尼希米记

Meditative Reflection
A Man of Prayer

“When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days, I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” (Neh. 1:4)

As a 3^rd or 4^th generation foreign born Jew, Nehemiah was obviously rather educated and cultured and was fully immersed in the Persian society, to the point that he could occupy the position of cup-bearer for the king—though not as a high-ranking office, but one that had earned the total trust of the king. This speaks volumes of the impeccable character that he must have exhibited in his social and political encounters with the elites of Persia.

One can also imagine the relative comfort and luxury which Nehemiah enjoyed in the court of the king.

However, it is obvious that he had never forgotten who he was—not only a Jew, but part of the Chosen people of God—a people of divine destiny. If we are impressed with his grief over the misfortune of his people and the city of Jerusalem, we should be even more impressed with his spiritual life. It is true that upon hearing the bad news about the people and the land of his homeland, Nehemiah “wept…mourned and fasted and prayed” (1:4). In fact, it was not a one-time act of intercession, but a spiritual habit (or discipline): “your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel” (1:6).

As an official in the court of Persia, Nehemiah obviously was privileged to up-to-date and accurate news concerning the kingdom of the Persian king. The situation in Jerusalem must have been something that he was aware of and that he had prayed for “day and night” for his people and his homeland. However, such news was probably 2^nd or 3^rd-hand information. Now that he heard it directly from his own brother, he was greatly moved not only to pray even more fervently, but to go into action. But before such a monumental task was given to him, he had prepared himself well as a man of prayer! No wonder God could use him to steer the whole nation toward a recommitment to worship Him only, something that lasted for centuries.

Meditative Reflection
The Gracious Hand of God

“And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.” (Neh. 2:8)

One of the features in the book of Nehemiah is the constant credit Nehemiah gave to God in every success that was achieved. If we study every situation in which he gave credit to God, we will notice that it was given not just after the fact, but it was already anticipated as expressed in the total trust he had in God throughout the process. His first request to the king is a case in point.

We know that before he approached the king with his bold request to return to Jerusalem, Nehemiah had been fasting and praying. He had prayed to God about his plan to approach the king with the request and he asked God to give him success (1:11).

- I do not think that he purposely put on a sad face, but it was an imperceptible sign of grief that he just could not hide from the king. So, for the king to notice his sadness, he knew it was of God;

- While his reply to the king might have been rehearsed, for the king to ask him, “What is it you want?” must be another sign that God was at work;

- Even though he had been praying about it for quite some time, Nehemiah still found it necessary to pray silently in his heart before he laid out his request—a sign of total dependence of God (2:4);

- For the king to consent to send him away for a long period (of twelve years) was nothing short of a miracle—it had to be God’s doing;

- God perhaps had emboldened Nehemiah to ask for a military escort and supplies of timber to rebuild the city and his own residence.

For all these, Nehemiah concluded that it was “because the gracious hand of God was upon me” (2:8).

It is true that there are Christians who attribute everything that happens to them as the hand of God in too casual a manner, but Nehemiah did not simply say so out of habit, but rather, it sprang from a continuous attitude of total dependency that allowed him to discern without a doubt that God’s hand was in each of these situations.

Meditative Reflection
A Realist, not a Dreamer

“The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials of any others who would be doing the work.” (Neh. 2:16)

As much as Nehemiah had spent a lot of time praying  and saw the gracious hand of God at work in having the king send him back to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, he was a realist.

Yes, his special office in the court of the king in itself was something that the adversaries of Israel would not take lightly. Now with military escort, plus letters from the king, Nehemiah should have confidence that no one would dare to hinder his mission. But years spent in the court of the king had taught Nehemiah many practical lessons about politics. He was not just a cup-bearer. From how he conducted himself in the rebuilding work of Jerusalem, we can see that he was a very astute political leader.

When he arrived in Jerusalem, he did not proceed with his work right away. Instead, he spent three days, likely, to get a sense of the political situation of their adversaries and the spiritual condition of his people. From the events recorded in the ensuing chapters, we come to understand that not only would there be fierce and violent opposition from the enemies (a fact of life in that the Persian empire occupied a very vast area and local insurrections were not uncommon), but that many of the local leaders (and even prophets) had close ties to the enemies and would betray him.

As a result, Nehemiah needed to assess both the extent of the repair work that needed to be done, and also the potential opposition he would encounter, both external and internal. It was the reason why he chose to scout the extent of the ruins at night, and would not disclose his plan even to the local Jewish leaders. This man of prayer, while totally dependent on God in all his plans and actions, was a realist who exercised caution as an astute politician. Prayer and brains are not mutually exclusive.

Meditative Reflection
Working as a Team

“Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and sets its doors in place….” (Neh. 3:1)

Nehemiah compiled a rather comprehensive list of the names and the kinds of people who responded to his call and took risks to participate in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in spite of threats from their adversaries. Although commentators in general opine that it is not a complete list, it is interesting to note the following that Nehemiah has chosen to highlight:

1. He listed the name of the high priest, Eliashib: Perhaps he did so at least for two reasons. Firstly, he was trying to show us that such a rebuilding work was endorsed by the high priest. Again, it is a sign that God is at work because this high priest was closely associated with one of their chief enemies, Tobiah. Even so, he had chosen to take the lead in rebuilding Jerusalem. Secondly, it was the rebuilding of the Sheep Gate which was closest to the temple. As a result, it was not only built, but consecrated—a sign of dedication of the entire work to the Lord.

2. The many “next to” phrases gave a picture of teamwork and non-stop effort that involved basically everyone within Jerusalem.

3. In addition to the residents of Jerusalem, some came from outside Jerusalem, like “the priests from the surrounding region” (3:22) which signifies not only unity but sacrifices.

4. The mentioning of goldsmiths and perfume-makers is most interesting. Does it mean that blacksmiths and bakers did not participate? Obviously they must have. But the mentioning of goldsmiths and perfumer-makers probably signifies that everyone, irrespective of how profitable their trades might be, took time off to give to this work.

However, Nehemiah was a realist, he had no illusion that everyone could be of one heart, and so he also highlighted that “the nobles (of Tekoa) would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervision” (3:5). In spite of the non-cooperation of a minority, the work was carried out with unity by the great majority of the people. He was not deterred or discouraged by the opposition of a few, and the list, in a sense, is not so much for glorifying the people, but for counting the blessings of God.

Meditative Reflection
God is Our Ultimate Vindication

“Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.” (Neh. 4:4)

As the Israelites were able to unite together to rebuild the walls of the city of Jerusalem, their adversaries, led by the governor of Samaria, hurled ridicule and insults on Nehemiah and his people. At first sight, one might be surprised at how incensed Nehemiah was because he cursed his enemies before the Lord. As those were empty words uttered by the enemies, was he not over-reacting? Was he being mean spirited, repaying evil with evil?

However, we should examine the scornful words of Sanballat and understand the historical background to his ridicule which could potentially be very intimidating and discouraging to the builders.

First, he ridiculed the Jews as feeble—indeed the Jews were. Earlier in Ezra 4, as the first returnees began the rebuilding of the temple, at the first sign of opposition and harassment by their enemies, the Bible literally says that it caused the “weakening of the hands of the people of Judah” (Ezr. 4:4). The opposition had yet to take any violent action, but the people were already weak and timid that they had no strength to carry on.

Then, Sanballat mocked rhetorically, “Will they restore their wall?” In essence, he was saying that this generation of Jews was no different from their fathers and he was also encouraging his own people (his associates and the army of Samaria) to harass the Jews, implying that the same result would happen. They would stop their work.

But I believe that the ridicule that irks Nehemiah most was the next one, when Sanballat said, “Will they offer sacrifices?”.  He was directing his insult against the God of Israel, saying that at their opposition, the Jews could not draw strength to continue, so their only recourse was to ask their God for help, by offering sacrifices. This was a direct insult to the God of Israel.

And Sanballat followed up his insult against God by asking, “Will they finish in a day?”. This, in essence, was mocking the Jews for dreaming of a miracle. In other words, he was challenging God to perform a miracle to prove that He was real.

Finally, he drew the builders to the impossibility of the task: “Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are.” This was the reality. The devastation of the city was such that the walls of Jerusalem were a ruin—so badly burned and destroyed that repairs were in fact quite impossible. They would have to build a new one, which would cost a lot of money and manpower, and with their opposition, it would not be a possibility.

In other words, these were not merely empty words of ridicule, but they were words that reminded the people of their past failure, of their apparent futility of trusting Nehemiah and God, and of the impossibility of the task at hand.

As we know, these people were indeed easily discouraged, and with the insult directed ultimately at God, no wonder Nehemiah was infuriated and turned to God immediately for vindication. While his spirit was indeed bitter, he did not use his royal influence to vindicate himself and his people, he still turned to God as his own source of help. What a godly example for us to learn from!