Deep night outside broken Jerusalem under a low moon: a lone rider on a donkey and two men on foot, small and dark, pick their way below a long line of ruined wall, the upper half an empty, starry blue sky.

The Book of

Nehemiah 2

One breath of prayer before a king, one ride by night, and then: Come, let us rebuild.

20 verses≈ 5 min4 peopleBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

1–2The callA cupbearer prays and is sentChapter 2
3–6The wallBuilt under fire in 52 days
7The peopleThe families remembered
8–10The WordRead, confessed, sworn
11–12The citySettled and dedicated
13The endingPromises broken, reforms again

Nehemiah Sent to Jerusalem

Nehemiah

Nehemiah

Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king.

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Nehemiah

I had never been sad in his presence,

Artaxerxes

so the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This could only be sadness of the heart.”

Nehemiah

I was overwhelmed with fear

and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

Artaxerxes

“What is your request?” replied the king.

Nehemiah

and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city where my fathers are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”

Artaxerxes

Then the king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?”

Nehemiah

So it pleased the king to send me, and I set a time.

Pray

Before you answer

Nehemiah prayed for months, and then for one breath with the king waiting. Before your next hard conversation, pray a short prayer to the God of heaven, and ask Him for the right words.

Nehemiah

the gracious hand of my God was upon me

Nehemiah 2:8

Nehemiah

Nehemiah

The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were deeply disturbed that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites.

Nehemiah Inspects the Walls

After I had arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days, I set out at night with a few men. I did not tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with me was the one on which I was riding.

Nehemiah

Nehemiah

So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the gates that had been destroyed by fire.

Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to get through; so I went up the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I headed back and reentered through the Valley Gate.

The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews or priests or nobles or officials or any other workers.

Reflect

Seen first

Nehemiah went and looked at the ruins himself, quietly, before he said a word. Is there something broken you’ve been talking about but haven’t gone to see? What would it take to look at it honestly?

Morning at a great gap in Jerusalem’s broken wall: a man in a dark-green mantle stands on a fallen block, one hand toward the gap, speaking to priests, officials and poor families gathered close below him, under a pale, empty sky.

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”

0:11

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me, and what the king had said to me. “Let us start rebuilding,” they replied, and they set their hands to this good work.

Sanballat

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

Nehemiah

So I answered them and said, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start rebuilding, but you have no portion, right, or claim in Jerusalem.”

The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success

Nehemiah 2:20

Question

Quick question

What came between the question and the answer?

What did Nehemiah do between the king’s question and his answer?

You’ve experienced

Nehemiah 2

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A verse to carry with you

The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success.

Nehemiah 2:20

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