05/28/2025 – Day 332 – Nehemiah – Chapters 1 – 4 /2 of ? / Chapter One: “Trouble and Shame” & “Give Success”
“The Book of Nehemiah introduces us straight away to Nehemiah himself, who will dominate it to a much greater extent than Ezra did in the preceding book. He is introduced to us as ‘cupbearer to the king’ (v. 11), and therefore at Susa, where the king, presumably, was in residence at the time. (We have seen that the Persian kings resided at different seasons in Babylon. Ecbatana and Susa is a kind of ‘circuit’.). As cupbearer he occupied a position of immense influence within the Empire because of his closeness to the king, a closeness which could actually make the cupbearer second only to the king himself. He is thus perfectly place to lay the petitions of his Jewish brethren before the highest authority. The embassy that comes to him from Judah, including his own brother (v. 2), comes knowing that it will have a natural access to Nehemiah’s sympathy, and that he in turn has access to the monarch.
The general historical background can be sketched out a little further by noting that the twentieth year of Antaxerxes I was 445 B.C. This, then, is thirteen years after Ezra’s arrival (on the chronology we have adopted, see Introduction). Whether Ezra was still in Jerusalem at the time of Hanai’s embassy is unclear. What is clear is that the community of those who had returned from the Babylonian exile, now almost a century earlier, was at a low ebb. This may not have been a religious low. It is likely that the reforms effected by Ezra (Ezra 9-10) still held, for it is only on Nehemiah’s second visit to Jerusalem, expressed here by Hanani (v. 3), is equated everywhere in the Book of Nehemiah with religious zeal, the thought of being that the preservation of the community of faith necessitated a certain defense capability vis-a-vis those who wished it ill. The fact that the walls are broken down thus represents the possibility of the community’s extinction. It is not easy to know why Nehemiah should have been unaware of Jerusalem’s condition. He must have know of its destruction by the Babylonians. It may be that, never having lived there, and having perhaps had little communication with those who did, he had never fully appreciated its parlous state. It is possible, of course, that the report of Hanani relates to a more recent deterioration of Jerusalem’s defenses, possibly effected by the action of the Samaritans, which was sanctioned by Araxerxes himself, and which is reported in Ezra 4:23.
We speculate, of necessity, on the exact historical circumstances. What is clear is that the people is ‘in great trouble and shame”, and that this shame reflects upon God in the eyes of the world.”
GIVE SUCCESS
Nehemiah 1: 1-11 (cont’d)
(ii)
“As important as the news itself is the manner of Nehemiah’s reaction to it. Despite having the ear of the king, and the fact that – as events will show – he himself is by disposition a man of action, he turns first to God and to prayer (vv. 4ff.). This is not to say that resort to human power and action is incompatible with resort to divine power and prayer. (Indeed their compatibility is a fundamental tenet of the book.). Nevertheless it is significant that he prays first.
Two feature of the prayer are important. First it is committed. The picture in verse 4 is of an intense emotion, expressed in weeping, fasting, and prayer, and continuing for days (probably in the midst of his serving duties, to judge by 2:2). We need hardly elaborate upon such intensity, since we have discussed it in relation to Ezra (Ezra 9:3ff.). It is important, however, that both men regarded this sort of engagement with God as a prerequisite of action.
The second feature of the prayer is the way in which Nehemiah places the present need in the context of God’s long history of dealing with the people. That history, is perceived by Ezra as well as Nehemiah (cf. Ezra 9:7), was one of persistent rebellion against God. (v. 7). And Nehemiah, again like Ezra, confesses that sinfulness in a way which acknowledges his own complicity in it (v. 6b.). There is not blame-shifting here. When Nehemiah muses on the imperfection of the people of God, he is driven to reflect upon his own. His own sinfulness is part of that broad canvas of wrong which accounts for all the displeasure of God which his people has known.”
(iii)
“The idea of Nehemiah’s wider appeal to the wider context of the Jews’ current situation can be elaborated by the observation that his prayer is entirely in terms of the covenant between God and Israel. The theology of the prayer is stated centrally in verse 5 where we find (a) something about the character of God, viz. that he keeps covenant and steadfast love, i.e. he is fundamentally disposed to be faithful to his promises to Israel, which begin with the promise to Abraham (Genesis 12: 1-3); and (b) something about what he expects of those who are in covenant with him, viz. that they should ‘love him and keep his commandments’. These two elements are in a significant order, reflected in the line of a well-known hymn, where the believer’s response to God is characterized as: ‘Loving him who first loved me’. The same order is found universally in the Bible, without any distinction between the Old Testament and the New Testament(cf. John 14:15).
Nevertheless, the expectation that Israel would respond to God’s love by keeping His commandments was absolute and attended by sanctions. The Book of Deuteronomy had insisted that, ultimately, disobedience would result in loss of the land (Deut. 28:63ff.). This was what had actually occurred when the people was concerned with was subsequently restored), and it is to this that Nehemiah refers in verse 8. Beyond the ‘curse’ Deuteronomy had also foreseen a restoration (30: 1-10) following the people’s repentance. Nehemiah’s prayer goes on, then, to lay claim to this aspect of the covenant promise (v. 9-a free representation of the thought of Deut. 30), relating it not only to the initial restoration from Babylon but to God’s present and future dealings with his people (v. 10). This is similar to the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the first Temple, when he prays that the ‘eyes [of God] be open and thy ears attentive to the prayers of repentant Israel (2 Chronicles 6:40; cf. vv. 6,11 for identical phraseology.).
The prayer, then is essentially an appeal to God’s mercy, based on a knowledge of his character expressed in His covenant with Israel. Though Israel has sinned, though indeed she has done so repeatedly , the Lord is always willing to restore her to a rich, living relationship with himself when she repents and recognizes that it depends – on Israel’s part – upon a loving , and therefore obedient, response to her Redeemer. Nehemiah’s prayer, therefore, which he believes is shared by other faithful Jews, can strike a note of confidence, mixed with commitment (v. 11). The same combination can characterize the prayer of any Christian today, however much his or her practice of faith has lapsed.
(iv)
Only in the last line of the chapter are we told of Nehemiah’s exalted position in the Persian Court. The information serves to introduce the theme of a relationship between the divine and human powers which was prominent in Ezra and will be no less so here. Nehemiah’s confidence, to which his prayer wins through, is achieved in the face of potentially huge obstacles.”
Soli Deo Gloria!