Week 1: Do You Trust God?

joey hufstedler

The New Exodus - Week 1: Do You Trust God? • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Nehemiah 1

Ezra 1–2

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God keeps his promise—you can count on it!

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1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: 2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 ‘Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 ‘Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’ ” 5 Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. 6 All those about them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle and with valuables, aside from all that was given as a freewill offering. 7 Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods; 8 and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. 9 Now this was their number: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 duplicates; 10 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind and 1,000 other articles. 11 All the articles of gold and silver numbered 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ezr 1:1–11.

Nehemiah 1:1–11 (NASB95):

1The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capitol, 2that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.” 4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5I said, “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. 7“We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8“Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 9but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ 10“They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11“O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.” Now I was the cupbearer to the king.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ne 1:1–11.

Explanation

The historical books Ezra and Nehemiah tell the tale of Israel’s return from exile, back to their promised land. The story bears a lot of similarities to the story of the Jews leaving Egypt, found in the book of Exodus, and so it is sometimes called “the new exodus.” As we begin this series on the new exodus, know that if you are feeling distant or disconnected from God, this series will help you return to a life with God. Or perhaps you have heard of God but don’t know much about him; if so, this series is also for you, as we look at what it means to live in a relationship with God. Just as when Israel returned to God their worship with him was fully restored, so too, when we turn to God, our worship and life of faith are fully restored in him.

In Ezra 1:1–5, the stage is set for what follows in both books. The Israelites are captives in the Babylonian Empire. The Lord stirs the spirit of the Persian king Cyrus so that God’s word to the prophet Jeremiah might be fulfilled (v. 1)! The first sentence of Ezra tells us that what is about to happen is an example of God keeping his promises—two very specific and important promises. The first is Jeremiah 16:15, the promise that Israel will return to the land God gave to their fathers.

Jer 16:15

15 but, 'As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.' For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

NASU

The second is the promise in Isaiah 44:28:

Isa 44:28

28 "It is I who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire. 'And he declares of Jerusalem, ' She will be built, 'And of the temple, ' Your foundation will be laid.'"

NASU

And now Cyrus not only tells the Jews to return to their land but to do so for a purpose: to go and rebuild the house of God (Ezra 1:3).

Ezra 1:3

3 'Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

NASU

The rest of Ezra 1 and 2 tells the story of the Israelites returning to their land to begin the task of rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple.

1. Nehemiah cared about what was happening.

He cared enough to ask.

Neh 1:1-3

NASU

Why would Nehemiah inquire about a struggling remnant of people who lived hundreds of miles away? After all, he was the king's cupbearer and he was success-fully secure in his own life. Certainly it wasn't his fault that his ancestors had sinned against the Lord and brought judgment to the city of Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah. A century and a half before, the Prophet Jeremiah had given this word from the Lord:

Jer 15:5 5 "Indeed, who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, Or who will mourn for you, Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?

NASU

Nehemiah was the man God had chosen to do those very things!

Some people prefer not to know what's going on, because information might bring obligation. "What you don't know can't hurt you," says the old adage; but is it true? In a letter to a Mrs. Foote, Mark Twain wrote, "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure." But what we don't know could hurt us a great deal! There are people in the cemetery who chose not to know the truth. The slogan for the 1987 AIDS publicity campaign was "Don't die of ignorance"; and that slogan can be applied to many areas of life besides health.

Nehemiah asked about Jerusalem and the Jews living there because he had a caring heart. When we truly care about people, we want the facts, no matter how painful they may be. "Practical politics consists in ignoring facts," American historian Henry Adams said; but Aldous Huxley said, "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." Closing our eyes and ears to the truth could be the first step toward tragedy for ourselves as well as for others.

What did Nehemiah learn about Jerusalem and the Jews? Three words summarize the bad news: remnant, ruin, and reproach. Instead of a land inhabited by a great nation, only a remnant of people lived there; and they were in great affliction and struggling to survive. Instead of a magnificent city, Jerusalem was in shambles; and where there had once been great glory, there was now nothing but great reproach.

Are we like Nehemiah, anxious to know the truth even about the worst situations? Is our interest born of concern or idle curiosity? When we read missionary prayer letters, the news in religious periodicals, or even our church's ministry reports, do we want the facts, and do the facts burden us? Are we the kind of people who care enough to ask?

He cared enough to weep.

Neh 1:4

4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

NASU

What makes people laugh or weep is often an indication of character. People who laugh at others' mistakes or misfortunes, or who weep over trivial personal disappointments, are lacking either in culture or character, and possibly both. Sometimes weeping is a sign of weakness; but with Nehemiah, it was a sign of strength, as it was with Jeremiah (Jer 9:1), Paul (Acts 20:19), and the Lord Jesus (Luke 19:41). In fact, Nehemiah was like the Lord Jesus in that he willingly shared the burden that was crushing others.

Ps 69:9

9 For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

NASU

When God puts a burden on your heart, don't try to escape it; for if you do, you may miss the blessing He has planned for you. The Book of Nehemiah begins with "great distress" (Neh 1:3), but before it closes, there is great joy (8:12,17).

Ps 30:5

5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night,But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

NASU

Our tears water the "seeds of providence" that God has planted on our path; and with-out our tears, those seeds could never grow and produce fruit.

It was customary for the Jews to sit down when they mourned (Ezra 9:1-4; 2:13). Unconsciously, Nehemiah was imitating the grieving Jewish captives who had been exiled in Babylon years before (Ps 137:1). Like Daniel, Nehemiah probably had a private room where he prayed to God with his face toward Jerusalem (Dan 6:10; 1 Kings 8:28-30). Fasting was required of the Jews only once a year, on the annual Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29); but Nehemiah spent several days fasting, weeping, and praying. He knew that somebody had to do something to rescue Jerusalem, and he was willing to go.

He cared enough to pray.

Neh 1:5-10

5 I said, "I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6 let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father's house have sinned. 7 " We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 "Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ' If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.' 10 " They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.

NASU

He begins by praising God. (v. 5)

He devoted much of his prayer to the confession of sin. (vv. 6-9)

He closes his prayer expressing confidence. (vv. 10-11)

He cared enough to volunteer.

Neh 1:11

11 "O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man." Now I was the cupbearer to the king.

NASU

It has well been said that prayer is not getting man's will done in heaven but getting God's will done on earth. However, for God's will to be done on earth, He needs people to be available for Him to use.

Eph 3:20 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

NASU

If God is going to answer prayer, He must start by working in the one doing the praying! He works in us and through us to help us see our prayers answered.

While Nehemiah was praying, his burden for Jerusalem became greater and his vision of what needed to be done became clearer. Real prayer keeps your heart and your head in balance so your burden doesn't make you impatient to run ahead of the Lord and ruin everything. As we pray, God tells us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it; and all are important to the accomplishing of the will of God. Some Christian workers are like Lord Ronald in one of Stephen Leacock's short stories who "flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions."

Nehemiah planned to volunteer to go to Jerusalem to supervise the rebuilding of the walls. He didn't pray for God to send somebody else, nor did he argue that he was ill-equipped for such a difficult task. He simply said, "Here am I — send me!" He knew that he would have to approach the king and request a leave of absence. Eastern kings' words meant life or death. What would happen to Nehemiah's plans if he approached Artaxerxes on the wrong day, when the king was ill or displeased with something or someone in the palace? No matter how you look at it, Nehemiah was facing a test of faith; but he knew that his God was a great God and would see him through.

God is still looking for people who care, people like Nehemiah, who cared enough to ask for the facts, weep over the needs, pray for God's help, and then volunteer to get the job done. "Here am I, Lord-send me!"

God keeps His promises

The release of the captives.

Ezra 1:1-4

NASU

More than a century before the captivity, Isaiah warned them.

For at least 40 years the prophet Jeremiah waned that the captivity was inevitable and for the people to repent.

God is faithful to keep His Word, whether it is a word of discipline or blessing.

The return of the remnant.

Ezra 1:5-11

5 Then the heads of fathers' households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. 6 All those about them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle and with valuables, aside from all that was given as a freewill offering. 7 Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods; 8 and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. 9 Now this was their number: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 duplicates; 10 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind and 1,000 other articles. 11 All the articles of gold and silver numbered 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

NASU

The point? God keeps his promises! When God makes us a promise, no matter how impossible it may seem, we can rejoice, knowing that nothing is impossible with him (Luke 1:37).

Luke 1:37

37 "For nothing will be impossible with God."

NASU

And what are some promises he has given us? One is the promise of salvation:

Rom 10:9

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

NASU

Another is that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38–39).

Rom 8:38-39

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NASU

God also promises that he will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5).

Heb 13:5

5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, " I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"

NASU

And he promises that one day, death, mourning, and pain will come to an end (Revelation 21:4).

Rev 21:4

4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

NASU

And these are just a sample of God’s promises. Ezra and Nehemiah remind us that God keeps his promises, so we can trust him.

Explanation

Nehemiah reminds us of God’s trustworthiness when it seems that the process of rebuilding starts and then sputters to a stop. Nehemiah goes to God in prayer (Nehemiah 1). When he is next before the king, we see that God has heard Nehemiah’s prayer, answered it, and is still keeping his promise (Nehemiah 2) as Nehemiah is sent to Jerusalem to finish what was started.

Application

Ezra 1 and Nehemiah 2 are good reminders that God keeps his promises, but he might not do so in the way we would anticipate. Even though Isaiah had prophesied what Cyrus would do, who could have seen it coming? God used unbelievers to be the catalyst for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple! No matter how pious Ezra and Nehemiah were, without God using the pagan rulers, the work would not get done. When you are waiting on God to fulfill a promise, don’t be surprised if he does so in an unexpected way or through an unexpected source.

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