1. Examine Nehemiah 1:1-11
and 2:1-8
and gain a sense of the background to the book of Nehemiah by asking the following questions:
who, what, when, where, why?
With the passing of King Solomon, the nation of Israel split into the
Northern Kingdom (Israel – 10 tribes) and Southern Kingdom (Judah – 2 tribes) about 931 B.C.
The Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians around 722 B.C., taken captive to Assyria in two
deportations, and there was no record of their return to the land. Judah fell to the
Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar around 586 B.C. Under Nebuchadnezzar, the Jews of Judah
were taken captive to Mesopotamia in four deportations (the Babylonia Captivity –
2 Chron 36:18-20).
The captivity of Judah would last for 70 years until Zerubbabel led the first return to
Jerusalem.
Cyrus the Great conquered the Medes, Lydians, and Babylonians (549, 547
and 539 B.C respectively). Considered a wise and tolerant leader, he supported the
restoration of Temple in Jerusalem by allowing Zerubbabel to lead the first return of the
Jews.
In 445 B.C., Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, who succeeded
King Darius as ruler of the Media-Persian empire. Nehemiah was a trusted servant who tasted
and tested the food and wine before it was consumed by the king and queen.
Chislev is the month of December
The wall around Jerusalem has been down about 150 years
King Artaxerxes is a non-Believer
Susa is the winter capital of the Media-Persian Empire, which is the
best place to be in winter
Jerusalem is 800 miles away from Susa
2. Given the background to the book of Nehemiah, what is so unusual about Nehemiah’s
response to Hananiah in
Nehemiah 1:4?
Nehemiah had no reason to care for Jerusalem.
He had the comforts of a kingly standard of life (food, shelter and
status).
He was far removed from the problem in distance (800 miles) and time
(150 years).
Yet he genuinely cared for Jerusalem and his people, and mourned for
their dire spiritual state. Despite the very threats to his spiritual life, Nehemiah cared
about his faith and recognized that the Jews have not been faithful to the Mosaic Covenant.
Nehemiah’s first action was to take time to focus on God and seek His
direction.
3. Examine Nehemiah’s prayer and identify the elements of it
(Neh 1:4-11).
The elements of Nehemiah’s prayer can be seen as:
Praise: he first praises God (v. 5).
Confession: he confesses on behalf of his people, emphasizes his
personal sin in the matter and identifies the exact nature of their sin (v.6-7).
Claims God’s Promise: he reminds God of His promise in the Mosaic
Covenant (v. 8-10)
Specifically, Nehemiah referred to God’s promises to Moses in
Deuteronomy 30:1-3.
Petition: Nehemiah petitions for his own personal success!
Nehemiah petitions for success in taking care of the problem by first seeking divine help
in gaining the king’s approval
(v. 11).
Nehemiah recognized Artaxerxes’ inconsistent support of the Jews, because
he had temporarily halted the rebuilding of Jerusalem
(Ez: 4:7-24),
and later allowed it to continue
(Ez 6:14).
Artaxerxes would later authorize Ezra to lead the second return of the Jews
(Ez 7:1-28).
Nehemiah’s prayer is unusual in that he clearly recognized his sin and
offered himself to be the one who would lead the rebuilding of the wall.
4. How do you know if Nehemiah’s prayer was genuine? How would you determine if your
prayers were genuine?
There were several pieces of evidence of this:
1. Nehemiah truly sought God’s guidance and waited for God to change the heart of
Artaxerxes.
Artaxerxes was not aware of Nehemiah’s request to go to Jerusalem until
the month of Nisan (April), which was 4 months later! Nehemiah did not try to manipulate
the king by revealing his sadness of Jerusalem (Neh 2:1).
When Artaxerxes did become aware of Nehemiah’s countenance, Nehemiah prayed just before
answering the king’s inquiry (Neh 2:4).
2. During the four months, Nehemiah prepared himself for God’s call and
developed a plan for the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls.
So thorough was Nehemiah’s planning that he was able to tell the king
how long he would be away and what materials he would require
(Neh 2:6-8).
3. Nehemiah did not doubt who made this happen and did not claim any
credit for himself (Neh 2:8).
4.The most significant evidence is that Nehemiah, now governor of
Jerusalem, directed his people to:
Listen to the Law
(Neh 8:1-18)
Confess their sins
(Neh 9:1-37)
Publicly agree to uphold the Law
(Neh 9:38 –
Neh 10:1-38)
In Nehemiah’s initial confession
(Neh 1:4-11),
he rightly determines that Israel’s failure to uphold the Mosaic Law was the cause of
Jerusalem’s destruction. His prayer was not simply “I’m sorry," but a genuine contriteness,
which he sought to remedy upon the completion of the wall. His effort of separating his
people for the rededication of their lives to God was the ultimate evidence of Nehemiah’s
genuine heartfelt prayer, which God knew and honored in his selection of Nehemiah as the
leader who would rebuild the wall.
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