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Short Commentaries by Al on the Book of NehemiahReturn to the Index of Short Commentaries |
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Nehemiah 2:2 - “Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid.” News of the distress of God’s people had made Nehemiah sad (1:1-4). In the course of his work he came before the unfaithful, who noticed the sadness in his face. The worldly man prodded him for a reason, and the necessity to speak of it before unbelievers raised a fear in Nehemiah. He was standing before a man whose response to Nehemiah’s concerns could greatly comfort God’s people, or increase their distress. It appears that Nehemiah was fearful lest he should present the case in a way that would result in hurt, rather than help, for the city and the people of God. You see? It’s common to feel fear in such a situation. Peter said, though, that we must be ready to give that answer (I Peter 3:15), and in spite of his trepidation, Nehemiah did exactly that (2:3). If we love God enough, we can, too. Be afraid enough that you pay attention to how you phrase your answer of faith, but don’t be so afraid that you show instead a lack of faith by not speaking up for Christ and the gospel Nehemiah 4:6 - “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” And that’s how the work gets done. The context lists the workers and the work that they did. Pharmacists, politicians, government employees, sons, daughters, soldiers and slaves all worked together at clearing rubbish, loading carts, hauling materials, laying stone, building and hanging gates with their hinges, locks and bars. You don’t have to be a “preacher” to tell someone the gospel of Jesus. You don’t have to be an elder to be an example of a faithful servant of God. You just have to see what God wants done, and get up and do it. “There is room in the Kingdom of God, my brother, for the small things that you can do.” “For us He died that for Him we might live, Can He depend on you?” Nehemiah 6:3 - “And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?” When Israel’s enemies couldn’t prevent the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall by intimidation or political intervention, they tried flattery and compromise (v.2). Most Christians are relatively immune to overt attacks upon our faith by those who make their intentions obvious. If one says, “I’m going to erase the church and the memory of it from this community,” we know the threat and the response. We are prepared and determined to stand fast. But often when the neighbor seems polite and sympathetic we are unaware that “he thought to do me mischief” (v.2). Nehemiah probably knew their motives, for they had tried other means of preventing his work, but his answer is a lesson for us even when the motives may not be so clear: just stay focused on the God-given work, and don’t be distracted, neither by friend nor foe. *Nehemiah 8:8 - "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” Here is an inspired description of the content, style and method of appropriate exhortation of God’s people - the God-approved method of dealing with the scriptures when preaching. Their content was the Bible, and they read it distinctly. They gave the sense. That is, they explained difficult words, showed the relationship with other passages and made clear the meaning of the text in its context. By this careful and determined approach they caused the people to understand the reading. No person has ever improved upon this example of right preaching. None ever shall. The result of such preaching on that occasion was (v. 12) that the people understood the words, and applied them in the normal activities of their daily lives. All who love God should always require such preaching. If you are not doing the preaching, tell the preacher that this is the kind of preaching that you need and want. If you are a preacher, demand it of yourself. Nehemiah 8:14-16 - “ And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month ... So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths...” Was that the wrong thing to do? Are they to be rebuked because the did what they found written in the Bible? On the other hand, was it the only right thing to do? Would it have been permissible for them to read it in the law which the Lord had commanded, then refuse to do it? I wonder how long they waited after reading it before they obeyed it? Don’t you agree that the sense of the language is that they didn’t wait, but “went forth” immediately? Will you follow the example of “the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites” (V. 13)? What is there in the Bible that you haven’t found? .... or haven’t done? Nehemiah 9:3 - “And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God.” Consider this record of the Jews just back in their homeland after years of exile, and see the contrast of clock-watchers on padded pews in air-conditioned buildings. At “one fourth part of the day,” even if we take the shortest interpretation of an 8-hour work day (which is not likely), they stood their for two hours, and they followed that with two more hours of bowing before God in praise and thanksgiving. Two weeks earlier Ezra had read before the assembled people the Law of God from dawn until midday (8:3). But our physical comfort and our “important” things to do won’t allow us to give God that much glory, honor, respect, praise and thanksgiving. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning” (Rom. 15:4), “and they are written for our admonition” (I Cor. 10:11). |
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