God's Plan

August 2

Nehemiah 1-3

Psalm 88:1-5

Proverbs 19:17-18

I Corinthians 11

God’s Plan

“Then the king said to me, ‘What would you request?’  So I prayed to the God of heaven.  I said to the king, ‘If it is good for the king, and if your servant is good before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my father’s tombs, that I may rebuild it.’”  Nehemiah 2:4-5 LSB

Nehemiah was a contemporary of Ezra.  He served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia living in the citadel of Susa, which was the capital of the Persian empire (Iran). His brother, Hanani, brought disturbing news to him about the Jews who had survived the exile.  Nehemiah was greatly distressed.  For days, he mourned, fasted, and prayed until one day, King Artaxerxes asked why he was so sad.  Nehemiah took a considerable risk by appearing sad in the king’s presence, let alone by telling the king about the broken wall in Jerusalem.  Nehemiah 2:2 tells us that when he told the king he was “very much afraid.”  His deep concern for the welfare of his people and the holy city led him to cast aside his fears, trust God and take bold action.  Upon receiving permission from the king, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem with a plan that God put in his heart to rebuild the holy city’s wall and restore the people.  This was not a small task. 

Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem inconspicuously.  After three days, he set out at night to survey the city walls. He only took a few trusted people with him, and even then, he did not tell them everything he had planned.  After his inspection, he addressed the nobles and officials.  He organized the work starting in the north and working counterclockwise from gate to gate.  He divided the work into roughly forty sections.  He gave proper credit by naming the people who reconstructed each section starting with Eliashib and his fellow priests who went to work rebuilding the Sheep Gate.  This shows that even the priests were willing to roll up their robes and get dirty.  Like Jesus, they came to serve, and not to be served (Matthew 20:28)   The diversity of work and workers on the wall is noteworthy.  Uzziel, the goldsmith, laid bricks next to Hananiah, the perfumer (Nehemiah 3:8).  Shallum worked on the wall with his teenage daughters (Nehemiah 3:12).  Common people worked alongside the district rulers of Jerusalem.  The people’s enthusiasm for the project was contagious.  3:20 says, “Baruch, son of Zabbai, zealously repaired another section.”  The phrase “next to him” is found repeatedly giving the sense that the entire community came together and worked side by side for the glory of God and for their common good.  God placed Nehemiah in the position so that at the perfect time, God could use him to rebuild the city.  The people in Jerusalem could not have accomplished the work without Nehemiah’s help so God orchestrated the events to take place so His plan could be carried out.  God is at work in our lives in the same way.  We may not see or understand what He is doing but we can be confident that He is working behind the scenes to accomplish His purposes.  We just have to be obedient to His leading.