Nehemiah 2: A time to plead

Captain Jane Entwisle encourages us to listen, trust and obey when God directs us.

Key text

• Nehemiah 2:1-10

Pause and reflect

• As a way of preparing yourself to dig into God’s word, read the study passage and retell it in your own words.

One of the remarkable things about living in Hull is the legacy of William Wilberforce. So moved by the appalling practice of the transatlantic slave trade, he pleaded before parliament for change: ‘A trade founded in iniquity, and carried on as this was, must be abolished, let the policy be what it might – let the consequences be what they would, I from this time determined that I would never rest till I had effected its abolition.’

In the previous chapter we learn that Nehemiah is mourning the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem and the ‘trouble and disgrace’ (Nehemiah 1:3) that the Jewish remnant were experiencing. Nehemiah’s life, like that of Wilberforce, is an example of a person determined, unwilling to rest until he had effected change – in this case, the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah’s plea in 1:11 ends with: ‘Give your servant success today by granting him favour in the presence of this man.’ And then the seemingly disjointed sentence: ‘I was cupbearer to the king.’

Chapter 2 begins four months on in the court of ‘this man’ – King Artaxerxes. For four months, the burden of the cause has weighed heavily, seemingly unheard prayer is taking its toll and, for the first time, Nehemiah has not been able to put on a smile before the king.

Pause and reflect

• Can you think of a time when you have asked for God to move but found his response to be not within your timeframe?

‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?’ (v2). We might think that these are words of compassion but, from the mouth of the king to his cupbearer, they are more likely to be chastisement. We learn that Nehemiah was very much afraid, and rightly so as the potential consequences of being sad in the presence of the king could be death. Yet Nehemiah also sees this interaction as a divine opportunity, an answer to his plea to find favour in the presence of the king.

Pause and reflect

• Have you ever felt compelled to plead or intercede for something with such sustained and consuming commitment as Nehemiah?

At last, the opportunity of a lifetime, or one that could end his lifetime! Nehemiah speaks with wisdom, mindful that King Artaxerxes had sent a decree to stop the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Would the king really go back on his decree? According to the Asbury Bible Commentary, Nehemiah chose to appeal ‘not for political or religious sympathy but to the dignity deserving of his buried ancestors’.

We can only imagine the fear and trembling as Nehemiah awaited the response after speaking so directly to the king, who had asked: ‘What is it you want?’ (v4).

What was Nehemiah’s first response to this astonishing question? To pray, of course! I love this. What a fabulous example to us. This prayer is Nehemiah’s second plea, again a plea to God. I wonder what he prayed for. Help? To get him out of there? For God to give him wisdom?

In times when we need courage, when we have opportunities beyond our pay grade, when our lives are in the balance, we should not step out in our own strength or wisdom. Our priority must be to turn to God and pray!

Pause and reflect

• Do you face a significant opportunity or choice? Have you prayed yet?

Having found favour before the king, I wonder if Nehemiah had practised or prepared what he might say when he imagined this moment. I ask this because he found the courage to not simply ask for one thing – to be allowed to leave his employment to go to Judah – but ask for three. ‘Go hard or go home’ is a phrase that comes to my mind!

Nehemiah’s plea to the king is so well considered, addressing the need for protection and the provision of materials.

Not only does the king grant all Nehemiah’s requests, but he also throws in the added protection of army officers and cavalry. That added layer of protection and authority was beyond what Nehemiah had asked for. Now the words of Ephesians 3:20 come to my mind, because God’s response to Nehemiah’s plea is immeasurably more than all he could ask or imagine. God gives superabundantly beyond what Nehemiah dared to ask for or even imagine.

What possibly afforded Nehemiah’s success? I would suggest two things. First, we could put Nehemiah’s success down to the king respecting Nehemiah and valuing him as a person of integrity, someone he entrusted with the honoured position of cupbearer. King Artaxerxes was so pleased with Nehemiah that, while allowing him to go, he and the queen wanted to know when he would be back. Second, there is no doubt in Nehemiah’s mind that the prime reason for the king granting his requests was ‘because the gracious hand of my God was on me’ (v8).

God doesn’t promise that every plea or prayer will be answered in our timing, or that we will never experience challenge. Sometimes, God’s answer to our plea doesn’t require our passive trust but an ear and a heart ready to respond to his direction for us to do something. God invites us to be part of his story, part of his desire to see the world restored for his glory.

Pause and reflect

• Have you a heavy heart or cause that could be God’s calling? Perhaps God wants to use you to bring restoration.
• Listen to ‘Do Something’ by Matthew West. Are you up for the challenge?