Meeting With the Priests and Rulers - Neh. 2:17-18

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With a clear sense of the ruin, Nehemiah now approaches the priests, nobles, and rulers. However, this was a work of God, and not one that required either the consent or the advice of those prominent in the community. He presents two things: firstly, an accurate depiction of the true state of things — “Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire” (Neh. 2:17) — and secondly, he exhorts them to build again the walls of the city so that they might no longer be a reproach. Not because of the strength that they possessed — the remnant had demonstrated how helpless they were — but rather, because the hand of God was with them. The king’s authority is not overlooked; they were under Gentile rule, and all was done with the approval of that rule (Neh. 2:18).
“Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work” (Neh. 2:18). Sometimes it is necessary to rise up; to “lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” (Heb. 12:12). Jude’s letter, written in a day of apostasy, does not end in hopelessness, but rather, he encourages and exhorts: “Beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 20-21). Sardis, which represents the final stages of Protestantism, is urged to “be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die” (Rev. 3:2). To throw up our hands in despair, even when all around us is in ruins, is a sign of faithlessness. It is good to see the response of the people; they strengthened their hands, recognizing that it was a good work — perhaps not glamorous, but certainly good because it was of God. Likewise, we are to “consider one another for provoking to love and good work  ...  encouraging one another” (Heb. 10:24-25 JND).