Nehemiah 2: 1-8 NKJV

What are you going to do if God calls you to do something about it?

In Nehemiah chapter 1, The question was what are you going to do about It?

In chapter 2, the question is, what are you going to do if God calls you to do something about it? ‌Intro: Divided Kingdom, Captivity, Babylonians, Medes and the Persians. ‌Let's look at three ways Nehemiah responded to his situation. ‌ ‌I. Nehemiah Responded Patiently.

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Nehemiah 2:1 NKJV

1 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.

This would have been roughly Last of march early April 445 to 444B.C. Which would be the Hebrew month of Abib which is the first month in the Hebrew calendar. Now look back to

Neh 1:1 ‌The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan t ‌Here we have the Month of Chisleu which is the Hebrew Ninth month 445 to 444 B.C. Which would be the equivalent of the end of November to early December. ‌So this gives us a period of about four months. The reason the year is the same is because Nehemiah is going from the time the King ascended to the throne, the twentieth year. Not in the normal order of months like we do today. ‌II. Nehemiah Responded Prayerfully. ‌ ‌Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, Neh 2:2 ‌They broke this verse in mid sentence, ‌(This was a bad verse break. Chapter and verse divisions are not inspired and this was probably before punctuation or under older punctuation rules.) ‌ ‌"The chapter divisions commonly used today were developed by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton put the modern chapter divisions into place in around A.D. 1227. The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use this chapter pattern. Since the Wycliffe Bible, nearly all Bible translations have followed Langton's chapter divisions.The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi by the name of Nathan in A.D. 1448. Robert Estienne, who was also known as Stephanus, was the first to divide the New Testament into standard numbered verses, in 1555. Stephanus essentially used Nathan's verse divisions for the Old Testament. Since that time, beginning with the Geneva Bible, the chapter and verse divisions employed by Stephanus have been accepted into nearly all the Bible versions.” ‌Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/divided-Bible-chapters-verses.html#ixzz3S4wGPPND ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌"Then I was very sore afraid," Why was Nehemiah afraid? ‌The first reason is that the King had probably been very good to Nehemiah and it would be considered disrespectful, ungrateful and even a dishonor to be sad in the presence of the King. ‌ ‌The second reason can also be explained at verse 5. ( Because the king had halted the rebuilding of the temple because of trouble with other people in the area.) ‌ ‌And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever, Neh 2:3 ‌Nehemiah responds to the King’s question with respect and reverence. ‌why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? ‌Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. Neh 2:4 ‌And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, Neh 2:5 ‌ ‌Nehemiah is saying if it is alright with you King

‌that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. ‌ ‌This was a spontaneous prayer. The situation hit, Nehemiah was scared to death and he uttered what was probably a spontaneous silent prayer. I believe that God answers these kinds of prayers and He did answer it in Nehemiah’s case. But you have to remember that Nehemiah had been praying and fasting for four months about this matter. ‌This spontaneous prayer was built on a foundation of daily devout prayer and fasting. We don’t want to be throwing up that quick emergency prayer without having a solid prayer life for a foundation. After all would you rather do something for a complete stranger or would you rather do something for somebody that you have a close personal relationship with? ‌ ‌The second reason why Nehemiah was afraid: Up until this point Nehemiah had not mentioned the name of the City. ‌( Because the king had halted the rebuilding of the temple because of trouble with other people in the area.) ‌Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me. Ezr 4:21 ‌ ‌2nd Reason why the date is important. that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. ‌In verse 1 we said that the date was roughly Last of march early April 445 to 444 B.C ‌ ‌ ‌We need to go back to Daniel Chapter 9:1 ( Books are not arranged in chronological order.) Just to get an idea of the date. I think this vision of Daniel also happened in Susa where Nehemiah is now. ‌ ‌In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; Dan 9:1 ‌:) I know you are saying what has this got to do with Nehemiah but I am getting there. When the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem under Ezra, that ended the 70 years prophesied by Jeremiah. According to the Bible Knowledge commentary this puts the year at 539 B.C. (about 95 years beforeNehemiah 2 ‌And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Jer 25:11 ‌And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolation. Jer 25:12 ‌Jeremiah Prophesied from 627 B.C until about 586. Jeremiah was around when Jerusalem was taken captive by the Babylonians. It was not long after that that Daniel was taken captive. So Jeremiah prophesied that the exile would last 70 years. Then the Babylonians would be punished by the Persians. Which happened in Daniel chapter 5. ‌ So the persians took over and were much more favorable toward other religions. Plus the fact that God had a plan which we see inEzra 1 ‌Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Ezr 1:1 ‌Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Ezr 1:2 ‌ ‌ ‌Back to Daniel chapter 9. Daniel had been studying the scriptures especially those writings of Jeremiah and has has figured out that the 70 years are just about up. So Daniel is praying and confessing his sins and the sins of the people and then the angel Gabriel shows up and gives Daniel a whole bunch of future information: ‌Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Dan 9:24 ‌Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. Dan 9:25 ‌Without going into a lot of detail these "seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks:" ends up working out to 490 years. What starts the 490 year clock start ticking? a Commandment or a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. ‌There were 4 decrees given by the Persian Kings ‌The first was Cyrus' decree in 538 b.c. which was to rebuild the House of the LORD which we just read a few minutes ago. ‌Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Ezr 1:1 ‌Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Ezr 1:2 ‌ The second decree was by Darius in 520 b.c. which confirmed the first decreeEzra 6:1 ‌Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. Ezr 6:1 ‌And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: Ezr 6:2 ‌In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; Ezr 6:3 ‌-ff The third decree was the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus in 458 b.c.Ezra 7: 11 ‌Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel. Ezr 7:11 ‌Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. Ezr 7:12 ‌I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. Ezr 7:13 ‌Which had to do with people taking their offerings for the temple. ‌These first three decrees have nothing to do with rebuilding the city. So look again at: ‌And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. Neh 2:5 ‌Look at the King's answer in verse 6. ‌And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Neh 2:6 ‌Permission given, the 490 year clock started ticking. From this time forward it would be 490 years until messiah the Prince. ‌If you do normal 365 day years (solar years) this don't work out. The Hebrews more or less went by lunar calendar instead of the solar calendar, so according to some, their years worked out 360 day years, which works out to the time of Christ. All of this to show that God does things in His time and He does it for a much greater purpose than we will ever know. This also points out that you can not skip over things in the Bible thinking they seem unimportant. The first few times I read this chapter I skipped right over the date. ‌Keep praying and don't give up, God will answer your prayers in His perfect timing. I think sometimes impatient people like me try to jump in and help God out and make a really big mess of things. Keep praying and let God do things in His time. ‌ ‌I. Nehemiah Responded Patiently. ‌II. Nehemiah Responded Prayerfully. ‌Next: ‌III. Nehemiah Responded Expectantly. ‌Nehemiah expected something from God. Nehemiah had a list. ‌Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; Neh 2:7 ‌And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and or the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. Neh 2:8 ‌ ‌How many times to we find ourselves praying for something not really expecting anything to happen. A lot of times we pray more out of obligation than anything else. We say we are turning everything over to God and that we are going to let Him handle it but do we really do that? ‌ ‌- Example of the Disciples praying for Peter inActs: 12:5 ‌Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. Act 12:5 ‌ ‌ ‌And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. Act 12:13 ‌And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. Act 12:14 ‌And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. Act 12:15 ‌But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. Act 12:16 ‌They were praying fervently according to some versions but they really did not think Peter would make it. When Peter arrived they were “astonished” that God had actually granted their prayers. Are we astonished when God answers our prayers or do we really expect God to deliver. ‌ ‌Nehemiah expected God to do something so he had a list. Brother Bob McCurry preached a wonderful message about how to respond when God says No and a lot times God does say no. But sometimes God says yes and when He does we need to be ready to respond. Now just because God says yes does not mean that we should quit right then and be satisfied, we worship a really big God that can do really big things. When God says yes do what Nehemiah done and roll with it. Since I now have permission to accomplish this task now how about some of the things that I need to get the task done. ‌Nehemiah had a list: ‌let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; ‌and a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and or the house that I shall enter into. ‌The letter for the governor's across the river would be similar to a modern passport or permission slip. The river mentioned here is the Euphrates. Nehemiah had also done some research to figure out where to get these needed supplies from. ‌Then Nehemiah gives credit where credit is due: ‌And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. ‌If anything is accomplished in our lives it will be because of the good hand of God upon us. Remember that God does not need any of us to do anything. He is more that capable of handling everything Himself. But by His Grace, He allows us to have a part of what He is doing. ‌ ‌I. Nehemiah Responded Patiently. (Willingly) ‌II. Nehemiah Responded Prayerfully. ‌III. Nehemiah Responded Expectantly. ‌And lastly ‌IV. How will you Respond? ‌Every great move of God started with a burden on somebody's heart. ‌Conclusion and Application: ‌Have you ever had a burden about something? I don't mean about yourself. Something like a burden to see revival in our community or in our Country. Maybe a burden for young people or maybe a geographical area like the mission trip to Kentucky or Africa. Maybe you are praying God will send some good people to Washington to try and turn this Country around. ‌What will happen if God says I am going to do something big and I want you to do it? Or I want your child to do it. How will you respond? Will you tell God how unqualified you are? Will you tell God somebody else could do it better? Or will you respond like Nehemiah Patiently, prayerfully and expectantly. ‌When and if God calls you, how will you respond? I would suggest that you respond just like Nehemiah did: patiently, prayerfully and expectantly. Most importantly, if you are lost, respond immediately. ‌. John 3: 16 3,349 words (28 minutes) Sermon Info In Progress SermonTemplate Auto-publish to Logos Sermons About Series Number (in series) Topics Passages Ezra 1 ×Ezra 4:21 ×Ezra 6:1–3 ×Ezra 7:11–13 ×Nehemiah 1–2 ×Jeremiah 25:11–12 ×Daniel 9:1 ×Daniel 9:24–25 ×John 3:16 ×Acts 12:5 ×Acts 12:13–16