The Good Hand Of Our God(Nehemiah 2:1-8)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
A. Preliminaries
A. Preliminaries
Good Morning.
Please turn with me in your Bibles to the second chapter of Nehemiah. The text for the sermon this morning is verses 1 thru 8. You can find it on page 468 of the Bibles in your pews.
B. Review
B. Review
While you are turning there, permit me to do some review of what’s happening in our story.
Nehemiah is a Jew, far away from his home, still with the exiles in Babylon, which is presently under the rule of Persia. He is the Cupbearer to the King, which is a position of some importance.
In chapter 1, he gets troubled by news out of Jerusalem, that the walls have been broken down, they remain a ruin, and they are not being rebuilt at present, and that by the king’s own decree.
So what does he do? He goes straight to prayer. At least twice a day.
...I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants...
His perspective in his prayer was to plead for God’s own reputation. God’s own promises, and that they be kept.
They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
So now, Chapter two begins with these words:
In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes...
Which, when you compare it with the date and time given at the start of chapter 1 tells us that three to five months have passed. Nehemiah has been praying and hoping and waiting for several months.
So how was his prayer answered?
That’s our text today, if you will join me at the start of chapter 2:
C. Sermon Text
C. Sermon Text
In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” 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, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God!
D. Textual Overview
D. Textual Overview
So let me begin with a brief overview of our text. We find Nehemiah carrying on hopefully in prayer, and he is doing his job before the king one day, and the King notices he’s looking sad (v.2), and says “You’re not sick, this must be sadness of heart.” And he asks why.
And Nehemiah tells him rather straightforwardly, why should I not be sad when the city of my fathers lies in ruins with its gates destroyed.
And the King asks “What are you requesting?” (v.4). So Nehemiah says a quick prayer, and makes his request. He asks to be sent back to Judah to rebuild it. He gives the king an estimation of the time he will be gone (v.6), and he requests letters to the provincial governor to assure him passage, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest to provide him with wood.
And the reason for all of this that he gives is found at the end of verse eight:
...And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
E. Sermon Points
E. Sermon Points
So there are at least three things I want to show you from our text this morning. Three things put on display by God’s goodness and power to Nehemiah:
1. The Fruit of His Courage
2. The Wisdom of His Request
3. The Good Providence of His God
F. Sermon Prayer
F. Sermon Prayer
Let’s Pray
Blessed Lord, you have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning—grant us that we may in such a way hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that by patience and comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
From The Book of Common Prayer (1552)
So we are studying Nehemiah this morning, and we will begin by looking at
I. The Fruit of His Courage
I. The Fruit of His Courage
A. Exegesis
A. Exegesis
Now by this point I do not mean that Nehemiah’s courage produced fruit (though it certainly did). I am saying, rather, that his courage was the fruit of his prayers.
The set up here is that prayer has given Nehemiah courage to make this request before the king. Now you might wonder why is courage required here—because you can see him initially fearful.
Look at verse 2. He’s standing before the king, doing his job as cupbearer. And he says in verse 1 “I had not been sad in his presence.” It seems like Nehemiah had worked hard not to be sad in the king’s presence. But then it seems perhaps his mask starts to slip. We read in verse 2:
And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
Why is he afraid? We should start there.
Commentators have pointed out that Persian Palace ettiquite required servants to be happy. The Persian Palace Court was supposed to be something like Disney World. If you’ve ever been to Disney World, you know the staff are supposed to be happy all throughout the day. Service with a smile, and you keep yourself cheerful. So Nehemiah gets caught sad gets caught and he is nervous.
But in spite of his fear, he gives a very straightforward, courageous answer. He basically says “Why shouldn’t I be sad?”
I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
Now that’s really a remarkable answer. It’s one thing to say “I’m homesick.” But what he says is “My city got wrecked and you’re the one who did it.” Probably this is a moment of raw emotion. But it also took real courage to give a straightforward honest answer to the King.
And to everyone’s shock.
Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?”
No punishment. No offense. Simply what is it that you want?
And Nehemiah’s immediate reaction?
Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Now the conversation keeps going, so this could not have been a long prayer. More than likely, it was a very short prayer, reflecting a life of prayerfulness. I think this is what Paul is getting at when he says pray without ceasing. But it was probably a short whispered prayer like “Lord, please give me wisdom.” Or maybe “God in heaven, give me courage.”
And there are long prayers in scripture, like the 119th Psalm. There are Medium sized prayers in Scripture like last week’s text in Nehemiah 1. There are short prayers in Scripture
Like Luke 23:42
And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Or Rev. 22:20
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Short prayers through your day as needed are just as much a powerful part of your prayer life as longer prayers when you have the time. And God hears them.
So what does he ask?
Look at verse 5
And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.
So let’s note a few things here. First, he asks to leave. Which itself was a risky thing to do. You know how I know? Because he’s never asked it before now. He’s basically asking to leave his job when he’s the one in exile—when he’s the member of the conquered people.
And notice also the text says—and our English translations put this in parentheses—that the queen was sitting beside the king. Why mention that?
Well the text doesn’t tell us, and it’s not obvious, but the best guess I have for you is that Nehemiah probably knows that the King is in a favor-granting mood when the Queen is there. He’s strategizing.
B. Application
B. Application
So what can we learn from this so far. Well, so far we have seen that God is happy to answer prayers with courage.
And courage is a central part of virtue in the Christian life. C.S. Lewis once observed that courage is not simply one of the virtues, it is every virtue, at the testing point.
So if we just mention three biblical virtues. Let’s go with love, contentment, and forgiveness.
All three of those take courage. It takes courage to love when you might get burned. It takes courage to forgive when they might do it again. It takes courage to enjoy contentment when you think that anxiety and covetousness are what keep you from missing out on bigger things in life.
All real virtue requires courage. And at this point I will do something very controversial for a Pastor to do. I will quote John Wayne in a sermon.
John Wayne once said “Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.”
That’s actually what we see here. Remember in verse 2?
And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
And we see fear followed by courage. Because courage is not the absence of fear. It’s being afraid and trusting God and acting courageously anyway, with the strength that God supplies, even as an answer to a very short prayer.
So dear saints, how is the Lord calling us to be courageous today? Where are we being called to stand, to sacrifice, to spend ourselves, to spend our money, to give of our time, to open our homes? To forgive one another from the heart?
Where are we being called to courage?
And I want to also speak to the children for a moment on this. Kids and students, I know it's not always easy to be brave. But courage is something God wants you to grow in, even while you're young. The world loves to excuse cowardice. Except we don’t call it cowardice, we just say “Oh you were scared” as though that makes God’s call to courage go away. But it doesn’t. Courage is something we must grow in, even when we are young. Maybe it’s telling the truth when it would be easier to lie. Maybe it’s including someone who’s left out. Maybe it’s being kind to your little brother or your big sister when you’re really annoyed with them. That’s a kind of courage.
Like Nehemiah, you can say a quick prayer—“Lord, help me do what’s right, and help me to do it right now, and with a good attitude.” God hears that prayer. Real courage isn’t just for adults. God gives it to boys and girls who ask him, because he loves to help his children be strong in the Lord.
So we see the fruit of Nehemiah’s courage. Next we see
II. The Wisdom of his Request
II. The Wisdom of his Request
So the King says what do you want? And Nehemiah says send me home, and then he goes further than that.
And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
A. Exegesis
A. Exegesis
It is really remarkable that Nehemiah had not only the boldness to ask for all these things, but it’s also clear he had been preparing for this moment.
Now I will be honest, when I put that together. When I read verses 7 and 8 and realized “He’s been waiting for this moment” that really surprised me.
Do you know why? Because up until this point, Nehemiah has not been talking like the guy who has a plan.
He’s asking God. He’s pleading with the Lord in Chapter 1. Then in Chapter 2, he’s been waiting three to five months for an answer. Then the king finally asks “Nehemiah, what’s wrong with you? What’s bothering you?” and he’s afraid.
He doesn’t sound like the guy with a plan. But he clearly has one. He knows exactly what he will need to carry out obedience to the Lord and to restore what’s been broken in his city.
B. Application
B. Application
Here’s my point: How often do we pray for things with barely a faint hope that God is going to hear and answer?
If we are honest, there are things we will bring to God in prayer but we just don’t really think they’re going to happen.
And I’m not saying you get to demand stuff from God. But I am saying we should live like we believe our God is favorably disposed to his covenant children when we pray to him.
So here’s my question.
You’ve asked the Lord for something.
You know it’s a good thing to ask.
What are your plans for when the Lord answers?
When you get that job you’ve been praying about, what are you going to wear on the first day to work?
When that prodigal son or prodigal daughter comes home, what color are the tablecloths going to be?
My brothers who are single and eager to get married—when God brings a woman into your life, are you ready to pursue her? Are you practicing virtue? Are you building your strength, your wisdom, your maturity? Or are you just wasting time and practicing sloth until she shows up?
My sisters who are single and eager to get married—when God brings a man into your life, will he find you already practicing virtues of godliness and modesty, respect, and gentleness, or are you going to get around to that later?
You should come to God with what your heart desires, but do you have a sense of what you will do if and when he answers your prayers as you’ve asked Him?
Or, if the Lord says No or Wait (his other two answers to prayer) do you have a plan for how you will continue to pursue joy and contentment in Him, in spite of your dissapointment?
Be ready to exercise wisdom amidst the joy of answered prayer, and ask the Lord to help you cultivate trust in Him while you wait.
So, we’ve seen Nehemiah’s Courage. We’ve seen his wisdom. And now we hear about...
III. The Good Providence of His God
III. The Good Providence of His God
And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
Nehemiah has clearly demonstrated virtue and maturity. But when the time comes to give credit, he gives the glory to God.
Nehemiah’s story reminds us of a biblical principle, and that is that God is sovereign over kings and rulers and all those in authority.
The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
And that is a strong encouragement to us. God assures us of this in His Word not only because it means we can trust his providence regardless of political leadership. But it also means we can freely pray for our leaders, and it also means that if God can change the hearts of kings, he can change everyone else’s heart, too. That’s what we are meant to take from that.
But also look at how he phrases it:
And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
So we have a God who is sovereign. And a God who is good. And when trouble comes, those are the two things that get thrown into question.
When we hurt and suffer under affliction, our flesh immediately turns to maybe God’s not in control. Or maybe he’s not good.
And it is at such times where we must confess the good hand of our God is with us. The good hand of our God is upon us. When lots of confusing stuff is happening that we don’t fully understand, we square our shoulders and we repeat: “The good hand of our God is upon us.”
This is our confession forever especially on this side of the cross, right?
The cross seemed like a defeat. It seemed like the end of the story. It seemed like the failure of the mission. But it was actually the good hand of God, perfectly orchestrating events and bringing us salvation, which leads Peter to say
this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
And so the providence of God is our great comfort. That our God is always, and at every moment exercising his most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all his people and all their actions.
And so we can say with the Psalmist “Of whom shall I be afraid, what can man do to me?”
Our God is with us.
And he is good.
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
