A Look into Nehemiah : Part One
When I was asked to write a four-part series on a book of the Bible for this woman’s blog, Nehemiah certainly wasn’t the most obvious choice. But I felt compelled to write about this particular book because after reading it recently, I was astounded by the many beautiful but seemingly small “nuggets” I hadn’t noticed previously, and how applicable they are for the women of Cities Church today.
With four blog posts at my disposal, my goal isn’t to offer a comprehensive, exegetical study of the entire book of Nehemiah, but instead, I’d like to share those “nuggets” with you that I found convicting and inspiring and how they fit into the overall theme of the historical narrative. Nehemiah as a whole is centered around the idea of rebuilding God’s nation after the exile (hint: in a variety of ways...we’re not just talking about an outer wall), but my heart is to zoom in on specific moments of the rebuilding process that challenged me in my own walk of faith, and I believe, will challenge yours also.
What I hope you see in the person of Nehemiah is a picture of what a faithful servant of God looks like. I pray that you are inspired by his immense faith and trust in the plans of the “God of heaven” as Nehemiah so humbly calls him. You will also see a renewed faith and trust from God’s covenant people. But people aren’t perfect of course (including Nehemiah) so ultimately, you will see their shortcomings as well and how they point forward to the perfect servant, Jesus Christ, and their need for him. And in all this, you will see God’s steadfast, sovereign hand in bringing about his good and perfect plan for the people he loves—all for his glory.
God Gives Us Missions
In case you haven’t read Nehemiah, the book is about a remnant of God’s covenant people, Israel, returning from exile in Babylon back to the Promised Land in order to reestablish the Jewish community and reconstruct Jerusalem after its destruction by the Babylonians 70-ish years prior. The exile was God’s judgment against Israel for their continued disobedience and failure to keep their covenant with him, so Israel is returning home in a very humbled state. God has placed a Jew named Nehemiah in a unique position as cupbearer to the current Babylonian king. The book opens with Nehemiah in a foreign land and getting word from brothers in Judah that things aren’t so great back home. They report that the wall surrounding Jerusalem is “broken down and its gates destroyed by fire,” and because God’s city is in ruins and seemingly unprotected, God’s people are “in great trouble and shame” (1:3).
After Nehemiah is given this news, he sits down, weeps and “for some days,” he “mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven” (1:4). Nugget alert: would I have reacted like Nehemiah did? Do I love my brothers and sisters so much, and am so affected by their sufferings, that I am moved to tears, fasting, and prayer on their behalf? And not just right after I hear about it or for a couple hours after I hear about it, but for days?
After Nehemiah hears the news, the scene switches to him standing in the presence of the king who senses his sadness and asks what’s wrong. Nehemiah, with great faith and trust in his God—even though feeling “very much afraid” (2:2) of the king taking his response poorly—tells him about the demise of his people back home and his desire to go back and help rebuild Jerusalem’s outer wall. (Does brokenness over the sufferings of God’s people also cause me to speak up, act boldly and risk everything, including death, to help them?) The king grants Nehemiah’s request, and we again see Nehemiah’s great faith when he says that the request was granted because “the gracious hand of my God was on me” (2:8). Nehemiah is quick to praise the One who deserves all the credit for his success. Are we?
Have you ever found yourself in a similar position as Nehemiah? Maybe you work in a secular environment, but some days feel like you’re wasting your time, and you often wonder how God will use you to further his people’s good. Take comfort in knowing that you don’t have to be in a “ministry” position to do God’s work. You are no different than Nehemiah in that you can trust that wherever you are, you are exactly where God wants you and needs you to be, and that he is more than capable of using you anywhere he places you to fulfill his good purposes.
In Nehemiah 2:12 and 7:5, we see that Nehemiah’s mission came from what “God had put into [his] heart.” God is the Great Planner and Initiator. What has God put into your heart to do for him? Every Christian has a mission to make disciples (Matthew 28), but God also puts other things on our hearts to do for him. Nehemiah was faithful to heed God’s calling, and he was ready to act. He counted the cost and knew the risks, but he still stepped forward in obedience out of great love for his God and his people. Without knowing the end result, he believed that God would establish his steps (Prov. 16:9). And so must we.
Every God-given Mission Encounters Opposition
Whatever mission God puts on our hearts, we can be sure that opposition will come. Scripture is rife with stories about opposition rising against God’s people. Nehemiah’s mission to rebuild the wall was met by intimidation, threats of physical violence, false accusations, and verbal assaults. But instead of cowering in fear and stopping the work he knew he was called to, Nehemiah never wavered. Rather, he responded by exhorting God’s people to “not be afraid of them. Remember the LORD, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your homes” (4:14).
When (not if) our missions encounter opposition, like Nehemiah, we must remember first who God is, and then with renewed confidence in God (not us), we can step out in faith and action, entrusting the outcome to him, even when it seems impossible (Mark 10:27). When we encounter opposition to our mission, we will get frustrated. We might even feel terrified at times. Nehemiah felt all these things, but like him, our hearts can trust our God to fulfill his plans because he is our strength and our shield (Psalm 28:7). We of all people shouldn’t be surprised when opposition comes (1 Peter 4:12). Satan will do everything he can to mar or stop anything that God’s children do to bring him glory. If anything, meeting opposition to our God-given callings shouldn’t make us doubt our callings; it should confirm them.
God’s Purpose Will Always Prevail
In the end, God’s plan for the Jews to rebuild the outer wall prevailed and they finished the work in only 52 days, a seemingly impossible feat! In Nehemiah 6:16, Nehemiah says, “When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.” The world has confidence in themselves. Christians have confidence in the God of heaven. We cannot fulfill our God-given missions in our own power, as much as we try. God uses our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:7–10) and our reliance on him to accomplish his purposes through his power, which makes his involvement obvious to a watching world—which in turn, magnifies who he is and causes the world to tremble. And this gives him glory!
We are in good company when our missions encounter opposition. Jesus himself knows exactly what it feels like to have vehement opposition to your God-given mission. But sin and Satan and his rulers and his authorities never stood a chance. In the end, the God of heaven used the greatest act of opposition ever to bring about the greatest act of obedience ever and death to bring about life—all proof that God’s plans will always prevail, even when it seems impossible.