PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE: Nehemiah
Nehemiah 1:5-11
Every person can coop with tragedy better by following the actions of Nehemiah.
Introduction:
Since the bombings on September 11, I have talked to so many people and it seems like we have all mentioned where we were when the news came or how we received word. That seems to be what happens when something big happens.
My mom used to tell me about being home sick when President Kennedy was shot. Some of you would remember Pearl Harbor. In my lifetime it has been the attempted assassination of President Reagan, and the beginning of the Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm. These are all experiences we can remember, but how do we deal with these kinds of experiences in our lives. I think Nehemiah gives us a great place to start looking and learning.
Nehemiah is the man we give credit to for rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity. The Babylonians came into the country and ran everyone else out. They sent the Jewish people in several different directions. They destroyed their cities and their homes the divided up families. The Babylonians kings made it a policy to deport conquered people. The policy of the Persians was exactly the opposite. They kept the people together.
When the Persians displaced the Babylonians they then sent the Jewish people back to their homes. This took a period of 100 years or more. It was about 90 after people were being sent back that Nehemiah came on the scene. Thirteen years prior to that Ezra had returned to Jerusalem with the intention of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. His success was minimal, due to interference from those who did not want the city rebuilt.
Nehemiah prays at a time while he is working for the Persians. There are some important actions Nehemiah makes mention of in this prayer. They are actions that are looking toward the re-building of the city he loves.
Action I. Reverence
A. The first action I notice in the Prayer of Nehemiah is reverence. There was no doubt the understanding that God had removed his hand of protection from the Jewish people and allowed this tragedy to take place. I don’t want to say that God caused the destruction, rather it is easy to look at from the perspective that he did not protect them from the exile. It was also clear that the people had been warned of such action if they refused to turn toward God. Instead they followed wicked kings and adopted a life of sin and idolatry.
B. In recognition of God’s great power Nehemiah describes God with the words great, and awesome in the passage we are looking at. Nehemiah had to recognize that the God whom he was addressing was the answer to any of the problems they were dealing with. The God He is dealing with is the one true God and he is more powerful than any adversary is or any other situation or problem that country might run into.
C. When we fact tragedies in our lives, or when bad things happen we can blame God, or we can turn to God. We have been a nation that has enjoyed prosperity and peace for many years. Our involvement for the most part has been away from our country, and now we have seen the United States is not impervious to such attacks. We are vulnerable. Like the Jewish people it could be that we are seeing God removing his hand of protection, just as a reminder of who is in control. If this is what God is doing then our response should be like that of the Nehemiah. We should be in reverence, realizing that this God is great and awesome, and I would add the only true God.
Action II. Repentance
A. As I stated earlier the Jewish people had followed the wickedness of their kings and they had on several occasions given into idolatry. The prophets whom God had sent were rejected. They were there to warn the king and the people that what they were doing was wrong. It was no secret that these people had sinned against God. A part of Nehemiah’s prayer is one of repentance.
B. Repentance is a change of heart and mind. The Jewish people were wrong in what they had been doing and it was intention of Nehemiah that there need to be a change of heart and mind. The first step in this process was confessing that they had acted wrongly. Nehemiah was sent as the governor of that place, so he had some authority. The things he was confessing had happened generations before Nehemiah had been born. Even though Nehemiah was not involved in that sin, look at his confession in v. 6, “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you.” In v. 7 he speaks of the wickedness of the people, and of the disobedience.
C. Are we willing to act similarly? Are we willing to say that we have been wrong about something? Even though Nehemiah was not even close to what went wrong he still confessed sins, including himself. I believe it is very appropriate for Christians to be confessing and repenting of the things they see going wrong in our world.
D. When the attacks took place on September 11, I could not help but catching commentators talking about the World Trade Center as an icon of the New York Skyline. That word icon stirs in me images of something to be worshipped. From the Ten Commandments we are told that we are to have no other gods. Could it be that the World Trade Center had come to represent our confidence in our financial well being? The strike against the Pentagon could have happened as a message that we are putting more weight in our military than in God. We may not have the Ashera poles and the high places that were the idols for the Jewish people, but we are much subtler. We put our faith in our money, or in our military. Or, maybe we have given our faith to something else. We need to confess that there is only one who is worthy of our faith, and that is the same God Nehemiah is addressing.
Action III. Remembrance
A. It is obvious that Nehemiah was a student of Scripture. Even though he had probably been an exile all of his life, he knew the promise God had made to Moses. In Deuteronomy 28 God makes the prediction that the people will be unfaithful and will be scattered. Later in chapter 30 God gives the remedy. “And when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes {3 Or
B. Nehemiah approached this with the understanding that this was discipline as a child might receive from a parent. In Hebrews 12:11, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” God was disciplining the Jewish people for their wickedness. Nehemiah recognized that and through some discernment was able to see that what was happening was God doing just what he said he would do.
C. I believe we must examine the terrorist attacks in light of the possibility of it being discipline. Once again I don’t want you to think for one minute that I believe God caused this to happen. However, I do believe that God may have turned his head for a moment, so to speak, and allowed these things to happen. It is very clear in the Bible that when certain things happen there will be certain consequences. It would be very appropriate for us to see what God has to say about what we have witnessed.
Action IV. Request
A. It is interesting that Nehemiah dedicates five verses of this passage to the other actions we have mentioned here and then with two sentences he presents his request to God. Even then the request does very little resembling of a prayer request. Instead he simply asks that God would follow through with his promise. He has already stated what God had promised back in the book of Deuteronomy. His request is nothing more than God would follow through with what he promised back then.
B. Think of how you respond to your children. When my children come to me and ask for something, it is very often easy to say “no”. However, when my children come to me and say, “Dad, you promised. . .” If that is really the case then it becomes a little more difficult to just let that pass. Really that is what I see Nehemiah doing. He is saying, God you promised. We met the requirements you asked for and you promised.
C. I cannot imagine a more effective way of dealing with God. If we come to God with a list of things we want he may be able to give us some other answer many times over, but when we can go to God and say, “you promised” I know what must have God’s attention at that point.
Conclusion:
When I see what Nehemiah is doing here, I see a formula for dealing tragedies of any size. If you are struggling with an annoying cold, or you have seen something unfold like the events of September 11, you can use this formula to get through that struggle.
First, we need to express our reverence. Really by that what I am saying is we need to confess that God is still God, and he is still in control. Second, we need to repent. Maybe we have been awakened to sin in our life, or in the life of others. Confess that sin and make the appropriate changes. Third, remember what God has said. We can look for God’s promises. Fourth, make your request, and if possible make is so it connects with the promises discovered in Scripture.
