Nehemiah 2 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Nehemiah 2

Nehemiah Sent to Judah

2:1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls

9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. 13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.

17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim¹ in Jerusalem.”

Footnotes

[1] 2:20 Or memorial

Commentary

v1-2: Nehemiah could not hide his sadness of heart, yet his display of emotion, properly restrained, was the Lord's route to him finding mercy before Artaxerxes. Our emotions do have a key place in our spiritual experience. We must have a concern for the testimony of the Lord.

v3: Nehemiah was open and honest in explaining the situation, and the reason for his sorrow.

v4: The king's question was perhaps unexpected; but clearly the Lord God was in control. In that moment, too, Nehemiah prayed to the God of heaven.

v5-6: Nehemiah's desire led to action; he wanted to serve God, and to serve His people. Like Ezra, Nehemiah was sent with the Lord's approval.

v7-9: Nehemiah showed boldness and confidence in asking for letters of permission from the king; he was conscious of practical needs that he faced, but also that he had favour with the king. Nehemiah, evidently a man of prayer, acknowledged the gracious hand of God upon him.

v10: Nehemiah's concern was the "welfare (or well-being) of the Israelites". This verse marks the beginning of the opposition, since many did not share Nehemiah's heart. Spiritual progress is always marked by opposition. Sanballat and Tobiah remain enemies for a long period; see v19; 4.1-3; 6.1-2.

v11-16: Having arrived in Jerusalem, Nehemiah gave time to finding out the extent of the problem. He had a clear vision from God; now he sought a realistic understanding of the need. Initially he shared these things with no one.

v17-18: Nehemiah spoke of his burden and shared his vision; his zeal found support amongst the people; this was important as the work required significant numbers.

"Let us start rebuilding"; the people were not directed to work, for they had a desire to work, and this was evident in their co-operation and unity; see chapter 3.

v19: Persecution; unfair, unreasonable, and mocking; no reasoned argument was presented for opposing the work, but then we should not expect such.

v20: Nehemiah's response;

trust and confidence in God;
God will give success in fulfilment of the vision;
outsiders have no share in the work (Ezra 4.3); and
the people of Judah were servants of God (Ezra 5.11).