Nehemiah
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning, church! It is great to be back in person with you!
Before we get too far along, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a little bit of an update on where I’m at with my health. Brain surgery has gone, pretty good, and recovery was a little slower than I had hoped, but all things considered, I’m doing pretty well. We found out that I do have what’s called oligodendroglioma, which is a pretty rare form of brain cancer (latest estimates say around 15,000 Americans have it, and only about 1,100 new cases of it are reported each year). We have some appointments coming up that will hopefully address and determine what continuing treatment will look like, but for now I’m looking forward to getting back to a regular pace and back to life.
While I would like to report that I dove head-first into several books, to be completely honest, most of my time was spent resting, in contemplation and prayer. I have had a litany of medical procedures done, so I am not unaware of what the recovery phase is like, but I will say that this is different than any previous medical procedure I’ve ever had done.
The last time I had the privilege of bringing the word from the pulpit, we finished up our time in the book of James. Today, we are jumping back in, but this time, into the Old Testament to begin a new journey: a journey through the book of Nehemiah. Today, we are going to focus on setting the scene. Think of today as an introduction to the book of Nehemiah.
An important thing to consider with the book of Nehemiah is that it was originally part of the book of Ezra. If you read these two books, front to back - as a single narrative, you’ll see that it unfolds in three distinct movements. Each movement has a leader that God uses for a specific purpose. The first movement, in Ezra 1-6, we see Zarubbabel lead the exiled Israelite back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. In the second movement that takes place roughly 60 years later, we see Ezra lead more Israelites back and decree that those exiles who took wives from the people of their captures should divorce their wives (see Ezra 7-10).
An important thing to note is that this is not God condoning divorce, but rather, a prophet of the Lord introducing confusion into an already difficult situation. He appealed to scripture, specifically Deuteronomy 23:1-4 where the Lord commanded the Israelites not to intermarry with the Canaanites because of the potential corruptive Influences those spouses would have on the sons and daughters of Israel. Remember, Deuteronomy was written for the specific purpose of reminding the Israelites about the importance of their covenant relationship with God. In Ezra, the prophet was trying to bring the people back to not only the land, but also to get them re-established in the covenant. Scholars and theologians have grappled with this difficulty for generations, and it is something that we will by no means solve today - but it suffices to say that if you come to me asking me to condone a divorce and you use this for your justification, we’re going to have some problems.
After the first two movements, we come to what would be the third movement beginning in Nehemiah 1. This time, God is raising up another for another purpose. This time, instead of bringing the Israelites back or to rebuild the temple, this time it is to fortify and protect the city by rebuilding its walls.
During this time, the only real defense a city had was its fortifications - a wall, or a defense perimeter that separated what belonged in the city from what didn’t belong. I will not get into a political debate over this issue, but only use it as a means of illustration, but it is not dissimilar from the border wall President Trump has talked about for years between the United States and Mexico. That barrier was designed and is intended to keep the flow of migrants coming into the US to come through legitimate and monitored ports so we can know who is in our country and try to keep our citizens safe. You could say that Nehemiah was going to restore the Big Beautiful Wall around Jerusalem.
In his day, it wasn’t migration they were fighting but actual attacking neighboring nations. The wall was a critical defense mechanism that served as a first line of defense against attack. What came down at Jericho? It was the wall around the city! Their defensive perimeter that allowed the Israelites the freedom to attack and lay waste to the city in accordance with God’s judgement against them.
The prophet Jeremiah warned and pleaded with the people to repent from their wicked ways or face the consequences. They ignored his warnings and faced the consequences of breaking their covenant with God - even after He gave them every opportunity to repent and return to him. That consequence was exile - from the promised land and from the presence of God. After 70 years, He allowed the people to return to Jerusalem and to once again be His people.
But that wasn’t going to happen over night. The people coming back didn’t have the luxury of growing up as covenant people - they were foreigners who had only heard stories from their parents and their grandparents about how good they had it before being unfaithful to God and ruining their relationship with Him because of their infidelity.
If we look at it a certain way, we too - as believers in Christ, today - live in a form of exile. Charles Spurgeon said it this way:
How can I look to be at home in the enemy’s country, joyful while in exile, or comfortable in a wilderness? This is not my rest. This is the place of the furnace and the forge and the hammer.
Charles Spurgeon
What a humble way to look at it - this world is not my home, it is my forge and furnace meant to be painful and refine me.
Spurgeon would also say this:
Death is no longer banishment, it is a return from exile, a going home to the many mansions where the loved ones already dwell.
Charles Spurgeon
Today, we begin our journey through the book of Nehemiah. My hope and prayer for each of us is that we see how God works through the broken heart of a man who God would empower for a specific purpose to bring about His good and His will.
For today, I want you to keep this idea in mind: Our deep concerns should lead us to pray fervently, seeking God’s will and strength to take action in our communities and lives.
We are going to see three ideas coming out of the text today through Nehemiah’s example:
Recognize the Distress (1:1-3)
Respond with Earnestness (1:4)
Rely on God’s Promises (1:5-11)
Recognize the Distress (1:1-3)
Recognize the Distress (1:1-3)
Read with me:
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress city of Susa,
2 Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile.
3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”
In these verses, Nehemiah receives distressing news about the conditions in Jerusalem. When it comers to the purpose of believers in this world, the best way I have found to express it is that we are Christ’s ambassadors in a hostile world. Our job is to recognize the needs around us and respond with godly concern and wisdom. This recognition of the issues Nehemiah saw served as a call to prayer and reflection, aligning his hearts with God's compassion. As Nehemiah's concern lead him to prayer, we can also express our empathy through intercessory prayer, trusting that God hears and values our deep concerns for our community. Our deep concerns should lead us to pray fervently, seeking God’s will and strength to take action in our communities and lives.
Respond with Earnestness (1:4)
Respond with Earnestness (1:4)
Read with me again, starting in….
4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.
Nehemiah's immediate response is fasting and prayer, shows deep commitment and dependence on God. There are spiritual disciplines that we learn about in Scripture; disciplines which have unfortunately been misunderstood by some to be outward reflections of an inward reality, when the reality is that spiritual disciplines are not what God requires to make us holy, but how we voluntarily draw near to the heart of God. When we talk about things like prayer, fasting, meditation, journaling, reading Scripture - these are all disciplines that we can take part of that help us draw nearer to the Lord. Some have perverted it, though, into a pharisaical exercise of ritual over anything the substantive mercy that God gave us to know him better - The purpose of Spiritual Disciplines are to connect us more intimately with God.
If you are one who believes that you cannot be right with God without somehow incorporating all these different disciplines into your life and you judge others who are not as disciplined, may I take one moment to speak to you directly: There is significant danger in mistaking a Spiritual Discipline as a mandated requirement from God: when we do that, we begin to flirt with the idea of a works-based system of faith. What work could we accomplish that will make us more pleasing to God? Nothing! Yet I see a consistent example throughout all of Christianity today where some will take their discipline in these areas and allow it to morph into a disgusting sense of pride… “I read scripture every day, and twice on Sundays, so I must be better than the Jones’ down the street…” Our ability to turn good things into sinful things through pride, overindulgence and a lack of love towards others is one of the most uncanny and treacherous aspect of the human condition that should remind us all that we cannot cast a stone at Adam and Eve - had it been us, we would have done the same!
In the case of Nehemiah in our passage today, we see how when encountered with distress, spiritual burdens can lead us into stronger reliance on God for guidance. Remember how James said this:
2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
When we encounter difficulty and hardship, especially in terms of our spirit - not just our circumstances or the state of the world around us, but an honest to goodness tumultuous spiritual battle, we should rejoice and immediately posture ourselves the way Nehemiah did - in a position of fervent prayer. Notice that Nehemiah fasted as well. A fast is a set amount of time where one avoids eating so that his hunger can remind him of the importance of relying on the Lord. It is a powerful discipline that western society doesn’t esteem as much as it should. Fasting seems to me to be one of the lost disciplines, where it is good but nobody seems to practice it anymore.
I’d like to recommend a book I read as a younger believer - it is called “With Unveiled Faces” by Kieth Drury. It is about experiencing intimacy with God through the Spiritual Disciplines. It serves as a good primer or introduction to the topic.
One of the things that I wish to express on behalf of myself and my entire family is the appreciation that we feel knowing how many of you have been praying for us in what we’re going through. The interesting part about my diagnosis is that it rides the fence between being a spiritual struggle and a physical one quite often. Though the prognosis for my condition isn’t as favorable as I would like, I know I am not defeated because I stand with the King. When I start feeling defeated or ask myself what the point of even fighting is, I take it to the Lord in prayer.
One of my favorite hymns is What A Friend We have In Jesus.
I’d like to read through the lyrics of that song with you:
What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge--
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Do your friends despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield you;
you will find a solace there.
I love Nehemiah’s raw honesty in this verse - he heard what was happening and wept and mourned. What he was feeling was a burden on his heart, and he responded well by submitting to the one who was putting that burden there in the first place.
So what do we do with burdens that God lays on our hearts? After we recognize and consider what’s happening, we take a position of fervent and deliberate prayer. Then, we continue with Nehemiah’s example:
Rely on God’s Promises (1:5-11)
Rely on God’s Promises (1:5-11)
Read with me again, starting in…
5 I said, Lord, the God of the heavens, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands,
6 let your eyes be open and your ears be attentive to hear your servant’s prayer that I now pray to you day and night for your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins we have committed against you. Both I and my father’s family have sinned.
7 We have acted corruptly toward you and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances you gave your servant Moses.
8 Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.
9 But if you return to me and carefully observe my commands, even though your exiles were banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have my name dwell.”
10 They are your servants and your people. You redeemed them by your great power and strong hand.
11 Please, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to that of your servants who delight to revere your name. Give your servant success today, and grant him compassion in the presence of this man. At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.
Nehemiah's prayer reveals his understanding of God's character and his covenant promises. Nehemiah's approach in acknowledging God's greatness and appealing to His mercy is a model for us in our own prayers. This passage shows that when we seek God's will, we equip ourselves for decisive, God-honoring action. Nehemiah's plea for favor underscores his preparation to act, reminding us to seek God's strength as we aim to make a tangible difference in our communities.
I have recommended this book before, but it is fitting here as well -
Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung. It talks about the virtue of taking decisive action instead of just waiting on the sidelines for God to do everything.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We see in Nehemiah how we should respond to things in our lives that weigh heavily on our hearts. Our deep concerns should lead us to pray fervently, seeking God’s will and strength to take action in our communities and lives. We should strive to recognize the fullness of what is happening. We should strive to respond to it in a way that draws us closer to the Lord - and using Spiritual Disciplines are a great way to do that. Lastly, we should remember to rely on the goodness and sovereignty of the Lord and find comfort in the fact that, as R.C. Sproul said that in this universe, there doesn’t exist a single maverick molecule - everything is under the control, will and sovereignty of our good Lord.
Its not always easy though, right? After all, if I am to be completely open and honest with you, brain cancer was not on my 2025 bingo card. There were aspects of the brain surgery that scared me half to death.
However, when I remember the goodness and sovereignty of God, when I submit to him in prayer and when I assess the situation correctly, I remember that death can do nothing to a believer but change his address.
The French reformer, John Calvin said this:
If we remember that by death we are called back from exile to home, to our heavenly fatherland, shall we then not be filled with comfort?
John Calvin (French Reformer)
Even in the midst of something as difficult and trying as cancer and death that God’s goodness can shine through so amazingly is proof and evidence to me that He is the Almighty and that His way truly is the best.
What ever you may be going through today, what ever trial may be on your heart, let me encourage you to follow the example of Nehemiah from our passage today, to examine, react and rely with your heart set on glorifying Christ through it all. He will get you through. There is nothing too big for God to handle. He is good and wants what is best for us because He loves us.
10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Can we agree together today that we serve a wonderful God? Can we come together as a church and agree together that Christ is worthy of honor, glory, power and dominion forever?
Let’s pray.
