Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 1:5
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:
5. The opening address blends the Divine attributes of might and majesty with those of faithfulness and mercy. Divine forgiveness alone could vouchsafe the restoration, which Divine power alone could effect.
I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven ] R.V. O Lord, the God of heaven. See on Ezr 1:2.
‘I beseech thee.’ (Vulg. quaeso). In the original one strong supplicatory word, ‘anah,’ used also in Neh 1:11; 2Ki 20:3; Psa 116:4; Psa 118:25; Isa 38:3; Jon 1:14.
On ‘the God of heaven’ see note on Neh 1:4.
the great and terrible God ] This phrase, as in Dan 9:4, with its use of the Divine name ‘l’ is derived from Deu 7:21 (Neh 10:17). See the very similar expressions in chap. Neh 4:14, Neh 9:32.
God in the manifestation of His strength (l) is ‘terrible.’ Cf. Psa 47:2; Psa 66:3; Psa 68:35; Psa 99:3. For the fear which Jehovah inspires cf. Isa 8:13; Jer 5:22; Mal 1:6.
that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe (R.V. keep) his commandments ] The reciprocity of the covenant relation, denoted by the use of the same Hebrew word for ‘keeping’ ‘covenant and mercy’ as for keeping commandments, is thus brought out in the R.V. The sentence which is borrowed from Deu 7:9; cf. Deu 5:12, is also found in 1Ki 8:23; Neh 9:32; Dan 9:4, in each case, as here, being made use of in a prayer.
‘Keepeth covenant and mercy,’ a condensed phrase for ‘keepeth covenant and sheweth mercy.’ On the Divine side, the keeping of the covenant consisted in shewing ‘mercy.’ God will not break His covenant, cf. Jdg 2:1; Psa 89:34.
‘for them that love him and keep his commandments,’ as in Exo 20:6; Deu 5:10. One class is described in motive and act. The love of those who are in covenant with the Lord is shown in obedience. Compare the New Covenant, ‘if ye love me keep my commandments’ (Joh 14:15). ‘Love to God,’ in the Pentateuch, is only expressed in Exo 20:6 and in Deuteronomy (Deu 5:10, Deu 6:5, Deu 7:9, Deu 10:12, Deu 11:1; Deu 11:13; Deu 11:22, Deu 13:3, Deu 19:9, Deu 30:6; Deu 30:16; Deu 30:20); it is found in the historical books, Jos 22:5; Jos 23:11; Jdg 5:31 ; 1Ki 3:3: in the Psalms, Psa 18:1; Psa 31:23; Psa 97:10; Psa 116:1; Psa 145:20 (Psa 5:11, Psa 69:36, Psa 119:132). Elsewhere in the O.T. the thought of love to God is hardly directly found except in the parallel passage Dan 9:4, and less definitely in Isa 56:6; Mal 2:11.
It is as if the writers of the O.T. shrank from expressing the thought of devotion to God by a term familiarly used of human friendship and earthly affection. The relation of sinful man to the Almighty was that of the subject to the sovereign, of the servant to the master. Devotion was realized in obedience to His law.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
5 11. Nehemiah’s Prayer
This prayer falls into five portions: (1) the opening address, Neh 1:5; (2) the humble approach, Neh 1:6 a; (3) the confession of sins, Neh 1:6 b, 7; (4) the appeal to the Divine Promise, Neh 1:8-10; (5) the closing supplication for ( a) the people, and ( b) Nehemiah as their representative at the royal court, Neh 1:11.
Points of resemblance may be noted with the prayer of Ezra (Ezr 9:5-15), and, in particular, with that of Daniel (Dan 9:4-19). The opening words (Neh 1:5), which are almost word for word the same as we find in Dan 9:4 (the only variations being ‘Adonai’ for ‘Jehovah’ and the additional title ‘God of heaven’), were very probably a recognised formula of prayer based on the language of Deuteronomy.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 5. Lord God of heaven] What was, before the captivity, Jehovah, God of hosts or armies.
Great] Able to do mighty things. Terrible – able to inflict the heaviest judgments.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven,…. He prayed not to the host of heaven, the sun in it, as the Persians, but to the God of it, in an humble supplicant manner:
the great and terrible God; who is to be feared, and had in reverence of all his creatures, because of his greatness and glory, being God over all, blessed for ever, and his name holy and reverend:
that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him, and observe his commandments; who keep them from a principle of love to him; to those he has made gracious promises in his covenant, which he truly and faithfully performs; and the consideration of these perfections in God animates and encourages good men in prayer to him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Nehemiah’s prayer, as given in these verses, comprises the prayers which he prayed day and night, during the period of his mourning and fasting (Neh 1:4 comp. Neh 1:6), to his faithful and covenant God, to obtain mercy for his people, and the divine blessing upon his project for their assistance.
Neh 1:5 The invocation of Jahve as: Thou God of heaven, alludes to God’s almighty government of the world, and the further predicates of God, to His covenant faithfulness. “Thou great and terrible God” recalls Deu 7:21, and “who keepest covenant and mercy,” etc., Deu 7:9 and Exo 20:5-6.
Neh 1:6 “Let Thine ear be attentive, and Thine eyes open,” like 2Ch 6:40; 2Ch 7:15 – , that Thou mayest hearken to the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray, and how I confess concerning … still depends upon in the sense of: and what I confess concerning the sins. does not here mean to-day, but now, at this time, as the addition “day and night” compared with in Neh 1:4 shows. To strengthen the communicative form , and to acknowledge before God how deeply penetrated he was by the feeling of his own sin and guilt, he adds: and I and my father’s house have sinned.
Neh 1:7 We have dealt very corruptly against Thee. is the inf. constr. instead of the infin. abs., which, before the finite verb, and by reason of its close connection therewith, becomes the infin. constr., like , Psa 50:21; comp. Ewald, 240, c. The dealing corruptly against God consists in not having kept the commandments, statutes, and judgments of the law.
Neh 1:8-10 With his confession of grievous transgression, Nehemiah combines the petition that the Lord would be mindful of His word declared by Moses, that if His people, whom He had scattered among the heathen for their sins, should turn to Him and keep His commandments, He would gather them from all places where He had scattered them, and bring them back to the place which He had chosen to place His name there. This word ( ) he designates, as that which God had commanded to His servant Moses, inasmuch as it formed a part of that covenant law which was prescribed to the Israelites as their rule of life. The matter of this word is introduced by : ye transgress, I will scatter; i.e., if ye transgress by revolting from me, I will scatter you among the nations, – and ye turn to me and keep my commandments (i.e., if ye turn to me and … ), if there were of you cast out to the end of heaven (i.e., to the most distant regions where the end of heaven touches the earth), thence will I gather you, etc. , pat. Niphal, with a collective meaning, cast-out ones, like Deu 30:4. These words are no verbal quotation, but a free summary, in which Nehemiah had Deu 30:1-5 chiefly in view, of what God had proclaimed in the law of Moses concerning the dispersion of His people among the heathen if they sinned against Him, and of their return to the land of their fathers if they repented and turned to Him. The clause: if the cast-out ones were at the end of heaven, etc., stands verbally in Neh 1:4. The last words, Neh 1:9, “(I will bring them) to the place which I have chosen, that my name may dwell there,” are a special application of the general promise of the law to the present case. Jerusalem is meant, where the Lord caused His name to dwell in the temple; comp. Deu 12:11. The entreaty to remember this word and to fulfil it, seems ill adapted to existing circumstances, for a portion of the people were already brought back to Jerusalem; and Nehemiah’s immediate purpose was to pray, not for the return of those still sojourning among the heathen, but for the removal of the affliction and reproach resting on those who were now at Jerusalem. Still less appropriate seems the citation of the words: If ye transgress, I will scatter you among the nations. It must, however, be remembered that Nehemiah is not so much invoking the divine compassion as the righteousness and faithfulness of a covenant God, the great and terrible God that keepeth covenant and mercy (Neh 1:5). Now this, God had shown Himself to be, by fulfilling the threats of His law that He would scatter His faithless and transgressing people among the nations. Thus His fulfilment of this one side of the covenant strengthened the hope that God would also keep His other covenant word to His people who turned to Him, viz., that He would bring them again to the land of their fathers, to the place of His gracious presence. Hence the reference to the dispersion of the nation among the heathen, forms the actual substructure for the request that so much of the promise as yet remained unfulfilled might come to pass. Nehemiah, moreover, views this promise in the full depth of its import, as securing to Israel not merely an external return to their native land, but their restoration as a community, in the midst of whom the Lord had His dwelling, and manifested Himself as the defence and refuge of His people. To the re-establishment of this covenant relation very much was still wanting. Those who had returned from captivity had indeed settled in the land of their fathers; and the temple in which they might worship God with sacrifices, according to the law, was rebuilt at Jerusalem. But notwithstanding all this, Jerusalem, with its ruined walls and burned gates, was still like a city lying waste, and exposed to attacks of all kinds; while the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the cities of Judah were loaded with shame and contempt by their heathen neighbours. In this sense, Jerusalem was not yet restored, and the community dwelling therein not yet brought to the place where the name of the Lord dwelt. In this respect, the promise that Jahve would again manifest Himself to His repentant people as the God of the covenant was still unfulfilled, and the petition that He would gather His people to the place which He had chosen to put His name there, i.e., to manifest Himself according to His nature, as testified in His covenant (Exo 34:6-7), quite justifiable. In Neh 1:10 Nehemiah supports his petition by the words: And these (now dwelling in Judah and Jerusalem) are Thy servants and Thy people whom Thou hast redeemed, etc. His servants who worship Him in His temple, His people whom He has redeemed from Egypt by His great power and by His strong arm, God cannot leave in affliction and reproach. The words: “redeemed with great power” … are reminiscences from Deu 7:8; Deu 9:26, Deu 9:29, and other passages in the Pentateuch, and refer to the deliverance from Egypt.
Neh 1:11 The prayer closes with the reiterated entreaty that God would hearken to the prayer of His servant (i.e., Nehemiah), and to the prayer of His servants who delight to fear His name ( , infin. like Deu 4:10 and elsewhere), i.e., of all Israelites who, like Nehemiah, prayed to God to redeem Israel from all his troubles. For himself in particular, Nehemiah also request: “Prosper Thy servant to-day ( like Neh 1:6; may be either the accusative of the person, like 2Ch 26:5, or the dative: Prosper his design unto Thy servant, like Neh 2:20), and give him to mercy (i.e., cause him to find mercy; comp. 1Ki 8:50; Psa 106:46) before the face of this man.” What man he means is explained by the following supplementary remark, “And I was cup-bearer to the king,” without whose favour and permission Nehemiah could not have carried his project into execution (as related in Neh 2).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Nehemiah’s Prayer. | B. C. 445. |
5 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: 6 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. 7 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. 8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 9 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. 10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 11 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.
We have here Nehemiah’s prayer, a prayer that has reference to all the prayers which he had for some time before been putting up to God day and night, while he continued his sorrows for the desolations of Jerusalem, and withal to the petition he was now intending to present to the king his master for his favour to Jerusalem. We may observe in this prayer,
I. His humble and reverent address to God, in which he prostrates himself before him, and gives unto him the glory due unto his name, v. 5. It is much the same with that of Daniel, ch. ix. 4. It teaches us to draw near to God, 1. With a holy awe of his majesty and glory, remembering that he is the God of heaven, infinitely above us, and sovereign Lord over us, and that he is the great and terrible God, infinitely excelling all the principalities and powers both of the upper and of the lower world, angels and kings; and he is a God to be worshipped with fear by all his people, and whose powerful wrath all his enemies have reason to be afraid of. Even the terrors of the Lord are improvable for the comfort and encouragement of those that trust in him. 2. With a holy confidence in his grace and truth, for he keepeth covenant and mercy for those that love him, not only the mercy that is promised, but even more than he promised: nothing shall be thought too much to be done for those that love him and keep his commandments.
II. His general request for the audience and acceptance of all the prayers and confessions he now made to God (v. 6): “Let thy ear be attentive to the prayer, not which I say (barely saying prayer will not serve), but which I pray before thee (then we are likely to speed in praying when we pray in praying), and let they eyes be open upon the heart from which the prayer comes, and the case which is in prayer laid before thee.” God formed the eye and planted the ear; and therefore shall he not see clearly? shall not he hear attentively?
III. His penitent confession of sin; not only Israel has sinned (it was no great mortification to him to own that), but I and my father’s house have sinned, v. 6. Thus does he humble himself, and take shame to himself, in this confession. We have (I and my family among the rest) dealt very corruptly against thee, v. 7. In the confession of sin, let these two things be owned as the malignity of it–that it is a corruption of ourselves and an affront to God; it is dealing corruptly against God, setting up the corruptions of our own hearts in opposition to the commands of God.
IV. The pleas he urges for mercy for his people Israel.
1. He pleads what God had of old said to them, the rule he had settled of his proceedings towards them, which might be the rule of their expectations from him, Neh 1:8; Neh 1:9. He had said indeed that, if they broke covenant with him, he would scatter them among the nations, and that threatening was fulfilled in their captivity: never was people so widely dispersed as Israel was at this time, though at first so closely incorporated; but he had said withal that if they turned to him (as now they began to do, having renounced idolatry and kept to the temple service) he would gather them again. This he quotes from Deut. xxx. 1-5, and begs leave to put God in mind of it (though the Eternal Mind needs no remembrancer) as that which he guided his desires by, and grounded his faith and hope upon, in praying this prayer: Remember, I beseech thee, that word; for thou hast said, Put me in remembrance. He had owned (v. 7), We have not kept the judgments which thou commandedst thy servant Moses; yet he begs (v. 8), Lord, remember the word which thou commandedst thy servant Moses; for the covenant is often said to be commanded. If God were not more mindful of his promises than we are of his precepts we should be undone. Our best pleas therefore in prayer are those that are taken from the promise of God, the word on which he has caused us to hope, Ps. cxix. 49.
2. He pleads the relation wherein of old they stood to God: “These are thy servants and thy people (v. 10), whom thou hast set apart for thyself, and taken into covenant with thee. Wilt thou suffer thy sworn enemies to trample upon and oppress thy sworn servants? If thou wilt not appear for thy people, whom wilt thou appear for?” See Isa. lxiii. 19. As an evidence of their being God’s servants he gives them this character (v. 11): “They desire to fear thy name; they are not only called by thy name, but really have a reverence for thy name; they now worship thee, and thee only, according to thy will, and have an awe of all the discoveries thou art pleased to make of thyself; this they have a desire to do,” which denotes, (1.) Their good will to it. “It is their constant care and endeavour to be found in the way of their duty, and they aim at it, though in many instances they come short.” (2.) Their complacency in it. “They take pleasure to fear thy name (so it may be read), not only do their duty, but do it with delight.” Those shall graciously be accepted of God that truly desire to fear his name; for such a desire is his own work.
3. He pleads the great things God had formerly done for them (v. 10): “Whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, in the days of old. Thy power is still the same; wilt thou not therefore still redeem them and perfect their redemption? Let not those be overpowered by the enemy that have a God of infinite power on their side.”
Lastly, He concludes with a particular petition, that God would prosper him in his undertaking, and give him favour with the king: this man he calls him, for the greatest of men are but men before God; they must know themselves to be so (Ps. ix. 20), and others must know them to be so. Who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a man? Mercy in the sight of this man is what he prays for, meaning not the king’s mercy, but mercy from God in his address to the king. Favour with men is then comfortable when we can see it springing from the mercy of God.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
2. Nehemiahs Prayer
TEXT, Neh. 1:5-11 a
5
And I said, I beseech Thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and loving-kindness of those who love Him and keep His commandments,
6
let Thine ear now be attentive and Thine eyes open to hear the prayer of Thy servant which I am praying before Thee now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Thy servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against Thee; I and my fathers house have sinned.
7
We have acted very corruptly against Thee and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which Thou didst command Thy servant Moses.
8
Remember the word which Thou didst command Thy servant Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples;
9
but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.
10
And they are Thy servants and Thy people whom Thou didst redeem by Thy great power and by Thy strong hand.
11a
O LORD, I beseech Thee, may Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant and the prayer of Thy servants who delight to revere Thy name, and make Thy servant successful today, and grant him compassion before this man.
COMMENT
This prayer by Nehemiah is as noble as that of Ezra (Neh. 9:6-15), though Ezra was a religious official and Nehemiah was a secular ruler. This speaks well of Nehemiahs habits of spirituality and fellowship with God: his practice of the ceremonies of religion.
The prayer begins in Neh. 1:5 with praise to God for His (1) greatness and (2) character of loving kindness. So Jesus began His model prayer with praise: a good model for us today. The loving kindness mentioned in this verse is not merely sentimental; it always implies faithful compliance with . . . the covenant . . .[51][51] Interpreters Bible, Vol. III, p. 670.
Neh. 1:6 speaks of Nehemiahs persistence, day and night, and moves to confession. As Ezra had done (Neh. 9:6), so Nehemiah also identified himself with their sins. The mention of thy servant and thy servants was the formula of polite address.
Neh. 1:7 enumerates some of their sins. There were sins of commission (we have acted very corruptly) and sins of omission (and have not kept thy commandments . . .). See the Word Studies, end of this chapter, for the difference in emphasis between commandments, statutes, and ordinances. Note that Nehemiah identifies Moses with Gods giving of His law.
In Neh. 1:8-9 Nehemiah relies on one of Gods promises in His word, assuming they have repented. As Ezra had enabled us to see his familiarity with the Scriptures in Neh. 9:11 f, so Nehemiahs prayer at this point is also a composite of several Scriptures:
1)
If you are unfaithful I will scatter you: Lev. 26:33.
2)
But if you return to me: Deu. 30:2 f.
3)
I Will gather them from there and will bring them: Deu. 30:4; Deu. 9:29.
4)
to the place where I have chosen to cause my name to dwell: Deu. 12:5.
Neh. 1:10 recalls actions in the past in which God has assisted his people.
Neh. 1:11 asserts that the people were truly Gods servants, that they qualified for His promises by their regard for His name (personality), and asks that the prayer may succeed on the basis of compassion or mercy beyond derservings. This man of Neh. 1:11 is a reference to Artaxerxes (Neh. 2:1 ff), whom God should move to favor the request which Nehemiah would bring before him,
TEXT, Neh. 1:11 b
3. Identity of Nehemiah
Neh. 1:11 b Now I was the cupbearer to the king.
COMMENT
The appearance of this statement here instead of in verse one is probably explained by Nehemiahs humility; he has not overawed us at the outset with his rank.
The duty of a cupbearer went far beyond that of serving the kings drink or food. He would be the taster who would assure that the food was safe and that no poison had been added by his enemies; he risked his life on the kings popularity or unpopularity at every meal, to protect the royal household. At the same time, he must be the most trusted person in the whole empire. If he added poison when the food had been brought to him, it would be beyond the last defense short of the kings palate. In addition, he had access to the entire palace, including the kings harem; no one else in the kingdom, outside the royal family, would be trusted farther than this. His position was next to that of the crown prince himself.
It is a credit to Nehemiah that, having attained this highest position open to him in the most powerful kingdom of his day, he was willing, like Moses, out of compassion for his brethren to make himself one of them for a sufficient length of time to improve their condition as far as he was able.
WORD STUDIES
SUSA (Neh. 1:1; Shushan): lily, something brightly colored. It was named possibly from the lilies growing in its pools, or from the beauty of the city as the kings residence. Its base is the origin of the names, Susan, or Susanna, and of the headings for Psalms 45, 80.
COMMANDMENT (Neh. 1:7; Mitzvah): what has been set up, or put, or placed; that is, a monument. Something established, confirmed, appointed, ordained; hence commanded. By keeping these, one is enabled to stand, or endure: Exo. 18:23. Bar Mitzvah, son of the commandment, uses this word.
STATUTE (Neh. 1:7): to cut in, hew, hack; engrave, or carve. Then, something decreed, prescribed, appointed, because it is carved in stone.
ORDINANCE (Neh. 1:7): the primary idea is to set upright, or erect, or render justice; to govern or rule; hence, judgments.
NEHEMIAH: The last three letters represent the name of God: Jehovah. The first five letters portray drawing the breath forcibly, panting, sighing, or groaning; they come to mean console, comfort. Thus the name means Comfort of Jehovah or Jehovah has comforted. The word comfort, also occurs in the names Menahem and Nahum. It is the first word in Isaiah 40.
SUMMARY
Nehemiah was a Jew who had advanced to a position of great responsibility and trust within the government of Persia. His brother came on a visit with other Jews, and in reply to Nehemiahs concern told him about the defenseless, impoverished conditions in Jerusalem. Nehemiah wept, then he prayed. He recalled Gods greatness and His lovingkindness to Israel in the past; he confessed that he and all Israel had sinned and had violated Gods commandments; he asked that God keep His promise and restore them, as they were his servants. He further asked that God would cause the king to respond favorably to the request which he was about to make before him.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
5. The great and terrible God As his fearful judgments on his own people showed.
Mercy for them that love him As the law and his word by the prophets, and the whole history of Israel, abundantly testified.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(5) 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: (6) 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. (7) 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. (8) Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: (9) 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. (10) Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. (11) 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.
Reader! look out for Jesus, and see whether in the several parts of this most fervent prayer, the plainest allusions be not made to him, and the plainest intimations of seeking mercy in him, and through him. Mark how Nehemiah opens his devotion with an eye to the Lord in his covenant character. And what was this but the covenant of redemption in Jesus? The first branch of God’s covenant with Abraham, with whom the promise was made, was, that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. And that none might mistake, the Holy Ghost explains this with a direct reference to Christ: Gal 3:16 . Observe, moreover, that blessed gospel feature of confessing iniquity, and accepting the punishment of it; and all this not with an eye to the merit of repentance, but to God’s promises of acceptance. Lev 26:41-42 . Add another precious consideration in this view of Nehemiah’s prayer, and remark that he puts God in mind of his covenant engagements. If when Israel for sin was scattered, still having an eye in their sorrow to Jesus by faith in a covenant God, they were to expect deliverance, Solomon was commissioned to hold forth a yet stronger representation of Jesus in his temple, to which Israel when scattered in distant countries, was to look by faith when brought acquainted with the plague of their own hearts. And this more fully held forth a covenant God in Christ. 1Ki 8:29-30 . I think these are sweet things in the prayer of Nehemiah in allusion to the Lord Jesus. The particular petition of the Lord’s giving Nehemiah favor with the king his master, that he might be the Lord’s instrument for good, is a noble example of the loveliness of Nehemiah’s faith. Surely the Holy Ghost consulted the comfort and encouragement of the church when he caused this prayer to be recorded!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“And said, I beseech thee.” Neh 1:5 .
The subject is Remembered Prayers. Nehemiah here cites, to all appearance, the very terms which he used in addressing the heavenly throne. It is not necessary, however, to recollect the precise words in order to enjoy a refreshing memory of the intercourse which we have had with God. The intercourse, indeed, is not in the words at all, but in the thoughts which those words endeavour to convey. It would be proper for us to give new words to the old thoughts; and, provided we faithfully represented the thoughts, we should be entitled to say that we had quoted the prayer. There are prayers which we can never forget prayers in personal extremity, prayers in the sick-chamber, prayers on battlefields, prayers for those in whose lives our own were involved, and without whom it seemed impossible for us to live. The memorable prayers do not throw into insignificance the prayers which are not so precisely remembered. In prayer, as in everything else, there must be long ranges of comparative flatness; only now and then do we ascend the high mountains and enjoy the breezes that blow there from the gates of heaven. Unhappy is the man who has no prayers to remember the man who can only go back in his memory to find a dim record of frivolous expressions, foolish plans, unwise attempts to be wise, and a whole store of things, not one of which is of any value. Lay up in memory, for reading, for old age, quotations for time of difficulty; make the soul familiar with prayer, and then we shall have no difficulty in re-living our lives and visiting old altars where we won great victories in the name of Christ.
Neh 2:2
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“This is nothing else but sorrow of hearty.” Neh 2:2 .
All men know the meaning of silent sorrow. There is a language of the face, an eloquence of the eye, a persuasiveness and pathos of mien, which no orator ever rivalled in his most impassioned moods. Some people seem to be doomed to the suppression of sorrow; they cannot afford the time to weep and mourn and make a demonstration of their sadness “A little weeping would ease my heart.” The sorrow of Nehemiah was not a selfish grief. He himself was in circumstances marked by luxuriousness and honour, but how could he be otherwise than sad of heart as he remembered the fate of his people? This is the beneficent altruism. A gloom would come over every feast if the guests could remember how many thousands are starving. The merriest heart would pause in its mirthfulness on recollecting that the whole world is under the condemnation of death. “The air is full of farewells to the dying.” This may be a sentiment which ought to be discouraged, and men should be exhorted to take the best and brightest view of life: at the same time we impoverish our best nature by excluding from contemplation the sorrows, the burdens, the groanings of men who are our kindred, our compatriots, and our brethren in all deepest and truest sense of the word. “Rejoice with them that do rejoice” is an exhortation associated with “Weep with them that weep.” What concerns human nature concerns every man. Christianity came to destroy all self-living and self-idolatry: no man liveth unto himself: whether we live, we live unto the Lord; whether we die, we die unto the Lord; living or dying, we are the Lord’s. We shall know whether our feeling is true and deep by the sacrifices we are prepared to make on its account. The sentiment that is content to perish in evaporation is neither wise nor useful, but is on all accounts to be condemned and abhorred. All false sentiment weakens the nature; all true sentiment elevates and enlarges manhood.
Neh 2:12
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“Neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem.” Neh 2:12 .
The fool tells all he knows, and much that he does not know. Always have the heart full of good thoughts known only to God and itself. Men may speak away all their strength; that is, they may talk so much as to become quite weak. First do the good. The preacher should not tell what a good sermon he is going to preach; he should simply preach it. In the morning be very silent: at night bring home your record. Your friends may blame you for not talking in advance. Pay no heed to their reproach. What good am I going to do this day? God put thoughts into Nehemiah’s heart, and he must put them into mine. One thing I can do, I can open the door of my heart and give the blessed Spirit welcome. I must not forget that there are at least many things I must not do; I must not brood over injuries, nor be hard upon the weak, nor rob the hireling, nor expect more from men than they can be or do; my own weakness must make me humble; my own faults must check my judgment of others. O thou giver of all good thoughts, fill my heart with grace, and help me to walk step by step in the way of him who went about doing good. Broken walls now are to be built up, and if I cannot lay the stones myself I may at least carry the stones to the men who have skill to build. I bless thee, Lord of my salvation, for this good desire. Now I will go forth and work.
Neh 2:9
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“… gave them the kings letters.” Neh 2:9 .
It would have been useless for Nehemiah to appear in his own person, or to attempt to operate upon his own authority. Nehemiah was a great man, but in the direction in which he was now moving he was as impotent as others. Only a royal sanction could open his way, and secure him full success. Here is a beautiful picture of the attitude of the Christian evangelist. When he goes abroad he has no introduction of himself to make, he simply delivers the King’s letters. When one was complaining to the Duke of Wellington as to the ill-success of missionary effort, the Iron Duke replied, “What are your marching orders?” and he quoted the words of Christ “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature:” by that military exhortation the old soldier was prepared to abide; it was not a suggestion, it was an imperative injunction. When the preacher appears in the pulpit, all he has to do is to give the people the King’s letters; when the student bends his head over his desk in the study, it is only that he may study what is written in the letters of the King. The moment we begin to write letters of commendation for ourselves, we become as other men: our distinctiveness as ambassadors is lost: we have to apologise where we ought to demand. The King’s letters are full of light and love. They are addressed to every man. There is something in Holy Scripture for every soul that breathes. It is instructive to notice how those letters abound in commandments, positive claims, appeals for surrender, and the like. A king’s letters should be kingly: they should combine the imperative with the gracious, with obvious skill: they ought to be noble in their diction, and conciliatory in their tone: they ought to demand, and yet to beseech: under all the persuasion, however, there must lie a line of royal claim and inevitable behest. Have not preachers too often forgotten the commanding side of the King’s letters?
Neh 2:16
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“Neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.” Neh 2:16 .
This indicates the wisdom of silence when great enterprises are on hand. Nehemiah had only with him some few men who had understanding of his purpose and sympathy with his spirit. There is a time when we want as few people with us as possible. There are occasions when a man may have too many friends, advisers, and confidants. There are solemn hours in life when a man must be his own human adviser; he must hold counsel with none but with God and his own heart. Consultation means deference. The moment you take a man into your fellowship and ask his opinion, you seem bound to concede something to him, which may weaken your own energy. In all great action consider the case privately. Enter thy closet and shut thy door, and speak to thy Father in secret; and having come to understand the will of heaven, open the door, and go forth with the energy of a. man who is inspired, and to whom failure is divinely forbidden. How many men waste themselves by speaking too much! Many lives that might have done well have evaporated in useless words and protestations. Beware of the man who tells you all his plans before he has begun to work at them; he may seem to be friendly and confidential, but when he parts with his secret he parts with his strength. The silent or secret worker often brings himself under misconstruction. The most of people like to know what is going to be done, and when they are not informed of the policy that is about to be tried, they complain that they have not been treated with due courtesy and confidence. Such people are not to be heeded in their complaints: the strong man is to go forth confident in the almightiness of God.
Neh 4:6
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“So built we the wall.” Neh 4:6 .
Here is the oneness of the object which Nehemiah had in view. From morning to night the cry was, The wall, the wall! It was in vain to tempt Nehemiah to speak upon any other subject. It is said that the man of one book is always formidable, because he knows it so well, and has in a sense made it his own. What is true of the one book is true of the one object. The Apostle Paul said, “This one thing I do;” he enjoined the young evangelists to give themselves wholly to their work, and to see that no man took their crown. It may appear to be little and narrow to have only one object in life; but it is better to succeed in one object that is good than to fail in a hundred that are questionable. There is a genius of concentration as well as a statesmanship that can grasp all that is diverse and diffuse. The most of us are called to do one thing in life. Generally, the men who fail are men who leave their legitimate work and attempt incidental experiments; they cannot be content with the simple, straightforward line of action which ought to run through every day, so they are continually turning to the right hand and to the left, and doing innumerable things that need not be done, and at the end of the day they have nothing to show for their labour but weariness and disappointment. Young man, have a wall to build. Church of Christ, have a wall to build. Student preparing for the severe struggle of life, have a wall to build. Always have a definite object, and always let it be known that you are to be found at your work, and not seeking holiday excitement or intoxication that dissipates the strength and beclouds the whole outlook of life.
“For the people had a mind to work” Neh 4:6 .
Now Nehemiah divides his honours. This the great leader is always willing to do. In a sense, the general wins the battle, but where would the general be if he had no army? Great generals always take heed of those who are foremost in the fight, who show great courage, who are not to be quelled by the spirit of danger; the names of such are sent home that they may be marked with honour. Nehemiah looked upon the people as essential to his success. Every minister must do the same. Every head of business must regard his employ as part and parcel of himself in the accomplishment of commercial success. This is the true spirit of co-operation. The master is nothing without his servant. The author is nothing without his readers. The king is no king if he have no subjects, and he is the great king who is the subject of his own kingdom. Here we find the splendid energy of true voluntaryism. The people were not driven to their work, or compelled to work, or taxed for not working; their whole mind and heart went out in the direction of labour, and their joy was to see the wall rising. Love will do more than law. We say that the Jew gave a tenth, but he did it under the pressure of law, whereas Christians are no longer under the law: that is true, but they are under grace, which makes larger demands upon a man than any law can do: grace goes farther into the heart, sinks more deeply into the will, inflames more completely the whole nature; to grace, therefore, we must look for triumphs impossible to compulsion.
Neh 4:10
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“There is much rubbish.” Neh 4:10 .
So the work was not allowed to proceed upon a clear space. There is always a negative work to be done before great constructions can be proceeded with. This is not understood generally by those who make statistics of spiritual activity; it is the wall that is measured, not the “rubbish” that is estimated. What rubbish of ignorance, prejudice, false association, must be removed before the Christian teacher can begin his work! Much learning has to be unlearned, because it proceeds on a false basis, or is unadapted to the capacity of the learner. Where is there a clear space in any country in which the Christian teacher may begin at once to build his wall? It is very disheartening to be spending much time in removing rubbish; we must look, however, at what is necessary, at what indeed is absolutely essential; we must not build on rubbish, we must not be anxious for the kind of progress that is not thorough; unless the foundation is really good, the building itself will only be to our discredit, for it will soon fall. It would seem to be easier to create rubbish than to build walls. Any man can do mischief; any man can obstruct good work: any hearer can set up a point of opposition to the most earnest and inspiring teaching. We are called upon to remove false trusts, religious sophisms, superstitious prejudices, selfish calculations, and an infinite mass of rubbish. Some men are skilled in this department of service, who are not so skilled in building the wall. All parties must work together in the uprearing of the living Church.
Neh 4:23
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None of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing” Neh 4:23 .
This showed the earnestness of Nehemiah and his band of workers. Nehemiah is careful to mention that he himself was subject to this arrangement. “So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.” This is wonderful captaincy on the part of Nehemiah. Everything was done on a military basis. Some people waste all their energy in putting off and on their clothes: their whole life is a question of clothes: they cannot do anything until their clothes are right. Nehemiah showed how he distinguished between the necessary and the unnecessary. Every man put oft his clothes for washing for the washing of the clothes and for the washing of himself. We must attend to health if we are to attend to successful toil. Time is not wasted that is spent in obeying the laws of life. Is our life a life of discipline? Have we thrown off all self-criticism and self-control, and abandoned ourselves to the enjoyment of the flesh and the cultivation of social manners? A man cannot be punctilious about his clothes, and at the same time punctilious about duties in days of danger. When the man knows that he himself is greater than his clothes, he will see to it that the work is first attended to, and then other things will be left to follow as they may.
Neh 5:6
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“And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.” Neh 5:6 .
There is a time to be angry. If a man cannot be angry, neither can he be pleased. Only he who can burn as an oven can be gracious and gentle and sympathetic. Our public men should more frequently be angry, yea, very angry, and should find in their anger a species of inspiration. Nehemiah’s was a noble anger; it was not a petty, fretful, spiteful resentment; it was the anger of a man who saw that injustice had been done. In the presence of injustice every good man is angry. When we cease to be angry in the presence of oppression we have ceased to hold fellowship with the Spirit of Righteousness, which is the Spirit of God. He who works from conviction will work earnestly, steadily, self-sacrific-ingly. Anger must be translated into action. Nehemiah adopted a course of self-consultation, and having “consulted with myself,” he says, “I rebuked the nobles and the rulers.” There is a time for rebuke. Men must not be allowed to do evil deeds, and to escape moral criticism. He who begins with judgment may see his way in the direction of ultimate redemption.
Neh 5:13
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“And the people did according to this promise.” Neh 5:13 .
How well Nehemiah always speaks of the people! He cannot forget their devotedness and their faithfulness. There is a time when “promise” only is possible: the time for action has not fully come: but men can make up their minds what they will do as circumstances develop. If people would do according to their promises what wondrous results would be seen in every department of Church life! Some men have promised gold, others have promised service, others have promised faithful attendance at the house of God and generous co-operation with all its offices and functions. Some made promises on sick-beds; some made promises in storms at sea; some made promises in the presence of affliction that seemed to be unto death on the part of those whom they most deeply loved: where are those promises? Is heaven stored with promissory notes that have not been redeemed? Is it enough to speak a promise and to forget it? He who forgets a promise is not to be trusted. The word of honour should be severer than the bond of law. Let us set down in order the promises we have made to heaven and begin to redeem them one by one: and soon the circle in which we live shall feel a glow of gratitude and a radiance of joy.
Neh 6:6
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“Gashmu saith it.” Neh 6:6 .
By accommodation these words may be used to set forth the folly of those who undertake to send abroad mischievous reports. When we wish to make an impression we are seldom careful as to the evidence on which we rely: if the impression is to be made, it must be made at all risks and costs. San-ballat came to Nehemiah with an open letter in his hand, wherein was written, “It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel.” Gashmu told lies. Gashmu may stand for the anonymous element in social life. It sounds as if it were a name associated with elevation and authority, and any name of that kind will serve the purpose when wicked men wish to overthrow the labours of honest patriots! Who is Gashmu? What right had he to say anything about the business? Are strong men to be turned aside by anonymous reporters? Are we to be made afraid because of a man who is behind the veil, and who is whispering words of suspicion just loud enough for us to hear them? All this section of our life, which may be called the section of superstition, must be swept away or reconstructed and purified, so that only the voice of reason and the dictate of true judgment can be heard. How many of us are affrighted by the expression “They say”! Who are they? Descend to particulars; give us names, authorities, places, dates. When the persons called “they” are discovered, it will be generally found that they disclaim the authenticity of the reports which are associated with their names. Do let us be convinced in our hearts; let us have the consent of our own judgment: let us burn with earnestness; and in the presence of such moral qualification all Gashmus will turn away from us in fear and shame.
Neh 6:12
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“I perceived that God had not sent him” Neh 6:12 .
There is a spirit in man. Intuition has an important part to play in the education of human life. They who live closely with God are blessed with a power which may well be described as the discernment of spirits. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they be of God.” We know when men are speaking truth. There is a faculty within us which confirms or contradicts, according to the quality of the man who addresses us. The false teacher can be detected, though he be eloquent, powerful, fascinating, and most persuasive. Who can disguise the hollowness of falsehood? On the other hand, we know the true shepherd: “My sheep know my voice; a stranger will they not follow:” the scribe said, “Master, thou hast said the truth:” the centurion said, “Truly this man was the Son of God:” Pilate’s wife described Jesus as “a just person.” The true teacher may have little to recommend him of an external kind: his speech may not be with enticing words of man’s wisdom: he may speak that which is folly to the worldly mind: but in the long run he will prove that he is a messenger of God, more anxious to make certain vital truths known than to study the manner in which they should be conveyed. True men should support true men, and should never lend themselves to the petty criticism of mere method or manner. The first point to discover is whether a man is really in earnest, whether God has sent him; and if the hearer be true to his own conscience, to his best moral instincts, he will often perceive whether a man has been sent or has not been sent of God. Be true to yourselves; let your inmost nature speak. In every heart there is a sanctuary, a holy of holies, and from that innermost place must come the directing and judicial voice.
Neh 6:16
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“They perceived that this work was wrought of our God.” Neh 6:16 .
If they did not perceive this at first they perceived it at last. What we have to do is to go on with the work, for the work is self-revealing and self-commending. It is beautiful to notice how Nehemiah directs attention to the work. He says nothing about himself; not a word of admiration regarding his courage and energy does he insert; but he proclaims that as the work proceeded people began to see the hand of God rather than the hand of man. This is the great crown of Christian evidence. Christianity does not stand in any merely literary defence, although its literary defence is complete; it stands rather in its beneficent accomplishments, in its regenerated hearts, its elevated lives, its new spirit of consecration, its broad unselfishness, its generous sympathy. “Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see:” quote the miracles, tell about the men you have seen who have leaped into newness of life, who have recovered lost or disused faculties, and who are new men, whose hearts are full of praise to God. The world will never perceive that Christianity is of heaven simply because its preachers are eloquent, or because its professors are highly ceremonious in their religious observances. When the world sees that neighbourhoods are cleansed, illuminated, elevated altogether in moral tone, the world will begin to perceive that the work is wrought of God.
Neh 7:12
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“… a faithful man, and feared God above many.” Neh 7:2 .
The wall was now built, and certain appointments had been made. There are men who can accept appointments after the wall is completed who could take but little part in the building of the wall itself. Nehemiah had a discerning eye; he saw what men were fit for and what they could best do. The selections of Nehemiah were not of an intellectual kind: the men whom he chose were not selected because they were brilliant in genius, cultivated in intellect, dainty in taste; they were chosen on moral grounds “He was a faithful man. and feared God above many.” Always be sure about the moral substratum of character; that will abide when all things fail; the blossom may die, but the root abides in the earth, and out of it will come still larger and more beautiful blossoms Distrust a man who has no conscience, no moral aspirations, no moral sensitiveness; he is a bad man, how great soever he may be in intellect and in accidental surroundings, and he will be as a broken staff in the day of weariness. There is a preeminence of goodness, “And feared God above many;” loved God, consulted God, lived with God. longed after God with tender solicitude. Abraham was the friend of God; Enoch walked with God; with Saul there was a band of men whose hearts God had touched. We are nothing if we have not God; if we have God we are mightier than all the powers that can be against us.
Neh 7:5
“Handfuls of Purpose”
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“I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first.” Neh 7:5 .
There is more written than we suppose. There are registers that are hidden away but will one day be produced. When those registers are before us it will be found that the first may be last, and the last may be first. God is the scribe, and nothing escapes his pen. There are in heaven books, and a Book; there is another book, which is the Book of Life. The universe is kept in regular order; it is founded on what we may term a systematic basis; every worker’s name is entered, the period of service is indicated, the wages agreed upon are stated; nothing is left to disorder or to be settled without distinct and all-inclusive law: “Rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Of what account is it that a man shall be found in all the records of society if he be not written in the book of heaven? There are those who boast of their descent from illustrious sires: blessed be God. there is. not one of us who cannot be adopted into the heavenly family and make an heir of glory. Not what our forefathers were, but what we ourselves may become through the grace of Christ, is the supreme question of the future. All other books will be burned, or they shall be held to be of no account in the day of the great assize; but they who are written in the book of life shall have a right to enter into the city, and to be enfranchised amongst the angels and the spirits of the blessed. Poorest, weakest man, thou mayest this very day be written in God’s register. The register is kept at the Cross, the signatures are all inscribed in blood; no man can write his own name there, but God will write it for him, if the man will only cry from his heart God be merciful to me a sinner!
Neh 7:64
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“These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found.” Neh 7:64 .
This is the humiliating side of life. Men take it for granted that their names cannot have been omitted from any list of the great and noble, the princely, and the honoured; and, lo, when search comes to be made the persons who have been living in self-confidence find to their discomfiture that they are not known in the household of the elect. There should be no neglect about this business of spiritual registration. In God’s book registration is only made on account of individual prayer, and faith, and love. We are not in God’s register because of what our parents have been or not been. There is no hereditary piety. God does not keep a House of Peers into which men are born. Every man is born again, and is adopted into the family of God. Each Christian is a distinct miracle of heaven.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Neh 1:5 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:
Ver. 5. I beseech thee, O Lord ] Annah Jehovah; an insinuating preface; whereby he seeketh first to get in with God speaking him fair; as doth likewise David, in a real and heavenly compliment, Psa 116:16 . Obsecro Iehovah, I beseech, O Lord (I am thy servant, I am thy servant, the son of thine handmaid), break thou my bands. So the Church, Isa 64:9 , “Behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.”
The great and terrible God
That keepeth covenant and mercy
That love him and observe his commandments
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Nehemiah
A REFORMER’S SCHOOLING
Neh 1:1 – Neh 1:11
The date of the completion of the Temple is 516 B.C.; that of Nehemiah’s arrival 445 B.C. The colony of returned exiles seems to have made little progress during that long period. Its members settled down, and much of their enthusiasm cooled, as we see from the reforms which Ezra had to inaugurate fourteen years before Nehemiah. The majority of men, even if touched by spiritual fervour, find it hard to keep on the high levels for long. Breathing is easier lower down. As is often the case, a brighter flame of zeal burned in the bosoms of sympathisers at a distance than in those of the actual workers, whose contact with hard realities and petty details disenchanted them. Thus the impulse to nobler action came, not from one of the colony, but from a Jew in the court of the Persian king.
This passage tells us how God prepared a man for a great work, and how the man prepared himself.
I. Sad tidings and their effect on a devout servant of God Neh 1:1 – Neh 1:4. The time and place are precisely given. ‘The month Chislev’ corresponds to the end of November and beginning of December. ‘The twentieth year’ is that of Artaxerxes Neh 2:1. ‘Shushan,’ or Susa, was the royal winter residence, and ‘the palace’ was ‘a distinct quarter of the city, occupying an artificial eminence.’ Note the absence of the name of the king. Nehemiah is so familiar with his greatness that he takes for granted that every reader can fill the gaps. But, though the omission shows how large a space the court occupied in his thoughts, a true Jewish heart beat below the courtier’s robe. That flexibility which enabled them to stand as trusted servants of the kings of many lands, and yet that inflexible adherence to, and undying love of, Israel, has always been a national characteristic. We can think of this youthful cup-bearer as yearning for one glimpse of the ‘mountains round about Jerusalem’ while he filled his post in Shushan.
His longings were kindled into resolve by intercourse with a little party of Jews from Judaea, among whom was his own brother. They had been to see how things went there, and the fact that one of them was a member of Nehemiah’s family seems to imply that the same sentiments belonged to the whole household. Eager questions brought out sorrowful answers. The condition of the ‘remnant’ was one of ‘great affliction and reproach,’ and the ground of the reproach was probably Neh 2:17 ; Neh 4:2 – Neh 4:4 the still ruined fortifications.
It has been supposed that the breaking down of the walls and burning of the gates, mentioned in Neh 1:3 , were recent, and subsequent to the events recorded in Ezra; but it is more probable that the project for rebuilding the defences, which had been stopped by superior orders Ezr 4:12 – Ezr 4:16, had not been resumed, and that the melancholy ruins were those which had met the eyes of Zerubbabel nearly a hundred years before. Communication between Shushan and Jerusalem cannot have been so infrequent that the facts now borne in on Nehemiah might not have been known before. But the impression made by facts depends largely on their narrator, and not a little on the mood of the hearer. It was one thing to hear general statements, and another to sit with one’s brother, and see through his eyes the dismal failure of the ‘remnant’ to carry out the purpose of their return. So the story, whether fresh or repeated with fresh force, made a deep dint in the young cupbearer’s heart, and changed his life’s outlook. God prepares His servants for their work by laying on their souls a sorrowful realisation of the miseries which other men regard, and they themselves have often regarded, very lightly. The men who have been raised up to do great work for God and men, have always to begin by greatly and sadly feeling the weight of the sins and sorrows which they are destined to remove. No man will do worthy work at rebuilding the walls who has not wept over the ruins.
So Nehemiah prepared himself for his work by brooding over the tidings with tears, by fasting and by prayer. There is no other way of preparation. Without the sad sense of men’s sorrows, there will be no earnestness in alleviating them, nor self-sacrificing devotion; and without much prayer there will be little consciousness of weakness or dependence on divine help.
Note the grand and apparently immediate resolution to throw up brilliant prospects and face a life of danger and suffering and toil. Nehemiah was evidently a favourite with the king, and had the ball at his foot. But the ruins on Zion were more attractive to him than the splendours of Shushan, and he willingly flung away his chances of a great career to take his share of ‘affliction and reproach.’ He has never had justice done him in popular estimation. He is not one of the well-known biblical examples of heroic self-abandonment; but he did just what Moses did, and the eulogium of the Epistle to the Hebrews fits him as well as the lawgiver; for he too chose ‘rather to suffer with the people of God than to enjoy pleasures for a season.’ So must we all, in our several ways, do, if we would have a share in building the walls of the city of God.
II. The prayer Neh 1:5 – Neh 1:11. The course of thought in this prayer is very instructive. It begins with solemnly laying before God His own great name, as the mightiest plea with Him, and the strongest encouragement to the suppliant. That commencement is no mere proper invocation, conventionally regarded as the right way of beginning, but it expresses the petitioner’s effort to lay hold on God’s character as the ground of his hope of answer. The terms employed remarkably blend what Nehemiah had learned from Persian religion and what from a better source. He calls upon Jehovah, the great name which was the special possession of Israel. He also uses the characteristic Persian designation of ‘the God of heaven,’ and identifies the bearer of that name, not with the god to whom it was originally applied, but with Israel’s Jehovah. He takes the crown from the head of the false deity, and lays it at the feet of the God of his fathers. Whatsoever names for the Supreme Excellence any tongues have coined, they all belong to our God, in so far as they are true and noble. The modern ‘science of comparative religion’ yields many treasures which should be laid up in Jehovah’s Temple.
But the rest of the designations are taken from the Old Testament, as was fitting. The prayer throughout is full of allusions and quotations, and shows how this cupbearer of Artaxerxes had fed his young soul on God’s word, and drawn thence the true nourishment of high and holy thoughts and strenuous resolutions and self-sacrificing deeds. Prayers which are cast in the mould of God’s own revelation of Himself will not fail of answer. True prayer catches up the promises that flutter down to us, and flings them up again like arrows.
The prayer here is all built, then, on that name of Jehovah, and on what the name involves, chiefly on the thought of God as keeping covenant and mercy. He has bound Himself in solemn, irrefragable compact, to a certain line of action. Men ‘know where to have Him,’ if we may venture on the familiar expression. He has given us a chart of His course, and He will adhere to it. Therefore we can go to Him with our prayers, so long as we keep these within the ample space of His covenant, and ourselves within its terms, by loving obedience.
The petition that God’s ears might be sharpened and His eyes open to the prayer is cast in a familiar mould. It boldly transfers to Him not only the semblance of man’s form, but also the likeness of His processes of action. Hearing the cry for help precedes active intervention in the case of men’s help, and the strong imagery of the prayer conceives of similar sequence in God. But the figure is transparent, and the ‘anthropomorphism’ so plain that no mistakes can arise in its interpretation.
Note, too, the light touch with which the suppliant’s relation to God ‘Thy servant’ and his long-continued cry ‘day and night’ are but just brought in for a moment as pleas for a gracious hearing. The prayer is ‘for Thy servants the children of Israel,’ in which designation, as the next clauses show, the relation established by God, and not the conduct of men, is pleaded as a reason for an answer.
The mention of that relation brings at once to Nehemiah’s mind the terrible unfaithfulness to it which had marked, and still continued to mark, the whole nation. So lowly confession follows Neh 1:6 – Neh 1:7. Unprofitable servants they had indeed been. The more loftily we think of our privileges, the more clearly should we discern our sins. Nothing leads a true heart to such self-ashamed penitence as reflection on God’s mercy. If a man thinks that God has taken him for a servant, the thought should bow him with conscious unworthiness, not lift him in self-satisfaction. Nehemiah’s confession not only sprung from the thought of Israel’s vocation, so poorly fulfilled, but it also laid the groundwork for further petitions. It is useless to ask God to help us to repair the wastes if we do not cast out the sins which have made them. The beginning of all true healing of sorrow is confession of sins. Many promising schemes for the alleviation of national and other distresses have come to nothing because, unlike Nehemiah’ s, they did not begin with prayer, or prayed for help without acknowledging sin.
And the man who is to do work for God and to get God to bless his work must not be content with acknowledging other people’s sins, but must always say, ‘We have sinned,’ and not seldom say, ‘I have sinned.’ That penitent consciousness of evil is indispensible to all who would make their fellows happier. God works with bruised reeds. The sense of individual transgression gives wonderful tenderness, patience amid gainsaying, submission in failure, dependence on God in difficulty, and lowliness in success. Without it we shall do little for ourselves or for anybody else.
The prayer next reminds God of His own words Neh 1:8 – Neh 1:9, freely quoted and combined from several passages Lev 26:33 – Lev 26:45 ; Deu 4:25 – Deu 4:31 , etc.. The application of these passages to the then condition of things is at first sight somewhat loose, since part of the people were already restored; and the purport of the prayer is not the restoration of the remainder, but the deliverance of those already in the land from their distresses. Still, the promise gives encouragement to the prayer and is powerful with God, inasmuch as it could not be said to have been fulfilled by so incomplete a restoration as that as that at present realised. What God does must be perfectly done; and His great word is not exhausted so long as any fuller accomplishment of it can be imagined.
The reminder of the promise is clinched v. 10 by the same appeal as formerly to the relation to Himself into which God had been pleased to bring the nation, with an added reference to former deeds, such as the Exodus, in which His strong hand had delivered them. We are always sure of an answer if we ask God not to contradict Himself. Since He has begun He will make an end. It will never be said of Him that He ‘began to build and was not able to finish.’ His past is a mirror in which we can read His future. The return from Babylon is implied in the Exodus.
A reiteration of earlier words follows, with the addition that Nehemiah now binds, as it were, his single prayer in a bundle with those of the like-minded in Israel. He gathers single ears into a sheaf, which he brings as a ‘wave-offering.’ And then, in one humble little sentence at the end, he puts his only personal request. The modesty of the man is lovely. His prayer has been all for the people. Remarkably enough, there is no definite petition in it. He never once says right out what he so earnestly desires, and the absence of specific requests might be laid hold of by sceptical critics as an argument against the genuineness of the prayer. But it is rather a subtle trait, on which no forger would have been likely to hit. Sometimes silence is the very result of entire occupation of mind with a thought. He says nothing about the particular nature of his request, just because he is so full of it. But he does ask for favour in the eyes of ‘this man,’ and that he may be prospered ‘this day.’
So this was his morning prayer on that eventful day, which was to settle his life’s work. The certain days of solitary meditation on his nation’s griefs had led to a resolution. He says nothing about his long brooding, his slow decision, his conflicts with lower projects of personal ambition. He ‘burns his own smoke,’ as we all should learn to do. But he asks that the capricious and potent will of the king may be inclined to grant his request. If our morning supplication is ‘Prosper Thy servant this day,’ and our purposes are for God’s glory, we need not fear facing anybody. However powerful Artaxerxes was, he was but ‘this man,’ not God. The phrase does not indicate contempt or undervaluing of the solid reality of his absolute power over Nehemiah, but simply expresses the conviction that the king, too, was a subject of God’ s, and that his heart was in the hand of Jehovah, to mould as He would. The consciousness of dependence on God and the habit of communion with Him give a man a clear sight of the limitations of earthly dignities, and a modest boldness which is equally remote from rudeness and servility.
Thus prepared for whatever might be the issue of that eventful day, the young cupbearer rose from his knees, drew a long breath, and went to his work. Well for us if we go to ours, whether it be a day of crisis or of commonplace, in like fashion! Then we shall have like defence and like calmness of heart.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
LORD = Jehovah. See App-4.
GOD. Hebrew. ‘El (with Art.) See App-4.
keepeth covenant. Nehemiah goes back to the language of the Pentateuch (Deu 7:9).
observe = keep. Compare Exo 20:6; Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Neh 1:5-11
Neh 1:5-11
NEHEMIAH’S PRAYER
“I beseech thee, O Jehovah, the God of heaven, the great and terrible God that keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments: let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel, thy servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father’s house have sinned: we have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the ordinances, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples: but if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 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 delight to fear thy name; and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
“If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples” (Neh 1:8). Here Nehemiah was remembering the words of Moses in Deu 30:1-8.
This is a fervent beautiful prayer, and there’s not a word in it that suggests any other person than Nehemiah as the author of it. Yet the critics who profess to know everything, and who are unable to find any dependable record whatever in the Holy Bible, declare this prayer to be fraudulently ascribed to Nehemiah. Hamrick stated that, “This prayer is probably not a verbatim quotation from Nehemiah.” And Oesterley even professed to know who wrote it! “The Chronicler took this prayer from the Temple liturgy and put it into the mouth of Nehemiah”! It is difficult to imagine a more arrogant conceit than that which produces such comments. Where is there any prayer in the Temple liturgy that duplicates this? It simply does not exist.
“There was a grave personal risk to Nehemiah in his decision to champion the cause of the distressed citizens in Jerusalem, because his master Artaxerxes I had already accepted the charge of the Samaritans that Jerusalem was a bad and rebellious city (See Ezr 4:17-22); and any request of Nehemiah of Artaxerxes would involve asking him to rescind a decree that he himself had made only a few years previously.”
“And grant him mercy in the sight of this man” (Neh 1:11). Speaking of himself in the third person here, Nehemiah prays that God will grant him mercy before the king. “What man he means is explained by the following supplementary remark, `And I was cupbearer to the king,’ without whose favor and permission Nehemiah could not have carried out his intention.”
“Mercy is what Nehemiah prays for, especially mercy from God, as he makes his petition before Artaxerxes.” It is significant that Nehemiah in this prayer did not speak of Artaxerxes as `the king,’ but as ‘this man.’ “Such expressions as `a man,’ or `this man,'” according to Oesterley, “Come from a Hebrew word that carries `a note of contempt.”‘ Perhaps Nehemiah was thinking that, “After all the great king is only a man, subject in every way to the will of God.”
E.M. Zerr:
Neh 1:5. To beseech means to pray very earnestly. Terrible God means he is a God to be respected and reverenced. God’s mercy is offered on condition of obedience.
Neh 1:6. No human is absolutely perfect, and a man like Nehemiah would be the last to make such a claim. He therefore expressed his penitence in this prayer. His confession did not mean necessarily that his personal life had been corrupt in the things that brought about the downfall of his nation. It had been about 100 years since the captivity, and he could not have been directly active in the national wrongs. He was speaking rather for the nation as a whole. The New Testament teaches us that the eyes and ears of the Lord are favorable toward the righteous (1Pe 3:12). In accordance with that truth, Nehemiah made his prayer to God.
Neh 1:7. We have dealt shows the prayer and confession referred to the nation as a whole, and not to Nehemiah personally. The commandments of the Lord mean his law as a whole. The statutes were the formal edicts or decrees enacted independent of the conditions, and the judgments were the decisions of the Lord rendered upon occasions that came up. However a decision was made on any special occasion, it became a fixed law for all Other like cases.
Neh 1:8. Commandest thy servant Moses means he commanded Moses to give it to the people. This is another place that shows the error of those who try to distinguish between the “law of God” and the “law of Moses.” They are the same as far as authority is concerned, so that all that Moses wrote is as much in force today as any certain part of it is. The word under present consideration plainly declared that if the people transgressed the law of God, they would be scattered among the nations. Nehemiah was mindful of the justice dealt out to his people, that it was in accordance with the word of God. But it had a redeeming feature which the prayer included, and it will be shown in the next verse.
Neh 1:9. On condition of repentance, God has always been willing to forgive his wayward people. Looking to that provision in the divine plan, Nehemiah pled for mercy and help for his afflicted people in Jerusalem. God had promised to recover his people even though scattered afar, when they would have returned to him in their hearts.
Neh 1:10. The Lord does not need any human information. He knows who are his people and who are not. The language of Nehemiah, therefore, was a part of an earnest prayer for divine guidance. He expressed his belief in the great power of God.
Neh 1:11. Most of this verse is the same as the preceding ones in its sentiments. Nehemiah had been praying for the help of God and in general terms. He now came to particulars and asked that God cause mercy to be shown him by this man. The antecedent of the pronoun is the king of Persia as the closing sentence shows. A cupbearer is described in Smith’s Bible Dictionary as follows: “An officer of high rank with Egyptian, Persian, and Assyrian as well as Jewish monarchs. 1Ki 10:5. It was his duty to fill the king’s cup and present it to him personally.”
Paul T. Butler:
This prayer by Nehemiah is as noble as that of Ezra (Neh 9:6-15), though Ezra was a religious official and Nehemiah was a secular ruler. This speaks well of Nehemiahs habits of spirituality and fellowship with God: his practice of the ceremonies of religion.
The prayer begins in Neh 1:5 with praise to God for His (1) greatness and (2) character of loving kindness. So Jesus began His model prayer with praise: a good model for us today. The loving kindness mentioned in this verse is not merely sentimental; it always implies faithful compliance with the covenant .
Neh 1:6 speaks of Nehemiahs persistence, day and night, and moves to confession. As Ezra had done (Neh 9:6), so Nehemiah also identified himself with their sins. The mention of thy servant and thy servants was the formula of polite address.
Neh 1:7 enumerates some of their sins. There were sins of commission (we have acted very corruptly) and sins of omission (and have not kept thy commandments . . .). See the Word Studies, end of this chapter, for the difference in emphasis between commandments, statutes, and ordinances. Note that Nehemiah identifies Moses with Gods giving of His law.
In Neh 1:8-9 Nehemiah relies on one of Gods promises in His word, assuming they have repented. As Ezra had enabled us to see his familiarity with the Scriptures in Neh 9:11 f, so Nehemiahs prayer at this point is also a composite of several Scriptures:
1) If you are unfaithful I will scatter you: Lev 26:33.
2) But if you return to me: Deu 30:2 f.
3) I Will gather them from there and will bring them: Deu 30:4; Deu 9:29.
4) to the place where I have chosen to cause my name to dwell: Deu 12:5.
Neh 1:10 recalls actions in the past in which God has assisted his people.
Neh 1:11 asserts that the people were truly Gods servants, that they qualified for His promises by their regard for His name (personality), and asks that the prayer may succeed on the basis of compassion or mercy beyond derservings. This man of Neh 1:11 is a reference to Artaxerxes (Neh 2:1 ff), whom God should move to favor the request which Nehemiah would bring before him,
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the great: Neh 4:14, Deu 7:21, 1Ch 17:21, Psa 47:2, Dan 9:4-19
keepeth: Exo 20:6, Deu 7:9, 1Ki 8:23, Heb 6:13-18
Reciprocal: Exo 34:7 – Keeping Deu 4:31 – the Lord Deu 10:17 – a great Deu 12:28 – General 1Ki 8:30 – when they shall 2Ch 6:14 – keepest covenant Neh 9:32 – our God Psa 68:35 – terrible Psa 89:2 – Mercy Psa 99:3 – thy great Psa 105:8 – He hath remembered Psa 111:5 – he will Jer 32:18 – the Great Eze 16:60 – I will remember Rom 8:28 – them Jam 1:12 – them