Read Nehemiah 2
Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem
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 ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
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 ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
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 royal park, 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 on 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.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls
11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.
13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.
They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”
Go Deeper
It’s often been said that some variation of “fear not” is in the Bible 365 times, one for every day of the year. Many pastors, preachers, authors, and teachers will use this to remind us that we need not be afraid. But what do we do when we’re trying to walk in faith, yet still feel fear?
In Nehemiah 2:1-8, we see Nehemiah interacting with King Artaxerxes. Notice the state in which Nehemiah started this conversation: “I was very much afraid, but I said to the king…” (v. 2b-3a). Nehemiah, while afraid, didn’t reply, “Nothing,” when the king asked him what was wrong. It’s easy to lose sight of this, but the king had absolutely no reason to care what was wrong with Nehemiah. If anything, the usual response of “nothing” might’ve saved his life on a normal day. Nehemiah was right to feel the fear, but he didn’t follow that feeling.
In the next interaction, Nehemiah offers up a small prayer to God right before he answers the king a second time. Nehemiah’s answers seem to get more and more outrageous when we understand that he’s talking to a king. Nehemiah feared, prayed, maybe took a dramatic gulp, and then let God handle the situation.
At the very end of this chapter, when Nehemiah is facing ridicule for his actions, even being accused of rebelling against the very king he just spoke to like a friend, Nehemiah replies with this:
“The God of heaven will give us success…”
Nehemiah responded in faith, not fear. He responded knowing God would handle this, just as He handled the conversation with the king. While success may or may not look like what we think, the point is that God is the One who can and will handle it.
You may never be in Nehemiah’s position of speaking your mind before a king, but you will certainly encounter fear. With that fear comes a choice: will you listen to the fear or follow God in faith? If you choose option two, remember how Nehemiah practiced such faith. He was afraid, he prayed, and he walked with the Lord.
Questions
- What’s causing you fear in your life? What is your “conversation with a king”?
- How can you move forward through this? Have you prayed over the situation? Have you brought it before trusted brothers and sisters in Christ?
- How can you walk in faith this week? Pick one way and start there. It doesn’t have to be something huge, just start.
A Quote
“The true follower of Christ will not ask, ‘If I embrace this truth, what will it cost me?’ Rather he will say, ‘This is truth, God help me to walk in it, let come what may!’” A.W. Tozer
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6 responses to “Nehemiah 2”
Prayer
To pray like Nehemiah, seems to be continual. God gave him a task and he prayed on it for 4 months until the time was right to act on it. This was a daunting task of rebuilding the temple that everyone around was saying couldnt/shouldnt be done. It had been 150 years. Nehemiah prayed for (what I would have thought was an eternity). God gives him the green light in asking King for the go ahead plans. Then in the middle of a conversation, Nehemiah feels burden to pray for the minutes he was in. Vs 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,
We should have a prayer time, set aside, but also we should pray in the moments where we are needing guidance.
Each day is already God’s and everywhere we go we are reminded of our need for God and evidence of the grace He has poured out on us in Christ. With gratitude and thanksgiving we let our request be made known to Him.
Nehemiah gives us a portion of how/what our prayer life might look like but praying scripture in the situations, like Jesus did is another answer. Whatever task God puts in your heart, He has an answer in His word to complete it.
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thess 1:11-12)
Warren Wiersbe wrote:
“Three statements in Scripture have a calming effect on me whenever I get nervous and want to rush ahead of the Lord: “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Ex. 14:13), “Sit still…until you know how the matter will turn out” (Ruth 3:18 NKJV), and “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). When you wait on the Lord in prayer, you are not wasting your time, you are investing it. God is preparing both you and your circumstances so that His purposes will be accomplished. However, when the right time arrives for us to act by faith, we dare not delay
God thank You for the minutes of this day. God help me with the aspect of stillness. Stand still, sit still, and be still. God, You know how I love to help. Help me to know that You have everything already, Pro 16:9 The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. Thank You for directing my steps, that I can listen (shema) to obedience. My battle is not with flesh and blood, but against the powers of darkness (Eph.6:10). God help me hear, obey and keep praying until You say go. God in the minutes of this day help me to love the lost or unlovable, to see others as You see them and speak with kindness.to all those I meet in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When reading the narrative of Nehemiah’s life, I’m challenged by the way he lived and led, prayerfully, humbly, and intentionally. He saw the plight of his people and the disgrace of Jerusalem and stepped into the middle of it with deep concern and passion. We can take Nehemiah’s example into our personal sphere of influence by being conduits that flow His river of living water into broken lives.
Amen!
V1-2 “…..I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?”…
What struck me about this verse is how many times must Nehemiah have been before the king for this occasion to stand out as different? What an upbeat impression Nehemiah must have made over and over again. That impression led to the king valuing and trusting Nehemiah. That is further demonstrated by the king asking in V7 “when will you be back?”
As “little Christs” we should make that type of impact in our places of work, community, and family. I pray that we each can model Nehemiah’s attitude.
Yes!
2 “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I am impressed that King Artaxerxes would 1) notice Nehemiah’s sadness, 2) inquire about it, and 3) ask what he can do to address it. Very impressive! May I do likewise when I am in positions of authority.