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Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends.
Fireworks will fill the skies tonight all across America. Why? It’s “Independence Day”, America’s 249th birthday!
Of course, you’ll remember July 4, 1776,
was NOT filled with fireworks and festivities. Oh no, it was a terrible time as Colonists were faced with dreadful challenges and felt they had no good option other than to declare and fight for their Independence.
Come with me back to Susa, the capital of the Persian Kingdom, in about 445bc as we watch a man named Nehemiah face a very similar situation.
The book which bears his name in the Bible is Mr. Nehemiah’s autobiographical account of this remarkable situation. Nehemiah was a Jewish exile servant of King Artaxerxes, the most powerful man in the world. Nehemiah’s job was “cupbearer” to the king. That required Nehemiah to personally check all food and drink before it came to the king, to be sure it was both safe and of the highest quality. Nehemiah’s life was on the line every day, for as with all kings and presidents, there were then, as there are now, people who wanted the king dead.
Yesterday we watched as Nehemiah sought an audience with a group of people who had just returned from Jerusalem. The report that Nehemiah heard brought him to tears: “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” (Nehemiah 1:3) This description was not the result of a recent disaster but rather were ruins of the city which had been demolished by King Nebuchadnezzar about 140 years earlier! (2 Chron. 36:15-21)
Nehemiah’s response is indicative of his love for his Jewish heritage and the long history reputation of the great city of Jerusalem, and the Temple of God there. Nehemiah writes: “When I heard these things I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” (Nehemiah 1:4) Depending on your age, I wonder what news you have heard which has moved you to tears and even several days of mourning, fasting and prayer? If you are the age of my father, perhaps the news of December 7, 1941, and Pearl Harbor; or maybe D-day in June of 1944; or maybe the atomic bombs which ended WWII? Or if you are my age, maybe the assassination of President Kennedy and only a few years later Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King? Or maybe the horrific news of September 11th, 2001 or more recently the October 7, 2023 Hamas brutality in Israel? Or maybe for you it’s been a personal or family tragedy like death or divorce which brought you to tears, fasting and prayer?
In our generation of speed dial available resources, perhaps you have not contemplated fasting and prayer when facing a tearful tragedy, but rather you’ve reached out to paid, professional specialists to help you navigate your crisis? Nehemiah was facing something no human wisdom or resources could help him with. Nehemiah turned to the Almighty, all-knowing God who had helped Israel deal with crises so many times in their history! It appears Nehemiah knew Israel’s history well and was a man familiar with the privilege and power of prayer with the God of Israel. I have no doubt Nehemiah knew of Daniel’s 3 times daily prayer routine, Esther’s 3 days of prayer and Ezra’s powerful prayer. In fact, I believe we could add Nehemiah’s prayer, which he recorded for us in Nehemiah 1:5-11, to Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9 and Ezra’s prayer in Ezra 9. If you take the time to look at all three, do you see their similarities?
Nehemiah began with a powerful truth declaration about one of the great uniquenesses of the God of Israel: His unwavering LOVE for His people! Nehemiah prayed: “LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” (Nehemiah 1:5) Have you discovered the significance of meeting God on HIS terms, in HIS place of Sovereign Supremacy and Majesty; rather than demanding that God come into our mess and meet us here? We can so easily be preoccupied with our heavy life loads that we bypass worship and accolades for God and instead we rush into pouring out our pain and problems to God, as if He is uninformed!
Every significant prayer recorded for us in the Bible begins with adoration and worship of our great God and His wonderful attributes. Is that your pattern and mine, my friends? If so, have we noticed that starting our prayer with adoration and praise, regardless of the desperation of our situation, will elevate the eyes of our heart from our painful mess to the glory and majesty of God, and that will ease our burden and give us hope!?
That is what Nehemiah was doing as he then moved from praise to confession and repentance of sin. Nehemiah’s confession statement was very significant: “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against You, O God. We have acted very wickedly toward You. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws that You gave Your servant Moses.” (Nehemiah 1:6,7) Could the same be said of you and me, your ancestors and mine? How often have we acknowledged that to God in our prayers? Have you learned, my friends, the importance of being specific with God in confession and repentance, rather than just sweeping general statements?
Do we understand how our adoration, worship and praise positions God in His rightful place of honor in our hearts; so, our confession and repentance positions us in our rightful place of humble petition before Holy God! Did you get that my friends? How often do you and I pray like that?
Nehemiah then reminded God of His promises, spoken to King Solomon and the prophets, that if God had to discipline or pour out judgment on His rebellious people, still He would hear their repentant prayer and gather them together again in His land. Nehemiah was living at the time in history when he was seeing that with his own eyes, as we are in our day. Jewish exiles had been permitted to return to Jerusalem in the decades before Nehemiah. They were rebuilding Jerusalem, and the Temple had been rebuilt and dedicated. But the walls remained piles of untouched ruins and thus Jerusalem was vulnerable to attack and the shame of ruins lay all around the city.
Nehemiah had only two significant requests of God, do you see them?
First, oh how Nehemiah wanted assurance that his prayer was being received by God: “Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of this Your servant…” (Nehemiah 1:11) Do you and I pray with confidence God hears our prayers, my friends? Do we claim Hebrews 10:19-22 as our right of entry into God’s presence when we pray, because of Jesus?
Nehemiah’s second request was that God would move in King Artaxerxes’ heart: “Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man, the king.” (Nehemiah 1:11)
As Nehemiah ruminated on the painful report he had received from Hanani about the ruins of Jerusalem, a plan was coming together in his mind. A plan shaped by the Holy Spirit of God. But even presenting the plan to King Artaxerxes would require a miracle of God in the king’s heart to hear the words Nehemiah would speak. Have you experienced God shaping a plan of action in your heart when you are facing a dilemma or crisis? Tomorrow we’ll see what God did in this remarkable situation, and here’s a great worship song to help us consider all these things…
Today’s Scripture: Nehemiah 1:4-11.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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