Nehemiah 2 - God of Action
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Notre Dame cathedral in Paris France. One of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. The cornerstone was laid in 1160 and building commenced. It wasn’t completed until 1345! 185 years of human history passed! But in the end, all of the ordinary work of the craftsmen, architects and labor would pay off as this was the “Parish church for the kings of Europe!” But even after its completion this grand cathedral would not being without opposition. In 1548 Huguenots damaged features they thought idolatrous. French Revolution brought renaming, plundering. Spire torn down and statues beheaded. WW2 brought more damage by bullets.
Could you imagine being in the place of one of those builders, or the Bishop who started it…No one who began this project would see it to fruition. In their moment in history they wondered if it would happen. They would be wondering, “is this even worth it?”
As we read the Bible, we must ask the question, what was the purpose to which the Holy Spirit inspired the authors to write? What was going on in the lives of the readers? The primary audience read this found themselves in a time where there was 400 years of silence from the likes of prophets. Trying to cling to hope in God as time passed and became history. As they did the seemingly ordinary. As they faced opposition. Waiting for this Messiah to come and set them free.
And aren’t we very similar to them? We are on a different, and honestly more fortunate time in history in that Jesus has come and given his followers His promises. But still we wait. We wait as we wonder if the Lord is at work in our own lives, in the lives of our loved ones. In our culture. We wonder as we do the ordinary stuff of God’s kingdom work. Trying to love and witness to hard neighbors, co-workers, and family members, even putting up and taking down chairs. And as we do this, we face opposition.
Include history, ordinary, and opposition.
Put in Pic
FCF: We lose hope on the long journey of faith wondering if God is even at work.
Prop: In His “Faithful Restoration” of the wall…and over all creation, we need to be convinced that Our God is active in this restoration, and today we’ll see that he is...therefore we must be active!
This morning, we must remember where we were and the last lines we read last week as we ended chapter 1. God’s people were in great pain in that the walls of Jerusalem were still down some 73 years after their return from exile. But in that we saw God as a faithful restorer in that even in the midst of the depressing scene we find a remnant…a pulse…indicating that God has not given up on his plan to ultimately restore everything. And then, a prayer by Nehemiah appealing to God to continue out his plan…and specifically he was asking him to continue it through him:
O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Now I was cupbearer to the king.
Do any of you all have cupbearers? No! This was the person who tried the King’s wine before the King drank it to ensure he hasn’t been poisoned. This was a big deal…took much trust. So let’s keep reading...
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.
Nehemiah
God Works through History (1-8)
God Works through History (1-8)
And we will see this as we watch Nehemiah as he...
Faces Fear
Faces Fear
It would be easy for us to move from the end of chapter 1 to 2 without giving it much thought…but let’s hold up a second and consider some of these words. First off, Nehemiah got this bad news in the month of Chislev, which according to the Jewish calendar, was November/December. This is when he prayed his big prayer that God would give him favor before the King. Now we have skipped to the month of Nisan which is March/April on their calendar. So Nehemiah has essentially been praying this prayer for four months…Why hasn’t he taken the plunge?
Simply put, he could be killed! This was the most powerful person in the world! And according to Persian historians, to act sad in court, or to ask to leave the court, might be considered a breach in etiquette and could cost you your life!
So what happens? He took wine to him and gave it to him and he makes it a point to say, “I have not been sad in his presence.” Uh oh! And the king asks him about it! (2). Why are you sad…you are not sick…this is sickness of heart!” And I was very much afraid.
And then in 3, Neh told him why. Now this was a fearful thing for two reasons - 1. He was breaking etiquette. What if he was deemed untrustworthy? But 2. He was essentially asking for a change in policy!
Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me.
Fires An Arrow
Fires An Arrow
Get Wayne Grudem’s definition of providence
But Nehemiah went for it! He gave him his gut feelings. And then the King asked, what I would imagine would be, a paralyzing question - What are you requesting? DO YOU FEEL THE TENSION?
Then he shot up an arrow…just a quick strike prayer. (4) So I prayed to the God of heaven.
This should so greatly encourage those of us who feel like we don’t have our prayer lives in order! One author simply said it was urgent, vital, sincere, focused silently, uttered in staccato. Like, “Lord help me…I need you now!” Or, “give me grace to say this correctly!”
Finds the God of History
Finds the God of History
And I said to the King…Send me to rebuild with letters for 1. Safe Passage (7) and 2. Permission to get trees. (8)
So…Can we think about this for a second? God puts Persia in place to overthrow Israel’s captors and to free a remnant, like the Bible said. Then he orchestrates an Israelite to have favor with the ruler of this empire!! But think about this…Atrexerxes’ father was Xerxes, and Xerxes married another Israelite who you may have heard about…Esther. Esther was Artexerxes’ Step-Mom. Now I don’t know how much influence she had on him, but she sure influenced his father, and may have had a hand in him being favorable to Nehemiah here. The presence of the queen also gives us a data point to think this was a private meeting (he had gotten in good with the queen!), or at least she was favorable towards them. Either way, this is screaming that God acts in History to accomplish His will.
For the good hand of my God was upon me (8) - Clearly shows that it wasn’t his faith that mattered most, but the object of it.
For the good hand of my God was upon me (8)
Story of someone who is powerful working behind the scenes.
Moves us from fear to prayer.
If we don’t believe the God of the universe is working to faithfully fulfill his plan in history, we will fear. If we live in a constant state of fear, we don’t believe God is acting in history!
If we believe God is acting, we’ll appeal to Him, rather than our fear. And I think this is an example of practicing before game time. Cultivating prayer.
Enables us to take risks. Eternal belay
Who do you give credit to?
God works in the ordinary - People living their lives
Risks: We should be willing to take risks for the sake of the Kingdom. No Christian should ever be bored.
Cultivate prayer - the arrow prayer happens because the chapter 1 prayers happen.
Faith, not fear, of history.
God Works through the Ordinary (9-16)
God Works through the Ordinary (9-16)
We are going to skip a little bit because some of this will be covered in the last section, but after he receives the letters and makes the long journey with a small army to Jerusalem, we pick up here...
So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
Again, we need to give a nod to Nehemiah. What he did was genius. He didn’t roll into town shouting what he was going to do. He showed great wisdom in restraint. He went by night to inspect the walls so he knew what he was talking about before he started talking…he was causing enough of a buzz.
However, we must remember the hero of the story...“What God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.” (12) Again, Nehemiah is keeping in front of us the star of the show. God was the one who put the rebuilding of the wall.
A night journey. He was wise in that he was slow in his actions, and slow in speaking. Under the cover of nightfall he inspected the city. He did not tell anyone of his plans yet, because he didn’t have the whole picture. When no one else was watching he inspected the city.
And here is another principal that we will see, especially in the first six chapters of this book. God works through the ordinary. There are two ways in Scripture that we see God working. 1. is through dramatic inbreaking of God’s work. There are three movements of this in Biblical history - Moses, Elijah and Elisha, And Jesus and the Apostles. But outside of that we simply see God moving through ordinary things!
this isn’t some crazy inbreaking of the Kingdom of God that happens here. Here are no miracles. Nobody gets raised from the dead. It is simply a random guy who is going out in the cover of night, on a horse, with a couple of men who were wondering what on earth was going on, to lead a building project.
A woman goes on a walk one day and runs across three men laying bricks. She comes to the first one and say, “what are you doing?” Disgruntled, the man looks at her and say, “What does it look like, lady? I’m laying bricks!” She approaches the second and asks the same question, to which he replies, “I’m building a wall 100 feet long, 30 feet high, and 18 inches thick.” She finally comes to the third and asks the same question, to which he replies, “oh, let me tell you about it! I’m building the most amazing cathedral!”
Alfred Hitchcock said movies are life with the dull parts cut out of them. And I’m afraid that because of our culture and how we edit our lives to try to find the most exciting things always, we miss the bigger picture of God working through the ordinary in our lives.
God works in the ordinary - People living their lives.
I think sometimes we as Americans are living for the big reveal. The Bachlorette moment.
Tish Harrison Warren in her book, Liturgy of the Ordinary, says this:
We tend to want a Christian life with the dull bits cut out. Yet god made us to spend our days in rest, work, and play, taking care of our bodies, our families, our neighborhoods, our homes. What if all these boring parts matter to God?
And my addendum…what if all these boring parts are being used by God? The he is acting alongside of as we build?!
As you place that brick in the wall of building a discipline in your life of cultivating prayer or reading your Bible, or practicing hospitality...changing your child’s diaper, or leading them to wisdom or repentance FIVE MINUTES AFTER THE LAST TIME, you are doing valuable Kingdom work. As you place the brick in the wall of having your neighbor over who just had surgery to simply give him a meal and some fellowship without going big…you are putting a brick down. Friends, as we as a church put tons of resources down in teaching one more Sunday school lesson to children, or working behind the scenes at a meeting, or putting away chairs.
So should we take risks? Yes! But don’t miss that God works through the ordinary.
God Works despite Opposition (17-20)
God Works despite Opposition (17-20)
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
Surrounded
Surrounded
Here we are finally introduced to some characters that cast a very long shadow in this book. The enemies of God’s plan. If we look back at vs. 10 which we didn’t read, it says that two of these three characters were those who were displeased that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
Sanballat the Horonite - He is recorded in history as being a governor of Samaria, which is a neighbor Northwest of Jerusalem.
Tobiah the Ammonite servant - Powerful family in the region northeast of the city.
Geshem the Arab - Maybe the most powerful of all of them…controlled Arabian tribes in Moab and Edom - This was Southeast of the city.
Bottom line - they were surrounded. And it says that the jeered and despised them and were beginning to sow derision in the empire by suggesting that they are rebelling against the King. Which, oh by the way, had happened once before!
Another spiritual parallel in this book is the reality that if we are a Christian, then we will be surrounded by opposition.
Expect opposition.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Safe
Safe
The God of heaven will make us prosper...” (20)
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
“
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Illustration of not seeing the world the way it really is.
Illustration of not seeing the world the way it really is.
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Our Kingdom-building work may be long, arduous, may feel ordinary, and may be fraught with opposition. But it is very done in isolation.
A woman goes on a walk one day and runs across three men laying bricks. She comes to the first one and say, “what are you doing?” Disgruntled, the man looks at her and say, “What does it look like, lady? I’m laying bricks!” She approaches the second and asks the same question, to which he replies, “I’m building a wall 100 feet long, 30 feet high, and 18 inches thick.” She finally comes to the third and asks the same question, to which he replies, “oh, let me tell you about it! I’m building the most amazing cathedral!”