Neh 2:3 | KingComments | STEP | With words indicating that he knows his own place and showing respect for the king’s position, Nehemiah speaks to him. In almost passionate terms, he makes the king a partaker of what occupies his heart and what can be read on his face. From the fullness of his heart, he tells about the city to which the heart of every Israelite goes. It is as if Nehemiah can finally give air to a secret that he has carried with him for so long. His feelings for ‘the city’, instead of becoming weaker, have only grown stronger. His love for ‘the city’ does not depend on the fame and wealth it once possessed, the great kings who ruled it, nor it’s the impressive past. His love concerns the city itself because it is the city of God , because he knows and believes in the future of this city. That is why he speaks of the city as “the place of my fathers’ tombs”. His pious ancestors all wanted to be buried in the land of promise, because they believed in the resurrection. They believed – and so does Nehemiah – that God will fulfill all His promises. They all died in the faith that He will do so ( ). Nehemiah is concerned about the present situation in which the city finds itself, because he believes in the future of that city. He sees before him God’s plan for that city. He also sees how sharp the contrast is between the glorious future and the present situation. His desire is to work to ensure that the present and the future are more in harmony. If we want to do a work for the Lord, we can only do so if we have a view of the future. What is important is that we see the church as it will one day be blameless before God. The current situation of unfaithfulness, lukewarmness, and worldliness of the church on earth will affect us. There will be a longing in us to be used by God to make believers committed to Him again. A lesson A view of the future of the church puts the present state of the church in the true light. The Lord Jesus has given Himself for the church in order to sanctify and cleanse her. He wants to present to Himself the church having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing ( ). His love for the church must fill us to be used.

‏ Nehemiah 2:3

Nehemiah’s Answer

With words indicating that he knows his own place and showing respect for the king’s position, Nehemiah speaks to him. In almost passionate terms, he makes the king a partaker of what occupies his heart and what can be read on his face. From the fullness of his heart, he tells about the city to which the heart of every Israelite goes.

It is as if Nehemiah can finally give air to a secret that he has carried with him for so long. His feelings for ‘the city’, instead of becoming weaker, have only grown stronger. His love for ‘the city’ does not depend on the fame and wealth it once possessed, the great kings who ruled it, nor it’s the impressive past. His love concerns the city itself because it is the city of God, because he knows and believes in the future of this city.

That is why he speaks of the city as “the place of my fathers’ tombs”. His pious ancestors all wanted to be buried in the land of promise, because they believed in the resurrection. They believed – and so does Nehemiah – that God will fulfill all His promises. They all died in the faith that He will do so (Heb 11:13).

Nehemiah is concerned about the present situation in which the city finds itself, because he believes in the future of that city. He sees before him God’s plan for that city. He also sees how sharp the contrast is between the glorious future and the present situation. His desire is to work to ensure that the present and the future are more in harmony.

If we want to do a work for the Lord, we can only do so if we have a view of the future. What is important is that we see the church as it will one day be blameless before God. The current situation of unfaithfulness, lukewarmness, and worldliness of the church on earth will affect us. There will be a longing in us to be used by God to make believers committed to Him again.

A lesson

A view of the future of the church puts the present state of the church in the true light. The Lord Jesus has given Himself for the church in order to sanctify and cleanse her. He wants to present to Himself the church having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing (Eph 5:25-27). His love for the church must fill us to be used.