Nehemiah 2 (ESV) — 1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. 9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. 11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. 13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. 17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”
The Danger Of Hopelessness
Last week, in the first chapter of Nehemiah, Nehemiah was moved by the news that Jerusalem's walls were broken down and gates burned with fire. God's city and people were not what they were meant to be—the city and people who broadcast God's glory to the world. God had been burdened by this reality for decades, but now Nehemiah shared God's burden and prayed about it.
He saw things the way God saw things! This was good, an important first step towards experiencing God's renewal.
But there is a danger that comes after God shares his burden with us: we might conclude that nothing can be done.
Nehemiah (and the people in Jerusalem) could have come to that conclusion. The city had been in disrepair for around 150 years. By that point, everyone who had seen the city in its former glory was dead and gone. No one living had seen Jerusalem as an epicenter of love and devotion and worship to God. Gone were the days that millions poured into the city to celebrate God with feasts and sacrifices. Gone were the days Israel's kings pointed the nation to their true king. Gone were the days that other nations came to see Jerusalem's flourishing and hear about Jerusalem's God.
By Nehemiah's time, Jerusalem seemed to be just another vassal city that reported to the kings of earth. They had little hope anything could change. They weren't even thinking about rebuilding the walls and gates. The reigning king in Persia was against them—King Artaxerxes had already told them to stop rebuilding (Ezra 4:17-24). They had no resources at their disposal—they were a poor nation with limited opportunities to raise capital. And they had no plans for what they would do even if they could do it—the task was so daunting!
God Is The Prime Mover
So God worked hard to awaken hope within them, and this episode shows us how. I hope you noticed that it was God at work throughout the whole episode. Nehemiah said as much.
When the king asked him what he was requesting, Nehemiah said:
"So I prayed to the God of heaven." (2:4)
And after the king gave him his entire request, Nehemiah concluded:
"The good hand of my God was upon me." (2:8)
Once he arrived in Jerusalem, he arose in the night to secretly inspect the city's damage because Nehemiah said he had
"...told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem." (2:12)
And when he told the Jewish leadership why he was there, he said,
"I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good." (2:18)
And after a coalition of hostile forces came against them, Nehemiah responded,
"The God of heaven will make us prosper." (2:20)
So God was at work to revive their hope then, just as he wants to awaken our hope today. He wants us to know we have the permission, resources, and plans of heaven at our disposal to help us experience renewal. And when we need renewal, God wants us to believe it can happen. He wants us to hope.
So how did God awaken hope in them?
1. God Awakens Hope While We Pray (1-4)
Long-Prayer
The first thing I want you to see is that God awakens hope while we pray. We studied Nehemiah's initial burst of prayer in Nehemiah 1, but this episode begins in the month of Nisan, four months after Nehemiah first heard the news of Jerusalem's decay (1, 1:1-3).
The indication is that Nehemiah continued to pray and think during those four months, which might've felt like an eternity to Nehemiah. Once he began the rebuilding project, it took him under two months to repair the wall and gates. So for over twice the time it took to do the actual physical work, Nehemiah did the spiritual work of prayer. He continued to carry the burden God gave him, which is why he was sad in the king's presence so many months after hearing the news about Jerusalem (1-2).
Perhaps he felt God was moving slowly. Perhaps he was waiting for God to provide the right moment to speak to the king. Perhaps he didn't know what to do. But as those months unfolded, so did God's plan. God was doing a beautiful work in Nehemiah, in the king, and in Jerusalem's people the whole time Nehemiah prayed.
God also call us to pray long-term prayers. There are people and movements that need to marinate in prayer for a long period of time.
Short-Prayer
But Nehemiah also prayed very short prayers as well. When the king saw Nehemiah's sadness of heart he asked about it (2). Nehemiah was very much afraid at that moment, likely because the king's staff was never supposed to show negative emotions in front of the king. But Nehemiah counted the cost and risked it all by telling the king that the city, the place of his fathers' graves, lay in ruins, and its gates were destroyed by fire" (3). With conditions like those, of course he was sad.
The king responded by asking, "What are you requesting?" (4). Nehemiah wrote: So I prayed to the God of heaven" (4). That is a brief prayer Nehemiah silently uttered to God. He didn't ask for a timeout to take a few hours for prayer. He didn't say anything out loud. Quickly and quietly, he spoke with God about the situation.
Nehemiah's long term prayers were foundational—but sometimes a short prayer is more helpful in the moment.
Imagine you've been praying for someone for many years. Maybe they are caught up in a life or mindset that is blocking God's love and grace from their lives. Then, one day, they call and are distraught, ready to talk about Jesus. But since you've been praying for them, you know exactly what you'd like to see happen in their lives. Quietly and quickly, you pray again and begin to speak.
How Does Prayer Translate To Hope?
And while in prayer, our hope is awakened. How? How does prayer translate to hope?
It was through prayer Nehemiah realized he wasn't really getting permission from the king, but through the king and from the true King. Nehemiah stood before the most powerful man on earth, but he was still only a man, and Nehemiah had come to realize this through prayer. This is indicated at the end of his prayer in Nehemiah 1. He concluded by praying:
"Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." (Nehemiah 1:11)
This man—to Nehemiah, the king was only a man, and as Nehemiah stood before him, he was also standing before the King of Heaven.
It is all too easy to live in discouragement and hopelessness, to think there is no way anything can change, to believe we are stuck. But, as we pray and interact with God, we are reminded of a greater reality. We are reminded of his ability. And our hope begins to awaken because we cannot have true fellowship with God without being transformed to become a bit more as he is.
Elijah, the prophet, was one such man. He had spent long years alone with God—partly in prayer and partly by learning God's word. One thing he noticed in Scripture was that God had made an agreement with Israel that if they persisted in rebellion against him, he would declare a drought as a way to awake them from spiritual slumber. Elijah lived during such a time of rebellion, so he prayed. James tells his tale:
James 5:17–18 (ESV) — 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
It was only through interaction with God that Elijah could pray that way. And as we engage with God in prayer and in the world, we begin to hope for things that are biblical. Elijah wanted no rain and then rain in accordance with God's stated plans for his people. Nehemiah wanted provisions and permission to go rebuild God's city so that it could be the place God stated it was meant to be. And, as we interact with God over time and in important moments, we might be further reminded of what God can do and wants to do—and our hope is awakened.
2. God Awakens Hope By Making A Way (5-8)
Superabundant Favor And Provision
Another way God awakens hope is by making a way. Nehemiah said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it" (5). The boldness Nehemiah had before God became the boldness he had before his boss, the king. His attitude is reminiscent of others throughout Scripture—Daniel, Joseph, Esther, and the apostles were bold before kings and emperors. Nehemiah wanted the king's permission to rebuild Jerusalem—and Nehemiah wanted to be the one to rebuild it! He isn't only praying for Jerusalem but volunteering for Jerusalem.
The king responded favorably: "How long will you be gone, and when will you return?" (6). When Nehemiah heard these words, he realized the king was being favorable toward him, so he asked for two letters. The first was for the governors of the province Beyond the River so that he could pass freely (7). The second was for Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, so that he would give Nehemiah the timber needed for the project (8).
And the king granted Nehemiah what he asked, for the good hand of his God was upon him (8).
This was superabundant favor and provision. Nehemiah got everything he asked for—and he asked for a lot! He wanted permission, provision, and protection. He got all three. The same king who had shut down the rebuilding project a few years earlier had commissioned the entire project at Nehemiah's request. God had made a way where there was no way.
God Can Make A Way To Renewal
The people back in Jerusalem had likely convinced themselves that renewal could never come. But a thousand miles away, God was working mightily, providing everything they needed for the rebuilding effort.
This is God—he makes a way where there is no way.
One time, years earlier, during a terrible famine, Elisha the prophet said God would make flour and barley abundantly common within 24-hours. A military official guarding the gate responded indignantly:
2 Kings 7:2 (ESV) — “If the LORD himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But Elisha said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
At that time, four beggars at the gate of the city decided to take a huge risk. The famine had been caused because their city was under siege by the Syrian army. So the beggars, feeling they would either die of starvation or at the hands of the Syrians, decided to go out to the Syrian camp to see if they could have some food as prisoners of war. But when they arrived, they discovered the camp was empty! And more than that, the Syrians had left in haste—God had filled their camp with the sounds of a massive invading army—so they left all their food and supplies behind. After having a little feast, the beggars realized they needed to tell everyone in the city. When they did, the people stampeded the gates, and the captain of the guard was trampled to death. He saw it with his eyes but did not taste it.
We call God the Waymaker. He parted the Red Sea. He opened prison gates. He fulfilled dreams. He brought down hostile powers. In the Bible, we see him—time and time again—make a way where there was no way.
Christ Has Made A Way
And we see this most evidently in the cross of Christ. There was no way forward for us to be one with God. The possibility of a relationship with God did not exist. He is sinless. We are sinful and unable to keep the law. We could not know him.
But Jesus came and fulfilled the law for us. God came down as one of us to do what we couldn't. He made a way where there was no way.
And now, with God, there is a way forward for renewal. We must believe this—even when we feel dry and spiritually feeble.
Paul said:
Ephesians 1:3 (ESV) — 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
That is our position if we are in Christ. We have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place. Where are these blessings? In Christ. This means that if we are in Christ—if we are born again, believers—we have access to all the permission, provision, and protection we need for spiritual renewal.
There Is—Most Surely—A Way
This hope is important in our time. Some of you feel the world has changed too much and that spiritual vitality and life cannot come in conditions like these. You've forgotten that this episode happened during exile, that the exodus occurred during slavery in Egypt, and that the church exploded during Roman oppression. God worked through Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, Artaxerxes, Cyrus, Pharaoh, Nero, Domitian, and others to accomplish his work in his people.
We have everything we need. We have the word. We have one another. We have prayer. We have God. And with him, we have all we need to experience radical renewal, no matter the conditions.
3. God Awakens Hope By Revealing His Plans (9-15)
But I also want you to see how God awakens hope by revealing his plans. Nehemiah prayed, but as he did, a plan began to materialize. During the months of prayer, he began to realize just what was needed for the project—time off, funding, letters, lumber, even a military escort. I believe God was stirring these things in Nehemiah. And once Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, the plan developed even further. And it was those plans that helped really awaken the hope of the people there. So what can we learn of God's plans from this movement?
The Plan Requires Careful Inspection
First, the plan requires careful inspection. Once Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, after three days to settle in after months of travel, he developed the plan further by conducting a nighttime investigation of the damage. He didn't want to draw attention to himself without having a chance to see the scope of the project with his own eyes, so only he and a few others circled the city that night.
The Plan Is Not About You
Second, the plan is not about you. I love Nehemiah's humility in all this. He didn't make a big deal about the approximately five-month journey from Persia to Jerusalem. He recounted his conversation with the king. Then he recounted his journey like this: So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days (11). He clearly didn't think the plan was about him. It was about what God was doing for his people.
The Plan Is Initiated By God
Third, the plan is initiated by God. Nehemiah even described his desire to rebuild as "what God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem" (12). He gave all credit and glory to God. God is the author. Too many take credit for things God is doing. But proper planning recognizes the need for God and his might.
The Plan Is Often A Private Affair
Fourth, the plan is often a private affair. For Nehemiah, the plan came together in private before he went public with it. And God will do this—he will stir his people in quiet and unpublicized ways before launching them into his work. I imagine even now, God is working on and in many of you, preparing you for a work of renewal. But he has to get to your heart in the quiet—alone—before the work becomes known.
Secondary To Prayer
Fifth (and finally), the plan is secondary to prayer. The proposal Nehemiah came up with was all secondary to—and an outflow of—prayer. Because Nehemiah was a man of prayer, the plan formed.
To trust in any form of organization, or in any spiritual gift or configuration of gifts, or in any gifted person’s ministry, to bring new life to a church is indeed Spirit-quenching. When hope rests on these factors rather than on God, prayer fades, pride blossoms, and God’s blessing is withheld. -- J. I. Packer, A Passion for Faithfulness: Wisdom From the Book of Nehemiah
Prayerlessness is the result of putting credit where it is not due—yourself! So we should look to God for plans for renewal, but we must continually trust the God of the plan rather than make a god of the plan.
Exhortation
I say all this because some of you need to prayerfully plan for spiritual renewal. You are hoping it will come. You are open to a fresh experience of grace. But the Spirit is trying to form in you a game plan that will inevitably lead to an experience of his grace. Without one, all you have is a wish. But he can help put biblical plans together that will tap into the great resources he offers.
For some of you, this will mean learning how to build spiritual disciplines into your life—Bible study, prayer, or service, to name a few. For some of you, this will mean pursuing a small gathering of likeminded believers for weekly encouragement and accountability, like we have in our Life Groups and Discipleship Groups. For some of you, this will mean learning how to become a reader and thinker so you can bring solid Christian practices into your life. For some of you, this will mean consuming good counsel on parenting so that you can raise your children in a biblical way.
But the things of life—at some point—will require planning. You can't just float through things like relationships, a walk with God, career, parenting, marriage, friendship, or church service without a plan for growth, and God wants to help you with that plan.
The Response
Hope
People responded to this awakened hope in one of two ways. In our passage, after getting a plan together, Nehemiah gathered the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. He said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision" And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, "Let us rise up and build." So they strengthened their hands for the good work (16-18).
In a flash, these people who had learned to coexist with broken walls and burnt gates were stirred up into action! God had awakened their hope. When they heard of what God had done for and through Nehemiah, when they heard his honest evaluation of their situation, when they heard his plan combined with God's provision, they strengthened themselves to work. They were ready!
Hostility
But they weren't the only ones to hear of Nehemiah's plans. When he first arrived, governing officials from the surrounding provinces heard of his arrival. Sanballat and Tobiah had heard and were displeased greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel (10). And when they joined forces with Geshem they had a coalition of forces that surrounded Jerusalem on all sides—all against this rebuilding project.
But, just as God was in the enthusiastic response of the Jewish people, so was he in the jeers of these enemies. For decades, these leaders (and others like them) approved of the inactivity of God's people. But once God's kids started doing what they were supposed to, the insults began to fly.
Nehemiah responded forcefully. It won't be the last time he has to interact with these enemies, but his first response will color every subsequent response: "The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem" (20).
Nehemiah wanted everyone to know he wasn't leaning on the king's authority but on the God of heaven's authority. And he modeled for his people the need to ignore the hostility and move forward with the work. Don't get caught up in those fights, instead fight the good fight and build.
It is obviously encouraging when people respond like the Jews in Jerusalem did to Nehemiah's plan. When people are supportive and want to get involved in renewal, it is exciting. But, in a different way, it can also be encouraging when people respond as Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem did. If what we are doing in renewal is God's work, and if God has enemies, then we should expect pushback when pursuing renewal. It might come from people outside the faith. It might come from fellow believers. It might even come from within our own minds. But there will always be opposition to renewal, and Nehemiah gives us a template for how to respond—don't engage and move on!
Jesus
On this side of the cross, we have the greatest reason to have a hope that is alive. From eternity past, the second person of the Triune God, Jesus Christ, has interceded and prayed for us. From the very beginning, in a greater way that Nehemiah, he was burdened for us and volunteered himself to rescue us. With the commission of the Father and the resources of eternity—greater than any king could offer—Jesus came to make the way for us to be renewed before God. And he has plans and purposes for each one of us—ways to shape and mold us into his image. The question is: how will you respond, with hope or with hostility?