PUT IT IN WRITING: FROM ASPIRATION TO ASSIGNMENT (NEHEMIAH 2:1-9)
At the height of the phone wars, AT & T, MCI, and Sprint advertised their advantage over another in the papers, on TV, and through telemarketing. Many people were bombarded with slogans like Get 100 Free Minutes, Save 20% or more, or 3 Free Months. When customers decided to switch their carriers to take advantage of the offers, they discovered they weren’t getting more savings, longer minutes, or better service.
And when they complained, the operator’s retorted: “We didn’t say that,” “Who did you talk to?” or “I am not the manager.” The last response effectively induced a guilt trip, a red face and a sympathetic but regretful sigh from most callers.
One commercial made the most sense to me at that time. An operator said, “If so-and-so calls you again, ask them to put it in writing.” That made sense. If you confirm a transaction, make a complaint or apply for a job, what do you do? Put it in writing. It’s not easy. You will have to think it through, write it down and cut to the chase or get to the point.
Four months had passed (1:1, 2:1) since Nehemiah first heard that the walls of Jerusalem were broken. He awoke from his indifference, ignorance and inaction, acknowledged three great confessions in chapter 1 and prayed for an opportunity to make a difference. The opportunity arose in an unlikely manner. Artaxerxes the king asked him three questions, which Nehemiah was ready to answer. After four months of prayer and planning, he had a detailed request and schedule narrowed down to a few sentences. He was sharp in his thought, snappy in his answers and sensible in his asking. The king was convinced and the gracious hand of God was upon him. Note the wise king’s three questions to Nehemiah.
Why is preparation necessary before embarking on a job? What questions are taken into account? How thorough should we be?
Strengthen the Spirits - “Why are You So Sad?”
2:1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; 2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” (Neh 2:1-3)
One evening in 1808, a gaunt, sad-faced man entered the office of Dr. James Hamilton in Manchester, England. The doctor was struck by the melancholic appearance of his visitor. He inquired, “Are you sick?” The man replied, “Yes, doctor, sick with a mortal disease.” To which the doctor asked, “What sickness?”
The man confessed glumly, “I am frightened of the terror around me. I am depressed by life. I can find no happiness anywhere, nothing amuses me, and I have nothing to live for. If you can’t help me, I shall kill myself.”
The doctor said, “The sickness is not mortal. You only need to get out of yourself. You need to laugh; to get some pleasure in life.”
“What shall I do?” said the man. “Go to the circus tonight to see Grimaldi, the clown. Grimaldi is the funniest man alive. He’ll cure you.”
A spasm of pain crossed the poor man’s face as he said, “Doctor, don’t jest with me. I am Grimaldi the clown!” (Tan, 7,700 Illustrations # 3188)
First, put in writing this question: Why are you so sad? Or, what motivates you to pray?
How do you express or resolve your sadness? Do you drink, smoke or, worse, damage property, injure others or resent God? Do you eat ice-cream, chocolate, or other snacks to forget your unhappiness? Do you take it out on your own family, close friends, church members or the house pet?
In Nehemiah 2:1-3 the Hebrew word “sad” appears four times (vv 1, 2, 2, 3). Sadness was a feeling in Nehemiah’s heart that showed up on his face and disrupted his work routine, normal relationships and daily life. The king suggested plainly, “Your face tells me you are not happy and your body tells me you are not sick, so I gather your heart must be broken.”
When Nehemiah was sad, he meant it, showed it and, more importantly, he talked plainly, concisely and rationally about it (2:3): “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned by fire?”
It is important to know what you feel and how you feel, but it is more important to know why you feel what you feel and what to do about what you feel. Nehemiah amazingly used 31 words, including salutation, to tell the king why he was sad: “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Actually, 16 words in Hebrew. Nehemiah’s sadness was right on target for the right things. He was motivated by the love of God, the promise of God and the things of God, and it flared up in his heart, clogged up on his mind and showed up on his face.
State the Specifics - “What is it You Want?”
4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” (Neh 2:4-5)
A mother of a highschooler shared with me her experience one Mother’s day.
Before the important day arrived, her son came up to her and said, “Mom, what do you think of flowers?” The mom, unaware of her son’s intention on the fast-approaching day, looked at his son and gave a very practical answer, “They’re OK...but they die!”
On Mother’s Day, the son surprised her with some high tech presents. She received a Gameboy and two video games: Super Mario Bros. and Tetris!
The feisty radio host Dr. Laura often takes calls from hearers and answer their questions. She has this famous opening question to rambling, bumbling or mumbling callers, who are often awed of the host, nervous on the occasion or guilty of sharing opinions: “What is your question?” “What is your question for me?” or “What can I help you with?” or “What can I help you from where I sit?”
How about you? What do you want? Do you know it? Can you say it? Have you written it down? Like leaving a message on the answering machine, if you say nothing, if you can call back or if someone else can help, then it’s not really that important, you are not really that helpless, or both.
Notice Nehemiah prayed briefly (v 4), but his answer to the king was comprehensive. His leave-nothing, very-sure and always-ready answers from verse 5 onwards can be capsulated in the 5 W’s and 1 H of Bible study – who, what, when, where, why and how.
Nehemiah knew what he wanted; he had an action, a “what” question ready for the king – “Let him send.” After saying what he wanted, Nehemiah identified the recipient, agent or indirect object of the king’s actions – “who.” His answer was “me,” not the king’s architect, builder or advisors. After “what” and “who,” Nehemiah proceeded to “where” – the destination: “to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried.” Next, Nehemiah supplied the “why” or the reason: “so that I can rebuild it” To complete the application, Nehemiah set a time or give the “when” (v 6) and state the means or the “how” in verse 7: “If it pleases the king, may I have....” (v 7).
At the end of the conversation Nehemiah got what he wanted, and maybe more . He had royal letters (v 7), army officers and the king’s cavalry (v 9) with him.
Many people have no clue what to pray for, why they need it and how to respond in faith. So, put it in writing these five words: “What is it you want?”
Set the Schedule - “How Long Will it Take?”
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time. 7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. 9 So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me. (Neh 2:6-9)
It’s been said, “Rome is not built in a day.”
Let me end with a remarkable story about the commitment of Sir Edmund Hillary, the 83-year-old New Zealander, who, along with his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, was the first climber to reach the top of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, half a century ago in 1953. After his monumental climb, Hillary asked a senior Sherpa what he could do for the Sherpa in return. The senior Sherpa replied, “We are as strong as you are. But our children have eyes, but they cannot see. They are blind because they cannot read. We need a school. Learning is the one we most desire for our children”
So Hillary gave up riches, fame and adventure, and returned year after year the next four decades of his life to give back to the people who made him a legend. Hillary’s Himalayan Trust helped built the first school and hospital, and all in all, 30 schools, 12 clinics, two hospitals, two airfields and a couple of dozen bridges.
But the sacrifice had been high too. In 1975, Hillary was eagerly awaiting his wife and their youngest daughter’s arrival, but the small plane did not make it. They were killed shortly after their plane took off from Kathmandu. (James Brooke, “In Sherpa Country, They Love ‘Sir Ed’” New York Times, 5/29/03 & Tim Friend, “Sir Edmund on top of the world in life of service” USA TODAY, 11/17/98)
The king was not fooled. Nehemiah needed more than just burning passion, written statements and outstanding prayers. Artaxrexes asked, “How long will it take?” The last question was not necessarily the simplest. Some people get stuck when it comes to keeping time, organizing time and making time. Some people pray when they remember, some pray when they are reminded and others pray when they are rattled. The Chinese call these people “starter but not finisher.”
Nehemiah knew when to start, when to end and when to rest. Each step of the way, he knew when to ask for: beginning with royal letters guaranteeing a safe passage from the governors of Trans-Euphrates in travel, and then provision of physical resources from Asaph for the city gates, temple and homes upon arrival in Judah.
Do you know in the end how long it took Nehemiah to make a difference? Let us look at three verses. In Nehemiah 2:1 he started asking the king for permission in the twentieth year of the king’s reign. Now let us go to Nehemiah 6:15, and you’ll see how long he took? 52 days. Finally, in Nehemiah 13:6 and see how many years he had served. 12 years and counting.
So how long does it take you to pray, serve, do the things of God? As long as it takes. I try to live my life from a commercial’s slogan: Do one thing, do it well; a biblical verse: Finish the course, keep the faith; and a Wal-mart old-timer’s advice: Retirement is for the birds!
Conclusion: Are you going nowhere in your prayers? It’s been said, “Fail to plan is to plan to fail.” Can you write in one sentence the 5 Ws and 1 H of your prayer to God? Can you do it in 35 words or less? Martin Luther said, “The fewer the words, the better the prayer.” Practice it, write it and revise it till it is concrete to you and becomes part of you.
Victor Yap
Other sermons in the series and other sermon series:
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