Nehemiah 2:1-20

And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. ² Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, ³ And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? ⁴ Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. ⁶ And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. ⁷ Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; ⁸ And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. ⁹ Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. ¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. ¹¹ So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. ¹² And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. ¹³ And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. ¹⁴ Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. ¹⁵ Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. ¹⁶ And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. ¹⁷ Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. ¹⁸ Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. ¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? ²⁰ Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Have you ever waited for an opportunity or anticipated something that finally came? What was that time like? How did you handle it? In Nehemiah 1, Nehemiah received news of the sad situation in Jerusalem with its discouraged people and destroyed walls. He did the only thing he could have done and prayed to God. His prayer, motivated by genuine concern, expressing true confession of sin, and demonstrating a readiness to obey, went unanswered for four months, but the opportunity he bad been praying for finally came in the king’s presence. Nehemiah knew that God had burdened and called him to go and lead the rebuilding of the wall and the strengthening of His people. How would he be able to that? The principle involved here is that of walking by faith. It is living life and doing what we do with a settled trust in God’s Word and promises. From Nehemiah 2, we can learn three important requirements for us to walk by faith.

First, walking by faith requires patience. The text gives us the details that in the month “Nisan” (March-April), Nehemiah was in the king’s presence. He received the news originally in the month “Chislev” (November-December). That means that nearly four months had passed since Nehemiah had received the news about Jerusalem and began praying to God about it. After months of patient waiting, his opportunity would come in the king’s presence. On this particular day, Nehemiah appears sad before the king and we are given the detail that this had not happened before. This is because kings, especially as powerful as the Persian king was, did not tolerate anyone in their presence affecting their mood in such a way. However, rather than being a place of wrath for Nehemiah, the king looks upon him with favor because there was a sovereign God orchestrating things behind the scenes. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” Despite describing himself as being “sore afraid,” Nehemiah tells the king about why he is sad. How was Nehemiah able to speak honestly here? It is because he knew what God’s will was and had patiently waited for the right time rather than taking things into his own hands. How can we know that we will be bold and faithful to seize opportunities to obey God when the time comes? God’s grace is always right on time. Nehemiah still had to face this situation with fear, but overcome it by faith. God would supply all that he needed, both for his conversation with the king and the work that lay ahead of him. Raymond Brown gives some sound wisdom writing, “We are rarely given the precise resources in advance so that they are stored away like immense, untouched reservoirs of courage, fortitude, strength, and peace. Grace comes in the moment of need.” Patience leads us to trust in God rather than in our own resources. The first thing we wish to do when we have a problem is either ignore it entirely or fix it ourselves. Both are detrimental. God teaches us over and over again in Scripture that the battles are His (1 Samuel 17:46-47) and that His grace is always sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Next, walking by faith requires boldness. Not only did Nehemiah tell the king what his problem was, but he also was granted the boldness to make requests for the materials and supplies that he would need to lead the building of the wall. When the king gives Nehemiah the invitation to make a request, it is a beautiful picture of the resources available to all believers in heaven’s throne room. In Christ, as heirs of God, God’s children have been given access to His throne room to ask for all that we need to be faithful to Him down here (Hebrews 4:14-16; Romans 8:16-17; John 15:16). He has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).  Nehemiah then proceeds to make all the requests needed. He asked for letters so that he might obtain all that he needed for the project. What gave Nehemiah such boldness? Boldness comes from confidence. This confidence is not in ourselves or our abilities or because we have everything figured out. It is confidence in God and what He has called us to do. Boldness, therefore, comes from God.  God promises to equip us with all that we need to serve Him. However, when we serve God, it should never be on an impulse or whim. It should be calculated and the cost counted. We shouldn’t rush into serving in a ministry without thinking through the commitment. That is why so many people sign up for rolls that they don’t fulfill. It is because they have not counted the cost.

Lastly, walking by faith requires perseverance. The king ends up making Nehemiah governor over the region, giving him all of the authority needed to carry out the task. After the king grants Nehemiah’s request, he sets out on his journey and encounters opposition from three figures that would serve as thorns in his side throughout the work: Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem.  They were regents and authority figures of the region who were, no doubt, threatened by Nehemiah’s presence and what the rebuilding of the wall would mean for the region. These enemies of God’s people did not want to see Jerusalem rebuilt or its people restored. Further, they enjoyed the benefits of their power and authority in the region that was now under threat.  What does such selfish envy and jealousy produce? It produces hostility.  When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he did not consult with anyone, but snuck out in the middle of the night to survey and assess the entire situation with the wall before gathering and rallying the people of Jerusalem to the work.  Nehemiah’s task was a major one, not just the rebuilding of the wall, but the motivating of a people who had proven throughout their history to be stubborn and rebellious. In addition, he faced the hostility and opposition from the three enemies mentioned earlier who begin to undermine the work by accusing Nehemiah and the people of rebelling against the king of Persia. Nehemiah’s work would require something that is only found by walking with God, perseverance. He would have to endure the physical toll of the work, the discouragement of leading a rebellious and dejected people, and the ridicule and slander of enemies.  In God’s kingdom work, we will inevitably face these three things. Are we up for it?  Is our commitment to Christ to that end?

Everything that we do in the Christian life is done by walking by faith. Faith is about a settled trust in God’s Word. It is living all of life from the fixed objective standard of God’s Word. It requires patient waiting for God’s will to be revealed and opportunities to be presented, boldness to obey and act according to God’s will, and perseverance to endure in the face of opposition, doubt, and criticism. Many people never step out to serve God or fail to follow through in their service because of impatience, fear, and lack of resolve. The questions must be answered: Do we really trust Him and His Word? Are we willing to follow Him wherever it may lead?