We are going to begin a study on some concepts found in the book of Nehemiah (Yehovah comforts), so we are going to have a brief introduction of what is going on and the purpose for the book. This is going to be a lesson on prayer, sacrifice, improvisation, spiritual warfare and adaptation. Nehemiah is the son of Hacaliah (Wait for Yah) and this will distinguish him from others of the same name. He is a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, the son of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) and possibly Esther in the year 445 B.C.
He learns that the Jews of Judah were in distress back in the land and that the walls of Jerusalem were still broken down. The king knows his cupbearer and notices that Nehemiah is not himself one day and this is not a good situation to be in. You were not to look unhappy when before the king. Whether this was in court or privately, we do not know, but we suspect it was in private. When the king asks him what was wrong, Nehemiah tells him and asks the king for permission to return and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Artaxerxes sends him as governor of the province to rebuild with letters showing the kings favor and permission, but it is not going to be easy. The enemies of Judah will oppose this effort but to no avail. The wall is complete in about two months.
The book of Nehemiah begins about 20 years after Ezra ends, and about 100 years after the first exiles came back to the land. That means it was about 150 years since Jerusalem was destroyed, and yet, the walls were still in disrepair. This book will have many concepts that we will consider. It is a picture of the last days and the return of the great dispersion in the Day of the Lord. So, let’s look at a brief comparison.
In 598, 586 and 582 B.C the Jews began to be taken to Babylon as a result of their idolatry and their turning from the Torah. Then in 538 B.C. they started to return in a trickle with permission from Cyrus. In 522 B.C. more came back and in 458 B.C Ezra leads a group and the Temple services begin again. In 445 B.C. we have Nehemiah coming with a very large group.
By comparison, Israel goes into a second dispersion and exile in 70 A.D. By 1066 A.D. they will settle in Europe (not everyone) till 1096 A.D., but are then pushed to Russia. Up until 1492 A.D. we have the golden age of Jewry in Spain until the Inquisition. Christopher Columbus, who some think was Jewish, looks for the New World and gets help from Rabbi Abraham Zacuto when he departed for his famous trip, the same day the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492.
As a side story, Columbus used a new type of astrolabe developed by Zacuto to determine the latitude of his ships while at sea. Zacuto also developed an almanac of the heavens that was so accurate Columbus used it to save his life and the lives of his crew one time while they were in Jamaica. Columbus was in danger and saw that a blood moon was coming that night and threatened the Jamaicans to leave him and his crew alone. He said he would turn the moon blood red if they didn’t. Well, that night the Jamaicans saw the blood red moon and were very afraid, and they did not molest Columbus and his crew. So, he called on the moon to “come back to normal” and it did. The Jamaicans were thrilled and Columbus was saved.
From the 1830’s to the 1930’s we have pogroms in Russia, the Czars, the rise of Hitler and the Nazis and the Holocaust. The Jews have been fleeing to the New World that Columbus found, in particular, the United States. By 1948 there was has been a trickle back to the land of Israel after World War II and by 1967 there is a call to prepare for the Temple. During the 1970’s and to this point in time there are more groups returning to the land. During the Day of the Lord a large group will return with the Messiah (Jer 50.4-8; Psa 126, Psa 137). In prophecy, the United States is seen as “Babylon.”
In another sense, the book of Nehemiah is a good book on spiritual warfare and how to “build our walls and city.” That is what every Bible student who has a Torah-based faith in Yeshua is trying to do today. Our “city” (lives, etc) was in ruins for a long time from the damage of the enemy. We had holes in our walls, or it was torn down altogether, and our “gates” were burned. The enemy has been trying to stop us from rebuilding our walls and city and becoming stronger. We have to clean up the “rubble” first before we can rebuild. This is what we need to do spiritually (Isa 62.10-12). For more information on spiritual warfare, go to our teaching called “The Spiritual Warrior” on this website. With that introduction, let’s begin our look into the book of Nehemiah.
In Neh 1.1-11 we learn that the situation in Jerusalem has come to the attention of Nehemiah, who is a cupbearer in the court of Artaxerxes. The nation has been destroyed and Jerusalem is not in very good shape even after some returned. During the captivity in Babylon, the Jews made homes there and settled. Some had businesses and professions, and some were raised to work in the civil government in very high positions. Daniel, Azariah, Mishael, Hananiah, Esther and Mordechai were just a few of those who were in these positions.
Nehemiah was serving in Shushan (Susa), the capital city of Persia, and lived in the capital, which had a fortress and a palace. Nehemiah has not forgotten Jerusalem (Psa 137.5-6) but has not returned himself. He is told by his brother Hanani (Neh 7.2) and some others about Judah and that the the walls of Jerusalem are still broken down and the gates burned. In addition, the remnant of the exiles there are not safe and in distress (v 3). That would include Ezra, Yeshua the high priest, many priests, Levites, singers and Zerubbabel. Assimilation is also a problem, as we have seen in Ezra.
An unwalled city was seen as an easy town to plunder because there was no way to defend themselves. People did not necessarily want to live there. It would be like living in a small community out west in the 1800’s. Families lived in fear from bandits, troublemakers and Indian attacks. It was not a safe environment to live in or try to raise a family in, especially when there was no help. Many times, a territory that was to be settled usually had a fort of soldiers nearby. This parallels the faith in today’s world. The walls are down and the gates of Torah are burned down, and there are enemies that are trying to prevent anyone from trying to rebuild.
Nehemiah reacts to this news by praying and fasting. God was doing a work in Nehemiah before Nehemiah was going to do a work for God. Yehovah was rebuilding Nehemiah before Nehemiah could rebuild for the Lord. Nehemiah has a prayer recorded for us in Neh 1.5-11 that is another model prayer for us. What was needed was a leader. So, what is a leader? A leader is one who influences others to get a job done. They must prepare themselves for the work because it won’t be easy. There is no victory without warfare. A leader must have a vision, and Nehemiah wants to correct a 150 year old problem. He did not look to someone else to fix the problem, but did what he could, prayed and fasted. He also knew who he was praying to, Yehovah, the God of heaven.
When you look at the these model prayers that we have been pointing out, there is a simple pattern. First, they start out with some sort of adoration, then confession. Then there is some thanks and then a final supplication. A simple way to remember this is “ACTS.”
Nehemiah prays to Yehovah in v. 5 and does not excuse himself during the confession, or offer excuses (v 6). He asks the Lord to remember his promises, and the Lord wants us to bring him to remembrance about what he has said. Nehemiah is ready to do something and that is why he is praying. Don’t pray about things unless you are willing to do something about them. Now, “ACTS” is not always the case in Jewish, biblical prayers, but it is a good model to follow when we pray ourselves.
Nehemiah wanted God’s blessings when he spoke to the king. He was going to do something about Jerusalem but knows that without God’s help he will fail. He was a man of action and not a critic just sitting in the stands. He wants to be in the arena. Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech called “Citizenship in a Republic” in Paris, France in 1910. Part of that speech is given here: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spreads himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while doing greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who never knew victory or defeat.” That was Nehemiah.
In Neh 2.1-20 we read that Nehemiah was in a sad mood before the king (Psa 137.1-5), and the king asked him what was wrong. Nehemiah prays for guidance from Yehovah very quickly, and uses the opportunity to request of the king that he might be sent to Jerusalem to rebuild it. The queen was sitting there also, and many think this was Esther. He tells the king what he would do and wants letters from him that will help him get back to Jerusalem and begin the work. He also wants letters of permission for timber that can be used for the gates for the palace that belonged to Solomon, for the city wall and for the Temple itself. And the king granted these requests (v 1-8).
So Nehemiah sets out and he comes to the governors beyond the river and gave them the king’s letters. Nehemiah also had some cavalry with him from the king because of his high rank with the king, but he is now the governor of the province. Sanballat (moon god give him life”) the Horonite (probably a Moabite) and Tobiah (Yehovah is good) the Ammonite heard about it and they were upset. They did not like the idea of someone coming who would seek after the welfare of the Jewish people.
So Nehemiah came to Jerusalem and was there three days resting and getting his mind together about what he was going to do. He gets up at night and didn’t tell anyone, and went out to survey the city, taking a few people with him. Nehemiah is led by the Lord to develop overall plans and how he was to socialize during his visit there (v 12). Nehemiah does this at night so that the enemies in the city would not know what he was up to. There is a concept in spiritual warfare that says, “Without secrecy there is no security.”
In Part 2, we will pick up here and develop this book out further, going over what we have just glanced over and bringing out more concepts related to how and when Nehemiah got involved in all this. Remember, Yehovah is grooming him way before he actually gets the job to go back and rebuild the city walls. The timing and what Nehemiah does is all in the plans of the Lord. We will also begin to see how we can apply what Nehemiah does and how the names of the gates can be applied spiritually to our lives and our rebuilding process.
Leave a Reply