Nehemiah
1-2 Nehemiah Survey
NEHEMIAH has for
many years been one of my favorite books of the Bible.
A) It has many different facets that minister to us.
B) It is an excellent study in REVIVAL.
How God takes a broken down people and brings them together Restores them
C) The name NEHEMIAH
actually means The Lord has comforted He is
an excellent type of how the Holy Spirit comes
1) REBUILDING and RESTORING
the broken walls of the human life { Building a city within the City
D) It is an EXCELLENT study
in leadership.
1) IF you are involved or
interested in leadership, there is no finer study than the life of Nehemiah.
E) Now it was a few years
ago now that we did a rather in-depth study of the book of Nehemiah – on Sunday
Mornings here at the Fellowship
1)16 weeks going thru the
book back in 2004
For our Purpose
this time around we are going to do a quick survey of the book – 6 weeks – 13
Chapters – hit some high points
A) If you are interested in a more in depth look – go to website and
down load those studies
B) Following the
completion in our study of Ezra – we come to the next episode in the story –
involving a man named Nehemiah
C) Children of
2 excursions – First Zerub - Rebuild temple
1)2nd Ezra – reinstitute Worship
The
first chapter of Nehemiah actually takes place about nine years after the close
of the book of Ezra.
A)
Ezra closes in about 457bc and then the book of Nehemiah picks up in about 446
BC, the month of December.
B) Fourteen years after Ezra
returned to
RD V.1-11
A) The final phrase of
chapter one gives to us an insight into the Kind of man that Nehemiah was –
A man of great humility I WAS THE KINGS CUPBEARER
B) Being the Kings cupbearer was a tremendous honor at that time of
history.
C) Originally, The king’s
cupbearer was the one who sat next to the king to sample the king’s food and
drink before the king
ate it. {Protect against poison
So initially that
was what the position was about – but as time progressed, so did the prestige
and dignity of the position
A) Because this was the man
sitting next to the king. He was the man who was closest to the king. – Became
the kings Closet confidant
B) He had the ear of the king, he became the Kings adviser.
1) He became the Kings right
hand man. He was “chief of staff” so to speak.
C) So Nehemiah has is in a
place of tremendous importance
And this is
where we see his Humility: See most of us would have been tempted to mention
this little fact at the beginning of the book
A) “Nehemiah,
the king’s cupbearer (chief of staff, right hand man, confidant and advisor)”
B) But that wasn’t the kind
of guy – he was – Humble
C) He only mentions it in passing at the end of the
chapter, and only then because it had bearing on the rest of the story that is
about to unfold.
D) See God put Nehemiah in
Shushan just as He had put Esther there a generation before, and just as He had
put Joseph in
E) When God wants to
accomplish a work, He always prepares His workers and puts them in the right
places at the right time.
Now notice once
again the description given to
Nehemiah about
the
State of things
back in
The
survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great
distress and reproach, the wall of
A) The walls are still down the people are in Distress & reproach
B) Distress
= Great grief, severely unsettled, a state of Misery and affliction
1) Reproach= disgraced
loss of dignity
C) Because of the Walls
being down the people lived in
a continual state of insecurity – there was no stability/ no safety / no rest
1) Instead their lives were
marked by constant Misery affliction and Disgrace
D) Nehemiah heard this heart
broke
Not only was Nehemiah a man
of Humility – He was a man of Compassion
V. 4 He
wept & mourned for many days –
B) His attitude wasn’t too
bad so sad – I am glad I am here and not there. - Mourned – Strong wail
C) Ministry Starts
with Compassion: Starts by seeing the need – seeing what others don’t – Burden
he wept { Broken Heart
1) Jesus view of the
Multitude was completely different from his disciples
B) They saw them as a Bother
he saw them as Sheep with out a Shepherd –
1) He had compassion on them
{His heart broke
D) Many believers today – so
caught up in their own lives – don’t see the needs around them
All around are people’s whose
lives are in distress whose
Lives are in Reproach
because of Sin {Many Ignore it
SO Nehemiah is weeping over the condition
of the city of
A) It is hard for us to
imagine and understand the heart that the Jewish pp have for
PSALM 137:5-6
If I forget
you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!
6 If I do not
remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth —
If I do not
exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.
B) Passion for the
C)Today in Israel – there are those living in Jerusalem who don’t
recognize those living in Tel ViV as real Jews – Any real Jew want to live in
Jerusalem
D) True there is something special about that city – love
1) But come up the hill to
E) So Nehemiah is feeling it for the City of
F) Now true compassion is
pity plus action – Nehemiah’s compassion moves him to Fast and pray!
1) Great Prayer V.5-11– draw
some good insights from Note 5 things
#1 His view of God v. 5 and I said: "I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and
awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and
observe Your commandments,
B) How did Nehemiah see God?
As
a Great and
Awesome God –
1) How
big is your God/ Bigger than any problem you might face? – Any Challenge
* Nehemiah Knew there was a
big Job ahead – But his eyes were focused on a Big God – Great & Awesome
A God who keeps his Promises – Covenant keeping God – You
who keep Your covenant - In other words He is a God I can trust
So first we get some insight into Nehemiah’s View of God
Next insight into
his prayer is #2 His view of the Problem.
6 please let
Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your
servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel
Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have
sinned against You. Both my father's house and I have sinned.7 We have acted
very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes,
nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses
Nehemiah Knows this all started with Rebellion –
not kept the
commandments that is why they were sent
into 70 yrs of Captivity to begin with
A) Interesting Nehemiah
takes ownership includes himself even though he wasn’t even born … occurred
B) My sin & my fathers
1) He did NOT pray: “Lord
forgive THEM for they are not completing the work.”
C)) In a sense we should do
the same – the world around us – Millions of Babies are aborted we are silent
1) Homosexuality is allowed
to progress and we don’t protest
#3We see His View of the
Solution: V.8-9
Remember,
I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying,’ If you are
unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 9 but if you return to Me,
and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the
farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them
to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.'
A) The Key is REPENTENCE –
RETURNING
1) Turn from our sin turn to
the Lord
B) God is quick to forgive
So Nehemiah a man
of Humility / Compassion – Burden / Man of Prayer and a man who was Available V.10-11 {Redeemed People
10 Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You
have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.
11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the
prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear
Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy
in the sight of this man." The
King
A) Nehemiah discerned that
somehow the King was going to be used in meeting this need – Nehemiah made
himself Available
B)
Nehemiah had it made in Shushan. But he is willing to lay aside all of his
position and possessions to get involved in the work of God
C) Nehemiah
would have to sacrifice the comfort and security of the palace for the rigors
and dangers of life in a ruined city.
1)
Luxury would be replaced by ruins, and prestige by ridicule and slander.
E) He would leave behind the ease of the palace and take up the toils
of encouraging a beaten people and finishing an almost impossible task.
CH.2
How long did Nehemiah fast
& Pray – How long before God answered? -
V.1 of Ch.2 gives us insight
And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, [3 months later March] in the twentieth year of King
Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took
the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence
before
Nehemiah has
been fasting & praying for 3 months – but God has not answered - Why? Why does God have Nehemiah Wait? – us wait ?
A)
God is working in that time of waiting – Waiting
is Prep time
B) It is during this time that Nehemiah was
learning to Pray – learning to trust – learning to give things to the
Lord
1) His
Burden is going to turn into a Vision
C) Too often we
can be very impetuous – there is a need –we get a Burden & the next thing
we know –taking matters into own hands
1) Nehemiah doesn’t do that
– He waits on the Lord
God
used
A) Those 2 yrs were Prep
time – I was given more responsibility here at the Fellowship – {Went on 1st overseas mission trip – Essential
B)
Those two yrs were tremendous time of Preparation God working on my heart –
strengthening our Faith
C)
So often that WAITING TIME IS PREP TIME
Note V.1b– I had never been
sad in the kings Presence before –
B) It
was forbidden to be sad in the presence of the king.
C)
The idea was that the king was such a wonderful person that merely being in his
presence was supposed to make you forget all your problems.
C)
When Nehemiah looked sad; it could have been taken as a terrible insult to the
king. PUNISHABLE BY DEATH
1)
So for 3 months Nehemiah is Praying / fasting / burdened and the only one who
knows it is God
D) Nehemiah is
practicing something that Jesus taught – Praying & Fasting don’t make a
public spectacle of it – do it Privately
A)
Now we learned from the his prayer at the end of Chapter 1 that Nehemiah
Discerned that Artx would be a part of the Plan
B) But Nehemiah hasn’t been
trying to persuade Artx for 3mths
1) He hasn’t been dropping
little hints – singing oh
C) He is praying – trusting
waiting – that God is going to work on the king’s heart
LISTEN:
When you wait on the Lord in prayer, you are not wasting your time; you are
investing it.
A)
God is preparing both you and your circumstances so that His purposes will be
accomplished.
2 Therefore the king said to me,
"Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow
of heart."
A) 2nd
thing we see is that God was preparing the King!!! – Instead of being
offended by Nehemiah’s Countenance – he is concerned
V.2b So I became dreadfully afraid, 3 and said to the king,”
May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the
place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with
fire?"
Traditionally,
the Jews do have tremendous respect for the dead and for the bodies of the
dead.
B)
Now the Persians also had the same kind of respect for the sepulchres, the
tombs or the burial places of their ancestors.
C) So when
Nehemiah brings up the fact that “the burial places of his fathers are lying
waste,
1)
He hits on an area that would have been sensitive to Artx – Notice the result
V. 4 Then the king said to me, "What do you request?"
Artx’s
heart had been prepared to respond in this way – by the Lord
A) It was odd for a king to
show this type of Concern for one of his servants - What do you Request
So I prayed to
the God of heaven.5 [FAX PRAYER – HELP] and I said to the king,
"If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your
sight, I ask that you send me to
Nehemiah
is waiting but he has also been planning - not trying to make things happen –
but he is ready to move when the door opens.
A) During those 3 months of
waiting, he had thought the matter through and knew exactly how he would
approach the project.
B)
His reply to the king can be summarized in two requests:
“Send me!” (V 2:4–6) and “Give me!” (v. 7–10)
C)
Nehemiah had a Plan that involved a Time Frame &
Provision needed
1) He needed letters of
introduction that would guarantee safe travel and hospitality between
He
also requested letters of authority that would provide the materials needed for
the construction of buildings and walls.
A)
Nehemiah had done his research well. He even knew the name of the keeper of the
king’s forest!)
B) Well thought Plan
So Nehemiah
shares his well thought Plan: Result 8-9 and the king
granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.9 Then I went
to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king's
letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me
All
of Nehemiah’s needs were supplied –
A)
Letters of endorsement FOR PASSAGE / Materials for PROVISION He
B)
The King EVEN gives Neh something he didn’t even ask for
Bb) v.9 tells us – he sent
captains from his army for PROTECTION
1) Passage / Provision /
Protection
C) Notice Nehemiah’s
perception of the Favor he received
For
3 months Nehemiah had been earnestly praying that God would send him to
A) And when he is given the
green light – he knows why – God’s hand is upon me – what
a boost of confidence for Nehemiah
B)
Now When God is working there will always be opposition
1)
The greater the work the greater the opposition -
C)
Here Nehemiah introduces us to the main source of opposition
V.10
When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah
the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had
come to seek the well-being of the children of
Nehemiah
hasn’t met these guys yet – his first encounter with them will be at the end of
this Chpt
A) However at this moment –
he lets us know that a storm is brewing the climate is changing
B) Things had been going
well up to this point – God’s hand was upon him / King Artx. Was behind him
1) He had safe passage for his travels – he had provision
C) But now he is letting us
know that – there would be opposition – notice how he puts it - they were
deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of
Think about for a moment what’s broken in your sphere of
influence.
A) It could be a relationship
with a spouse, a parent, a child, a friend, a ministry.
B) Know this the Devil is
never happy – when you or others in your life decide it is time to Change – time to
rebuild
So
Nehemiah travels 3 months 900 miles – gets there – 4 things he does that are
vital for solving conflicts
RD V.11-16
1st
thing: Rest and Refocus
A) V.11 tells us he didn’t
start anything for 3 days
B) Finally they reach
C) Now a lot of
people today would have sent an advance team to let everyone know – the
1) Extreme
makeover – Home Addition – Ty & the gang is on the way {Move that
Bus
D) Everything is about to
kick into high gear –
2nd thing we learn from Nehemiah is to investigate before
you initiate.
A) A good leader doesn’t rush into his work but patiently gathers the facts
firsthand and then plans his strategy
B) Before Nehemiah began, he
was determined to know the worst.
1)
So he makes a careful probing examination of the whole situation
C) Sometimes, we don’t do a very good job or
rebuilding or getting the right kind of help because:
1) We
put on the rose colored glasses and don’t want
to see how bad things really are in the marriage/ in the family or w/ the
business or in the ministry.
D) Not Nehemiah. He investigated the situation.
1)
While others slept, Nehemiah was wide-awake, burdened, and conscious of
desperate need and shame and ruin all around him.
E)
He diagnosed the situation, surveyed the ruined walls, and thought about the magnitude
of the task to which God had called him.
3rd
the Problem must be clearly defined: V.17a Then I said to them, "You see the distress that we
are in, how
A) The fact that the city which
had once been the center of God’s dealings with His people lay in ruins was not
merely a reproach to them, it was a reproach to the honor and to the name of their God.
B)
That was to be the inspiration and the
power behind all this work of revival.
1) It was not simply a disgrace to them; it was a Disgrace
to God.
Nehemiah asked them to
notice the obvious: You see the
distress…..;
A) Sometimes, the obvious is
the hardest to see.
B) Nehemiah owned the
problem - He didn’t criticize the leaders of
1)
He simply identified right along with them regarding the problem.
C)
That is where you need to Start – the Problem must be clearly defined.
4th
The solution must me simply stated. v.17b Come and let us
build the wall of
A) Nehemiah figured if God
could move upon the heart of a pagan king to partner in this work,
B)
He certainly could move upon the hearts of His own people to join in!
C)
Nehemiah wasn’t there to do it for them, but to partner with them
in the job of restoring
5th
The Lord must be Clearly Seen. V.18-20
A) This was encouraging to
them - This wasn’t Nehemiah’s Project it
was God’s Project – He was orchestrating this whole thing
B)
They saw God’s hand at work. They knew Nehemiah had to be telling the truth.
C)
What other explanation would there be for his presence
in
1)Furthermore,
he had evidence—official letters signed by the king himself. Supplies / Escorts
The
Response of the leaders: V. 18b So they said, "Let us rise up and
build." Then they set their hands to this good work.
A)
There was a Willingness to go for it – They saw the big picture – they caught
the vision & set their hands to do this great work
B) Nehemiah’s confidence was
infectious, the crowd caught the vision, and hope suddenly soared.
1)
Despair turned to hope. They believed Nehemiah and trusted him. Vision
confirmed. All systems go. This is a God thing!
Note V. 19 The first form of opposition here is Mockery
& Slander
They laughed at us – accused
us of rebelling against the king
Come back to when we start talking opposition.