Neh 2:1-6 | KingComments | STEP | In the month Chislev, the third month of the civil year, Nehemiah heard the message concerning Jerusalem ( ). Here we are in the month Nisan. That is the seventh month of the civil year, with us March/April. Four months have passed since his prayer and still he has not received an answer. He does not know in advance how long he has to wait for the answer. Yet he patiently waits. He leaves time in God’s hand. He is content that God determines the right time. He does not rush into the task he sees before him. In the meantime, he continues to do his work faithfully in the place where the LORD has brought him. It may happen that one hears of a need. Overwhelmed by pity some go straight to work without waiting for God’s voice and time. That is not the way of God’s plan for His work. Seeing need is not a vocation. First a need must have penetrated deep into the heart. Then we become aware that it is not we, but only God Who can provide for that need. First, need must become a burden so heavy that the only way out we see is the Lord Jesus, Who has said: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” ( ). This verse is certainly important for the gospel, but it is also very important for those who want to be servants. Perhaps Nehemiah prayed that God would remove the burden from his heart. Maybe he has prayed or God wants to make that burden even heavier, so that all that remains for him to do is to act. This is how we may do it if we are told something about a need. The need has remained in his heart. We can imagine him wondering if he should talk to the king about his need and if so, when, or if he still has to wait for God. He will have had peace of mind at the thought that God can bring him into the king’s favor by a miracle when he calls him to do a work in Jerusalem. God turns the hearts of kings like channels of water ( ). We will get these confirmations of faith if we increasingly perceive that the Lord wants to use us for a particular work. Nehemiah has never been sad in the presence of the king. This indicates that he is now and also that this is visible. Showing sadness does not fit in the presence of mighty rulers who see themselves as distributors of blessing. These people only want happy faces in their immediate surroundings. As an exile Nehemiah will always have had sorrow in his heart ( ), but will always have been able to keep it hidden. However, the traces of fasting and praying cannot be denied. Nevertheless, Nehemiah will also have done his work with pleasure. The Lord brought him there and charged him with this work. That is how he will have seen it. It is important for us to be able to say the same of our job in society. We may also enjoy our daily work while thanking God the Father through the Lord Jesus ( ). Nevertheless, at the same time we realize that the earth is not our ultimate goal. We do not belong here, heaven is our home. As a cobbler, who whistled, once said: “I am on a journey to heaven and on the way I make shoes. The Lord Jesus was known as “the carpenter” ( ). Before He began His travels through Israel, He worked as a carpenter. You can be sure that He loved His work and did a good job. Until the Lord calls us to do a work for Him, we must remain faithful in our earthly profession and find full satisfaction in it. Dissatisfaction with our job in society or the reward for it, or a difficult relationship with colleagues in the workplace, should not be a reason to give up that job in order to serve the so-called higher things. That is a great self-deception that will certainly result in great dishonor for the Lord Jesus. Some lessons 1. When we have brought a matter before the Lord in prayer, we must learn to wait patiently for further instructions from Him. That does not mean that we should sit and wait with our arms crossed. Each of us must “remain in that calling in which he was called” ( ) and do what belongs to that calling. While we are busy like this, we may look forward to His answer to our prayer ( ). 2. That time of expectation is a time of inner exercise in which many questions will impose themselves on us. It is good to undergo such exercises, which often involve struggle. If they really are exercises of faith, they will throw us upon the Lord. We will be purified by them.

‏ Nehemiah 2:1-6

Nehemiah Busy in His Service

In the month Chislev, the third month of the civil year, Nehemiah heard the message concerning Jerusalem (Neh 1:1). Here we are in the month Nisan. That is the seventh month of the civil year, with us March/April. Four months have passed since his prayer and still he has not received an answer.

He does not know in advance how long he has to wait for the answer. Yet he patiently waits. He leaves time in God’s hand. He is content that God determines the right time. He does not rush into the task he sees before him. In the meantime, he continues to do his work faithfully in the place where the LORD has brought him.

It may happen that one hears of a need. Overwhelmed by pity some go straight to work without waiting for God’s voice and time. That is not the way of God’s plan for His work. Seeing need is not a vocation. First a need must have penetrated deep into the heart. Then we become aware that it is not we, but only God Who can provide for that need. First, need must become a burden so heavy that the only way out we see is the Lord Jesus, Who has said: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). This verse is certainly important for the gospel, but it is also very important for those who want to be servants.

Perhaps Nehemiah prayed that God would remove the burden from his heart. Maybe he has prayed or God wants to make that burden even heavier, so that all that remains for him to do is to act. This is how we may do it if we are told something about a need. The need has remained in his heart. We can imagine him wondering if he should talk to the king about his need and if so, when, or if he still has to wait for God.

He will have had peace of mind at the thought that God can bring him into the king’s favor by a miracle when he calls him to do a work in Jerusalem. God turns the hearts of kings like channels of water (Pro 21:1). We will get these confirmations of faith if we increasingly perceive that the Lord wants to use us for a particular work.

Nehemiah has never been sad in the presence of the king. This indicates that he is now and also that this is visible. Showing sadness does not fit in the presence of mighty rulers who see themselves as distributors of blessing. These people only want happy faces in their immediate surroundings. As an exile Nehemiah will always have had sorrow in his heart (Pro 14:13), but will always have been able to keep it hidden. However, the traces of fasting and praying cannot be denied.

Nevertheless, Nehemiah will also have done his work with pleasure. The Lord brought him there and charged him with this work. That is how he will have seen it. It is important for us to be able to say the same of our job in society. We may also enjoy our daily work while thanking God the Father through the Lord Jesus (Col 3:17).

Nevertheless, at the same time we realize that the earth is not our ultimate goal. We do not belong here, heaven is our home. As a cobbler, who whistled, once said: “I am on a journey to heaven and on the way I make shoes. The Lord Jesus was known as “the carpenter” (Mk 6:3). Before He began His travels through Israel, He worked as a carpenter. You can be sure that He loved His work and did a good job.

Until the Lord calls us to do a work for Him, we must remain faithful in our earthly profession and find full satisfaction in it. Dissatisfaction with our job in society or the reward for it, or a difficult relationship with colleagues in the workplace, should not be a reason to give up that job in order to serve the so-called higher things. That is a great self-deception that will certainly result in great dishonor for the Lord Jesus.

Some lessons

1. When we have brought a matter before the Lord in prayer, we must learn to wait patiently for further instructions from Him. That does not mean that we should sit and wait with our arms crossed. Each of us must “remain in that calling in which he was called” (1Cor 7:20) and do what belongs to that calling. While we are busy like this, we may look forward to His answer to our prayer (Hab 2:1).

2. That time of expectation is a time of inner exercise in which many questions will impose themselves on us. It is good to undergo such exercises, which often involve struggle. If they really are exercises of faith, they will throw us upon the Lord. We will be purified by them.

The King’s Question

It doesn’t escape the king that his cupbearer doesn’t look as happy as usual. He notices that it is because of something that pains his heart. He asks Nehemiah about it. The king’s question is the introduction to the radical change in Nehemiah’s life that he so fervently desires. The king must have often asked Nehemiah something or said something to him. Not once, however, has this made his heart beat faster, because these are general questions or remarks that do not touch his heart. What the king asks now does make his heart beat faster.

The reason for the king’s question and remark is what he sees on Nehemiah’s face. The king then sees the effect of prayer and fasting. On his face the condition of his heart can be read (cf. Gen 31:2). The king notes this. He has an eye for his staff.

Do we also have an eye for what is going on around us? We easily ask: “How are you?” We answer just as easily: “I am well.” In doing so, we are more polite than expressing real interest or allowing others to share in what concerns us. Reading faces is important. Eyes can tell a lot. The eye is the mirror of the soul. Real attention for people makes us look deeper than the surface.

The king’s remark means a great danger to Nehemiah. As has been said, kings do not tolerate sad faces in their presence. It could cost him his job and even his life. Hence his fear. There is another reason for his fear. That fear relates to God. Is this the moment God gives to reveal what has occupied him for four months?

Nehemiah doesn’t have to think long about the answer. He doesn’t have time for that either. He can’t retreat for a moment to reflect. He immediately realizes that the king’s question has to do with his prayers. On the one hand he is overwhelmed by the question, on the other hand he sees that God might open a door. When God sees that we are ready to take up a service for Him, He opens the door.

Some lessons

1. Can we ‘read’ faces? Do we look deeper than the surface? Do we listen between the lines what someone really wants to say? Do we listen behind someone’s story his real need?

2. When we, like Nehemiah, are busy day and night with a particular work in our minds, we will immediately notice when the Lord begins to answer our prayers.

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.

Question and Prayer

After the moving testimony of Nehemiah’s love for Jerusalem, the king asks another question. He does not ask any further about the circumstances, but asks the question that for Nehemiah is God’s answer to his prayers. The king will have noticed in Nehemiah’s answer a deep desire to do something for Jerusalem. God controls his heart and gives him the question in his mouth. In this way Nehemiah is, as it were, given his answer to prayer on a silver platter.

Nehemiah receives the hearing of his prayer in the daily circumstances of his life. This also often happens to us, for example when the Lord allows us to meet certain people. Sometimes He also lets us hear certain comments that are not even addressed to us personally, but in which we hear God’s voice.

For months now Nehemiah has been carrying the burden of what he has heard from his brother on his heart. He knows that he can only go if the king allows it, and this will only be the case if the Lord wants it. The answer to his prayer comes in a way and at a time when he might least expect it. It can be the same with us.

Although Nehemiah knows what he wants, he does not immediately answer the king’s question. First Nehemiah speaks to God, then to the king. God is here, as in the book of Ezra, “the God of heaven”. Because of the unfaithfulness of the people He no longer lives on earth in the temple.

Some lessons

1. A sincere, moving testimony of what is in us for the Lord Jesus and His church is never without consequence. It opens doors, brings about changes in circumstances and in people’s hearts. The same goes for John the baptist who, when he sees the Lord Jesus, wholeheartedly says: “Behold, the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:36). As a result, two of his disciples leave him and follow the Lord Jesus (Jn 1:37).

2. It remains necessary, even as the door opens further and further, to remain dependent on the Lord and ask Him what to do or say next.

Nehemiah Makes His Wish Known

Full of confidence, but with due respect, he addresses himself to the king. What he says shows his acknowledgment of the king’s position and his own position. He asks for the king’s benevolence. Without his benevolent consent, he can forget his purpose. The fact that God seems to open the door does not make Nehemiah so overconfident that he wants to open the door with a wild move. He remains the servant dependent on the king.

Yet he is also so bold as to point out to the king his behavior as a servant. He asks in so many words if the king is satisfied with him. He can do so because, as a dutiful man, he has always served his lord to his full satisfaction. Without self-exaltation Nehemiah points this out to the king as a possible reason to grant him his request.

Nehemiah is open about his purpose. He has sketched the ruins. But he is not someone who stands on the sidelines shouting all kinds of cries about how bad things are, while he is not prepared to roll up his sleeves. No, he’s sketching a real picture, but he’s also determined to give all his strength to the city that’s in ruins, no matter what it costs him. He wants to rebuild the city, which he again connects to “my fathers’ tombs”. His heart is full of it.

Some lessons

1. When people to whom we are subject invite us to make a request, we may do so boldly. We may see it as a work of God in their hearts.

2. We do not need to present things more beautifully than they are.

3. We do not have to present ourselves worse than we are, as long as we can sincerely point out the quality of our work. Those who have always been honest in their work can say this quietly if the situation demands it (cf. 1Sam 12:3-4).

Nehemiah Gets Permission to Go

God also uses external circumstances to fulfill His plans. The remark that the king had his wife sitting next to him seems such a circumstance. Men among themselves can be harsh and insensitive. It is often noticeable that those same men behave much more courteously in the presence of their wife. As far as Artaxerxes is concerned, it seems that the presence of his wife makes him mild-mannered and therefore even more inclined to grant Nehemiah’s request.

The influence of women on the decisions of prominent persons can be for the better, but also for the worse. We see an influence for the better in the case of Esther (Est 7:1-10). An influence for the worse is seen in Herodias (Mt 14:1-12). A case in which someone wants to use her influence for good, but to whom her husband does not listen, we see in Pilate’s wife (Mt 27:19).

What influence does our wife have on us? It may be useful to find out how we behave in the presence of our wife and how we behave when she is not there. If honest self-examination reveals a difference, let us confess it to our wife and the Lord and change it.

The king’s questions make it clear to Nehemiah that God is opening the door further and further. His questions concern the duration of the journey and when he will be back, so how long he thinks he will be absent. The absence of Nehemiah is, of course, of great importance to the king, because there has to be a new cupbearer for that period of time.

The “definite time” that Nehemiah has given is twelve years (cf. Neh 2:1; Neh 13:6). The building of the wall is finished in fifty-two days (Neh 6:15), but that is with much help. Has Nehemiah assumed that he should not count on much help for the work? God has given it to him in his heart, but what about the remaining ones? Are they as full of zeal as he is? He doesn’t know that.

In our calculations, we too shouldn’t include dependence on others. God can give helpers, but He is not obliged to do so.

Some lessons

1. A woman’s influence on her husband’s decisions is great. The husband should also be open to it. He has to judge whether that influence has a good effect or a wrong one.

2. In a work that the Lord asks of us, we should depend only on Him and not on others. He calls persons, not groups, although He may form those persons into a group.