Nehemiah - Chapter 2: Nehemiah Goes To Jerusalem
SERMON TRANSCRIPT
We are continuing in our Nehemiah series. just started this last week, so if you haven't had the chance yet to listen or watch last week's sermon, I encourage you to do that. Listen on the podcast, you can watch it online. But this is a 12-week series, and this series is all about the return to Jerusalem, the rebuilding of its walls, the city, and the hopeful restoration of a people, the nation of Israel. And Nehemiah is continuing the restorative work that began in the book earlier in Ezra, but just to remind us of what Pastor Chris introed last week in this timeline of where we're at in Israel's history. We have a timeline to put up, I think. And yes, we do. Oh, awesome! So this is after the period of the kings. This is after the period of the divided kingdom. And Jerusalem is falling. Remember, by the way, I don't, this is just, I have to remind myself this. I'm going to remind you that the time as we're going forward in BC gets smaller. So we're not going, but it's the right way. So Jerusalem falls into captivity at 597. and then King Cyrus allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem in 538, and the temple is completed in 516, and then Ezra, again the book before this in 458, leads a group back to Jerusalem, and then we are starting in our series in around 444 BC, where Nehemiah goes back to Jerusalem. So just a hopeful timeline there for you guys to see, this is where in Israel's history this is happening. And in this particular story, in our series, we're kind of caught in this liminal space, this in-between, of despair from coming down from Israel's glory days, of like the best is in the past, to a hope of the future where the prophets are starting to say, "Hey, there's a coming savior at some point." So Israel's saying, "Okay, well the best was behind us, but there is something great ahead of us. This coming savior, we don't know what that exactly means, but it's gotta be better than this.”
And so in this book of Nehemiah, we have all those emotions and intentions, And some of the themes that we'll see are the doctrine of God, the supremacy of Scripture, the continuing history of salvation, the nature of leadership, and also the importance of prayer. And that's the theme that Pastor Chris honed in on last week. He shared that Nehemiah's first response to hearing the state of despair of Jerusalem was prayer. And we looked at how Nehemiah modeled a prayer full of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. And I love this quote from Pastor Chris. He said, "Prayer is a vital means for finding guidance, "expressing concerns, and seeking God's intervention "in our lives." It's exactly what Nehemiah needed in that moment. And so in chapter one, we learn that Jerusalem State is one of despair and ruin, and we are introduced to the character of Nehemiah, who is this cupbearer to the king of Persia, this kingdom that's ruling over the land of Israel at this time. And we see God stirring in Nehemiah the need to act and move. Let's continue that story this morning in chapter two. Let's find out what happens. We're gonna first see in the first couple of verses here that Nehemiah has the opportunity to come before the king and say something. So if you wanna follow along, this is verse one of chapter two, it says, "In the month of Nisan, in the 20th year "of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, "I took the wine and gave it to the king. "I had not been sad in his presence before, "so the king asked me, 'Why does your face look so sad "when you are not ill. "This can be nothing but sadness of heart. "I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, "may the king live forever. "Why should my face not look sad "when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins "and its gates have been destroyed by fire? "The king said to me, what is it you want? "And then I prayed to the God of heaven "and I answered the king, "if it pleases the king "and if your servant has found favor in his sight, "let him send me to the city in Judah "where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it." All right, we're gonna pause right there.
Couple of things. I just wanna point out that the time between chapter one, verse one, and chapter two, verse one, is four months. Four months has occurred since Nehemiah first found out about Jerusalem to this moment where he gets the opportunity to say something to the king. And I point that out just to remind us that God can move in a lot of different ways. And it's not always on our timeline where we want it. We find out something maybe moves us or our hearts are broken, and we want immediate resolution. God, can you fix this now? And Nehemiah, I'm sure, wanted to act right away. My heart is broken, I am feeling, I am mourning over the state of my home city. But this is four months later before he even gets to share about it with the king. Again, we might be ready sometimes, but God hasn't presented that opportunity. I don't know if any of you are bargain shoppers looking for a good deal, but I feel like it's kind of like that, where you have something on your wishlist, you know you wanna get it, you will get it at some point, but you're waiting for the deal. And as soon as that sale happens, or you see it on Amazon marked 50% off, it is boom, bye, now. And Nehemiah is in that state now. He's ready, he's waiting, just waiting for the right opportunity. The king notices in that passage that Nehemiah looks distraught. And what he's noticing is, like we said, four months, four months of Nehemiah's reaction, which we found out in chapter one, was prayer, mourning, and fasting. That takes a physical toll on someone when you are mourning and fasting for four months. Now, just to be clear, it's not four months of not eating ever. He did eat, but the fasting in that time just means you're significantly taking less food. And so that takes a physical toll, and he comes in one day, and the king just notices, "Nia Ma, you are not looking good. What is going on?" We have to remember that in that time, the king's court requires a certain countenance, maybe even a performance. There's an expectation of how you look and how you present yourself before a king. It's kind of like working at Disneyland. Have you ever seen sad people who have worked there at Disneyland? Probably not, you're not supposed to. My wife and I went to college, 20 minutes from Disneyland. We had a few friends who got jobs there And whether you're a character, which definitely means you have to be happy, or you're just someone who picks up trash, there are expectations of how you represent the happiest place on earth. And I think working in the king's court was very similar. And so we gather that Nehemiah, one, he couldn't hide it any longer, the despair that he felt, or two, he felt comfortable enough to finally share. I think it's probably a bit of both. We also see from these first five verses that Nehemiah knew how to share in a way that would get the king to empathize with him. Ancestors in Eastern culture are very important, very sacred. And so Nehemiah speaks to the king in a way that he knows the king will at least understand. Whether he will get what he wants, we'll find out here in a second, but he knows that the king will understand what he's trying to say.
And that brings us to our first point. I love the way that one pastor said it. He says, point number one, Nehemiah leveraged his position to help others. He knew that it meant risking everything, his livelihood, his job, possibly his life if the king was in a really bad mood. People had big fears over bringing something before the king and asking something out of turn in a way that a cupbearer wasn't supposed to just have these open conversations with the king. But he leveraged his position to help others. He knew that he had the ear of the king and that he could use it to benefit his people, the people of Israel. Just imagine waiting four months, mourning, fasting, praying. And then finally one day at work, the king says, "What's bothering you?" The one person in his reality on earth at that time for Nehemiah that could seriously influence the status of Israel. And after telling him, the king asked, "What do you want?" So Nehemiah used his position of being close to the king to try and benefit the entire nation of Israel. We've already heard the king ask Nehemiah what he wants, let's find out what else he says, and the king's response starting in verse 6. It says, "Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, 'How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?' It pleased the king to send me, so I set a time. I also said to him, "If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates so that they will provide me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah. And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?" And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me. Clearly, there is trust between the king and Nehemiah. What a response after saying, "Here's what I would like," and he says, "How long do you need?" It's like getting a blank check. "I hear what you need, take your time. What's it gonna take for you to do what you wanna do?" There's so much sympathy and willingness to accommodate his cupbearer's desires. And while it's not stated here in this chapter, this ends up being 12 years. 12 years that Nehemiah is gone. It's not, I'll just be gone for a couple weeks, few days, should be back by, it's 12 years that Nehemiah asked to leave before he comes back in the presence of the king. We also see that Nehemiah was prepared for this moment. He knew what it would take. He had clearly given it some thought. And he had a list of things ready to present the king. letters for the governors, letters to get the right timber.
He was ready. This reminds me of being a kid around birthdays or Christmas, especially when I was a little bit older, nine or 10, I figured out how to best, you know, ask my parents for gifts. You guys know, I'm preaching to the choir here. You knew, as I'm sure as a kid, all these things. So a couple of factors. One, you had to wait till your parents were in a good mood. Cannot ask for gifts when they're in a bad mood. That's a recipe for disaster. So you wait till they're in a good mood. You also wait for them to ask if possible. You want them to be interested in the gifts that they're going to give you. And so that way you can kind of be like, oh, you want to give me something? That's so nice of you. Let me tell you what I would like. And then when that opportunity arises, you're ready with the specifics. You're like, this is the SKU number. This is the model number. It's on aisle 10, 50 feet down. It's going to be on your right. It's going to be on the third shelf. I want the big box. You are ready. And I think Nehemiah was ready. He was prepared for this moment. He's like, "Hey, can I go?" "Yes, what do you need?" "Funny you should ask. "I need a letter to here, I need this letter. "I'm gonna need safe travel." He was ready for this moment. And again, the king responds positively. At this point in the story, I'm a fan of King Artaxerxes. He's turned out to be a great ruler. It's not true of all the cases of the rulers that Israel goes up against or is involved with, but in my study this week, I learned that King Artaxerxes was known to be the most remarkable of all the kings for Persia, in Persia's history. He was a gentle and noble spirit, and he had a kingdom of justice. Now, maybe Artaxerxes sanctioned this whole endeavor to ensure that Israel would remain loyal to Persia, if this were to be positive and the city would be rebuilt. From a political standpoint, Jerusalem served as a buffer from other Western nations. But whatever the motivations of the king, it's clear that the king felt comfortable sending Nehemiah, That says a lot. And so far in Nehemiah, we have a bit of a pattern developing here, at least similar responses to hearing about another's misfortune or despairing circumstances. The response is compassion and a desire to help and a broken heart. In chapter one, we saw Nehemiah have that. After hearing about the state of Israel, he has a broken heart and wants to do something. And now in chapter two, the king hears and he has compassion and wants to do something. So just, I love that pattern that's developing here. That's a good response for people to have when we hear something that breaks us. So the king gives him the letters, the time to go back to Jerusalem, and even a military escort.
So this king went above and beyond. But what might be most important in these verses that Nehemiah had come ready before the king. And that's our second point today, which Nehemiah was prepared to make a bold request and trust God with the result. He was actively praying to Yahweh in that conversation as he was asking the king to leave his job, to leave the city, and to rebuild another city of a people that were once captured. Nehemiah makes this bold request and had to trust God with the result. He didn't know what the king was going to say. Even after the initial response was positive, Nehemiah kept asking for more. Again, not knowing, maybe he said yes, but if I ask this, maybe the king is gonna get upset after this. Maybe this is too much to ask. But he was bold, and he trusted God with the response. Nehemiah now has what is needed to make the journey. And so let's read about his next steps in verse 10. It says, "When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites. I went to Jerusalem and after staying there three days, I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. By night, I went out through the valley gate toward the jackal well and the dung gate, examining the wells of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. Then I moved on toward the fountain gate in the king's pool, But there was not enough room for my mount to get through. So I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the valley gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing because as yet, I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
So first we see these surrounding nations are not happy with this new movement happening around Jerusalem. And if we're in their shoes, that kind of makes sense. They haven't had to worry about Jerusalem as a threat to them. And so with all of a sudden a military escort and a leader going back to apparently rebuild the city, that's cause for worry and concern for them. But Nehemiah makes this journey to Jerusalem. And this journey could have taken up to four months to take from all the way from Persia to Jerusalem. So no small trek. And again, just as a point of reference, that means that it's been around eight to nine months at the quickest since Nehemiah first heard the news to when he finally arrives in Jerusalem. It's a long time. I think sometimes we read this and we're just like, "Oh, this happened and this happened the next day." But this is almost a year now of this story unfolding in just a few chapters. And again, I remind us of this to say that God works in many different ways, and sometimes it's immediate and sometimes his plan unfolds over a longer period of time. But Nehemiah rests for three days, which makes sense now with such a long journey, he rests up before getting to work. And by verse 15, he's gone all around the city, all throughout it, all the gates, to all the wells. And in those verses, what we get are just scenes of destruction. Walls are down, homes are gone. In some of the places, homes were built into the wall, and so when a whole wall came down, that means no one could live in that section of the city anymore. It's just heartbreaking scene for him, the evidence of what was lost, and the inability of the people so far, even though they've been there for quite a long the inability to restore the city to its former glory. And yet Nehemiah has confidence because he's not alone in this journey. I'm not talking about the military escort.
Point number three is that Nehemiah partners with God in the redemption, the rebuilding, and the restoration of Jerusalem. Despite the discouraging scenes that he walks into, Nehemiah still has confidence because he is with Yahweh, The God who rescued Israel from Egypt, who sustained them in the wilderness, who brought them into the promised land, that is the God that is with him. And he knows that he doesn't have to carry the weight of this plan and this hope on his shoulders alone. He understands that this is God's plan, and if it's gonna happen, it's God who's gonna make it happen. From redeeming the people to rebuilding the city to the restoration of the nation, It is all gonna come from Yahweh. So it's that confidence that leads Nehemiah to say what he says next in verse 17. Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in. "Jerusalem lies in ruins, "and its gates have been burned with fire. "Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, "and we will no longer be in disgrace." I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me, and what the king had said to me. And they replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work. But when Sanballit the Horonite, Tobiya the Ammonite officially, oh and the official Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Why are you rebelling against the king?" And I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. "We his servants will start rebuilding. "But as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem "or any claim or historic right to it." Nehemiah shares his observations of the city, as well as the blessing he has from the king and God, and the people are ready. This just shows how God works, where hundreds of miles away in Persia, God had been working on the heart of the king and of Nehemiah to go back, but he's also been working in the hearts of the people who were there in Jerusalem, getting them ready for when that leader that God appointed came, they would be ready to work. And so as Nehemiah shares, "Hey, this is what we're gonna do, let's rebuild," They are on board. The time is now. We also see that these surrounding nations, the leaders are present again, which probably alludes to some shiftyness going on in Jerusalem, maybe some spies, 'cause how else would these other nations have known so quickly about what the plan is? And it just, again, shows the state that this Jerusalem is in it's not in a good place, it's not secure. But those leaders represent the surrounding nations on all sides of Jerusalem. You have Samaria to the north, Ammon to the east, and Arabia to the south. And I would imagine, if I'm Nehemiah, this could be pretty intimidating. You just got into town, the state of the city is very bad, and all of a sudden you have the surrounding leaders of all these nations coming up, giving you flack and trying to intimidate you. What do you do?
Well, point number four is exactly what Nehemiah did. Nehemiah gave a confident response in the face of criticism and confrontation. Nehemiah shows incredible faith and trust in God, not backing down in the midst of opposition, but resting in and taking courage from God being with him, sharing boldly the plan partnered with God to see his people redeemed and the city restored. Nehemiah was confident, not in his own ability, Not in the people that he's looking at, but in God. And he knew, again, that this plan was gonna happen because God wants it to happen, God would make it happen. So, Nehemiah really pushes us forward here in chapter two and helps set the tone for what to expect in the rest of the story.
But I wanna shift now to some personal reflection as we, and ask a few questions as we look back on chapter two. So the first question I have for you today is this. Has God placed you in a strategic position to help others? Before you say no, I don't have any position of influence in my life, I just want you to examine your life for a moment as I ask questions in a couple different areas of your life. So again, has God placed you in a strategic position to help others? What about the friendships that you have? The friendships and inroads that you have with a person that other people may not? Maybe you're the only one who has a voice to influence that one friend who doesn't listen to anyone else, but for some reason, they listen to you. Is God wanting you to use that position in that person's life to help him, to help bring them closer to Jesus? What opportunities do you have at work to help others? Maybe you are manager or you're the boss, and so your influence is pretty straightforward. I have the opportunity to bless a lot of people who work beneath me. Or maybe you are an employee, but the boss really admires how you work, you have great work ethic, and you're able to share the concerns and the desires of the team that you are a part of, and help your team by sharing that with the boss, and say, "Hey, we all would really appreciate this. "Thank you for listening to me." What opportunities do you have with your family? Maybe God's been doing something in your heart, teaching you new things, helping you have more grace, more love, more kindness, more compassion. And you are the one that gets to show those things to that family, to your family, and also teach them how they can show that to others. What opportunities does your financial status give you? Do you have the ability to give financially to those in need? Do you have the opportunity to invest in others and help them realize their passions and dreams? And what opportunities does your influence provide? Are you in a place to be a voice to advocate for people? Are you able to bring people together to rally them, to unify them around a common cause? Again, has God placed you in a strategic position to help others?
And whether you are now or you're waiting, The second question is still for you. Are you prepared to be bold and to trust in God? There are times when you might have a big ask of someone, when you might need to speak up, when you might need to say something, you don't know how it's gonna be received. And that's where preparation comes in. In the waiting, in the meantime, are you doing your due diligence to know what to do when that time comes? What to ask for if that one person asks what you need? What to say if that one person decides to listen? My dad taught me this, I know you're all familiar with this saying when it comes to large requests, but the worst they can say is no. Now for Nehemiah, that might've been a little bit different. I think his life was on the line possibly, if the king was in a bad mood. I don't think that's the case for us in hopefully your spheres of life. No one's, I don't think so. But the boldness that you might have to have might mean crossing some social boundary that you're kind of uncomfortable with. I don't normally ask this, I don't normally feel the freedom to say this, but maybe you need to be bold in a moment, prompted by the Spirit to say that thing or to ask that question. And as we are prepared and ready, we have to still trust God with that response. Maybe that person will say no. Maybe you'll get denied, But we can't control that. That is in God's control. And so we trust that whatever comes after we follow God's prompting, that's exactly what God needed, that's what God wanted.
Third question, where are you partnering with God in his redemptive, rebuilding, and restorative work? This is a prayer of ours right now as a church, church leadership. We're looking for where God might want us to serve our community in new ways. I'm trying to do so with wisdom and with discernment. Obviously as a church, our primary way is by reaching people's hearts, by sharing the gospel and partnering with God in the transformative work of people's hearts. And maybe that's your answer. You're saying, "I'm doing that on my own. "I have conversations with people. "I'm sharing the gospel with friends and family." And praise God for that. But it can also look like other things. Maybe feeding the homeless or helping bring reconciliation to broken relationships around you. Spending time with those who are lonely or lost. Volunteering at your kid's school to be another positive adult influence around those kids. Where are you partnering with God in His work? For a long time, missions was a primary aspect of ministry for me and I've been blessed to go all over the world for missions. What I miss about going overseas is that overseas, it's often easier to recognize that you're partnering with God in his redemptive work, because you're in situations that you probably wouldn't normally find yourself in. Why else would I be eating food that really doesn't agree with me? Or sleeping in a place that is infested with cockroaches, or drinking water that also is not good for me, or being away from family and friends Well, the answer to that is because I'm partnering with God in His kingdom work. But I found that when I would get home, the clarity over time would get hazy with just the everyday grind that we find ourselves in. And so I think it's important to ask this question to remind ourselves, this is how I'm partnering with God in His kingdom work in my day-to-day life.
And then lastly, I wanna ask you, will you be confident to what God has called you to do? Even in the midst of whatever criticism and confrontation you experience, even if those who have power and influence come against you, even if it doesn't make sense to the world and you're maybe offending some people, will you be confident to the work that God has called you to do? Will you remain steadfast to Him as He is perfectly steadfast to you? Whether that means you have something to say out loud or it's all inner resolve, will your heart trust in God that He has called you to a holy purpose and He will give you everything that you need through His Spirit to accomplish that task? Will you be confident to what God has called you to do? Nehemiah did a lot in chapter two. A lot of time has passed and he's modeled so much to us, from leveraging his position to the benefit of others to being prepared to make a bold request and trusting God, to partnering with God in His kingdom work, and to being confident in what God called Him to do. And this story is just getting started. We are very excited where it's going, and we're excited to learn more in chapter three next week.
Would you guys pray with me? God, again, thank you for your word, for these real stories that happened that show us your love and grace and your sovereignty as you work in people's lives for your goal that it takes time sometimes, God. So if we're in a place where we are frustrated, we're anticipating you moving, God, I pray that you would help us to be patient, help us to be ready for when that time or that opportunity comes. And God, I also pray that you would help us to look for opportunities to use whatever influence we may have for your kingdom. Help us to see how we can help others, love others, point people to you. And God, I also pray that you would help us to be confident, not in our own ability, not in our own words, not in anything that has to do with us, but in you, in who you are and what you do. God, help us to take all of our confidence from you and be able to live this life, go about our day with our family, at work, with confidence that we are doing what you want us to do in a way that glorifies you. So empower us this week, encourage us, use us God for your kingdom. We pray this in your name, amen.