Sermon Tone Analysis

When Nehemiah received word from his brother that the people of Judah were suffering and that the city of Jerusalem was still in ruins, he responded immediately.

He recognized the need.

He made it his personal responsibility.

And most importantly, he took the matter to the Lord in prayer.

The fact that Nehemiah mourned and fasted and prayed for /certain days/ (ch.

1:4) tells us what kind of a man he was, viz., one who was devoted to the service of his God.

Chapter 2 begins with yet another confirmation of this.

Here the story continues in the month Nisan, which is the first month of the Jewish calendar and corresponds to late March or early April on our calendars.

In other words, about four months had gone by since Nehemiah first heard from his brother.

For something that burdened him so much, four months seems like a long time for Nehemiah to wait before doing anything.

But it really wasn’t.

It’s possible, as some commentators have suggested, that the king had a different cupbearer for each quarter of the year.

If so, then Nehemiah probably hadn’t even seen the king since he spoke with his brother about the condition of Jerusalem.

But it is even more likely that Nehemiah spent this time praying and preparing himself for the work that needed to be done.

We should never rush into the Lord’s service.

Too many men, believing themselves called the ministry, have forced themselves upon the church only to do great harm.

And sometimes we act precipitously in other affairs, thinking that we have sufficient wisdom to handle the crisis at hand, but we end up falling flat on our faces.

Nehemiah resisted this temptation and waited patiently on the Lord.

Hebrews 6:12 says that it is /through faith and patience/ that we inherit the promises of God.

Other passages of Scripture exhort us to /stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD/ (Exod.

14:13); and, /Be still, and know that I am God/ (Ps.

46:10).

The wait is sometimes necessary as the Lord prepares both us and the circumstances for what he wants us to do.

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Nehemiah’s Concern

After four months of weeping, praying and planning, the day finally came for Nehemiah to put his plan into action.

He seized the opportunity while serving as cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes.

Xenophon, the Greek historian and contemporary of Socrates, gives us a description of how cupbearers of this time handled the king’s wine.

First they washed the king’s cup in his presence.

They then poured a little of the king’s wine into their left hand and immediately drank it.

Assuming that they did not die from poisoning, they filled the king’s cup and handed it to him, not grasped tightly but held loosely by only three fingers, which was to prevent him from slipping any poison of his own into the wine after tasting it.

In any case, the only thing Nehemiah wanted to do at this point was get the king’s attention.

You see, although he was a cupbearer (a relatively high office responsible for the king’s life), he was not allowed to initiate a conversation with the king.

The book of Esther shows that even the queen could not do this.

But what was the likelihood that the king would begin a conversation with Nehemiah about Judah or the condition of the Jews?

Humanly speaking, it was probably pretty close to zero.

But Nehemiah’s confidence was not in the statistical probability or improbability of the king acting a certain way.

It was in the Lord.

He believed that God controlled the king’s heart.

Proverbs 21:1 says, /The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will/.

So, Nehemiah chose a different approach.

Instead of trying to initiate a conversation, he created a situation in which the king might invite him to express his own concerns.

He did this by appearing obviously sad when he served the king’s wine.

Many commentators believe that the wording of verse 1, /that wine was before/ the king, probably suggests that Nehemiah launched his plan during some kind of feast.

This opinion is strengthened by the fact that the queen, who did not normally dine with the king, was at his side (v.

6).

If the occasion was a feast, it only made Nehemiah’s sadness stand out even more.

Feasts should be happy times, filled with joy and laughter.

But Nehemiah was overwhelmed with a profound melancholy.

Further, Nehemiah says that he had never been sad in the king’s presence before.

Not only was his sadness out of character, which the king would have noted, but it was also a breach of conduct.

It was considered improper for anyone to appear sad in the king’s presence.

Esther 4:2 says that /none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth/.

A sad countenance was not tolerated because it could mean that the individual disapproved of the king himself.

Depending on the king’s mood, a gloomy servant could be summarily dismissed or even executed.

Nehemiah understood this.

That’s why the end of verse 2 says that he was /sore afraid/ once the king asked the reason for his sadness.

Even good men should fear the king, especially when they act contrary to the laws and customs of the land.

Proverbs 16:14 says that /the wrath of a king is as messengers of death/.

That’s because the king bears the sword of justice to execute wrath on those who do evil (Rom.

13:4).

When we sin against the king, we face both the king’s wrath and God’s wrath.

On the other hand, when the king commands us to sin and our obedience to the Lord demands that we ignore the king’s commands, there should be no fear at all.

We will face the king’s wrath.

He may put us in prison, feed us to the lions or cast us into a fiery furnace.

He may kill the body.

But Jesus said that we should not fear those who can only kill the body.

We should fear instead the one who can cast both body and soul into the never-ending fires of hell.

When we face the king’s unrighteous wrath, we can be assured of God’s favor.

He will ultimately vindicate us, executing perfect justice on his enemies and ours.

Thankfully, the king was not angered by Nehemiah’s sadness.

He obviously valued Nehemiah’s service and was concerned that he suffered so much anguish of heart.

He asked Nehemiah why he was so sad, which not only consoled him but increased his boldness before the king.

Nehemiah correctly interpreted the king’s favor as the open door for which he had been praying.

So, he laid out his concerns.

To begin with, he assured the king that he had nothing against him.

In fact, he prayed for the king’s prosperity: /Let the king live for ever/.

No, the problem was something completely different.

It was the condition of the city where his ancestors’ graves were.

He said, /Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?/ (v.

3).

Nehemiah’s response is an example of how to be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove.

He was very careful about what he said and how he said it.

Note, first, that he expressed his grievance in the form of a question.

By doing so, he invited the king’s response.

He asked the king to consider how bad the conditions of his people really were.

How could the king do anything except acknowledge the problem?

Next, he purposely avoided naming Jerusalem.

Why? Probably because the king had already halted the rebuilding of the wall once.

Naming the city would have reminded him of the previous incident.

And finally, Nehemiah appealed to the king’s respect for one’s ancestors, which, of course, is a major consideration in oriental cultures.

The city where his ancestors were buried was a disaster.

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Nehemiah’s Request

The king then asked Nehemiah what he wanted to do about the devastation of his city.

He immediately took the matter to the Lord in prayer in verse 4.

Nehemiah’s prayer was apparently a quick silent plea for help.

If it had been anything more, the king would have been concerned about his delay in answering him.

This shows we can always pray to God regardless of our outward circumstances.

These brief mental prayers are especially appropriate in emergency situations, just like Nehemiah faced here.

When you see a man injured in a car wreck, pray that he will survive.

When you’re talking to someone about the Lord and don’t know how to answer his concerns, ask the Lord to give you wisdom.

When temptation is overwhelming and you’re on the verge of giving in, plead with your God to sustain you.

You don’t need the solitude of your home or the sanctified atmosphere of a church for your prayers to be effective.

Nor do your prayers need to be long and eloquent.

You only need to ask the Lord for help.