Verses 1-5, “And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, 'Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.' So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, 'May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?' Then the king said to me, 'What do you request?' So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, 'If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.' ”
Nehemiah was a trusted official, working as the king's cupbearer. He was dreadfully afraid that King Artaxerxes had noticed his sadness, although God would use this situation to start the conversation. After four months of prayer, the Lord opened a door for Nehemiah to make a request of the king, to do the work that God had put on his heart to do. Sometimes when we are waiting for an answer, or maybe even hesitant to step out, the Lord will send along another to prompt us into taking the next step. These are divine opportunities. Thankfully God does not allow us to miss His will, when our hearts truly desire to find it. He is sovereign and will guide our steps, if we trust in Him. Nehemiah sensed the hand of the Lord, and was able to ask for the king's permission to go to Judah and rebuild the city of his fathers.
Verses 6-10, “Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), 'How long will your journey be? And when will you return?' So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Furthermore I said to the king, 'If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.' And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me. Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.”
This was not the result of a spur of the moment request made to the king. You can tell that Nehemiah had thought this over in prayer, by his request for the details. He was not being greedy by asking for letters for safe passage and building materials, but knew he had God's favor with the king, and his prayers were being answered. What he didn't know yet was that he would run into opposition with Sanballat and Tobiah. God does not necessarily clear out all obstacles to doing His will. II Timothy 3:12, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” However, He does want us to persevere in the midst of the opposition.
Verses 11-20, “So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work. Then I said to them, 'You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.' And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, 'Let us rise up and build.' Then they set their hands to this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, 'What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?' So I answered them, and said to them, 'The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.' ”
Sanballat and Tobiah had wanted Jerusalem to remain in their weakened condition, therefore, they laughed and despised the efforts led by Nehemiah to rebuild. You will also have those in your life that do not want you to be in walking rightly, strengthened by the Lord. They would rather you be weak in your own strength, even going to great lengths to keep you in that weakened condition, and minimizing your impact with others. The blessing comes to those who persist regardless. Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
In this chapter, Nehemiah was used by God after four months of praying and fasting to the Lord. God gave Nehemiah favor in the King's sight even though the king was not a man of God. God changed his heart in that he wanted to help Nehemiah. The king noticed he was sad, and instead of opposing him, he allowed Nehemiah to go and rebuild the city walls of Jerusalem, and wrote him letters declaring that he get the materials he needs and that he has been sent by the king. God Nehemiah and this king to accomplish His will.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, God may call us to do something that seems impossible. The thing is, God can change a reluctant heart. It may not be right away, but He can change people's hearts! Walking in God's will always requires faith on our part! Nehemiah had faith that God's will would be accomplished even though the King didn't approve at first. He opened a door for Nehemiah, and now, he had to go obey in faith. God had finally made the way for him to go fulfill the calling that was given to him. May we walk through open doors that God gives us, and may we have the faith to actually do what He has called us to do. Many people might pray and know they are called, but they lack faith and never actually go. Nehemiah went!
Now, the first thing that arose from doing God's will was opposition. Sandballat and Tobiah, Jews by blood, opposed this work of the Lord. Satan will always try to oppose the work of God, but this means we are doing what is right! If we aren't faced by opposition, then we must look and act too much like the world! God warns us to put on the whole armor of God so that we may be able to stand!
Ephesians 6:11-12- "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
Instead of backing down, Nehemiah chose to obey the Lord, knowing that He was with them in this plan. No man, not even the devil, can thwart God's plan. As believers, we should be facing opposition over the choices we make. We will be ridiculed and mocked for certain things. For instance: not celebrating Halloween, believing in the rapture, etc. They may mock us, but we can have comfort knowing that we are obeying the Lord. Yes, we may look crazy to the world, but they will be judged for every word they say unless they repent! May every choice we make be based on the Word of God. If we are going to look crazy, may it be over the truth of the word and not stupid customs or practices that aren't even biblical!