Nehemiah vs 2:1-20

Sermon preached at Gospel Light Christian Church, Singapore
by Pastor Dr Paul Choo
on 1 Mayl 2005

Nehemiah 2 (2005/5/1)

Last week’s lesson : The book of Nehemiah is about building – our lives, families and church. Nehemiah, God’s builder, was a humble man who was concerned for God’s things and prayed for them. The most powerful man in the world is one who realizes he is a servant of God and who serves God on his knees.

This week’s lessons are:

1. In God’s time (1:1, 2:1): In 1:1, we are told that Nehemiah was stirred to do something about God’s city in the month “Chisleu.” In 2:1, we are told that God did not answer Nehemiah’s prayers till the month “Nisan.” In other words, God did not answer Nehemiah’s prayer for 4 months. In 1:6, we are told that Nehemiah prayed “day and night” and in 2:2 we are told that he looked so “sad” that, in spite of trying to hide it, the King noticed it. In other words, Nehemiah was seriously praying throughout this 4-month period. Yet God did nothing for 120 days! We must realize that God not only answers our prayers but He also answers them in His perfect way and in His perfect time (Isaiah 55:9). The knowledge of this fact encourages us to pray, though we often do not know exactly what to ask!

2. God opens doors (v.1-4): As Nehemiah prayed to God regarding the condition of Jerusalem, God must have impressed on his heart that he was the one whom God was going to use to rebuild the city. However, he did not dare to ask the King to grant him a long period of leave to rebuild Jerusalem. However, God opened the way for him in a way that he did not expect. It was a capital offence to look sad in the king’s presence (“I was very sore afraid”), so Nehemiah was probably doing his best to look cheerful. However, Nehemiah was so burdened by the Holy Spirit to rebuild Jerusalem that it began to show on his face. Furthermore, fasting had probably caused him to become visibly thinner. So this King ask him what was troubling him. Nehemiah must have realized that God had opened the door for him to make his request to the King! Christians often try to “force open the doors” by confrontational methods – which often lead to an “antagonistic response” instead of a “ready heart.” We must learn to lead Spirit-led lives, ie, pray for the Holy Spirit to open the way for us, and to help us to grab the opportunity when the door is open.

3. Doing God’s work wisely (v.3-5): Though Nehemiah was sure that God had opened the door for him to make his request; he made his request in a wise way. Though he was concerned for Jerusalem because it was God’s city, he tells the king that he was concerned because it was the city where his ancestors were buried (“my fathers’ sepulchers”). While this is not an untruth, it is not the whole truth. God does not command us to tell everyone everything that we know, but whatever we tell must be true. He knew that the kings were preoccupied with building impressive graves. Though we know that God is our Helper, we are responsible to do our best because God helps those who help themselves. God does not encourage laziness and irresponsibility.

4. Instantaneous prayer (v.4): Nehemiah’s fear for his life is turned to joy, when the king asks “For what dost thou make request?” In the midst of this great emotional upheaval and this great responsibility to ask a great favor from the king, the Bible reports: “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” It describes that Nehemiah did what was so natural for him to do – that is, to pray! Unless it was a habit of Nehemiah to pray “ejaculatory prayers,” he would not have done so at this moment. The three major categories of prayers are: “closet prayers,” “ejaculatory prayers” and congregational prayers. These are the “three legs” of a stable prayer life.

5. God likes to show us His greatness (v.5-9): I believe that Nehemiah had been anticipating this moment and had already decided what to ask. He asked for long leave (rebuilding a city is a massive project), for the king’s written permission, for protection and the raw materials for the building. The king not only granted him his request but also sent his royal guard to accompany him to Jerusalem (v.9). God indeed likes to “answer us, and to show us great and mighty things” (Jeremiah 33:3).

6. Antagonism against God (v.10,19,20): There is a “natural” antagonism against God in this world because Satan is the “prince of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30,16:11). Every day, whether we know it or not, is a spiritual battle. This becomes more evident when we try to pray, read the Bible, share the Gospel, get right with God, etc. While it is true that the world is antagonistic against us, they do not usually show it unless they are confronted by us with “the things of God.” Sanballat the Horonite was from the city of Horonaim, which was in Moab. And Tobiah was an Ammonite. Both Moab and Ammon were the illegitimate, incestuous children of Lot, who was the nephew of Abraham. In other words, they were related to the Jews. It is true that, throughout history, the greatest enemies of God’s people are those who think that they are “God’s people.”

7. Getting God’s advice first (v.11-16): Our usual reaction when we have to make decisions is to seek men’s opinion first – especially of the “priests, nobles and rulers.” Church administration is characterized by many planning meetings of the church leadership but few prayer meetings. Human-generated plans that have been formulated after lengthy meetings are then followed with prayers – asking God to bless men’s plans. Failure to put God “first,” usually results in man-made plans. Nehemiah did not hold a planning meeting first. Immediately after settling down (which took three days), he invited a handful of close friends on a tour of Jerusalem. Though Nehemiah did not know what to do, he trusted God to show them things that they needed to see and put thoughts in their minds that they needed to have, as they diligently took their “steps of faith” surveying the city. When we have to make a decision and do not know what to do, we do not need to think too hard. But we should pray for God to show us the way as we go about surveying the task to do.

8. God uses a man (v.17,18): The Jews knew that Jerusalem was in need of repair and were ready to do something about it. However until God raised Nehemiah to lead them, nothing was done. God does not usually raise a committee to lead His people, but usually chooses one single man who often does not seem to have the relevant talent or experience (eg. Moses, David, Elijah, Peter, Paul). However, when God chooses a man and puts “His Hand” upon him, then great things can be achieved through that man. There was no shortage of workers to build but they had not yet been “sent forth.” In Matthew 9:37,38 we are told that we must pray that “they be sent forth.” May God raise men in our church, with the unction of God upon them, to lead every ministry in our church. We need ministry leaders and SF leaders who have “the hand of God upon them”!