Nehemiah Hears God’s Call: Nehemiah 1:1-2:8
January 10th, 2008 at 5:03 pm (1:1-2:8, Nehemiah)
Just prior to Nehemiah, the Jews hadn’t been home to Jerusalem for 70 years. They hadn’t been able to worship God properly because they needed to be in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. More than that, they had become complacent and comfortable in Babylonia, where they didn’t belong. They quit wanting to go back.
At that point, God masterfully began laying the foundation for revival:
- He moved the hearts of several pagan government rulers to allow the Jews to return
- He moved the hearts of two priests (Zerubbabel and Ezra) to lead the people back
- He moved the hearts of 50,000 complacent Jews to want to return and to rebuild the temple that had been destroyed
- He moved the hearts of the rest of the Jews to financially support that work
- He moved the hearts of two prophets (Haggai and Zechariah) to motivate them
The Jews in Jerusalem faced a lot of opposition to rebuilding the temple. They got started, then they got stopped by their enemies and the government. 18 years later they were able to start again and finish the task.
With the temple rebuilt, the people now became aware of their sinfulness. Most notably, many of them - even their priests - had intermarried with pagans. They were impure.
Ezra led a national repentance. They did what they could to purify themselves and they recommitted themselves to God and to purity.
So now we get to Nehemiah chapter 1. The temple’s rebuilt, but the wall around the city - which had been destroyed with the Temple - was still demolished. Without a city wall, no one from the outside could look at them (or at God) with respect. It also made them vulnerable militarily. What was worse in Nehemiah’s mind was that it showed that the Jewish people had once again become complacent.
Nehemiah lived 900 miles away (a 4-month journey) and held an important position with the King of Persia. But when he found out that the city wall still needed rebuilt, he fell on his face before God, admitted his sins and those of his nation, and appealed to his boss (a pagan King) to give him a 12-year vacation so he could lead the Jews in rebuilding their nation.
Amazingly, God moved the King’s heart and he said yes!
…………..
As we reflected on all of this, we realized that God wants to accomplish something in each of our lives. God’s will for you or for me is never for us to be stagnant. He always wants us to do something.
- Some of us tend to avoid doing things that need done, expecting church staff or others to take care of them.
- Others of us tend to want to do everything that needs done, not allowing other people to do the work.
Being involved in things God doesn’t call us to is no better than not being involved in things He does call us to.
Both extremes come from not knowing how to hear God’s voice. We should strive to be right in the middle:
- People who tend to avoid doing things themselves need to learn to be receptive to God’s voice the way Nehemiah was. They need to seek out God’s desires for them and learn to hear His specific calling, then trust Him to enable they to obey successfully
- People who tend to want to do everything that needs done (who over-commit themselves) also need to learn to hear God’s voice and seek out His will. God doesn’t want us to do everything, only some things. And He’ll tell us just what those things are if we’ll listen.
Nehemiah 1 and 2 taught us how to do that, and we committed ourselves to developing that this week in our prayers and actions.
Joe Lawrence said,
October 8, 2008 at 9:02 pm
I have noticed a pattern in the Bible. When God calls on us to do something big we have to commit to it fully. Noah and the Ark. The disciples leaving everything to follow Christ. There are numerous other examples. In order to be successful for God we have to trust God and allow His will and Spirit to lead us.
I personally struggle to this day with this concept. It is very difficult for me to know if it is the Spirit that is tugging on my heart or my own desires. Any one else struggle with this?
jb said,
October 13, 2008 at 8:41 am
I’ve faced the same struggle. Sometimes I get clear communication from God. Other times I do not.
I’ve come to a place of believing that when I ask God with a devoted heart but don’t get a clear answer from Him, He’s allowing me to make a choice on my own — for the purpose of testing my maturity.
I liken it to my own experience in parenting. When my children were young, I had to tell them to brush their teeth, pick up their dirty clothes, put away their stuff, and say “please” and “thank you.” I had to tell them not to lie, not to steal, etc. I was training them to recognize good choices and good values.
As they grew, they faced decisions in life (how to act when someone mistreated them, how to spend leisure time, what friends they should keep, what girls they should date, whether to sleep in) and I gave them guidance. I was teaching them to apply good choices and values — and to act contrary to their sinful nature’s natural inclinations.
Later still, I quit telling them all these things as often. I allowed them to make good or bad decisions on their own — based on the good choices and values I had taught them. They didn’t always make the right ones, and they experienced the consequences of not applying the things I’d taught them. Other times they made very good decisions.
The point was over time for them to learn to more consistently make good decisions based on what they knew was right and wrong.
I think God does that with us. As a brand new Christian seeking God’s will, I can give anecdotes of God practically shouting answers to my prayers for guidance through a megaphone right into my ear! He answered those prayers in ways that bafle even the most experienced Christian. But that was 21+ years ago.
As I grew, I noticed that more and more I wouldn’t get such clear communication quite as often. He was allowing me to apply the things He had taught me.
So now, when I come to a crossroads and don’t get a clear answer from God, I believe He is saying “I’vegiven you much of My wisdom through My Word. I’ve shown you how to apply it many times. Let’s see how well you’ve learned. Make this one on your own.”
Don’t get me wrong. God doesn’t do this all the time. Very often He answers me directly. But many times He doesn’t, and in those times I take the principles He’s taught me and apply them to my own decision.
———–
The sheep listen to [the shepherd's] voice… His sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. [John 10:3-5]