Building The Wall

Nehemiah 1

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,

5?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.

Nehemiah lived during the time of the Persian king Artaxerxes- in fact at the end of the chapter he notes that he was the king’s cupbearer. He would therefore have close access to the king to ask of him. The walls of Jerusalem had been ruined from the Babylonian captivity and it greatly weighs on Nehemiah.

Look at the elements here, and you can see a parallel with many people’s lives- in great affliction and reproach, broken down, and burned gates (no defenses against the enemy). Look also at Nehemiah’s response- he wept and mourned, fasted and prayed. In other words, he considered the damages and was moved. And when he prays, he confesses his and Israel’s sins. Are we so moved with our own lives? Do we sit down and consider what the enemy has done? What happened to Judah was a result of their own sins of idolatry and rebellion (selfishness). God sent judgment through Babylon, but in so doing, kept a remnant intact, and in fact preserved them. God still uses chastisement of us, His children, to bring us back to Him.

Confession is meeting at the common point, agreeing with God (speak together), and is the first step to restoration.

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.

This is very important, fundamental even- confession here is paired with repentance (turning). These together open God’s mercy toward us.

Nehemiah 2

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.

7?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.