Nehemiah 1-2: “Nehemiah Hears Of Jerusalem’s Plight Then Gains The King’s Permission To Rebuild The City’s Wall”
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1. TIMELINE:
These graphs depict the timeline of the Old Testament, and note that the book of Nehemiah is written about a period of history after the Babylonian captivity and beginning in 445 BC.
Graph of Persian kings & Jewish companies sent out by them to Judea:
2. Background.
2.1. The children of Israel had not remained faithful to Yahweh after entering into covenant with the Lord under Moses on Mt. Sinai. Thus, instead of inheriting the blessings of the Law which they had been promised if they were obedient, they instead inherited the curses of the Law for not keeping it (see Deut. 11:26-29, Deut. 27:12ff, Joshua 8:33ff). They ended up worshipping other gods and following in all of the ways of the pagan nations around them.
2.2. In 722 BC the last of the northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive to Assyria, never to return. Then, in 586 BC the southern kingdom was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon after soldiers set the temple on fire, burned and knocked down the wall around Jerusalem, and burned many of the homes in Jerusalem.
2.3. Cyrus the Great became the king of the Median Empire in 549 BC, then conquered Babylon without a shot in 539 BC. He immediately allowed the Israelites who had been taken captive by Babylon to return, and Zerubbabel returned in 538 BC to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus even agreed to pay for all costs for these projects and returned all of the utensils that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple when Jerusalem fell.
2.4. The temple was finally completed about 20 years after Zerubbabel left for Jerusalem, or 515 BC, after a lapse of ten years in the middle when the people had quit rebuilding the temple out of fear of the people of the land.
2.5. Next, Ezra the priest was sent to Jerusalem in 458-457 BC by King Artaxerxes I to enforce the law and renew the project to rebuild the city. The book of Ezra tells us how that he taught the people in Judea God’s word and brought revival about.
2.6. We will see in our study that in 445 BC that Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I, hears that the people in Jerusalem are in great distress and reproach, and the city wall is still broken down, and thus he prays for several months that God might move the king’s heart and allow him to go and to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall. Finally, the Lord prepared the king’s heart to hear his request, and the king allowed him to return. The king gave Nehemiah all that he needed to successfully complete the job.
2.7. Nehemiah means “comfort or consolation of Jehovah,” and he proves worthy of it.
2.8. We will concentrate in this study upon the characteristics that a good leader should have, as Nehemiah is a man who is an incredible example of a godly and effective leader. It has been said that a great leader is someone who is able to get people to follow him and to perform things that he needs them to perform, and even enjoy doing it in the process.
2.9. There are also a few themes that we see throughout the book of Nehemiah:
2.9.1. They were careful to attend carefully to every word of God (revival came about because of the reading and the teaching of God’s word by Ezra and other scribes).
2.9.2. Nehemiah’s obedience to God (the bad motives of his enemies before God turned out to be their undoing and God foiled their plots).
2.9.3. Opposition at the hands of the enemy (Sanballat and Tobiah primarily).
2.9.3.1.The “wall” in this book can be looked at as a metaphor for our lives as God’s people, just as Alan Redpath has written, “There is a wall to be built around the city of your soul. There is a wall to be built, a testimony to be erected around your church. There is a wall of witness and testimony to be built around the whole Kingdom of God in all the world. Whether you be concerned primarily with building the wall in your own soul, or with building the wall of your church, or with building the wall of the Kingdom of God throughout the whole world, you will discover that there is no winning without warfare, there is no opportunity without opposition; there is no victory without vigilance.”
2.9.4. Waiting upon God in prayer.
2.9.5. Nehemiah succeeded because the good hand of God was upon him.
3. VS 1:1-4 - “1 The 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, 2 that 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. 3 They 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.” 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.” – Nehemiah indentifies himself, the timeframe and location of this story, and then how it came about that he grew to have a burden for his people living in Jerusalem
3.1. Nehemiah is the author of this book, and he is the ‘son of Hacaliah.’ We know nothing of his father however.
3.2. The beginning timeframe given for this story was the month of Chislev, which is November-December, and the year was 446 BC.
3.3. The place where the story begins is ‘Susa,’ or “Shushan,” the capital of the province of Susiana in Persia, which is located 150 miles north of the Persian Gulf (or 252 miles east of Babylon). It was a strong-hold for the Media-Persian empire, the winter residence for the Persian monarchs, and also the city where the events recorded in the book of Esther occurred.
3.4. ‘Hanani’ was a brother of Nehemiah, and he had just come from the Jerusalem with some men from Judah, and Nehemiah asked them about Jerusalem, and ‘concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity.’ It has been said that ‘the heart of a true Jew is in Jerusalem,’ and as a true Jew Nehemiah was desperately concerned about the Jerusalem, the city of God (Mount Zion), and about how God’s people had been fairing who had been sent out to rebuild the temple, the city, and the wall around the city.
3.5. The report that Nehemiah had received was not good at all, and included several disturbing details about the people and city:
3.5.1. The people were in ‘great distress and reproach.’ Their life was one of “misery, calamity, and distress.”
3.5.2. ‘The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.’
3.6. Previously, in our study of the book of Ezra, we saw how that the work that had been begun under Ezra had been stopped when a letter had been written by some of Israel’s enemies to King Artaxerxes I falsely accusing the Jews of many things, and which resulted in the king issuing a decree to halt any further rebuilding of the city:
Ezra 4:7-23: “7 And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic. 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows— 9 then wrote Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their colleagues, the judges and the lesser governors, the officials, the secretaries, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations which the great and honorable Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the River. Now 11 this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him: “To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men in the region beyond the River, and now 12 let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city and are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 “Now let it be known to the king, that if that city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, custom or toll, and it will damage the revenue of the kings. 14 “Now because we are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and damaging to kings and provinces, and that they have incited revolt within it in past days; therefore that city was laid waste. 16 “We inform the king that if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, as a result you will have no possession in the province beyond the River.” 17 Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the River: “Peace. And now 18 the document which you sent to us has been translated and read before me. 19 “A decree has been issued by me, and a search has been made and it has been discovered that that city has risen up against the kings in past days, that rebellion and revolt have been perpetrated in it, 20 that mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem, governing all the provinces beyond the River, and that tribute, custom and toll were paid to them. 21 “So, now issue a decree to make these men stop work, that this city may not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me. 22 “Beware of being negligent in carrying out this matter; why should damage increase to the detriment of the kings?” 23 Then as soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes’ document was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their colleagues, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by force of arms.”
3.7. The effect of hearing these words caused Nehemiah to do the following: ‘I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.’ Ten years before this, the priest Ezra had mourned the sin of the Judeans in taking foreign wives to themselves and was appalled and mourned greatly in Ezra 9:3 and 10:1.
3.8. It is amazing how many pastors and ministers today fail as leaders is because they don’t recognize when problems exist, and thus problems aren’t addressed. One of the aspects of being an effective leader that we see in Nehemiah’s life is that he recognized people’s needs and their problems when he sees them. We as Christians must understand the true nature of people’s needs and the problems that are occurring in their lives before we can attempt to minister to them. As an effective leader Nehemiah prayed to the Lord about those problems.
3.9. Alan Redpath in his commentary on the book of Nehemiah has brought out that the place where every ministry ought to begin is first in “mourning” for the current state of things. A person sees that there is a tremendous spiritual need amongst a group of people, and he/she mourns for how the people need the Lord in their life, how the lives of people have been destroyed by their life of sin, and how that the Lord needs to raise up a work that will meet that need and draw people to salvation through Christ, and make disciples to be sent out to do the work of ministry.
3.10. There is definitely a place for mourning in the life of a disciple of Christ:
3.10.1.Jesus taught His disciples in His Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.’
3.10.2.James 4:8-9: “8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.”
3.11. Nehemiah shows tremendous leadership qualities here, not only in mourning over the state of Jerusalem and the Judeans, but also in not rushing into action but rather coming before the Lord and ‘fasting and praying’ in order to cause the Lord to be moved into action on behalf of His people and city. It will be after four months of ‘fasting and praying’ before the Lord before Nehemiah approaches the king about allowing him to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. That conversation will occur because the Lord has prepared the king’s heart and opened the door for Nehemiah to talk with him.
3.12. An effective leader goes to the Lord first with a problem, just as we see in the life of Nehemiah throughout this book.
3.13. It has rightly been said that “true prayer is not trying to persuade our will to be worked out in heaven but to persuade God’s will in heaven to be worked out on earth.’
3.14. Nehemiah was wise enough to know that if the work in Jerusalem were to get back on track and the wall built and the people relieved, that it would have to be a work of God. No man nor scheme of man could carry off this deed. Besides he in his position could only leave if the king gave him permission.
3.15. Do you believe that God is able to move the hearts of men and women through prayer? Nehemiah did.
3.16. An effective leader must be willing to be involved in the solution of problems. After Nehemiah began to pray diligently for the Judeans and the wall around Jerusalem, he also told the Lord, “Here I am, send Me.” He was willing to make feet to his prayers when the Lord showed him what he was to do.
4. VS 1:5-7 - “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.” – Nehemiah begins to pray for the Judeans confessing their sins as being his own
4.1. Just like Ezra and Daniel before him, Nehemiah in his intercessory prayer for the people of Judea and the Israelite nation, confesses the peoples’ sins as if they were his own, for he took ownership of every one of them.
4.2. Nehemiah is a great man of prayer, and his prayer here has many things in it which should characterize our prayers to the Lord, for instance:
4.2.1. He begins his prayer by exalting and praising the Lord calling Him the ‘God of heaven, the great and awesome God.’ Prayer the seeks to glorify and magnify the Lord is sure to be answered.
4.2.2. He reminds the Lord of both His ‘covenant’ with the Israelites, as well as His ‘lovingkindness’ (“khesed” or “steadfast love”) for ‘those who love Him and keep His commandments.’
4.2.3. He prayed ‘day and night’ for the Judeans confessing their sins which, ‘I and my father’s house have sinned.
4.2.4. He does not gloss over the sins that have been committed but is very candid and honest before the Lord about them: ‘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.’
5. VS 1:8-11a - “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. 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.”” – In prayer, Nehemiah reminds the Lord of the promises that He had made to His people, and then asks the Lord to make him successful on this day and grant him compassion before this man (a reference to King Artaxerxes I)
5.1. Effective prayer involves reminding the Lord of His promises:
5.1.1. Nehemiah reminds the Lord of His promise to return His people scattered among the nations if they were to ‘return to Me and keep My commandments and do them.’
5.1.2. Nehemiah reminds the Lord that the Judeans of all the people on the earth were the Lord’s ‘servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.’
5.2. Nehemiah asks the Lord to ‘be attentive’ to his prayer and the prayer of the other Israelites, those who ‘delight to revere Your name and make Your servant successful today.’
5.3. Then, finally Nehemiah asks the Lord to “grant him favor” or ‘compassion’ before the king, whom he refers to as ‘this man.’
5.4. Nehemiah was not disrespectful speaking to the Lord about the king of Persia as being a ‘man,’ because in fact all rulers on the earth are mere men. Nehemiah would not have spoken to the king directly in such a manner.
6. VS 1:11b - “Now I was the cupbearer to the king.” – We read that Nehemiah was the ‘cupbearer’ to King Artaxerxes
6.1. Now we find out about Nehemiah’s occupation, he was the king’s ‘cupbearer.’ He wasn’t a priest or a prophet, and his life illustrates how that God can use a layman.
6.2. A ‘cupbearer’ was the man who would drink anything before the king drank it so that if it was poisonous that he would die but the king would live. As such he was sort of like the Secret Service is to the president in America. As ‘cupbearer’ the king had to have the greatest of trust in him, and the ‘cupbearer’ became the king’s “confidant” and “right hand man” that he trusted implicitly. This was a position of great prestige and it was known that a ‘cupbearer’ could influence the king, and so many times people would try to gain his ear and trust so that he might speak to the king on their behalf.
6.3. Charles Swindoll mentions that an ancient commentator suggested that cupbearers were often chosen for their “personal beauty and attractions.”
6.4. The reason that Nehemiah had fasted and prayed for the past four months without approaching the king was the fact that a person could not just approach the king unannounced or it would mean death, you see this in the book of Esther and the reason that queen Esther carefully weighed out whether or not she should approach the king in order to intercede to the king for the Jews who were about to be slaughtered. Nehemiah knew he had to wait upon the Lord for Him to prepare the king’s heart and the perfect circumstance for a conversation with the king that would be successful in obtaining his permission to go to Jerusalem and rebuild its wall.
6.5. The other concern of Nehemiah was about his countenance when before the king. Being in a sad mood before the king could result in someone’s instantaneous death if the king were in a bad mood or unsympathetic towards you. Nehemiah trusted God to give him a joyful composure every day even though inside he was distraught and mourning Jerusalem and the plight of the Judeans. Another characteristic of an effective leader that Nehemiah displays in his life is that he keeps his emotions in control.
6.6. Today, many in the renewal and Pentecostal movements are doing what is called being “God chasers.” They believe that they need to find out where God is moving and run down there and get some of it, receive the blessing, or whatever, and these “supposed” revivals break out only to end badly. However, whenever you think of God as being locational, you are in error. Those Signs and Wonders conferences are usually a total failure because you can’t force God to be in a specific location at a specific time and perform. But, God is here with you wherever you are, and you need to seek Him where you are. The church in Jerusalem waited in the city praying and fasting until the Lord finally came down and worked mightily in their midst on the day of Pentecost. Effective leadership involves waiting upon God in prayer to open doors, work in people’s hearts, and give you the vision that He has for your life, just as the disciples were doing leading up to the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2), and just as Nehemiah was doing at this time.
7. VS 2:1-3 - “1 And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?”” – Nehemiah tells us that now in the month Nisan, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes I, that he was doing his job as a cupbearer of the king and that the king noticed his countenance was sad, and he asked Nehemiah why his face was sad, then, after praying Nehemiah asks the king if his face should not be sad because the city, the place of his fathers’ tombs, was desolate and its gates had been consumed by fire
7.1. Four months after Nehemiah had begun fasting and praying for Jerusalem and the plight of the Judeans, he was before the king and ‘took up the wine and gave it to the king’ as he was accustomed to do after tasting it.
7.2. Notice here that Nehemiah states that he ‘had not been sad in his presence.’ Knowing that being sad in the king’s presence could mean death, and waiting in prayer for the Lord to open the door of conversation, Nehemiah had kept his composure as best as he could those four months. This shows how disciplined Nehemiah was by nature.
7.3. On this day Nehemiah’s prayers are answered and the Lord opened the door for conversation with the king as King Artaxerxes I recognized the fact that Nehemiah’s composure had indeed fallen, and asked him, ‘Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This nothing but sadness of heart.’
7.4. Nehemiah’s response to the king shows wisdom as he first of all declares to the king, ‘Let the king live forever,’ and then he asks the king a probing question designed to draw out sympathy from the king: ‘Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?’
7.5. Nehemiah knew that the king would honor and respect the dead and thus he gained the king’s sympathies by referring to the city as being the place of his ‘fathers’ tombs,’ and the fact that the city’s gates and been ‘consumed by fire.’
8. VS 2:4-6 - “4 Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” 6 Then the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, “How long will your journey be, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time.” – The king asks Nebuchadnezzar what he would like the king to do for him, and the king asks Nehemiah for a timeframe for him to return
8.1. Nehemiah learned personally the truth of Prov. 21:1: “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Nehemiah had gained the king’s favor and now the king asks him what he would ‘request’ of the king to do about the city of Jerusalem and the plight of the Judeans.
8.2. Nehemiah didn’t have time to say a lengthy prayer now that the king had asked him what his request might be, so he offered up a quick bullet prayer before he spoke. When doors open for us to share our faith with the lost, these are the types of quick prayers that we need to pray. Before we open our mouths and speak to men we must first open our mouths in silent prayer to our Father in heaven.
8.3. The previous queen of Persia to King Ahasueres had been Esther and it is perhaps the case that this queen to King Artaxerxes I had been influenced by Esther for it seems that the king may have conferred with the queen ‘sitting beside him’ before he answered Nehemiah.
8.4. One principle of leadership that we see working in the life of Nehemiah here is that a leader is one who plans. As Nehemiah had been fasting and praying for four months he had also been planning all that he would need to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the city wall.
8.4.1. I have known people who have headed out for a mission trip without any planning and they just spun their wheels and didn’t get anything accomplished. One guy bought an airline ticket to a city in India and just showed up with no planning. He spent a week there in the city just considering all of his options before he did any real ministry, and then I doubt much was accomplished.
8.4.2. Charles Swindoll states that prayerfully planning ministries opens up more doors for God to use you, not less.
8.4.3. Planning does not occur because of a lack of faith, rather it is a wise and appropriate thing to do.
8.5. King Artaxerxes asks Nehemiah how long his journey would last and when he would return, and because Nehemiah had been planning all that he would need he was ready to give the king a definite length of time that he would need to complete rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. We don’t know when Nehemiah told the king he would return, but he gave the king a definite time.
8.6. Because of Nehemiah’s good planning they will rebuild the wall in just 52 days, a task that was huge and seemingly should have taken perhaps years to complete.
9. VS 2:7-8 - “7 And I said to the king, “If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, 8 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 which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go.” And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me.” – Now, Nehemiah makes some requests of the king, he asks for letters be given him for the governors beyond the river, a letter for Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, and also timber for the beams for the gates of the fortress by the temple, the wall of the city, and the house to which he was going, and the king granted these
9.1. Nehemiah knew that without having letters of authority from the king that he would be hindered from passing through the land en route to Jerusalem because of ‘the governors of the provinces beyond the river.’ Therefore, Nehemiah had as part of his plan to ask for these letters when the Lord opened the door to talk with the king about his trip. Nehemiah knew without these official letters he would be spinning his wheels because he’d have to return to Babylon to get them, and then return.
9.2. Likewise, forest was considered very precious and lumber was difficult to obtain. Therefore, Nehemiah planned all along to ask the king for a letter to ‘Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest’ so that he could get the wood for the wall of the city and for the house where he would stay. Again, Nehemiah knew that without official letters that he would have to return to Jerusalem to get an official letter, and would waste his time in the process.
9.3. Note here that the reason for Nehemiah’s success in obtaining all that he needed from the king for this trip was the same as what was responsible for Ezra’s success: ‘the good hand of my God was on me.’
10. VS 2:9 - “9 Then I came to the governors of the provinces beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.” – Nehemiah gave to the governors the letters the king had given him for them, and the king provided Nehemiah with officers of the army and horsemen to insure his journey would be safe
10.1. Nehemiah began his journey finally, and gave the governors of the provinces the letters of authority from the king when he met them. Thus he was allowed unhindered journeying to Jerusalem.
10.2. Ezra could not ask for an armed escort for himself and the 15,000 with him when he went back to Jerusalem because this would have ruined his testimony to King Cyrus when he told the king about how the Lord was bringing about these things and that the Lord would destroy Israel’s enemies. However, here we seen that the King Artaxerxes I sent with Nehemiah ‘officers of the army and horsemen’ for his protection.
10.3. When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem with this armed escort that had been sent officially from the king of Persia, the people in Judea would take notice as would the ones who would try to hinder Nehemiah and the Judeans in their building of the wall. If anyone hindered Nehemiah they would know that were messing with the king of Persia, and this was not a good idea.
11. VS 2:10 - “10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about it, it was very displeasing to them that someone had come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel.” – We find that Sanballat and Tobiah were displeased to hear that someone had come to seek after the welfare of the sons of Israel
11.1. Here we are introduced to the men who will prove to be enemies of Nehemiah and seek to hinder any progress in his work. They were powerful and formidable enemies and were it not for the king’s escorts and the official papers which Nehemiah carried with him they surely would have attacked him and put a stop to his mission to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall.
11.2. ‘Sanballat’ lived in Horonaim, and thus was probably a Moabite (thus the children of Israel were not to have anything to do with him: see Deut. 23:3-6), and he reigned as governor in Samaria.
11.3. ‘Tobiah’ reigned in the area east of the Jordan, and he is believed to be an Ammonite (another perennial enemy of Israel).
11.4. These two men were Judea’s enemies to the north and to the east.
12. VS 2:11 - “11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.” – Nehemiah rested for three days after he came to Jerusalem
13. VS 2:12-16 - “12 And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding. 13 So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire. 14 Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass. 15 So I went up at night by the ravine and inspected the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials or the rest who did the work.” – Nehemiah would arise at night while his enemies were sleeping, and he would go and inspect the wall and its gates, and none of the officials and not even any of the Jews knew what he had been up to
13.1. As part of his planning for the work that would be needed on the wall, Nehemiah needed to inspect the current state of the wall and its gates.
13.2. Nehemiah did his work in secret in the middle of the night, and thus gave his enemies no clues as to what he was up to. It has been said that effective leaders are often working when others are sleeping.
13.3. The Bible Knowledge Commentary has the following layout diagram of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day, including the wall and its gates:
13.4. Nehemiah shows a characteristic of effective leadership in that he was discreet in his business. A leader must keep certain things confidential, and he must also not leak out his vision and plans until the proper time, and in the proper manner, and with the right individuals. Some people are hindered from being good leaders because they simply can’t keep a secret.
13.5. The walls were in such disarray that in verse 14 Nehemiah mentions that he couldn’t even ride his horse to the Fountain Gate.
13.6. The ‘King’s Pool’ is believed to be the “Pool of Siloam.”
14. VS 2:17-18 - “17 Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” 18 I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.” – Finally, Nehemiah makes his presentation to the Jews in Judea telling them about what he had found in his inspections of the city’s walls and gates, and about the king’s words to him and support for this work, then, the people agreed to begin rebuilding the gates and the work began
14.1. When a complete assessment had been made for the work that should be carried out, then and only then could he advise the Judeans about the current state of the wall and what it will take to rebuild it.
14.2. Because of the manner in which Nehemiah had presented the information to the Judeans and because the good hand of the Lord was with him, the people of Israel said to Nehemiah: ‘Let us arise and build.’ Then, the people ‘put their hands to the good work.’
14.3. Allan Redpath has written: “Jerusalem’s walls were in ruins and its gates were burned. To a modern city, of course, that means nothing, but God’s purpose for Jerusalem was that its walls should be salvation and its gates should be praise, and the emblems of salvation and praise lay in utter ruin. Is God calling some of us to weep and mourn over the ruin of these emblems in our lives? The symbol of salvation, the symbol of praise, the wall that marks our separation from the world—does it today lie in tragic ruin?”
15. VS 2:19-20 - “19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.”” – When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem mocked and despised Nehemiah and those who were working on the city’s wall and gates, asking him why they were rebelling against the king, Nehemiah simply tells them that the God of heaven would given them success and that they have no portion, right, or memorial in Jerusalem
15.1. Whenever we step out in serving the Lord in any ministry we need to accept the fact that we will face opposition. The Lord is going to allow the Devil to stir up opposition.
15.2. Now we see the type of opposition that Nehemiah would face. Sanballat and Tobiah, and Geshem the Amonite official, heard about the work that the Judeans under Nehemiah were going to carry out and they began to ‘mock’ and ‘despise’ them, and accuse them of ‘rebelling against the king.
15.3. Nehemiah told Sanballat and Tobiah to watch and see for ‘The God of heaven will give us success.’
15.4. Sanballat and Tobiah evidently asked if they could join in the wall rebuilding project and add their resources and talent (planning of course to sabotage the work), but Nehemiah was wise enough to know that he couldn’t allow them to help, telling them ‘you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.’
16. CONCLUSION:
16.1. So, we see how the Lord worked in the life of this man named Nehemiah in order to get the children of Israel back together working on the building of the wall around the city of Jerusalem.
16.2. To summarize, an effective leader:
16.2.1.Gets people to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise, and enjoy doing it.
16.2.2.Understands people’s needs and recognizes problems.
16.2.3.Does not rush into action.
16.2.4.Goes to the Lord first about problems.
16.2.5.Willing to be a solution to problems.
16.2.6.Waits on God to open doors, move in people’s hearts, and give the vision God has for them.
16.2.7.He keeps his emotions under control.
16.2.8.He plans.
16.2.9.He is discreet, keeps some things confidential, and tells others his plans at the proper time.
16.3. How is the building of the wall of your life progressing, the wall of separation from the world that guarantees that you will be pleasing and a blessing to the Lord of your soul? Are you keeping steady in building that wall?