Nehemiah 1

Before we begin exploring the book of Nehemiah we must first remember the ending of 2 Chronicles:

And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. (2 Chronicles 36:15-17, NKJV)

So now we find ourselves in the repercussions of Israel’s sins and are in the backing of their captivity. Now let’s begin our exposition of Nehemiah.

1.1

We begin with the introduction to this book. These are the words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. Such a seemingly mundane start to the drama that will immediately begin to unfold, yet rich with content beneath the surface. It gives the name of his father not only to signify and validate his lineage but also to show us who he comes from and the generations that preceded him.

1.1.1

The main protagonist of this book is the son of Hachaliah. Hachaliah means “Darkened by Jehovah” but is also translated to “Wait on Jehovah.”

Darkened by Jehovah

With the backdrop of 2 Chronicles and the current condition of the Israelites, they were darkened by Jehovah.

Because of their collective sin, many were in captivity forced to work on behalf of foreign nations. Others were relegated to poverty and destitution back in the broken city of Jerusalem. Dark times indeed.
Darkened because of a lack of a judge or prophet risen up by God to save/redeem like the times of old.

Wait on Jehovah

This book, although not chronologically ordered in the Bible, came after books like Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, and Zechariah just to name a few that are filled with promises of God restoring Israel and gathering back His people to His land. Hachaliah and his accompanying generation were a generation of waiting on the promises of the Lord.

1.1.2

He is named Nehemiah or “Jehovah comforts”, for out of him will come many comforts and restorations of God for His people. Whether you see Hachaliah as darkened or waiting, God sent comfort. Was it deserved? No. But out of the abundance of grace and mercy did God do it anyway.

1.1.3

”in the Month of Chisleu” Somewhere around our November-December ”the twentieth year” the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes the king of Persia.

1.1.4

”I was in Shushan the palace” A place in Persia where Nehemiah found himself serving. He was in the palace and due to his role (which we will see later) he had many comforts that were not applicable to his brethren.

1.2

‌and I asked them concerning the Jews…and concerning Jerusalem It could have been very easy for Nehemiah to focus on his current comforts, as he was aware that Jehovah Comforts in his own life of pleasure in captivity. He could have disregarded and forgotten about Jerusalem. However, his love for the Lord prompts a love also for the Lord’s people.

1.3

“The remnant…are in great affliction and reproach.” the chosen people of the Most High God are now relegated to disgrace and shame because of their sins. Once triumphant as the most powerful nation in the world under David and Solomon (through God) is now is the lowest of lows.

1.3.1

Not only are the people suffering, but they are also barren and exposed for the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof burned with fire. They are poor, broken, exposed, and unprotected. This is both a physical reality and a spiritual reality of God’s removal (not total) of His hand from them.

1.4

This wasn’t a hollow compassion that just prompted an “I feel sorry for them”. No this was true sincerity for the condition of God’s people for he heard…sat down and wept, and mourned for many days;

1.4.1

I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Not only was the grief sincere, but also sacrificial for he gave up his comforts of food to intercede on behalf of his people for many days.

1.6 & 1.7

We won’t always have this luxury, but Nehemiah is in a unique position to pray and confess the sins that Israel committed that resulted in this current state, knowing that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (1 John 1:9). He is humble enough to include himself and his father’s house, for his father was of the generation Darkened by Jehovah, even if he himself did not contribute directly to Israel’s faults; Nehemiah knows ‌‌all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

1.9

Good is willing to restore you and gather you from the furthest parts of heaven to a place He has chosen.