Nehemiah - Sermon #4
Just A Man Has Come
Text: Nehemiah 2:1-10
Introduction
Through his memoirs, we are allowed to observe not only the strengths of Nehemiah but his weaknesses. We are able to watch him when he is fearless and courageous—and when he is weak and afraid. We will discover both sides of this great man as we study chapter two. In the verses ahead, we see no façade, no pseudo-spiritual language, no false piety but, rather, the real McCoy of faith.
1) Unsettled At Heart
Remember that Nehemiah has been pouring out his heart to God for four months. He has been fasting, weeping, and praying about the condition of Jerusalem and has been asking God to use him to rebuild the city.
Have you personally found that no matter how long you plan, you can never plan enough for the unexpected? I doubt Nehemiah would have picked this day or this way to bring up the subject.
Rather, it is the person who is caught off guard, filled with fear and trembling, unsure of himself and, as we will see in a moment, totally dependent upon the strength of God.
2) An Unshakable Plan
There are some who have pointed out that if this is the Artaxerxes we think it is chronologically, then the queen was not Artaxerxes’ wife. In addition, it is important to note that “queen” was also used for the queen mother. The queen mother (or stepmother, in this case) would have been none other than Esther herself! Perhaps this is why the king was so favorable to Nehemiah’s bold and comprehensive request—a request that would be costly to the kingdom—but a request, nonetheless, that would aid the people of his stepmother Esther.
When Nehemiah walked into the king’s presence that day, he was a cupbearer; when he walked out, he was the newly appointed leader of a construction project that would ultimately restore the city of Jerusalem to the people of God—a project paid for by King Artaxerxes.
3) An Unquestionable Provider
Nehemiah recognized that what just happened was accomplished by God. It was not because Nehemiah was smart but because God was sovereign. It was not because Nehemiah was great but because God was gracious.
Nehemiah has just been released from the king’s palace—with royal permission and with all the financial backing necessary to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls. He was humble enough to recognize that, in spite of his planning, success was granted because of God’s good hand.
He did not say “the cupbearer of the king has come” or “the leader chosen by God has come” but simply “someone had come,” which could be rendered “a man had come.” A genuine, authentic, down-to-earth, real believer never gets caught up with what he or she has done—or will do—for the Lord.
Charles Swindoll quotes in The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart that Samuel Logan Brengle, a great leader in the work of God several generations ago, said it best when he wrote:
The ax cannot boast of the trees it has cut down. It could do nothing but for the woodsman. He made it. He sharpened it. He uses it. The moment the woodsman throws the ax aside, it becomes only old iron. Oh, that I may never lose sight of this.