HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 797
NEHEM IAH 1
page 427
the homeland. For still others, it is giving sacrificially so that others can go and serve.
When we think of sacrificial service, we have much to learn from Nehemiah.
Key verses in Nehemiah
1:3 “Things are not going well for
those who returned to the province
of Judah. They are in great trouble
and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem
has been torn down, and the gates
have been destroyed by fire.”
2:18 They replied at once, “Yes,
let’s rebuild the wall!” So they
began the good work.
6:15 -16 So on October 2 the
wall was finished—just fifty-two
days after we had begun. When
our enemies and the surrounding
nations heard about it, they were
frightened and humiliated. They
realized this work had been done
with the help of our God.
8:8 They read from the Book
of the Law of God and clearly
4:6 At last the wall was completed
explained the meaning of what
to half its height around the entire
was being read, helping the people
city, for the people had worked
understand each passage.
with enthusiasm.
1
These are the memoirs of Nehemiah son of
Hacaliah.
Nehemiah’s Concern for Jerusalem
In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the
twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign,*
I was at the fortress of Susa. 2 Hanani, one of
my brothers, came to visit me with some other
men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked
them about the Jews who had returned there
from captivity and about how things were going
in Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “Things are not going well
for those who returned to the province of Judah.
They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall
of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates
have been destroyed by fire.”
4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In
fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to
the God of heaven. 5 Then I said,
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and
awesome God who keeps his covenant of
unfailing love with those who love him and
obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer!
Look down and see me praying night and
day for your people Israel. I confess that we
have sinned against you. Yes, even my own
family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned
terribly by not obeying the commands,
decrees, and regulations that you gave us
through your servant Moses.
1:1 Hebrew In the month of Kislev of the twentieth year.
A number of dates in the book of Nehemiah can be crosschecked with dates in surviving Persian records and related
accurately to our modern calendar. This month of the ancient
Hebrew lunar calendar occurred within the months of
November and December 446 b.c. The twentieth year probably
refers to the reign of King Artaxerxes I; compare 2:1; 5:14.
1:9 Hebrew of the heavens.
8:10 “Don’t be dejected and sad,
for the joy of the Lord is your
strength!”
9:5-6 “May your glorious name be
praised! May it be exalted above
all blessing and praise! You alone
are the Lord.”
9:28 “Yet whenever your people
turned and cried to you again
for help, you listened once more
from heaven. In your wonderful
mercy, you rescued them many
times!”
8 “Please remember what you told your
servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me,
I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if
you return to me and obey my commands
and live by them, then even if you are exiled
to the ends of the earth,* I will bring you
back to the place I have chosen for my name
to be honored.’
• Prayer
N E HE M I A H 1:4-11
Nehemiah wanted to rebuild the walls
of Jerusalem. But he lived far away in
Persia, and he served a king who might
have seen a fortified Israel as a potential
political rival. How was he to accomplish
the gargantuan task? Nehemiah began
with prayer. Although thousands of years
old, his words remain a beautiful model
of effective prayer. He begins with praise
for God’s goodness and power, moves
to confession of and repentance from
sin, and only then offers his specific
request that he find favor with the king.
Note carefully that Nehemiah’s action did
not end with his prayer. God did answer
his prayer—King Artaxerxes allowed
Nehemiah the time and materials needed.
But Nehemiah backed up his prayer with
a courageous personal commitment to go
and rebuild the wall. We would do well to
follow Nehemiah’s model whenever we
pray: adoration, confession, request, and
commitment.