Effective Christian Living - Nehemiah
2 - Chapter 2
The events of chapter 2 of the book of Nehemiah take place six months after the end of chapter one. It is now the month of Nisan, or April. Nehemiah's heart had been heavy during those months. The King noticed Nehemiah's sad face. He asks in verse 21 "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart" Nehemiah was afraid because it was against the laws of Persia to appear in the presence of the King with a sad face.
Nehemiah unburdens his heart. He tells the King of the ruined state of his home city Jerusalem. He says in verse 3, "The city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire". The healthy progress of Gods work should be an issue close to our hearts. It is natural for the believer to be sad when he sees that work struggling and neglected. Haggai the Prophet felt the same way years earlier. He saw the temple in ruins while the people of God modernised their own homes. In Haggai 1 verse 3 he said, "Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses while this house remains in ruins?" And in verse 7, "Give careful thought to your ways". We'll never be effective in our Christian living if there is a cold indifference to the spiritual condition of our own hearts, and a loss of concern for the well-being of the cause of the Gospel.
King Artaxerxes was sympathetic. In verse 4 he asked, "What is it you want?" And so we read that Nehemiah "prayed to the God of Heaven". Be encouraged to seek the face of God anywhere. God isn't restricted by time and place. Nehemiah needed urgent direction from God. He prayed where he was. It's right to pray in church and in fellowship with God’s people. There are times when you can't. Nehemiah prayed while he was doing his normal job as the king's cup-bearer. God is still in the kitchen, the school or college, and in the place of work. God is always near to hear. David said in Psalm 102 verse 7, "He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their plea".
For what did Nehemiah pray? I'm sure he asked God for wisdom to choose the right words to say to this powerful king. We call this prayer of Nehemiah's an "arrow prayer". He just shot it up to heaven right where he was. His prayer was short and to the point. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 6 verse 7, "When you pray, do not keep babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words". The Lord delights to hear the short, urgent, heartfelt cry of His needy people. David said in Psalm 55 verse 22, "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall".
Although Nehemiah saw the importance of prayer, he also saw the need for practical action. Nehemiah makes a request. He asks permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. It is good to pray but prayer isn't a replacement for action. The king agrees to let Nehemiah go. He provides him with a letter to give to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest to provide him with timber for the repair work. In all these practical matters Nehemiah recognised the hand of God. He says in verse 8, "Because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests". God is active in all the down to earth issues of His children. He is always concerned to meet your practical needs. Nehemiah referred to God as "MY God". God was his reason for living and his number one concern and priority.
Jesus has promised to meet the needs of all those who put Him first. He said in Matthew 6 verse 33, "Seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well". He referred in the previous verses to all the things we need for practical daily living such as food and clothing. Always acknowledge God in all your ways. Praise him for every evidence of His love and care toward you.
In verse 10 of this chapter we meet with Sanballet the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official. We read, "They were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites". These two men were to become a real thorn in the side of Nehemiah. When you get down to prayer and action for the cause of God's Kingdom you can expect opposition to follow. The Apostle Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3 verse 12, "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted , while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse". This was to become Nehemiah's experience. He was not going to be put off, nor should we. Nehemiah got on with the job he had come to do.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, faced opposition when he preached in the open air. He describes it to us, "Many of the people acted like beasts and did their best to disturb the meeting. They tried to drive a herd of cows into the crowd, but without success. Then they began to throw stones, showers of them. One of them struck me between the eyes. I wiped away the blood, and went right on". He "went right on". Let’s have that same persistence as we meet opposition in the work of the King of kings.
Before Nehemiah could set about the work, he needed to know the true state of things. In verse 11 he tells us that "I set out during the night with a few men". The idea was to examine the walls and to determine the extent of the damage. Once he'd achieved this he was in a better position to know what to do. Following his thorough investigation he exhorts the people in verse 17, "Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem". You can only pray specific direction on solving the problem when you know what the problem is. Seek to be a perceptive and discerning Christian; know the signs of the times; know the need of the hour, and then get on with being the solution to the problem. Encourage others to get the same vision for the strengthening of the work and to join you in it as Nehemiah did.
In the beginning Nehemiah faced ridicule. In verse 19 we read that Sanballet, Tobiah and Geshem the Arab, "mocked and ridiculed us". How do we respond when we face mockery? Nehemiah continued to trust the Lord. In verse 20 he replied to those who ridiculed his work, "The God of heaven will give us success. We His servants will start building". Nehemiah knew that he was doing the right thing in the sight of the Lord. Therefore, it is of no importance what the world may think. If you are seeking to serve the Lord Jesus Christ then your goal in life couldn't be better. Let no one distract you from it.
Follow the exhortation of the writer of the Hebrews when he says in Chapter 12 verse 2, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith". Nehemiah focused on nothing else but seeing the Lord glorified and His work prosper.