NEHEMIAH 1: 1 - 8
GOD OF COVENANT AND MERCY
1) The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
2) That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3) And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
4) And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
5) And said, I beseech Thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keeps covenant and mercy for them that love Him and observe His commandments:
6) Let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest hear the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel Thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee: both I and my father's house have sinned
7) We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which Thou commanded Thy servant Moses.
8) Remember, I beseech Thee, the word that Thou commanded Thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
9) But if ye turn unto Me, and keep My commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My Name there.
10) Now these are Thy servants and Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy great power, and by Thy strong hand.
11) O LORD, I beseech Thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant, and to the prayer of Thy servants, who desire to fear Thy Name: and prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer. King James Version (KJV) Public Domain
COMMENTARY
I have not replaced so many of the commentaries that I had before the flood, or I would have referenced Dr. H.A. Ironsides for this post. I used The Tony Evans Bible Commentary for this post, as he is also well respected for his commentaries. I like the way he wrote some of his thoughts.
Nehemiah was written after the Babylonians captured the Israelites but had given them their freedom to go back to Jerusalem. Some went back, some did not. Nehemiah stayed in Babylon and was the cup bearer to the king, Artaxerxes. This is not only a position that you would lay down your life for the king, but he was also chief of staff. This is a position of trust and great reputation. Many of the captured Jews worked for their captures as unto The LORD, as we are also expected to do.
When Nehemiah asked others who had returned from Jerusalem how things were going back home, the answer bruised his soul. He wept and mourned, fasted and prayed to God. He confirmed that God remembered what He said he would do to the Israelites if they did not obey His commands, and Nehemiah asked Him to also remember what He said if they would be obedient. I say once again, God wants our obedience much more than He wants our sacrifices.
We have a tendency of making our problems and situations much bigger than life; when we should realize that God is bigger than anything that we find ourselves caught in. There is nothing He cannot do except lie. So, we are to start tackling our problems before the throne of God. We fight the battles, but He has won the war for us. Keep your eyes on Jesus, Who goes before you and behind you. If you are faithful, He will turn the circumstances around because He honors His word and He deserves the glory for it.
Nehemiah was praying to God before "this man", who was King Artaxerxes. God used this pagan to accomplish His will. By the way, the answer was not immediate. It took over four months, but the king provided all that Nehemiah would need to rebuild Jerusalem......and gave him the time off to accomplish the task.
What about you? Is your relationship with the Holy God of Jerusalem such that you are confident to go before the throne and ask what you will? Do you mourn for those you know who don't know what a great God He is? If you are one who don't know Jesus, here is a link to get you started on the greatest journey of your life: https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.
If this ministry is a blessing to you, please pray that God uses our efforts for His Kingdom. You are encouraged to leave us a message to tell us how we are making a difference in your life. Please also share this post on your favorite social media. Thank you so much for allowing us into your life.
