Reflections on Nehemiah 2

Nehemiah 02 (Contemporary English Version)

1. During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was king, I served him his wine, as I had done before. But this was the first time I had ever looked depressed.
   
2. So the king said, "Why do you look so sad? You're not sick. Something must be bothering you." Even though I was frightened,
   
3. I answered, "Your Majesty, I hope you live forever! I feel sad because the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and its gates have been burned down."
   
4. The king asked, "What do you want me to do?" I prayed to the God who rules from heaven.
   
5. Then I told the king, "Sir, if it's all right with you, please send me back to Judah, so that I can rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried."
   
6. The queen was sitting beside the king when he asked me, "How long will it take, and when will you be back?" The king agreed to let me go, and I told him when I would return.
   
7. Then I asked, "Your Majesty, would you be willing to give me letters to the governors of the provinces west of the Euphrates River, so that I can travel safely to Judah?
   
8. I will need timber to rebuild the gates of the fortress near the temple and more timber to construct the city wall and to build a place for me to live. And so, I would appreciate a letter to Asaph, who is in charge of the royal forest." God was good to me, and the king did everything I asked.
   
9. The king sent some army officers and cavalry troops along with me, and as I traveled through the Western Provinces, I gave the letters to the governors.
   
10. But when Sanballat from Horon and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about what had happened, they became very angry, because they didn't want anyone to help the people of Israel.
    
11. Three days after arriving in Jerusalem,
    
12. I got up during the night and left my house. I took some men with me, without telling anyone what I thought God wanted me to do for the city. The only animal I took was the donkey I rode on.
    
13. I went through Valley Gate on the west, then south past Dragon Spring, before coming to Garbage Gate. As I rode along, I took a good look at the crumbled walls of the city and the gates that had been torn down and burned.
    
14. On the east side of the city, I headed north to Fountain Gate and King's Pool, but then the trail became too narrow for my donkey.
    
15. So I went down to Kidron Valley and looked at the wall from there. Then before daylight I returned to the city through Valley Gate.
    
16. None of the city officials knew what I had in mind. And I had not even told any of the Jews--not the priests, the leaders, the officials, or any other Jews who would be helping in the work.
    
17. But when I got back, I said to them, "Jerusalem is truly in a mess! The gates have been torn down and burned, and everything is in ruins. We must rebuild the city wall so that we can again take pride in our city."
    
18. Then I told them how kind God had been and what the king had said. Immediately, they replied, "Let's start building now!" So they got everything ready.
    
19. When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard about our plans, they started insulting us and saying, "Just look at you! Do you plan to rebuild the walls of the city and rebel against the king?"
    
20. I answered, "We are servants of the God who rules from heaven, and he will make our work succeed. So we will start rebuilding Jerusalem, but you have no right to any of its property, because you have had no part in its history."
    

    ---

    Chapter 1 emphasizes Nehemiah's burden concerning the terrible condition of Jerusalem. The question was raised in my reflections of that chapter whether God had given Nehemiah this burden that He might use him for His planned purpose of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, or if Nehemiah's burden came to him naturally, providing God the opportunity to use him. I really do not consider this to be a real question. For a follower of God, as was Nehemiah, nothing is apart from God's hand. I have no doubt that Nehemiah was in God's mind for this purpose even before He gave the vision to Daniel of the rebuilding of Jerusalem some 95 years prior to this. (Daniel 9:25) Therefore, I believe Nehemiah's burden for Jerusalem came from God. Furthermore, I have no doubt that God placed him in his position as cupbearer to the king that he might have this opportunity to request the king's help in sending him to rebuild the walls.
    
    I am challenged by Nehemiah's patience and wisdom in this matter. As soon as he received word of the conditions of Jerusalem he fasted and prayed for "a number of days" (1:4) seeking the Lord's guidance and wisdom.  He must have known immediately that he should respond to this need, for his prayers did not seek guidance in whether to do something about it, only for success in doing it. Having prayed for success with the king, Nehemiah patiently waited for God to give him the opportunity to approach the king. It was four months before the opportunity came. In the same situation I fear I would have either attempted to take the matter into my own hands and forced the opportunity with the king or concluded God wasn't in it and decided to do nothing. Nehemiah must have remained vigilant in prayer about the situation, having it constantly on his mind, for when the opportunity came he was not caught off guard. He knew his opportunity had come and was "overwhelmed with fear" at the thought of making his request of the king.
    
    Although Nehemiah made his request to the one who had previously forbid any rebuilding of Jerusalem, his manner was respectful and humble. "If it pleases the king," he began, "and if your servant has found favor with you," he continued. (2:5) Nor, in light of the king's previous edict forbidding rebuilding of the city, did he mention Jerusalem by name, potentially triggering a negative response. Instead, he appealed to the king's natural sense of respect for one's ancestors by referring to it as "the city where my ancestors are buried." (2:3) Nehemiah was obviously prepared for this opportunity having ready answers for the king's questions: "How long will your journey take, and when will you return?" the king asked. Furthermore, Nehemiah knew what he needed for the task and used this opportunity to ask for it, seeking letters granting him safe passage to Judah, and another letter granting him permission to use the king's forest for building materials. Not only did the king grant Nehemiah all his requests, he provided a military escort to Judah.
    
    Once Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem he also waited upon God's timing. He had given the king a time frame for this project and was "on the clock" at this point, so to speak, but he was not going to thwart this effort by getting ahead of God. Therefore, he took a few days after arriving in Jerusalem to assess the situation and learn who he could trust. Having done so, he then seized the first opportunity to bring the officials into his plan. It appears that this opportunity came when the officials asked what he had been doing. Verse 16 says that "the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing," referring to his secret assessment of the city, and then verse 17 "so I said to them" and so he told them the plan. In making his appeal to them to join him, he pointed out the "trouble we are in" because "Jerusalem lies in ruins," and he testified of how gracious hand had been on him in appealing to the king for help. Having shared this with the officials, they said, "Let's start rebuilding."