That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
For I was (The office of cup-bearer was one of great trust, honour, and emolument, in the Persian court. To be in such a place of trust he must have been in the king's confidence; for no eastern potentate would have a cup-bearer to whom he could not trust his life, poison being often administered in that way. It was an office much desired, because it gave access to the king in those seasons of hilarity when men are most disposed to grant favours.)
Neh 1:1. Nehemiah- It may be well questioned, whether this Nehemiah be the same with him mentioned in Ezr 2:1 and chap. Neh 7:7 of this book, as one who returned from the Babylonish captivity under Zerubbabel; since, from the first year of Cyrus to the twentieth of Artaxerxes Longimanus, there are no less than ninety-two years intervening; so that Nehemiah must at this time have been a very old man; upon the lowest computation above a hundred, and consequently incapable of being the king's cup-bearer, of taking a journey from Shushan to Jerusalem, and of behaving there with all that courage and activity which is recorded of him. Upon this presumption, therefore, we may conclude, that this was a different person, though of the same name. That Tirshatha denotes the title of his office, and, both in the Persian and Chaldean tongues, was the general name given to all the king's deputies and governors, see on Ezr 2:63. The text calls him barely the son of Hachaliah, without informing us of what tribe he was. Some, therefore, from 2Ma 1:18; 2Ma 1:21 where he is said to have offered sacrifices, and from his being reckoned at the head of the priests who signed the new covenant with God (ch. Neh 10:1.), have affirmed him to have been of the family of Aaron; but as there is nothing conclusive in all this, and it seems expressly contradicted by his saying, in another place, that he was not a fit person to shelter himself in the temple, chap. Neh 6:2 the far greater part suppose him to have been of the royal family of Judah. And this is so much the more probable, because we find none but such promoted to those high stations about the king's person; and we never read of a priest that was so till a long time after, and upon a quite different account. The month Chisleu answers to part of our November and December, and the twentieth year is the twentieth of the reign of Artaxerxes. See Le Clerc and Houbigant.
Neh 1:3. The wall-also is broken down, &c.- The commissions which had hitherto been granted to the Jews were supposed to extend no further than to the rebuilding of the temple, and their own private houses; and therefore the walls and gates of the city lay in the same ruinous condition in which the Chaldeans left them after that devastation.
REFLECTIONS.-Nehemiah, though nobly advanced at court, and honoured with a mansion in the palace of Shushan, still bore in his heart the welfare of Zion, and still preferred Jerusalem's prosperity before his chief joy. Note; God has sometimes his friends even in the palace; and, though a court is usually a soil too unfavourable to religious concerns, he had monuments of grace even in Nero's houshold.
1. Nehemiah, on the visit of some of his brethren to Babylon, probably to solicit some favour in behalf of the Jews, earnestly inquires after Jerusalem, and the returned captives who dwelt in it; but receives an afflicting narrative of their wretched situation: the city lying in its desolations, and the people under distress, insulted, oppressed, and reproached by their more powerful neighbours. Note; (1.) We must not, in our advancement, forget ourselves, and grow strange to our brethren because they may be poor or afflicted. (2.) The persecution of God's people, which discourages the unfaithful, awakens the greater zeal and concern of such as are true-hearted.
2. The melancholy account affected the good Nehemiah: the tears ran down his cheeks; and, in affliction, four days he fasted and prayed before the God of heaven, that he would remember their misery, and return to them in mercy. Note; (1.) In seasons of public or private calamities, fasting and weeping should accompany our prayers. (2.) It is a relief to the oppression of our own spirit, when with tears we can pour our complaints into the bosom of a compassionate God. (3.) While we have a God in heaven to go to, our deeper distresses are not desperate.
Neh 1:11. And grant him mercy-For I, &c.- Houbigant supposes, that Nehemiah repeated this prayer (which he had often before repeated) now again in silence, while he administered the cup to the king in his office; and therefore he renders the last clause, but I then administered the cup to the king; and this alone, he thinks, can account for the mode of expression, this man. The office of cup-bearer was a place of great honour and advantage in the Persian court, because of the privilege which it gave him who bare it, of being daily in the king's presence; and the opportunity which he thereby had of gaining his favour for the procuring of any petition that he should make to him. That it was a place of great pecuniary advantage, seems evident by Nehemiah's gaining those immense riches which enabled him for so many years, (ch. Neh 5:14; Neh 5:19.) out of his own privy purse only, to live in his government with great splendour and expence, without burdening the people at all.
REFLECTIONS.-Nehemiah's prayer speaks the gracious temper of his soul.
1. He draws near to God with reverence and godly fear, yet mixed with filial confidence, as to the great God, terrible in judgments, yet faithful to his promises, and never failing those who trust him. Note; (1.) There is a reverential fear of God, which is perfectly consistent with the most enlarged love towards him. (2.) They, who experience the love of God in their souls, may comfortably conclude that he is their faithful friend.
2. He humbly prays that God would graciously hear the prayer which zeal for his glory dictated, and grant the desires of his heart which his grace excited. Note; When God pours out upon us the spirit of grace and supplication, we may assuredly conclude that he will hear and answer us.
3. He penitently confesses their sins, which justly had brought down these afflictions upon them; taking shame to himself, among the rest, for having added to the provocation.
4. He pleads for mercy and pardon; urging, as the ground of his hope, the divine promise that God had given by Moses, that whenever they returned to him, wherever dispersed, or however distressed, he would return to them: and such was now their earnest desire and prayer. Note; (1.) As we see the fulfilment of God's threatenings, we may conclude the fulfilment of his promises. (2.) The most reviving pleas in prayer are drawn from God's faithful word, wherein he has caused us to put our trust. (3.) Though we are not worthy to be called God's people; yet, when we return with penitential prayer, he will not disclaim the relation. (4.) The greater kings are but dying men, and worms of earth; and their hearts are in God's hand, to turn them according to the good pleasure of his own will.
In this book it is to be kept in mind that the previous commissions to Zembbabel and Ezra concerned only the repair of the temple at Jerusalem, and certain internal arrangements for the moral and material well-being of the people in their home towns. The walls and gates of the city, however, were still in the ruined condition in which they were left by Nebuchadnezzar after the siege. The consequences were detrimental to the people’s peace, for such protection was practically their only defense against assaulting enemies.
Chislev was an early winter month. Shushan was the winter, as Ecbatana was the summer palace, of the Persian monarchs. Hanani may have been simply a relative, as we have seen how loosely these kinships are referred to (Neh 1:1-2).
Nehemiah, though nothing more is stated of him, is likely to have been, like Zerubbabel, of the royal family of David, and certainly he was a great patriot. Study his prayer carefully (Neh 1:4-11). Notice its deep earnestness (Neh 1:4), unselfishness (Neh 1:6), humility (Neh 1:6-7), faith (Neh 1:8-9) and definiteness (Neh 1:11). A cup-bearer to an oriental potentate (Neh. 1:12) held a confidential and influential office, affording him frequent access to his presence. At the meal he presented the cup of wine to the king, and since the likelihood of its being poisoned was ever present, he must be one in whom the greatest trust was reposed. Not infrequently, as a precautionary measure, the cup-bearer must first taste the wine in the king’s presence before presenting it.
Four months elapsed between chapters one and two, though the cause is unknown. Nisan (2:1) was in the Spring. It awakened suspicion to appear before majesty with a sad countenance (Neh 2:2), but in this case it gave Nehemiah his opportunity (Neh 2:3-8). The queen may have been Esther, though it is uncertain. God receives the glory (Neh 2:8).
PROGRESS OF THE WORK (Neh 2:9; Neh 3:32)
“Beyond the river” means east of the Euphrates. “Governors” were in charge of the Persian dependencies in proximity to Judah (Neh 2:9). “Horonite” seems to refer to a Moabitish town of that name. The Ammonite “Tobiah the servant” may mean that he was a freed slave elevated to official dignity. Nehemiah enters on his task by a night survey of the ruins (Neh 2:12-16).
Then he addresses the leaders, stirring them by his example and information about the king’s commission (Neh 2:17-18). The opponents (Neh 2:19) were doubtless supporters or leaders of the Samaritans, met with in Ezra.
The priests take the lead in the work (Neh 3:1). The residents of Jericho have a section assigned them (Neh 3:2), and other great families follow to the end of the chapter. Their names are recorded because the work was one not only of patriotism, but godly devotion, calling for faith, courage, and self- sacrifice.
HINDRANCES (Nehemiah 4-6)
Ridicule was the first form the hindrances took (Neh 4:1-6), but Nehemiah made his appeal to God and continued the work until the wall was built “half the height” (RV). If his language in prayer seems harsh, recall what we have learned about Israel’s position as God’s witness and instrument in blessing the world. To frustrate her is to frustrate God, and work the sorest injury to human kind. These enemies are not personal to Nehemiah, but the enemies of God and of all the earth. Moreover, Nehemiah himself is not undertaking to visit punishment upon them, but committing them to God who doeth righteously.
Physical force was the next form of hindrance (Neh 4:7-23), but Nehemiah provided against it by day and night watches (Neh 4:9), by arming the workmen (Neh 4:13), and by detaining them all in Jerusalem (Neh 4:22).
The hindrance of chapter five was not the same as the others, and did not arise from the outside, but it was a hindrance, nevertheless, that must have greatly weakened their hands (Neh 5:1-5). Nehemiah’s action was bold and efficient. An assembly was called (Neh 5:7), his own example cited (Neh 5:8-10), an appeal made (Neh 5:11), a solemn agreement effected (Neh 5:12-13). The verses following testify to the wealth of Nehemiah as well as his unselfish patriotism. Not only declining the emoluments of his office, he maintained an expensive establishment for the public good, and this for twelve years (Neh 5:14). He appears self-righteous (Neh 5:19), but he was not living in the Gospel dispensation.
In chapter six the external enemies once more come into view, whose policy has changed from ridicule and force to crafty diplomacy (Neh 6:1-4) with threats superadded (Neh 6:5-9). Nor are there wanting traitors within his own camp who seek Nehemiah’s ruin, but in vain (Neh 6:10-15). Notice the intended disrespect in the “open” letter, which, in the case of so distinguished an official as Nehemiah (Neh 6:5), should have been sealed, after the Persian custom. These were indeed “troublous times” (Dan 9:25), but the man for the times had arrived.
QUESTIONS
1. What material feature distinguishes the periods of the two books, Ezra and Nehemiah?
2. What is the meaning of “cup-bearer”?
3. What outstanding features mark the character of Nehemiah?
4. What is the geographical designation of the enemies of Judah?
5. Name the three classes of hindrances emanating from them.
6. What were the hindrances of an internal character?