Jerusalem, 1948

Jerusalem, 1948

Jerusalem, 1948

Jerusalem, 1967

Where do you start? Where?? It s too big the problem is too overwhelming! It becomes easier to live with discouragement, with a tolerable level of pain, with an acceptable level of failure to rebuild is just overwhelming. Remember by Nehemiah s time it had been some 150 years since Nebuchadnezzar s army had ruined Jerusalem. There were a few bright spots Zerubbabel & Ezra had led a few Jews back. work on rebuilding the temple had started, stalled, then started again. but Artaxerxes had ordered all work in Jerusalem to cease (Ezra 4). It was just too much.

In ch. 1 of Nehemiah we saw that a vision had been birthed by God in the heart of Nehemiah what was Nehemiah s response? Neh. 1:4 he wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed. Why? What was his concern? Was he just concerned with the rocks? There is a bigger question that should be asked here: What was Jerusalem supposed to be? Psalm 46 it said to the Jews, God is with us! Psalm 48 it reflected on His Name. Psalm 76 it reflected on God s glory. Psalm 87 it was to be a light to the nations. Psalm 122 it was a place for the worship of God.

Jerusalem, the city that the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. 2 Chron. 12:13 In ch. 1 a vision is planted in Nehemiah s heart, and there we see his initial response. He prays, and leaves the next step in the Lord s hands. Here in ch. 2, the vision is birthed in the hearts of the people and it faces immediate and growing opposition which should come as no surprise. There are three scenes in ch. 2 The royal city of Susa v. 1-8 The capital city of the provincial governor v. 9-10 The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20

Scene 1: The royal city of Susa v. 1-8 First, we have the situation in v. 1-2 Nehemiah describes the setting in v. 1, beginning with a time stamp: month and year. It was the month of Nisan 4 months have passed since ch. 1. What has been happening during those 4 months? Nehemiah was praying. The condition of his people was weighing on him. He was waiting on God even though he appears to be a man of action. God was building and clarifying the vision He had planted in Nehemiah s heart. And in addition to praying, he was planning.

Scene 1: The royal city of Susa v. 1-8 Here s what s happening during those 4 months Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Prov. 3:5-6 Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act. Psalm 37:4-5 And those 4 months stretched out to nearly a year: 4 months of prayer and waiting, preparation for the journey, then the approx. 1000 mile trek to Jerusalem.

Scene 1: The royal city of Susa v. 1-8 But things had been weighing on Nehemiah, and when he went to perform his usual duties one day it showed on his face. The King noticed, for 2 reasons: 1) because he saw Nehemiah every day and the King read his heart on his face; and 2) because of Prov. 21:1. Notice Nehemiah s response: Then I was very much afraid. He was scared, not Mr. Fearless. But hadn t he been praying for months? Isn t prayer supposed to take away all your fear? Seeking God in prayer did not remove his fear bravery is not the absence of fear, but the conquering of fear; acting in faith in spite of it.

Scene 1: The royal city of Susa v. 1-8 And that brings us to the explanation in v. 3-4 Nervous, afraid, Nehemiah dives in headfirst Notice in v. 3, 5, 7 how he gives appropriate honor to this pagan King. A couple of thoughts We need to be careful how we speak of the president the Lord has given us. Seriously. Notice what Peter says in 1 Pet. 2:13-14, 17; and Paul in Rom. 13:7. And second, do we address God with the same honor Nehemiah gave to this pagan King? What if we prefaced every prayer request with, If it pleases the King?

Scene 1: The royal city of Susa v. 1-8 And that brings us to the explanation in v. 3-4 The King wants to know what Nehemiah is asking for after his explanation in v. 3. So Nehemiah does what he always does: he prayed (v. 4). Remember, this is not his 1 st prayer about this, he has been praying for months. He did the hard work of secret prayer for months it s what Jesus was illustrating in Luke 18:1-8. Is prayer all that Nehemiah did? Is that all that we need to do? We ll see in the next verses that Nehemiah went to prayer first, but not only

Scene 1: The royal city of Susa v. 1-8 And then the resolution in v. 5-8 When the King asks what he wants, Nehemiah is ready with three requests: send me to Judah that I may rebuild it. let letters be given to me to the governors of the province and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king s forest Big picture: rebuild the city. How to do that? He needed access (letter 1) and lumber (letter 2). And he needed the King s previous directive (Ezra 4:17-22) to be rescinded so to show that, the King sent army officers as well (v. 9).

Scene 2: A brief stop in the capital city of the provincial governor v. 9-10 Nehemiah shows up with his letter signed by Artaxerxes, and for good measure a bunch of mounted army officers. This was probably in Samaria, the capital city of the Persian province, and a natural stop on the way south to Jerusalem (approx. 30 miles away). And now the opposition starts (v. 10) We meet Sanballat and Tobiah for the first time; we ll see them again. And again. And again. Derek Kidner: These two men will throw a long shadow over the story. Let s meet them

Scene 2: A brief stop in the capital city of the provincial governor v. 9-10 Back in the days of Zerubbabel (approx. 100 years before Nehemiah) a rift between the returned Jews and the surrounding peoples had developed (Ezra ch. 4). Earlier in Artaxerxes reign their accusations against the Jews were upheld. But now now a Jew arrived on the scene who was appointed governor of the Judah, with letters and army backing from the King, and clear permission to rebuild the defenses of Jerusalem. and this was a catastrophe to them, completely unacceptable. The rift was widening.

Scene 2: A brief stop in the capital city of the provincial governor v. 9-10 Sanballat was a Horonite, which may mean that he came originally from Upper or Lower Beth Horon near Jerusalem or not. No one really knows. He was likely governor of Samaria to the north of Judah; at any rate he was some sort of civilian authority appointed by Artaxerxes. He bitterly opposed the Jews and the rebuilding of Jewish life and culture. His daughter married the grandson of the high priest which did not sit well with Nehemiah. History records for us that two of his sons became later governors of Samaria.

Scene 2: A brief stop in the capital city of the provincial governor v. 9-10 Tobiah, who Nehemiah refers to as the Ammonite servant (2:10, 19), was descended from a people who were Israel s historic enemies (2 Sam. 10:1-11). He appears to have been an official, possibly governor, of the province of Ammon to the east. He became very influential among a faction of Judah s leaders he and his son had both married into Jewish nobility (Neh. 6:15-19). Shockingly, Eliashib the high priest, gave Tobiah a large chamber in the temple structure to live in (13:1-9) during Nehemiah s absence. This didn t end well for Tobiah (13:8).

Scene 3: The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20 So Nehemiah finally arrives at Jerusalem and for the 1 st 3 days just hangs out, maybe just taking in the mood and temperature Jews living nearby. Remember what Jerusalem was when Nehemiah showed up see 7:4. It was not a bustling city it was mostly ruined buildings and rubble. The rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel looked like a good start on rebuilding the city, but constant and royal opposition, coupled with the enormity of the task, ground the will of the people to dust, and they became used to discouragement and defeat and just lived with it.

Scene 3: The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20 Life gets like that sometimes what do you do? Do what the writers of the Psalms did they turned to the record of God s faithfulness in the Scriptures and remembered His promises. Take a look at Psalms 102 and 123. There are three sub-scenes (if that s the word I want) that will take us through the rest of the chapter: The inspection of the walls v. 12-16 The exhortation of the people v. 17-18 The opposition of the enemy v. 19-20

Scene 3: The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20 Sub-scene #1:The inspection of the walls, v. 12-16 Nehemiah wants to get a good sense of the scope of the project so he gets up in the middle of the night and, along with a few others, surveys the wall. What drove Nehemiah? Why go to all this trouble? God had planted a vision in his heart v. 12. That vision drove, compelled, constrained him. Notice 2 Cor. 5:11-15 it was something even bigger that confined, constrained, held fast, and gripped Paul and drove him to follow Christ and be concerned for the souls of men: the love of Christ. His prayer request: Eph. 3:18-19.

Scene 3: The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20 Sub-scene #1:The inspection of the walls, v. 12-16 He apparently surveys the walls on the southern and eastern sides primarily, and because of the amount of rubble, is unable to pass close to the walls at some points, so he drops down into the Kidron Valley to make his way back into the city through the Valley Gate.

Scene 3: The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20 Sub-scene #2:The exhortation of the people, v. 17-18 Now, finally, it is time to plant this vision in the hearts of the people, so Nehemiah gathers them He reminds them of what they already knew, v. 17. And he tells them not to be content with derision and discouragement, v. 17. In v. 18 he reminds them that this is God s work, God s initiative, God s plan, God s will. And lastly, he tells them of God s providence shown in the support of King Artaxerxes: God is in this! It is His plan, and it will be accomplished by His provision look how He turned the heart of a pagan King to be favorable to us!

Scene 3: The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20 Sub-scene #2:The exhortation of the people, v. 17-18 Ok a warning here: this is not going to sound very profound but here it is: the problem with Jerusalem was not the walls, it was the people they had gotten used to a constant state of discouragement. So here s what (God through) Nehemiah does: he gives them a project. He gets them busy. They have to start thinking about someone else. Thinking about someone else s spiritual good is one of the best responses to your own discouragement.

Scene 3: The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20 Sub-scene #2:The exhortation of the people, v. 17-18 And so the people responded: Let us rise up and build. Here s what they did first they encouraged themselves and each other. The writer uses an old expression and I think he uses it on purpose. Look where it shows up: 1 Sam. 23:15-16 Johnathan encourages David 1 Sam. 30;1-6 David encourages his own heart In both cases it is a discouraged David who would be Israel s greatest King who is in need of encouragement. If he needed it, the workers on the wall did, and so do we.

Scene 3: The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20 How do you strengthen your hand or another s hand in the LORD your God? Big-picture thoughts: 1. Adopt a biblical perspective on your circumstances see life as God sees it. 2. Examine your heart is there any sin to repent of? Unbelief can be a big factor in discouragement. 3. Make Scripture the strongest influence on your thoughts. See Psalm 1. 4. Pray like the Psalm writers prayed focused on the foundation of God s character, promises, and acts. 5. Pray like Paul prayed focused on the highest spiritual good of others. 6. Trust and obey. Don t get used to discouragement.

Scene 3: The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20 Sub-scene #3:The opposition of the enemy, v. 19-20 The enemies surface again and this time with reinforcements: Geshem appears in extra-biblical history as a King, or ruler, of a coalition of Arabic tribes living to the south and east of Judah. His presence added some weight to their accusations. They try to frighten the Jews: Are you rebelling against the King? But this was old news in Ezra 4 it was the case, but Artaxerxes was subject to Prov. 21:1, and his opposition had been turned to favor. Sanballat and his cronies appealed to the highest authority they knew

Scene 3: The chosen city of Jerusalem v. 11-20 Sub-scene #3:The opposition of the enemy, v. 19-20 but Nehemiah had a higher Authority: The God of heaven will make us prosper. He shuts down these enemies with three words: You have no portion you are not Jews, you have no stake in these things. right though important in their own provinces, they had no legal rights in Judah. claim it means memorial, and implies that they have no right or stake in the temple worship. In saying this, Nehemiah draws a clear and permanent dividing line between the Jews and their opponents.

None of this makes any sense. There is no logical reason why the Jews should be rebuilding the walls So we end with the illogic of grace Isaiah 30:1-18 Before the Babylonian captivity, Judah had trusted in Egypt (Is. 30:1-7) and in the illusions of false prophecy (v. 8-17). God s people have forsaken Him for a false salvation, and therefore God does what? He does v. 18. They have forsaken Him, therefore He is gracious to them. O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure The saints and angels song.