God Will Grant Us Success

INTRO

Our word for the Book of Nehemiah is Builder. In my seminary courses, Dr. Howard Hendricks shared that the book of Nehemiah is a picture of how true spiritual leadership can function as the people returned to rebuild the temple and the city. The name Nehemiah means “Jehovah comforts” and appears nowhere else in the Bible outside of the book itself. Jewish tradition accepts Ezra the prophet as the book’s author as well as the author of the book of Ezra. Possibly, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were written as one book and were divided later with Nehemiah entitled 2 Ezra.¹

God used both the Persians and the Babylonians to bring His judgment of 70 years in exile upon the Israelites for their unfaithfulness to His covenant (Jeremiah 25:11)²:

• 722 BC – The Assyrians deported the people of the ten tribes of Israel (the northern kingdom) and spread them throughout the known world (2 Kings 17).
• 605–586 BC – The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and deported all but the very poor of the remaining tribes (2 Kings 25).

these 70 years in captivity, world leadership had changed, and the Babylonian empire had fallen to the Persians. In Ezra, King Cyrus of Persia allowed the first group to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1-2). In Nehemiah, more exiles returned to rebuild the city wall around Jerusalem.

Nehemiah served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. Zerubbabel and Jeshua were part of the first wave of returning exiles (Ezra 1—6) and led the work to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem with a second wave of exiles (Ezra 7—11). Ezra returned with the second wave. The Book of Nehemiah records the third wave of returning exiles to rebuild the city wall of Jerusalem. MacArthur states that in the Book of Nehemiah, “Careful attention to the reading of God’s Word in order to perform His will is a constant theme.”³How did they know exactly what to do when rebuilding the city wall of Jerusalem? They consulted the Word of God. Another constant theme in the book is the obedience of Nehemiah in completing the work as well as facing opposition while being obedient.⁴It’s amazing that it only took 52 days to complete the rebuilding. The hand of God is constantly on this whole book. The timeline of the book is⁵:

445 BC (Nehemiah 1—12) – Covers only one year and tells of Nehemiah’s first term as governor (serving from 445–433 BC).

425 BC (Nehemiah 13) – After 20 years that were not covered, chapter 13 gives the ending of Nehemiah’s story and his second term as governor from 425 or 424 BC to probably 410 BC

In Nehemiah 1, while in the city of Susa, Nehemiah encountered some men who had come from Judah, and he asked about the remnant that was left behind in Jerusalem. He found out the city walls had been destroyed and the remnant was no longer safe. Nehemiah wept over the conditions and turned to the Lord in prayer and fasting. Nehemiah knew something had to change and asked God for His help. When was the last time you wept and mourned over your city and your country? Nehemiah 1:5–11 shows Nehemiah’s heart for his people, his city, and his country.

TEACHING

Nehemiah 2:1–10: During the spring of 445 BC, Nehemiah, as the king’s cupbearer, served King Artaxerxes wine, and the king noticed Nehemiah was sad and asked him why (vv. 1–2). Nehemiah explained he was mourning over the ruin of his city where his ancestors were buried (v. 3). When the king asked what Nehemiah wanted to do, Nehemiah prayed and then requested that he be allowed to return to Judah to rebuild the city in honor of his ancestors (vv. 4–5).

The king asked how long Nehemiah would be gone and Nehemiah gave him a specific time (v. 6). Queen Esther was the wife of King Xerxes and stepmother to King Artaxerxes, and she possibly influenced her stepson to allow the exiles to begin to return to Israel.⁶Nehemiah also asked the king to give him letters to the governors of the regions he would travel through, to grant him safe passage (v. 7). Then Nehemiah asked for a letter for the keeper of the king’s forest so he could get timber for the rebuilding. Nehemiah was asking the king for support for the rebuilding project, and the king granted everything Nehemiah asked for. Nehemiah gave God the credit for the king’s support (v. 8). At Nehemiah’s request, the king sent soldiers with him, providing Nehemiah safe passage to Jerusalem (v. 9). When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite heard of Nehemiah’s presence and were “greatly displeased” (v. 10). The opposition to Nehemiah’s work came immediately.

Nehemiah 2:11–20: Nehemiah waited three days before taking a few men and surveying the walls of the city at night (vv. 11–15). He took time to assess his community before he let anyone in Jerusalem know why he was there (v. 16). When he completed his assessment, Nehemiah explained the situation to the people in Jerusalem and challenged them to help him rebuild the city wall (v. 17). He shared with them how God’s hand brought him to them. The people accepted his challenge and were encouraged (v. 18). Those in opposition of the work began to mock the people of Jerusalem and suggested they were in rebellion against the king (v. 19). Nehemiah replied that the Lord would be the One who would give them success because they were His servants (v. 20).

CLOSING

As a cupbearer, Nehemiah was only a servant of the king, but he had access to the king. We all have a role to play, regardless of how we function in society. We all have access to God through prayer and fasting, and through His strength, we too can be successful in whatever role He has given us.

How will you respond to opposition? The answer for each of us who feel called to rebuild our city is found in Nehemiah 2:20: “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start building.”