prepares his audience for the report that he received from Jerusalem by stating his own location and the time of year. “Chislev” corresponds to what we call November/December, and Artaxerxes began to reign in 465 bc, so “the twentieth year” is 445. Ezra had arrived in Jerusalem in the seventh year, which would be 458 bc (Ezra 7:8). Susa was the king of Persia’s winter residence. Nehemiah continues in verses 2-3,

The walls being broken down and the gates burned could very well result from what we saw in Ezra 4, when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin (Ezra 4:1) sent a letter to Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:7-16), and Artaxerxes ordered the rebuilding stopped (Ezra 4:17-23), so the enemies “forcibly stopped them” (Ezra 4:23).

Nehemiah got the report in Nehemiah 1:3, and his prayerful response to the report is recounted in verses 4-11. Nehemiah writesin 1:4,

Look at how passionate Nehemiah is for the kingdom of God! He expresses his sorrow emotionally, weeping and mourning, and then he intercedes with discipline and diligence, fasting and prayer.

If we love God and the advance of His glory, we will feel deep sorrow when the advance of the gospel is halted, and we will be disciplined and diligent to fast and pray. If we are not feeling sorrow and cultivating diligence and discipline, we should seek to stir ourselves and one another up to love and good deeds. We can do this by considering what 100Nehemiah shows us about where he got this kind of passionate fervor for God and His kingdom. In the content of his prayer in verses 5-11 Nehemiah shows that he understands the Scriptures and wants to see the Scriptures fulfilled. If we would feel the kind of zeal for the church that results in weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying in response to reports about how the enemies of the gospel have attacked God’s kingdom, we should seek to understand the Scriptures and pray that God would cause us to long for their fulfillment.

Nehemiah opens in verse 5 by addressing God. Here he makes three statements about God, each of which is informed by Scripture:

The fact that God “keeps the covenant” will be significant once Nehemiah gets down to his request. He is calling on God to do what He has promised to do, so the fact that God keeps the covenant means that Nehemiah is asking God to do what God is committed to doing. God not only keeps covenant, He keeps steadfast love. God steadfastly maintains His devoted faithful love to those with whom He has covenanted, and Nehemiah appeals to God’s faithfulness to His commitment.

Nehemiah’s prayer is based on the kind of teaching found in Deuteronomy 4:25-31, where Moses prophesied,

101Leviticus 26 is similar to Deuteronomy 4:26-31, predicting exile for disobedience and promising restoration from exile. Leviticus 26:40-42 promises,

Nehemiah is living out the fulfillment of what God promised when He said He would scatter Israel, exiling them among the nations. Nehemiah experienced the exile, and he prayed that he might experience what God promised would come after the exile. He prayed in order to live out the confessing of sin, hoping to experience God remembering His covenant. Nehemiah begins his prayer in 1:6-7 by requesting that God hear his confession of sin:

Having confessed sin, just as God said He would remember in Leviticus 26:40-42, Nehemiah now calls on God to remember:

So why is Nehemiah so emotionally affected in verse 4? Because he knows the Bible, as we see in verses 5-9. Do you want to love God, God’s kingdom, and the advance of the good news of God’s triumph in Christ? Do you want the strength of character to look a desperate situation full in the face and have the wherewithal to do something about it? Fill your mind with the Bible!

102From what Nehemiah goes on to say in verse 10 we see his deep concern for God’s people:

If you care more about how your favorite college football team does on Saturday than you do about how the gospel is advancing, that’s probably because your identity is more shaped by the time you’ve spent watching and talking about football than the time you’ve spent studying the Bible. Which do you know better: the roster, stats, and prospects of your team, or the contents of the Scriptures? Who do you feel more passionate about: the players on your favorite team, or pastors and missionaries and co-laborers in the gospel? Which would grieve you more: seeing your favorite team lose the national championship, or hearing that Christians are being persecuted in a faraway place?

Nehemiah is in exile in Persia, but though he is in the world he is not of it. He doesn’t mourn like those who have no hope. He mourns because the enemies of God’s kingdom have prevailed, and he mourns because he loves God’s kingdom more than life. He also doesn’t stop with prayer. Nehemiah intends to go into action, and in verse 11 he asks that God will prosper what he sets out to do:

When Nehemiah asks God to “Give ... success,” he uses the same term found in Psalm 1:3: “Whatever he does prospers.” Nehemiah has evidently been meditating on the Torah of Yahweh day and night, and he is praying for God to do for him exactly what the Scriptures promise He will.

Only at this point does Nehemiah reveal his position in the Persian government, which also informs the final words of his prayer. He has asked that God “have compassion on him in the presence of this man,” and now at the end of verse 11 he writes,

Don’t miss the significance of this: Nehemiah is a highly placed political official. As cupbearer to the king, he likely tasted everything 103that went to the king before the king partook. This would mean that the king trusted Nehemiah, and if Nehemiah didn’t want to be poisoned, he would take pains to ensure that everyone with access to the king’s cup would be trustworthy and faithful.

In the midst of these responsibilities and duties, with all this influence, Nehemiah knows the Bible. Nehemiah’s supreme concern is for God’s kingdom. I doubt that Nehemiah would plead that he was too busy to study the Bible or pray. He wanted to study the Bible and pray, so he made time for it. He wanted to beseech God to show mercy to His people, so he didn’t grumble about fasting. Having prayed in response to the report, Nehemiah goes into action in chapter 2.

The King Grants Nehemiah’s Request

Nehemiah 2:1-8

We have seen that Nehemiah is living out the fulfillment of Scripture in that he is experiencing the exile. We have seen that he is a student of Scripture, that he passionately loves God’s people and God’s kingdom, and that he prays for God’s kingdom to come. Now we see that he has also planned for what he can do and is ready to go into action when he gets the opportunity.

Fleshing out the “days” Nehemiah spent praying and fasting (1:4), the opening words of chapter 2 tell us that several months have passed:

The events began back in 1:1 in Chislev, November/December, and now we pick the story up in Nisan, March/April. Nehemiah has been praying for four months or so, and from the way things play out in chapter 2 we will see that he has also been making preparations.

Nehemiah continues,

Nehemiah is afraid because these kings are absolute dictators and he is in a precarious position, so he quickly affirms his loyalty for the king in104 the first words of verse 3, then goes on to state his reason for sadness in the rest of the verse: “And I said to the king, ‘May the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad when the city of the tombs of my fathers is desolate, and its gates are consumed with fire?’” (my trans.).

I don’t think the exclamation “May the king live forever!” is a throwaway line. Nehemiah is asserting his desire for the king to live, and then he gives a valid reason for his sadness. These words assure the king that Nehemiah is not sad because he is hiding some plot against the king, and they give the true reason for his sadness, prompting the king to ask what Nehemiah desires in verse 4: “Then the king asked me, ‘What is your request?’”

Evidently something in Nehemiah’s words or manner has communicated that Nehemiah would like to do something about his city, and the king has apparently picked up on it. The situation is unfolding quickly, but not too quickly for Nehemiah’s instincts to kick into gear—look at what he does next: “So I prayed to the God of heaven.”

In the midst of this intense situation, Nehemiah’s thoughts go to God. This shows us how reliant on God Nehemiah really is. He instinctively calls on God. The kind of prayer that we saw in 1:5-11 will give rise to the kind of prayer that we see here in 2:4. The Scripture-saturated, God-focused prayer for God to do what God has promised in Nehemiah 1:5-11 has produced in Nehemiah a heart that longs to see God’s Word fulfilled. Nehemiah’s private prayer has spilled into his daily life. We want our own Bible study, prayer, and fasting to produce this in us for the advance of the gospel. Nehemiah relates in verse 5 how he

From what we see in verse 6, we know that this is not a spontaneous, on-the-spot, spur-of-the-moment request:

Nehemiah is not flying by the seat of his pants, making this up as he goes along, as we see from what he adds in verses 7-8:

Consider these facts: Nehemiah can give the king an amount of time that the journey and rebuilding will take (v. 6); he knows exactly what kind of authorization he needs west of the Euphrates (v. 7); and he knows exactly what materials he will need for temple, wall, city, and his own dwelling (v. 8). From these facts it appears that Nehemiah has been praying and planning. Nehemiah has been asking the Lord to “have compassion on him in the presence of this man” (1:11), and so when the opportunity arises before Artaxerxes he is prepared to make his requests and unfold his plan.

Let me encourage you to follow in Nehemiah’s footsteps on this point. He seeks to be used of God to see his own prayers answered. Study the Bible. Pray for God to do what He has promised to do in the Bible. And give thought to how and what you can do to be used of the Lord to bring His promises to pass.

At several points in Ezra we read of the hand of God on him (Ezra 7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31), and this is also true of Nehemiah at the end of Nehemiah 2:8:

The hand of God is a way to refer to His power, so the benevolent power of God is on Nehemiah. God brought Israel out of Egypt with a strong hand, and now He brings them out of Babylon to rebuild city and wall under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. The good hand of God is on them both.

Nehemiah Arrives On The Scene

Nehemiah 2:9-20

Nehemiah prayed, and he made preparations to be used of the Lord in answer to his own prayers. And Nehemiah’s prayers were based on the strong foundation of what God had promised to do. His requests are granted, but not everyone is on the Lord’s side. We see enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent in verses 9-10:

Whereas Ezra was ashamed to ask the king for an escort (Ezra 8:22), Nehemiah made use of one. Both men are trusting God, but their trust is expressed in different ways. There is an important point of application for us here: if we choose Ezra’s path, we should not condemn those who take Nehemiah’s, and vice versa. It is not our place to judge the servant of another (Rom 14:4).

We are not told whether Sanballat and Tobiah were the officials to whom the king’s letters were delivered, but after the letters are delivered in verse 9 they hear of it in verse 10. They are opposed to God’s people, and they do not respond favorably to those who seek God’s will for God’s people. Nehemiah’s awareness of this reality probably informs his acceptance of the escort provided by the king in verse 9, and it probably also informs his caution in verses 11-16:

Once again we see Nehemiah preparing himself for the task at hand. He goes on this night ride, this secret reconnaissance, and he keeps to himself what God put into his heart to do for Jerusalem. That phrase in verse 12 about God giving him these ideas sheds light on the relationship between Nehemiah’s prayers and his plans. Nehemiah understood God’s will, and here he indicates that he is doing what the Lord has led him to do.

107Nehemiah’s statement in verse 16 about the people “who would be doing the work” shows that he does not expect to accomplish this great task alone. Nehemiah knows that he needs the people of God to accomplish the will of God. So having studied the Bible, prayed, and acted, now Nehemiah will summon others to join him in pursuing God’s kingdom.

Nehemiah calls his kinsmen to the task in verses 17-18. He begins with the sorry state of God’s kingdom on earth in verse 17:

God’s name is at stake in Jerusalem! And Jerusalem is rubble. For those who love God’s name, this is intolerable. Nehemiah is compelled to act, and he is compelled to call others to join him, so he continues in verse 17,

Today, God’s name is no longer at stake in a city with walls and gates. God’s name is now at stake in the lives of His people, who are the new temple of the Holy Spirit. What walls and gates need work in your life? Your marriage? Your children? Does your eye-gate need attention? Do you need to put guards over your eyes and ears and be more strict about what kind of music you listen to or what movies or shows you watch?

Maybe you recognize that just as Jerusalem lay in ruins with gates burned in Nehemiah’s day, so your life is in ruins today. Your gates are burned down, and you are helpless to put out the flames destroying you. The message you need to hear is that there is a greater leader than Nehemiah who can deliver you from all the danger facing you. There is One who is more zealous for God’s name to be hallowed, for God’s kingdom to come, and for God’s will to be done. That zeal led Jesus to give His life so that all who trust Him will be saved. Hear the good news that God has worked salvation in Christ, and this day trust in Jesus in order to be saved from God’s wrath over your sin.

The derision of God’s enemies Nehemiah refers to in verse 17 will be stated in verse 19. It may look like the mockers have good points against Christians, but just as Nehemiah will overcome the slander of the enemies in this book, so Jesus will answer all this scorn when He comes to set all things right.

If you’re a Christian, let me invite you to consider the derision God’s enemies heap on the broken-down walls and fire-burned gates of108 the lives of God’s people today: Do they know we’re Christians by our love? Do they see the gospel in our marriages? Do they marvel at the behavior of our children? Do they see in us the love than which there is none greater, our being willing to lay down our lives for our friends? Brothers and sisters in Christ, “Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace!”

Nehemiah reports on God’s favor to him in verse 18a (ESV),

The people who hallow God’s name, who want to see His kingdom come and His will be done, on earth as in heaven, respond to Nehemiah’s call, as verse 18b describes (ESV):

Brothers and sisters, the work of the gospel is a better work than the one for which the people strengthened their hands in Nehemiah 2:18. Let us strengthen our hands for it. Let us study our Bibles, pray for God to do what He has promised to do in the Bible, and ask for guidance as to how we can be used of the Lord in answer to our prayers. Pray and act!

If you do this, there will be opposition, on the order of what we see in verse 19:

Look at the content of what they say here. They insinuate that pursuing the kingdom of God could be perceived as rebellion against the reigning power on earth. For a long time Christians in the United States have lived in a culture that, at least on the surface, valued Christianity. More and more, however, we are living in a culture that will interpret faithfulness to God and Christ as rebellion against the governing authorities.

Nehemiah answers boldly in verse 20,

109When Nehemiah says that God will “grant us success,” he uses that word from Psalm 1:3 and Joshua 1:8 that speaks of the one who meditates day and night on Torah prospering. These words also show what Nehemiah fears. He does not fear the king, and he does not fear these nasty insinuations. Nehemiah fears God. Nehemiah’s character has been made strong by the study of the Bible. He is confident as he calls on God to do what He has promised. And Nehemiah’s boldness and the blessing of answered prayer he has experienced make him a powerful leader for God’s people.

Conclusion

We left Alfred facing the onslaught of the Vikings. As they came, the shieldwall held, largely due to Alfred’s courageous example. Then almost without explanation, the Vikings began to flee in panic, as Merkle writes, “King Æthelred had finished his prayers” (The White Horse King, 60). The other half of the army not only removed the Viking numerical advantage, they were also “perfectly poised to attack the unprotected flank of the Viking shieldwall” (ibid., 61). The Battle of Ashdown soon was won.

Reflect and Discuss

1. When Nehemiah learned of the sad state of Jerusalem, he wept, mourned, and fasted. Do reports of the sad state of a church affect you the same way? Why or why not?
2. When you hear bad reports about the state of a church, do you instinctively pray the way that Nehemiah did when he heard about Jerusalem? Explain your reaction.
3. How do you think Nehemiah became a person who was so concerned about Jerusalem? What can we do to increase our personal investment in spiritual matters?
4. 110How do you think Nehemiah became someone who instinctively responded to challenges by crying out to the Lord? What can we do to develop a habit of prayer?
5. What things in your life should concern you more than they do?
6. What things in your life are there about which you should be crying out to the Lord and making plans for the opportunity you may get to address the situation?
7. If the Lord gave you an opportunity to advance His kingdom, what aspects of “staying in the Persian palace” would be most tempting? How can you put that enticement in the proper perspective?
8. When you come into a new situation like the one awaiting Nehemiah in Jerusalem, do you have a tendency to go straight to work, or do you have the patience to survey the situation first?
9. To what did Nehemiah appeal when he sought to motivate the people in Jerusalem to join him in the rebuilding of the walls? How does that still function as a motivation today?
10. How would you characterize Nehemiah’s response to Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem? To whom should we respond in like manner today?