Nehemiah 1:5

 Nehemiah 1:5 says, Then I said: “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,  These next few verses are Nehemiah’s prayer when he heard about the state of the temple and Jerusalem.  He started by acknowledging that God is a great and awesome God and that He keeps His covenant with His people.  If we think people are trying to tear down the church today, we as followers of Christ need to acknowledge that God is still an awesome God and that He has already guaranteed us success spiritually, and even if we fail Him at times, He will never fail us. 

Verse six adds, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you,  Nehemiah next asked that God hear his prayer, and as Christians, we can be certain that God always hears our prayers.  Though there is a song thanking God for unanswered prayers, I don’t believe there is such a thing for Christians.  We often classify prayers in which God says no as being unanswered since we didn’t get what we want.  Nehemiah then confessed that the people of Israel had sinned, including his family and himself.  We often want to point out the sins of others and not our own, and then we look down on them.  We are all sinners, and we should confess our sins first and then forgive the sins of others. 

Verse seven continues, We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.  Nehemiah said they had acted very wickedly toward God and had not obeyed His commandments and decrees.  Before we can hope to have the nation return to God, or come to Him in the first place, we must start by making sure that we are personally obeying God. 

Verse eight states, “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,  Nehemiah then brought up a promise of God to Moses, stating that if the people of Israel were disobedient to Him, that He would scatter them among the other nations.  Once we are saved, we are saved forever, but we can still be unfaithful to God, and that can bring negative consequences in our life.  Of course, we are commanded to be scattered among the lost people of the world to bring the gospel to them. 

Verse nine adds, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.'  Nehemiah then acknowledged God’s promise bring His people home to the place He had prepared for them if they would return to Him and obey His commandments.  We will also one day be brought to our heavenly home if we repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. 

Verse ten continues, “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.   Like the people of Israel, we are God’s servants as Christians, and we have been redeemed by His strength and power by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as an atonement for all sins.  All we have to do and all we can do is accept His sacrifice in our place.

Verse eleven concludes, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” I was cupbearer to the king.  Nehemiah then asked God to hear his prayer and the prayers of others who delighted in doing God’s will.  He didn’t think he was the only one praying for the restoration of Israel, and we cannot think that we are alone in seeking to do God’s work today.  He also asked that God grant him favor with the king.  Whenever we undertake something for God, we must first make sure that it is something He has called us to do and then we need to ask that He gives us the strength and ability to do whatever we are called to do.  Nehemiah then stated that he was the cupbearer of the king, a position of trust, but not of power.   We can only serve God where we are, no matter what our position may be in life.  Of course, as always, the first step is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, and if you haven’t, my prayer is that you will do so today. 

Nehemiah 1:1

 

Nehemiah 1:1 says, 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,  Nehemiah was in the court of the king of Persia and served as his cupbearer.  Originally, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were considered part of the same book, then were divided into 1st and 2nd Ezra, before being designated as two books in the 16th century, according to Matthew Henry.  Nehemiah lived in the same time period as Ezra, and though he never wore a crown, Matthew Henry says Nehemiah was more honorable and noble than any earthly ruler or philosopher.   We as followers of Christ may never be rulers or noted for our philosophy, but if we are praying people, we will be honorable and noble people in God’s view. 

Verse two adds, 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.  When one of his brethren and certain other men of Judah came to him, he asked them about the Jews who had escaped from the captivity, or I believe had been allowed to return to Jerusalem though they were still not free from Persian rule, and how things were in Jerusalem.   We need to be concerned with the state of church today, even if we may be in a position of relative ease in the world. 

Verse three continues, 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.  What they told Nehemiah about Jerusalem was not good news.  The remnant of the people was in great affliction and reproach, and the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the gates had been burned.  Too often today throughout the world, God’s people are suffering affliction, and His work is not getting done.   We cannot allow the fact that we may be living in relative ease keep us from doing all that we can to offer them support and encouragement. 

Verse four concludes, 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,  When Nehemiah heard these things, he sat weeping and mourning for certain days, though we aren’t told how many.  He also fasted and prayed to the God of heaven.  I believe that too often, when we hear about Christians being persecuted, we aren’t really affected by it.  We need to be weeping and mourning for them instead of just offering sometimes empty words of support.  We might say that they are far away from us, so there is nothing we can do, but like Nehemiah, we can begin by fasting and praying to the God of Heaven, Who is the only God.  Of course. one reason Nehemiah was so heartbroken was because these were his people, even if he wasn’t with them physically.  Before we become concerned about God’s people, we must become one of them, and the only way to do that is by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  

Review

 

The people of Israel had been in exile for over seventy years, and Cyrus, the king of Persia, had authorized Ezra to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city, starting with the walls.  He had also given Ezra access to enough resources to accomplish this.  We may be in exile in the world because of our rebellion against God at times, but He will always authorize us to return to Him and He will provide all we need to do so.  Cyrus also returned the Temple vessels with Ezra and letters to assure he wouldn’t be bothered by other authorities while he did. 

The rest of the people seemed to be more interested in rebuilding their own homes than they were in rebuilding the city of Jerusalem, so the walls of the city and the Temple were still in need of a lot of repairs.  We need to pray that we never get so interested in rebuilding material things that we own that we neglect the work of God.   

The people of Israel were still making offerings to God, but it was more out of fear of what other people might do to them if they didn’t than out of love for God.  We should never bring offerings to God simply to try to avoid having bad things happen to us. 

They did worship God with music.  Music always played an important role in worship in the Old Testament, and it still should in the church today. 

Opposition to the work existed, and people who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem tried to influence Cyrus and then Artaxerxes, stating that it would lead to their losing their power.  The building was officially stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius, who found the decree from Cyrus authorizing it.  People are still trying to stop God’s work today, often because they think it is going to cost them something.  The work continued unofficially.  There was a need to rebuild so that the people could be right with God, and whether we are authorized or not, we need to do what we are called to do by God so our relationship with Him will be good. 

Ezra, who was a descendant of Aaron, the father of the priests but not the Levites, took charge.  We are a part of the priesthood of believers as followers of Christ, and we need to carry on the work of the church, whether we are in charge or not.

The rest of the people seemed to be more interested in rebuilding their own homes than they were in rebuilding the city of Jerusalem, so the walls of the city and the Temple were still in need of a lot of repairs.  We need to pray that we never get so interested in rebuilding material things that we own that we neglect the work of God.   

The people of Israel were still making offerings to God, but it was more out of fear of what other people might do to them if they didn’t than out of love for God.  We should never bring offerings to God simply to try to avoid having bad things happen to us. 

They did worship God with music.  Music always played an important role in worship in the Old Testament, and it still should in the church today. 

Opposition to the work existed, and people who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem tried to influence Cyrus and then Artaxerxes, stating that it would lead to their losing their power.  The building was officially stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius, who found the decree from Cyrus authorizing it.  People are still trying to stop God’s work today, often because they think it is going to cost them something.  The work continued unofficially.  There was a need to rebuild so that the people could be right with God, and whether we are authorized or not, we need to do what we are called to do by God so our relationship with Him will be good. Next, we will look at the book of Nehemiah.