Nehemiah 1:1-11
The name Nehemiah means: God comforts. It is fitting that Nehemiah should have this name as he is known for seeking the comfort of protection from God for his people, in the form of a wall around Jerusalem. Nehemiah was answered affirmatively by God.
1:1-3 Nehemiah inquired after the people of Israel returned to Jerusalem. Men from Judah and a man named Hanani informed Nehemiah that their people were in great distress and reproach. Their main physical defense, the wall of Jerusalem, was broken down and burned. The state of Jerusalem always reflected the state of the people's faith; because it was broken down, we know that the people needed spiritual revival.
1:4 In response, Nehemiah for several days wept, fasted and prayed to God. The state of Jerusalem's wall (faith) would entirely define the state of their kingdom; without a defense system (spiritual or physical), they would be swiftly and consistently plagued by enemy breaches.
It was as if Nehemiah were inquiring after a loved one, only to find that they were vulnerable and emotional broken, stressed and with only brittle faith. Rightly, Nehemiah immediately released that though he was unable to directly respond, God was able. It is so prudent for us to release that our inadequacies can be supplemented by God through prayer.
Sometimes the intercessory prayers we make for others become opportunities given by God for us to help. Nehemiah had been set up by God to have the power and position to help Jerusalem restore itself. They process, as ever, began with a sincere prayer.
1:5 It is both instructive and powerful to pray the prayers of servants of God from scripture, our spiritual history. Their words were concise and thorough, yet wholehearted and sincere. They knew God well and were therefore able aptly to communicate with God. Nehemiah's prayer is beautiful as it begins with a statement of God's beauty: great, awesome (awe-inspiring), steadfast, merciful, loving, sincere. Our ultimate blessing is that we can rely on those promised, unchanging characteristics of God in our own lives.
“I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments,
1:6 Nehemiah requested God's attentiveness. He prayed that God would analyze the situation in Jerusalem which was the basis of his prayer. The best thing that can happen to our situation (whatever it is) is that it be perceived from God's omniscient position. He is best able to map the journey, or draw the blueprint, which will accomplish whatever our situation truly requires.
Nehemiah prayed without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:7. The situation was dire, his heart was entirely invested. Our communication with God is unlike the communication system we have in the word. We should not tap into Him like text-messaging when we think we need Him, because we always need Him. We should have our line of communication open throughout each day, in order that we are able to perceive His presence and receive His purpose in all moments.
He prayed day and night because his whole body and soul was committed. That level of dedication evidences to God that we are ready to co-accomplish something major with God. It evidences that we are willing and steadfast.
Nehemiah approached God with humble honesty. He recognized that he and his people were imperfect. He relied on the reason God ever chose this people in the first place. In Deuteronomy 7:7, God explained that they were small and weak. It was a miracle because of its illogical nature but it was one Nehemiah was grateful for and called upon. The people of Israel were still those small people in great need of Him.
...please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.
1:7 Just as Ezra wept and admitted in the previous book, the people of Israel had behaved corruptly. They disobeyed the commandments of God, even though they knew better. Whenever we approach God, we must be willingly transparent. God knows our hearts anyway, Jeremiah 17:10. To approach Him dishonestly is pointless, cowardly and unproductive. Nehemiah exposed their sins because those were the places their lives most needed God. If there is darkness in our life or our heart we must expose it to the light. It might be difficult, ugly, and or scary, but it must be done to put the chaos into order.
We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.
1:8 In Deuteronomy 11:26, God presented Moses and the children of Israel with a blessing and a curse. Nehemiah recalls it here:
Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;God was very clear that steadfast blessing depended on steadfast adherence to His commandments. The commandments He made are the road-map to both the destination and maintenance of blessing. Faith and righteous-living draw blessings in. Unfaithfulness and disobedience cause us to go off course and shut blessing out.
1:9 Yet God placed a saving-grace within His promise: should a person return to Him, even after a period of unfaithfulness, the same blessings would be available to them. Nehemiah acknowledged that the people of Israel broke their faith and then relied on God's promise that it did not mean the covenant was irretrievable.
...but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’
1:10 God had given the people this opportunity to live, build and worship freely; to organize themselves as a strong, independent nation. All of that blessing is made possible when we submit ourselves to servants of God's will. When we serve God, He utilizes our faithful labor to build beautiful lives for ourselves and the people we care about.
Nehemiah gave all credit to God. It was God's power, design and hand that released them from captivity. It was the very same which would enable them to remain free. Nehemiah called upon that Divine-skill and generosity, he humbly leaned on that dependence.
Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.
1:11 The word servant was used three times in one sentence. Nehemiah wanted to serve God above all else; he was clear that though he desperately sought to save his people, he would do precisely what God ordered. Nehemiah felt in his heart that he had an opportunity to help. He was about to approach the king of the nation he served with a request to leave to help his people; he knew that permission would only be granted if it were orchestrated by God.
O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
For I was the king’s cup bearer.
We we devote ourselves to God, we devote the elements of ourselves to His kingdom, His mission, His people. Nehemiah had some power and position and he intended to donate it to the well-being of God's people. He proudly elected to be an instrument through which God would bring restoration to Jerusalem's wall.
Individuals with massive faith make astounding, progressive impact when they co-work with God, 1 Corinthians 3:9.
