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.
I want you to notice how God operated through Nehemiah because of his heart. He had the king’s bidding and permission, but not only that, he had provision (timber). For the work of restoration, God as well DOES make provision for us, sometimes in miraculous ways.
The Nightime Examination
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.
13?And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
14?Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
15?Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
Self-examination is important. Nehemiah did this alone, without telling anyone. He went in detail around the perimeter of the city, noting the breeches. This is an important principal in restoration before God- examine and detail your weaknesses. You can’t fix what you won’t name.
He does it at night as well. That is the time when usually you are alone with your mind and thoughts, and can make assessment of all that is going on in your life (night time prayers).
16?And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17?Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
18?Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
Nehemiah gives his testimony, and thereby strengthens others. Our testimony edifies others.
If you read through chapter 3, you will see the division of work- each group is doing part. I see that as this ministry doing part, and also how the Holy Spirit administrates through us, the members of the body, to work as one for the whole will of God. You and I can’t do it all. We however, must do our part.
Nehemiah 4
But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
2?And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?
3?Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
4?Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
5?And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
6?So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
Have you ever had anyone make fun of you for your efforts to rebuild? Do you have a mind to work?
7?But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
8?And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
9?Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
Satan gets very mad when you try to return to the Lord. This is another principal of recovery- setting a watch against the enemy. This is someone to whom you are accountable, so that while you restore, the enemy doesn’t come in and spoil your progress.
15?And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.
16?And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.
17?They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.
18?For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.
The people had their trowels in one hand, their swords in the other- mending and ready to fight. For us this is the Word of God, our instruction and our defense. The trumpet is the pastor, giving direction, encouragement, calls to arms, retreats and alerts. That is my job.
Nehemiah 8
And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
2?And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
3?And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.
4?And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5?And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
6?And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7?Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
8?So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
9?And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
10?Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
This is what I want to leave with you- the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Rebuilding, restoration, recovery come from weeping, mourning, confession, repentance, examination, the Word, having a mind to work. It requires a pastor, and congregating for the reading of the Word.
