Hope in Troubled Times: Nehemiah 1:1 - 2:10

Introduction

Let’s set the scene. Jerusalem is a mess; this is the city of David, the city that had the surrounding nations cowering in fear, the city that had housed the Ark of the Covenant, the very presence of God. After David and Solomon, Jerusalem had a series of kings, some good and some not so good and Jerusalem was not the powerful city that it once had been. In 586BC, the southern kingdom of Judah, along with the city of Jerusalem, falls to the Babylonian empire. The city is sacked. About 50 years later, in 538BC, the Persians defeat the Babylonians and King Cyrus of Persia allows the Israelites to return to Jerusalem. A second group of Israelites returns to Jerusalem in 458BC and we find ourselves here with Nehemiah in 444BC.

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1 - 2:10

Nehemiah 1:1–2:10 NRSV

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capital, one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They replied, “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.” When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.’ They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!” At the time, I was cupbearer to the king. In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was served him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. Now, I had never been sad in his presence before. So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This can only be sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my ancestors’ graves, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves, so that I may rebuild it.” The king said to me (the queen also was sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a date. Then 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 grant me passage until I arrive in Judah; and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, directing him to give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple fortress, 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 gracious hand of my God was upon me. Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent officers of the army and cavalry with me. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

The situation in Jerusalem is hopeless

Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, returns from his travels and Nehemiah asks for an update on the city and the people of Israel. The news is not good. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been destroyed by fire. The Israelites that have returned from the exile are in big trouble. They are weak already and now they have no defense.

We have to understand where Jerusalem sits geographically here. The Persian empire is the dominant force in the area, and Jerusalem is under Persian control. If any other group or nation wanted to challenge Persia, any approach from the west would take them through Judea. Without walls and with her gates burned to the ground, Jerusalem and the Israelites were sitting ducks.

This is the report that Nehemiah receives from his brother. The people are in great trouble and shame, the walls are broken down and the gates have been destroyed by fire. Nehemiah weeps for his people and for the city of his ancestors.

We heard in the very beginning of chapter one that this took place in the month of Chislev in the twentieth year. Dates in that time were a little different than how we calculate them now. They didn’t call this year 44BC, of course! It was the twentieth year of the reign of King Artaxerxes. And the month of Chislev would overlap with November and December on our calendar. At the beginning of chapter two, when Nehemiah approaches King Artaxerxes with his request, it is the month of Nisan, which overlaps with April and May in our calendar. Nehemiah spent four months weeping, mourning, fasting and praying to God. The situation in Jerusalem felt quite hopeless.

The situation in our world is hopeless

It’s been seventy five years since the second world war. America was instrumental in the winning of that war and helping to orchestrate the peace that followed. Many around the world have looked to us as a beacon of freedom and democracy for the world to emulate. At 245 years young, our democracy is still fragile. We still struggle with equal rights, we fight over how strenuously to guard our borders. The political infighting, the racial injustices and our inability to protect ourselves from a new virus has tarnished our reputation. We struggle to define what is true, or even how to evaluate whether or not a statement is true or false. For a year now, we’ve been fighting a pandemic virus that shows no signs of slowing down. We have the world’s mightiest army, yet while we are so busy protecting ourselves from threats on the outside, we seem to be destroying ourselves from the inside. The situation here can feel quite hopeless.

In his despair, Nehemiah prays to God

What does Nehemiah do in his despair? He could just let it go. Jerusalem is 800 miles away. That’s a long day’s drive for us today, but in 444BC, that was months of travel - practically the other side of the world. Nehemiah was a close advisor to the king, he could offer up prayers for the city and the people and go back to his day to day work. At the end of chapter 1, Nehemiah tells us that he is the cupbearer to the king. The role of cupbearer is a close advisor to the king, someone who would be in the king’s court daily.

Instead, he begins to pray and to plan. He knows that if there is any hope for Jerusalem and the Israelites, it will come through the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So he prays. I’m always interested to learn more about prayer and in the structure of various prayers, so let’s take a look at Nehemiah’s prayer to God here.

Starts off with Adoration and Praise

Nehemiah 1:5 NRSV

I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments;

Hear my prayer

Nehemiah 1:6 NRSV

let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned.

Confession of sins - both corporate and personal

Nehemiah 1:6–7 NRSV

let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses.

Call to remember the promise

Nehemiah 1:8–9 NRSV

Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.’

This is a promise from God to Moses and the Israelites that is found in Deuteronomy chapter 30.

Call to collect on the promise

Nehemiah 1:10–11 NRSV

They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!” At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.

Specific Request

Nehemiah 1:11 NRSV

O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!” At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.

After he prays to God, Nehemiah presents his plan to King Artaxerxes

As I mentioned earlier, Nehemiah has been weeping, fasting, praying and planning for FOUR MONTHS!

This is clearly an idea that will not let go of Nehemiah. We all have ideas, right? Have you ever had a thought about going to try something new? You have a mental picture of what it would be like, how much fun it would be, the adventure that it would entail. Then that thought never comes back, it was just a fleeting idea. Then there are those thoughts that just won’t go away. Those ideas that grab ahold of you and won’t let go. These are the things that you feel you must do or it will continue to haunt you for the rest of your life. This is what Nehemiah is experiencing. God is calling Nehemiah to action and he can’t shake it off, he can’t just turn his back and walk away.

What’s significant here is that he doesn’t just pray and then expect God to handle it from there. Nehemiah makes a plan. I gave a talk on this passage many years ago. My mother worked for a Christian organization and they invited me to speak at their weekly chapel gathering. The title of my talk that day was, “If you pray for rain, you better carry an umbrella.” My focus was this section of the scripture here where Nehemiah approaches the king, but he does so with a fully formed plan. He comes with a fully formed plan because he EXPECTS that God will answer his prayer and the king will look favorably on his request.

When Nehemiah tells the king about the report about Jerusalem and the Israelites, the king asks Nehemiah, “What do you request?” Nehemiah knows that he wants to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall of the great city. Then the king asks how when Nehemiah plans to leave and how long he will be gone. Nehemiah has an answer, he goes before the king expecting a positive answer and having done his homework before he gets there so he has an answer to the king’s questions. Not only does he answer the kings questions, but he makes a further request for letters to the governors of the provinces for safe passage and a letter to the keeper of the king’s forest for lumber. Nehemiah has dotted all the i’s and crossed all of the t’s.

God uses Nehemiah to bring hope to Jerusalem

King Artaxerxes grants Nehemiah’s request to travel to Jerusalem and even sends him with officers of the army and cavalry. God is using Nehemiah to bring hope to Jerusalem. Nehemiah knows that it is not his skills or his great planning that has caused the king to look favorably on his request, but he knows that it is the gracious hand of God.

God uses us to bring hope to our community

Like Nehemiah, God wants to use us to bring hope to our world. Nehemiah wasn’t a builder, he was a close advisor to the king. We don’t know much about Nehemiah before this story here, so we don’t know exactly what his skills were. What we do know is that he was willing to listen to God and follow the call. What is God calling you to do? You don’t have to have all of the skills from the start, God will provide you with exactly what you need if you trust him to.

We should follow Nehemiah’s example and begin by falling on our knees in prayer. By calling out to the God of the universe, we remind ourselves that this current situation is nothing new to God, and it is most certainly not beyond his ability to overcome. In our prayer we should confess to God our own shortcomings. Where are we to blame? How have we contributed to the political and racial divides in our communities? Where have we failed to love our neighbor? What opportunities has God laid before us that we have left undone? Remind God of his promise - one that we hear often today is the promise found in 2 Chronicles chapter 7:

2 Chronicles 7:14 NRSV

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Here’s my question for you today: Who do you relate to in this story? Are you a Nehemiah, feeling called to bring hope to others? Are you like the Israelites, wondering what happened to the walls that protected you and wondering where your hope is coming from? Or are you like King Artaxerxes? Maybe you have an employee, a student, a son or daughter that needs your permission to be sent to bring hope.

Know that God is bringing hope. And he wants to use us to bring that hope to our communities. Wherever you find yourself in this story, start with prayer. Give God the praise and glory, confess to him where you’ve fallen short and call on the promises that he’s given us in his word.