God Prepares a Man
Nehemiah 1:2-10;
2:2-8
So far, we have seen
that Zerubbabel had been sent by King Cyrus back to Jerusalem to
rebuild the Temple, the House of God.
We know that once
the foundation of the Temple was laid, the work of the Temple stopped
for about 18 years and God sent the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel (the
government) and the High Priest (the religious leader) who had been
beautifying their own homes and left off the work on the Temple.
After Haggai told
them "Thus sayeth the Lord", the work began again.
We know Ezra had
come to rebuild the city and help with the Temple.
By this time there
was over 100,000 people who had returned to Jerusalem and Judah.
All these people
were at the mercy of their enemy and things were hard to accomplish.
It seems like Israel
is always being attacked one way or another.
God sees all these
things and God will send Nehemiah, a cupbearer, for the King of
Persia to build the walls of Jerusalem.
Those who think God
does not see what is going on in this world are foolish, God sees
everything, and prayer is still the best way to get things done that
we cannot do. God still expects us to do what we can do. He may not
help us with those things!
Let’s begin at
Nehemiah Chapter 1 and verse 1:
*****Neh 1:1 The
words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the
month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
Neh 1:2 That
Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I
asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of
the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
King Artaxerxes had
been on the throne for 20 years and history tells us he reigned for
20 more years.
The ninth month
Chisleu would correspond to our November and sometimes part of
December. The Winter months so this King was in Shushan which was the
location of his winter palace. The Summer palace was located at
Ecbatana. Nehemiah would have traveled with the king no matter where
he traveled.
Today this location
once a magnificent city is now only a place of ruins. This is also
the city where the events of the Book of Esther took place.
The event that we
will learn is things that happen after a conversation and then a
serious prayer to the Lord and not just one prayer but a continuous
prayer.
Nehemiah had never
been to Jerusalem, but we know that he had been taught the Word of
God by his parents.
Nehemiah had a deep
concern about his fellow Jews which in that day, may have been called
the Hebrew people by the world.
Nehemiah had
compassion for his people, and this is a great lesson for us here
today.
In fact the entire
first chapter will show us the compassion he had for his people.
As we go through
this lesson, we will see the Nehemiah is in typology another type of
Christ.
Mar_6:34 And Jesus,
when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion
toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he
began to teach them many things.
Fourteen times in
the books of the Gospel the word compassion is used about our Lord
and Master.
If we are to be like
Christ, we are to have compassion, especially for our brothers and
sisters in Christ!
What was the message
Nehemiah had learned?
*****Neh 1:3 And
they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there
in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of
Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with
fire.
As we know from last
week, these Jews were suffering because God had brought a drought.
They were suffering
economically.
They were suffering
spiritually.
They were suffering
because of the greed of those who had control, the government
They were suffering
because they feared the neighboring nations.
They were suffering
because they had no fear of God!
Yes antisemitism
existed even in that day!
When Nehemiah heard
all these things he wept for his homeland and those who were trying
to live without God!
Nehemiah knew that
two groups of his people had been back in Jerusalem for many years
now and he was not expecting such bad news.
Psa 44:13 Thou
makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to
them that are round about us.
Psa 44:14 Thou
makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the
people.
These things caused
Nehemiah to weep for his homeland.
Nehemiah had such a
great job in captivity he had given no thought of returning to Israel
and Jerusalem, but that would now change.
*****Neh 1:4 And it
came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and
mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of
heaven,
Neh 1:5 And said, I
beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that
keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his
commandments:
These things broke
the heart off Nehemiah, and we can watch as God immediately had plans
for Nehemiah all along.
Nehemiah could feel
the suffering of others in his own heart!
Nehemiah knew that
Jerusalem was the most holy city in all the world, until
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city and the Temple.
He was hoping with
all those who had returned, that things would have been much better.
God expects us to
feel in our heart the needs of others! It is called compassion.
God expects us, when
we are able, to help those with needs and we can do this through the
Church if all the other needs of the Church are met.
Not many of us
partake of fasting but sometimes fasting can clear our minds so we
can see the needs of others, and the clear will of God
The greatest need of
all is still salvation!
Salvation will open
our eyes to the needs of others because to be saved is to trust the
Lord and then try to be like Him!
Mat 25:35 For I was
an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked,
and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison,
and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then
shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw
we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when
saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the
King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye
have done it unto me.
What we have seen is
God had first placed the government back in Jerusalem along with the
High Priest.
Next God sent Ezra
to establish the Church.
Now God will send
Nehemiah, a cupbearer, who had no great skills, to restore security
to the city of Jerusalem.
God loves to use
ordinary people with not many skills, because they know that they
must trust in the Lord God to meet their needs!
And, Every step we
take must be bathed with prayer!
*****Neh 1:6 Let
thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest
hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and
night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins
of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I
and my father's house have sinned.
Nehemiah had not
returned to Jerusalem because of his position in the court of the
Persian King. So God would test him to see if he was sincere.
If our prayers are
not sincere and bathed in faith, God will hear, but He may not answer
until Nehemiah had enough faith to see these things take place.
God always knows
what He is going to do, and God knew that Nehemiah was the man He
would use.
While Nehemiah was
only a cupbearer, he could learn the workings of government being so
close to the King of Persia.
We should understand
that God places us in places not only to witness to the lost, but to
learn a skill that can benefit the Church, even if it is just a high
paying job so our tithes and offerings, will be a great benefit
Some people are
prayer warriors, some people keep the church going with those tithes
and offerings, and some people give of themselves to keep the church
going.
There is a place for
every member to the church!
Al these things are
to work with the commands of Jesus Christ!
The main thing is
that when God calls us for His use, then we need to say yes.
Self-sacrifice is the great test of faith!
By being obedient to
the Lord, we step into the wonders of the plan of God!
We are of no use to
God until we acknowledge His supreme power over all His creation.
We are of no use to
God until we acknowledge His majesty, and His goodness, along with
His greatness.
We are of no use to
God until we acknowledge His faithfulness to those who love Him.
Nehemiah was an
intercessor for his people, and he did not know it as of yet.
Nehemiah realized
that it was actually a sin that was holding up the progress in
Jerusalem.
We will find out
that it is a great sin not to pray for the peace in Jerusalem and be
commited to Israel as much as we are commited to our own nation also
realizing that we are ambassadors for Christ to all nations.
It is always sin
that interferes with progress made in our lives and our relationship
with the Lord.
*****Neh 1:7 We
have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the
commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou
commandedst thy servant Moses.
By not keeping the
commandments of the Lord we show the Lord that we do not love Him!
Deu 11:1 Therefore
thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his
statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.
This not just for
the Jews.
Mat 22:37 Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is
the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these
two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
When we are not
keeping the commandments of the Lord, rightly divided, we are also
very corrupt against the Lord!
*****Neh 1:8
Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant
Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the
nations:
Neh 1:9 But if ye
turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there
were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will
I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I
have chosen to set my name there.
Nehemiah realized
why he was in captivity, it was because as a nation, Israel and Judah
had forsaken the Lord.
Nehemiah also
realized that God had allowed room for repentance and a great promise
that God had made.
If they would
repent, then God would gather these Jews no matter where they had
been scattered.
Deu 30:1 And it
shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the
blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt
call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God
hath driven thee,
Deu 30:2 And shalt
return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to
all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul;
Deu 30:3 That then
the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon
thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither
the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
Deu 30:4 If any of
thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence
will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch
thee:
Deu 30:5 And the
LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers
possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and
multiply thee above thy fathers.
We know from all
these things written for us to see, that God did not break a promise
then and God will not break a promise today.
How do we make
America great again?
2Ch_7:14 If my
people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their
land.
How will Israel be
made great again?
2Ch_7:14 If my
people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their
land.
It is the same for
every nation where Christians are located!
Who was God talking
to this day?
*****Neh 1:10 Now
these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy
great power, and by thy strong hand.
We know that God has
made certain promises to the Children of Israel and God will keep all
His promises.
We also know that
God's timing is in His control.
When God's makes a
promise we cannot dictate when that promises will be fulfilled, but
we can be sure that God will fulfill our needs until that time comes.
God did not need to
be reminded that this was the same people He had redeemed from Egypt,
but He tells us to study the Scriptures, so we know these things and
it was OK for Nehemiah to mention this fact to show his own trust in
the Word of God.
Isa 64:9 Be not
wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold,
see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
We also know God has
made many promises to the Church and God will fulfill these promises
also, again in His own time.
God has not
forgotten any of these things, for it is impossible for God to forget
about His children.
The good fathers
always remember their children! Jehovah God is the "Greatest"
Father
Nehemiah needed to
see the king and God made a way for him to do so.
*****Neh 2:2
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,
Neh 2:3 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?
Nehemiah was the
king's cupbearer. It was Nehemiah's job to taste the wine to make
sure it was safe to drink. If Nehemiah looked sick, then it could
have been caused by the wine.
Certainly this king
would have his eyes on Nehemiah to make sure he was healthy.
We should be able to
see how God arranges things for our best interest.
Nehemiah was just
some Jew who just happened to become the cupbearer for the King.
I'm sure the he was
not to thrilled to be the one to make sure the King's wine was not
poisoned or spoiled.
In the end, Nehemiah
had a great job but in reality, he was placed in that job just for
the time that was coming now.
God always has a man
in position for His plan to move forward, and I am sure He has some
women in places also, just so His plan moves along as it should.
Nehemiah was not
sick, he was brokenhearted, and it showed.
We will see how the
plan of God is worked out with the utmost precision.
It took a lot of
nerve for Nehemiah to address this king, but God had touched the
heart of this king, so Nehemiah was treated more like a son than a
stranger.
We can see all sorts
of types in these passages!
The beginning of
these things was the fact the Nehemiah had first prayed, in fact he
had fasted and prayed because he had a true concern for his people.
Do we have that much
concern for our children or our grandchildren that we would not fast
and pray for our people just as Nehemiah?
We should pray first
at the sign of trouble, we should pray often, and pray much, and
sometimes we need to fast and pray and then we need to listen for God
to answer. Remembering if it is according to the plan of God, He will
never say no.
Salvation of our
children and our families are in the will of God and part of His
plan!
1Ti_2:4 Who will
have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth.
Nehemiah stood in
the gap and interceded for his people. We know of another, the Lord
Jesus did so on a much grander scale.
As a father for his
dear son, he asked, just what is it that you need?
And what did God say
about our prayers?
Joh 15:7 If ye
abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you.
While this king was
listening, Nehemiah wanted to be sure he asked for the right things
and no one knew that better than God so Nehemiah made a real quick
silent prayer.
*****Neh 2:4 Then
the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed
to the God of heaven.
Neh 2:5 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.
Before we go too
far, we must understand, there was no benefit for this king to allow
the wall to be restored around the city of Jerusalem.
If Jerusalem
rebelled again it would be costly to lay siege and wait on them to
starve to death again.
Two groups had
already been financed by Persia to rebuild the Temple so that to
should not be asked again, but to keep the city secure, not from
Persia, but from the locals such as Samaria, was a thing the king may
consider, especially since God, Himself would put these things in the
heart of this king.
Know this, that at
any time this king could have refuse any or all the request of the
Jews, but he did so willingly and gladly!
So Nehemiah
requested and secured a royal commission to rebuild Jerusalem and its
walls.
We should remember
it was dangerous for Nehemiah to show a sad countenance in front of
the king.
The kings in this
day were always aware of plots to over throw the king or
assassination.
When God touches a
ruler’s heart, it is never about over throwing that ruler.
Nehemiah had prayed
and he would speak the words God had given to him, and remember God's
Word never comes back void.
God's Word will do
what He sent it to do!
We must also
remember prayers that are prayed out of an emergency, out of an
immediate need, many times God will answer that prayer as soon as He
receives it.
It was important
that the things Nehemiah asked, to be pleasing to this king!
Here again we see
another "type" to help us in our prayer life. We should
never pray to the Father for things that are not pleasing our King,
King Jesus!
Here again we see
that Jehovah God was considered to be the Creator even by this pagan
king and valued for this reason.
As far as Nehemiah
was concerned, this matter needed to be settled this very day.
God answered and to
Him be the Glory, and because God answered, this king gave Nehemiah
much more than he asked for!
*****Neh 2:5 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.
Neh 2:6 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.
The truth is we
seldom consider and study on what we need in our prayers. I'm not
talking about those needs we all have that God supplies without
asking.
I'm talking about
that special need! Nehemiah had been making plans on what it would
take to do these things, he would now ask the king for, but only
after he had made his request to the Lord.
A true lesson is
that God loves details! God loves for us to consider those things we
pray for and then give Him the reasons those things are important to
us, and most important we must have the faith that says to God, "I
know you have the power to do this thing I'm asking".
As Preacher Sam
said, "God is Able"!
Luk 14:28 For which
of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and
counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
God, in answer to
prayer, is ever ready to bestow what is best for us. “Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened to you.”
This was a silent
prayer that Nehemiah prayed between the time he made his request to
this king, and the answer he would give.
Another lesson we
learn God is always listening. Nehemiah did not have to wait on God
to finish what He was doing with someone else!
This shows us the
"omnipresence" of the Lord God Jehovah!
Pro 3:4 So shalt
thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Pro 3:5 Trust in
the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path
We see that this
king had grown affectionate for Nehemiah, not in any kind of sexual
way, but as a friend and he wanted to know how long he would be gone.
*****Neh 2:7
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;
Neh 2:8 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.
Nehemiah knew that
if he did not have proof of the things this king had promised, others
in the government would deny him of any request because, Nehemiah was
still just Jew, but the world forgets the Jews are still the apple in
God's eyes.
Zec_2:8 For thus
saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the
nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the
apple of his eye.
What is the secret
of our success as Christians? We must have God with us!
We do not need the
machines of this world.
We do not need the
methods of this world.
We just need to be
obedient to God, so we know our prayers reach into Heaven.
Psa 66:18 If I
regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
Psa 66:19 But
verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
We just need more
God!!!!!!!!
We cannot believe we
have the power to do the things such as Nehemiah requested, without
God!
What did Jesus say?
Joh_15:5 I am the
vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the
same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Amen
Let’s Pray
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