The Rest of Nehemiah's Prayer

I mentioned during last weeks message that an explanation of the rest of Nehemiah 1 would be on my blog. So here it is! I have lifted my notes from a sermon draft and pasted it below. 

The context of Nehemiah 1: 8-11 comes on the heals of Nehemiah acknowledging God, praying for the sins of Israel, and praying for the sins of him and his family. The remainder of his prayer focuses on Israel's inability to keep the commandments. 

8 Remember the word that you commanded your 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 your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’

As Nehemiah continues to reflect, he realizes that there are consequences for actions. In my head right now I struggle with the legalism that this passage could project, with words like: commandments, statutes, and rules. However, I do not think this is legalism. The primary battle for Israel (and for the church today) is about who we worship. Israel was a casualty to idolatry. If you read many of the prophetic books they warn against Israel who was committing idolatry. When we create an idol out of sex, money, prestige, the idol becomes the direction of your worship.

So when Nehemiah prays for Israel and himself to keep the commandments of God it is because these commandments protect us from idols and allow us to focus on Jesus as the central object of our worship. In others words commandments are not a means to tell people what not to do, but to help align our actions which reflect the worship of God.

10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 

The God of Nehemiah and the God of the church is the God of redemption. Only the God of the Bible has the power and the “strong hand” to redeem people. Without God’s “strong hand” of redemption, Israel and the church are left floundering on their own. No other idol, or other god that ultimately functions as an idol, is able to redeem, is able to clear individuals of their sins and bring about healing.

11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”  Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Nehemiah ends his prayer saying that he delights in the fear of the Lord and success is only through the Lord. Nehemiah knows that the success of his calling and the construction project of the walls and gates in Jerusalem are ultimately up to God.

After praying about the news Nehemiah received, he prayed. His narrative continues in chapter two with Nehemiah soclitiing the king to leave for Babylon.

In summation, Nehemiah's prayer (1: 4-11) is a heart-felt plea to God. How does Nehemiah respond? By taking his request to the king and he ultimately ends up in Jerusalem as the foreman for the rebuilding of the walls and gates.  

Ezra-Nehemiah: What's the connection all about?

If you flip through a Biblical commentary on the Book of Nehemiah, you read about its connection with the Book of Ezra. Long story short, it is surmised that Ezra and Nehemiah was one cannonical book before it was separated into two books. There is reason to suggest that the books Ezra and Nehemiah have a close relationship. As historical figures, they were contemporaries committed to the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Ezra was a priest and his role surrounded the reestablishment of God's law in God's city. Nehemiah was an administrative person. His energy was focused on rebuilding the walls and gates of Jerusalem. We can consider him the foreman of the entire workforce.

The connection between Ezra and Nehemiah is also exhibited in the literary structure. Ezra 1 and Nehemiah 7 provide similar census reports. Despite slight differences, it is likely they were using the same source.

The linear themes from Ezra 1 through Nehemiah 13 are obvious. There is an overall theological shape between these two books. One scholar has suggested that Ezra-Nehemiah was composed of five "chapters":

1. Ezra 1-6 focuses on on the rebuilding of the temple in the face of opposition.
2. Ezra 7-10 speaks about the second phase of the restoration project with the inclusion of the Law playing a vital part for the community.
3. Nehemiah 1-7 retells the work of God being done through the Persian king while Nehemiah leads the rebuilding of the walls and gates of Jerusalem.
4. Nehemiah 8-12 is a culmination of the the great works that have been done with additional guidance for leading the people in unity.
5. Nehemiah 13 illustrates subsequent setbacks, but also speaks to what has been done and what has yet to be done. (See Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament: A Book-by-Book Survey)

The obvious question comes up: Why have these books been separated? The answer is complicated but the primary reason is that there are two different authors. It is plausible that these contemporaries collaborated in their joint effort to see the temple, the walls, and gate of Jerusalem rebuilt and chronicling these significant events was the next step.

Now here is the twist. Could there have been a third party, a chronicler, who helped connect these two books? It is possible and not unusual. The insert of a third person who acted as an editor (or redactor) does not mean the integrity of these texts are compromised. It simply means that God used someone else to tell the story of restoration of Israel, the rebuilding or the temple, and the rebuilding or the walls and gates.