Nehemiah 1:1

The Bible says in Nehemiah 1:1-4, “The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,[2] That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.[3] And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.[4] And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,” Nehemiah was given a message: a very sad message. It is the same message that we have been given today. The message is this: something is terribly wrong in your country. The “wall” is broken down. The purpose for the wall for Jerusalem was like other walls for other cities: to keep the enemy out so that the citizens would be safe instead of being destroyed. Even though countries still need well-guarded borders, we are not talking about a physical wall. Without the walls of truth and goodness, and the teaching of truth and goodness, what has flooded into our land and into our people: error and foolishness. We can look at a Christian college and think how wonderful that such a place has been established where the Word of God is taught, the name of Christ is glorified, and young people are trained and prepared to go out and follow the Lord Jesus who died for them. The problem is that it is not enough. We need a thousand colleges like that, or even better, we need the other colleges and universities to stop indoctrinating millions of young people in socialism, secularism, and atheism with a hatred for our country and a twisting of its history. The walls are broken down in our land. The walls of truth and goodness would have protected us from the lies and errors of the world. How sad it is. Weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. We definitely need to do more of what Nehemiah did as stated in verse four, “And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.”

The Bible says in Nehemiah 1:5-11, “And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:[6] Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.[7] We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.[8] Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:[9] But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.[10] Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.[11] O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.” In verse five Nehemiah makes a great statement. He calls God “the great and terrible God.” The word “terrible” means fearful. He is a God to be feared because He is holy and we are sinful, and He punishes sin. Thankfully, Nehemiah also points out that the Lord “keepeth covenant and mercy.” We are even better off than Nehemiah was because we are under the New Covenant which is all about the blood of Jesus being shed for our sins. Jesus took our punishment upon Himself. We can count on the mercy of God one hundred percent of the time. That is why the Lord so easily and so often forgives us (a thousand times a day if we need it): even if we make the same mistakes every day. We have Jesus the Savior.

Of course, there is a requirement to gaining this wonderful forgiveness: confession of sin. Nehemiah prayed at the end of verse six and he did “confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.” We have also sinned. We also need to ask God for forgiveness. Jesus taught that confession should always be a part of prayer. Jesus said to pray, “Forgive us our transgressions even as we forgive those who transgress against us.”

Confession of sins fixes everything. Of course, true confession involves the desire to start doing the right thing and obeying God. “But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.” Mercy from God is a wonderful thing. When we have God’s mercy, we do not get the terrible results that we otherwise would have had. When we repent, God will straighten our lives up and put us back on the track that He wanted us on all along.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 2:1-6, “And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.[2] Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,[3] And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?[4] Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.[5] And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.[6] And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.” Nehemiah was the cupbearer to “Artaxerxes the king.” Whenever the king wanted something to drink, Nehemiah would bring it to him. And so Nehemiah was often in the presence of the king. We can tell from what is said here that Nehemiah was always in a very good mood when he was around the king. That was probably a requirement when anyone was around the king: be happy. Be positive. Be bright and cheerful. Christians should be like that. It says in Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” If someone is in your home with a “broken spirit”, it will be a challenge to not be overcome by the depression, the sorrow, and the negative environment that it can create.

Nehemiah was honest with the king. Nehemiah told the king exactly what was bothering him. Nehemiah said in verse three “the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire.” But the king was not angry with Nehemiah. Instead, the king wanted to help, and basically said to Nehemiah: “What can I do to help?” The king said in verse four, “For what dost thou make request?” Notice the first thing that Nehemiah says in verse four: “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” That was a smart move. This was a critical moment. Nehemiah needed to say the right thing in the right way to the king, and so Nehemiah prayed before he answered. We all could learn from that lesson. Pray before you speak, and your words will be more what they should be.

It says in verse six, “So it pleased the king to send me.” Who sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem? The king “Artaxerxes” sent him. No, actually Jesus sent Nehemiah, but Jesus used the king. The Lord put on the king’s heart just what the Lord wanted to be done. That is an important point to remember about authority. Christians should learn to honor and respect authority at all levels. Remember that God will speak through the authorities in your life in order to direct your life in the will of God. The will of God puts on the hearts of your leaders what He wants them to do, especially if you pray for them. God changes hearts in response to our prayers.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 2:7-12, “Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;[8] And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.[9] Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.[10] When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.[11] So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.[12] And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.” Nehemiah knew that what he was doing needed to be legal and to be approved by the authorities: both the king and the local authorities. Nehemiah got the king’s approval and he got a letter from the king so that the local authorities would be required to assist him. We live in a nation of laws. Obey the law. Use the law for your benefit in serving the Lord if you can. Trust that the Lord is King of kings. The Lord will change people’s hearts and people’s minds in order to accomplish the Lord’s will. If God wants you to do something, then God will make it possible legally.

It is interesting that Nehemiah said in verse twelve that when he first came to Jerusalem that he did not tell “any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem.” He kept things close to his vest. When you speak, you must tell the truth, but you do not have to tell everything. There is a right time to let out some information. Ask God for wisdom to know the right time.

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