In telling the king the reason for A. his sorrowful countenance, Nehemiah spoke of Jerusalem as “the place of my fathers’ sepulchres.” It shows the deep affection there was in his heart for that place where the Lord had chosen to place His name.
Then the king graciously encouraged Nehemiah to make known his desires. And here it is beautiful to see that before he makes his answer he lifts up his heart in silent prayer to God. When there is a desire to do the Lord’s will, there will be much looking to Him, to know what the desire of His heart for His servant is. Nehemiah brought God in first, and then he answered the king. Humbly he requested the king that if he had found favor in his sight that he would send him to rebuild the waste places of Jerusalem.
The king, with the queen sitting by him, wished to know how long this would take, so when Nehemiah saw that he was pleased to send him, he set him a time. It seems Nehemiah was used to dealing in matters with the king wherein it was his custom to ask how long it would take to perform the different ferent things proposed, which Nehemiah in his official capacity would bring before him. No doubt lie had pondered over these things during those previous months of exercise. Evidently Nehemiah was what the book of Proverbs calls a “prudent” man; “Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge.” Prov. 13:66Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner. (Proverbs 13:6). He was able to give the king an answer, after crying to the Lord for guidance. It shows that all was the result of deep exercise, and not something done rashly. We are told in Eccles. 5:22Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2): “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven and thou upon earth: the fore let thy words be few.”
Then Nehemiah also asked for letters to be given to the governors beyond the river (Euphrates) so that they would give him a safe journey to the land of Judah. Also he asked for a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, requesting timber and beams for the palace and for the wall of the city. Then we get God’s answer to his prayer: the king granted him his request.
Next he tells us of the king giving him an escort of captains and horsemen. We do not see here, perhaps, the same simplicity of faith that we saw in Ezra who in earlier days had declined to guard of the king’s soldiers. However we esteem Nehemiah nevertheless, for though he held a high position in the realm, still he was a humble, devoted man, and his heart was with the little despised remnant of his people. Evidently he was used to arrangements like this kind in his daily life of serving the king, so this did not appear to him to be inconsistent. We can understand how it would have been inconsistent to Ezra in his office as priest and scribe where dependence on the Lord was constantly taught.
Thus prospered, Nehemiah came into Jerusalem. But whenever there is a work of God, Satan has an agent to of oppose it. We read that when the Samanitan, Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite, heard of his coming, “it grieved them exceedingly then there was come a man to seek the we fare of the children of Israel.” That which filled the heart of Nehemiah with joy and thankfulness, only grieve the enemies of the people of God. He sad it is that some who take the name of Christ in our day, are found among the opposers of the work of the Spirit of God!
ML 06/14/1959