The Grief of Nehemiah

Now I'm sure you've already turned in your Bible to Nehemiah. We're gonna be in Nehemiah chapter 1. And like I said, we're gonna be in verses 1, 2, and 3. We're gonna touch on those. But primarily, we are going to be in verse 4. I was telling Brother Keith earlier, I'm really excited about the book of Nehemiah. And I like how the book started off. I think just in those few verses last week, there was some very relevant truths. If you didn't get that message, I encourage you to get that message. I can make that available to you. I know someone sent word by my wife even today that they needed the message. And I'll be glad to get that to you.

And I want you to get all of these messages because really when you take messages within a book, they are part of an entire message. And so we're looking at the entire message of Nehemiah. It goes hand in hand with Ezra. And I look forward personally to getting through the book of Nehemiah, then going back and studying the two books together. Because they are, obviously, you know by now, from one event, one time frame. Now, last week we took the time to go over what I call some basic information concerning the book. We looked at some context. We looked at some background.

I try to be faithful to do that for you because this kind of information is very important when we're going to study a book. These events within the book, the actions of the people within the book, they did not take place in a vacuum. These events, these actions, the people within the book, they all need to be viewed in light of those circumstances. Now, I want to give you some tips in regards to background and context and understanding a book such as Nehemiah. First, be familiar with the information that I give you. If you had trouble taking that down last week, again, I can get that information to you.

It's really a synopsis of so much information that I do have at my fingertips. A second suggestion I would make to you is study materials that you do have. Many of you have a study Bible, and many study Bibles before a book in the scriptures will have several pages on context and background and an outline, things like that. Take the time to wade through that information that can help you. And then third, read any books or commentaries that you can get maybe your hands on. You have to be careful here because just because it's in print doesn't mean that it's necessarily good.

And you know, just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's good. We can help you there, Brother Keith and I, and anything that I have that might help you, I'll be glad to help you there as well. But what am I trying to show you? That type of information really helps us get started when we start dividing the verses. Now, not only did we spend some time on information about the book of Nehemiah, we did divide the first three verses, and we learned some very important information. Let me look back at verses 1 through 3. We see these are the words of Nehemiah, and it happened, and it gives the month. It gives the 20th year.

This alludes to the timeframe, the timeframe of the king of Persia. And then it says in verse 2 that his brother came along with some of the men from Judah, and what happens? He asks. He says, "Tell me about the situation with the Jews, those exiles that have gone back." And they said to me, "This is the report from that delegation. Many Bible commentators believe that they were there on official kings business. This is what they said.

The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and the gates are burned with fire." And there was a lot of information just in those verses. We saw the setting in Persia. So many of the exiles had already gone back, but yet Nehemiah was still in Persia. Simply God had Nehemiah right where God wanted him to be. And sometimes I'll use my imagination. I wonder if some of those Jews looked down on Nehemiah because he stayed.

Maybe some of his kinsmen thought that he had really fallen off the wagon spiritually, that he would stay and work in such a pagan place. But then we saw the setting in Jerusalem. Really, this is a bad situation at best. The work of God is incomplete, but at worst, things are in ruins. And that's what we have. And notice this was the delegations report. They had been there. They saw what had taken place. So the work of God was in disrepair. The work of God wasn't where it should be. Now, the verse that we're going to cover is verse 4. Let me pick back up in verse 4. This is Nehemiah's reaction. Now it came about when I heard these words.

He asked for the report. It says, "Nehemiah said, 'I sat down and I wept, and I mourned for days.'" Grab that in your mind for days. "And I was fasting and I was praying before the God of heaven." Now, verse 4 takes place before his prayer starts in verse 5. Now, before we get into the message, I want to pose two questions. Two questions. The first question is, why was Nehemiah so broken? Because what does it say? It says that he sat down and he wept and he mourned for days. We've seen this before, this kind of behavior before. Ezra exhibited this type of behavior. Many times they would tear their clothes.

Many times they would physically communicate this brokenness. And then it says that he was fasting and praying before the Lord. Why? Because we know what took place in Ezra. The temple had been rebuilt. Temple worship had been restored. They had great spiritual leadership under Ezra. Their homes had been restored. So much had been restored. And if we're not careful, we could look at that and say, "What's the big deal? It's only the walls and the gates." Why was he so broken? He was broken because this was a reproach upon the people of God and the work of God. God had called them back to complete the work and they had languished in the work.

They were behind in the work and it marked defeat. It marked the fact that they were not separated from the world. They were not protected from their enemies. There was so much. But this was a serious reproach against the people of God and the work of God and the reputation of God. Do you realize those Persians, those Babylonians, they could have said, "Well, I thought God, the one God that you say you serve, calls you home to do the work." That's why he was broken. I read this quote last week from Matthew Henry and I like how he describes it.

He's dealing with this situation and I quote, "The Holy Seed was miserably trampled on and abused in great affliction and reproach, insulted upon all occasions by their neighbors and filled with the scorning of those that were at ease. And Nehemiah was broken." The second question, how did Nehemiah come to a place of grief and brokenness? How did Nehemiah come to this place? Now, I want to contrast Nehemiah with some of the others. Now, we see there was a brother here. Some say maybe this wasn't a physical, biological brother. Most believe that it was. But there is a brother here and then there are others that were part of that delegation.

They came, they're at Susa, they're at the synodal and he gets a report from them. What is the difference between Nehemiah and the others? We know that his brother was a godly man because he later is used in a government position back in Jerusalem. So how did Nehemiah come to a place where he was broken and he was in a place of grief? Now, we must ask ourselves how Nehemiah came to a place where he was truly broken. Because I believe this brokenness, this work within his heart in life, I believe this grief, this brokenness was key to him being used of God. Now, we're going to deal with just verse 4.

We're not going to move past verse 4 tonight. And I want to give you four reasons why I believe Nehemiah was grieved and broken, which was a key to his usability. Now, there are two sides to this usability. First of all, you've got God's sovereign work. Nehemiah could have never been used unless God sovereignly called him. Nehemiah could have never gone back unless God sovereignly worked. Nehemiah could have never left Persia unless God moved on the king of Persia to let him go. So we must see there is a sovereign work of God here. God does this. And second, on the other side of the coin, there is the responsibility of Nehemiah.

He was responsible for his actions. He was responsible for how he responded to the news. So we must take both sides. It wasn't just that Nehemiah jumped up and said, "Hey, I'll do something." No, God worked. And it wasn't just that God worked. No, Nehemiah was responsible. So what we're going to do is we're going to examine and explore how Nehemiah came to the place where he could be truly broken and used in this situation. Now, I'm going to give you the truths on the screen. We'll break them down in two different screens, two different applications here. These are rather lengthy. I apologize from that, but it needs to be this way.

First, we're going to look at the fact that he understood the circumstances correctly. Second, he was in tune spiritually with God concerning these circumstances. Third, he was willing to be a part of the solution. I know that's not on the screen yet. And then fourth, he experienced a call from God. Now, you should have plenty of time to write these truths down. We're going to write these truths down. And I'm just going to share with you how I feel like this applies to Nehemiah and what we can learn. So truth number one, I want us to see that he understood the circumstances correctly. He understood the circumstances correctly.

Now, if we are not careful here, we will see this in a one dimensional manner. Only that he heard the news from the delegation concerning the people in Jerusalem. If you go back, what does it say? They said the remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire. He had previously asked. He saw them. He asked. They gave a report. And if that's the only thing we focus on, that will be one dimensional. There is so much more to the fact that he understood the circumstances correctly.

So first, he understood what was taking place in Jerusalem. You might say, Pastor, you've said that. Yes, it needs to be repeated. But again, the question why were things so bad? The temple was rebuilt. Worship was restored. Their homes were rebuilt. And on a purely spiritual level, the people had even put away those foreign wives. Remember? But why? Why were things so bad? Remember, the work of God was incomplete. The people of God were vulnerable. The people of God were under a reproach. The character of God could be assaulted. Did God really say? So he understood the circumstances there in Jerusalem.

But second, he understood that they were a covenant people. More than understanding these physical circumstances, the report from Jerusalem, Nehemiah knew the word of God and that they were a covenant people. He knew that God was calling them back to Jerusalem to fulfill his promises concerning the covenant. Now, next week we're going to explore the covenant a little more in depth. But what I want you to see is he understood the circumstances correctly. And it was both sides. He understood that they were under reproach. Now, the delegation understood that. But he understood that that was not the way it was supposed to be.

He understood that God had called them back. He was familiar with everything that took place starting with Ezra chapter one verse one, all the way through. He knew what God's word said. He knew what God had called them to do. And he knew what the situation was like in that day. So here we see that he understood the situation on both sides. He understood what was taking place in Jerusalem. And he understood the way things were supposed to be. Now, my question and application for you and for me is, do we understand the circumstances around us the way Nehemiah did? What can we learn?

Because we must take what we're learning in Nehemiah and see how it carries over into our day. So do we understand circumstances around us as Nehemiah did? This is much like some application I made last week, but it needs to be said. When we hear of a church down the road, when we hear of a church in our maybe church that some of our family go to, when we hear of a church that a friend attends, when we hear of these churches and their spiritual sicknesses, their troubles, their trials, do we feel and react the way Nehemiah did? You know, we get the report, a friend calls, a family member calls.

They tell us about how things are going on in their church. And we hear the report and it bothers us in our minds and we hate it for them. But do we understand those circumstances in light of what the scripture says? Listen, the Word of God says the church should not be languishing in defeat. The Word of God says the church should be victorious carrying the gospel around the world.

The Word of God says that the church should be comprised of people who are redeemed, growing in the Lord, saints of old who have been living for the Lord for years, young people who have come to know the Lord, family members who are solid and growing and raising their children in the ways of God. The church should be solid in her doctrine, in her preaching and teaching. And look, the church should be victorious. The Lord Jesus does not want the church to languish in defeat. We saw that in Revelation. The Lord Jesus did not want those seven churches to stay the way they were. What did he say to the church there at Ephesus?

If you do not obey, I'm going to come take my lampstand. What is he saying? I'm taking my presence out and I am gone. So he understood the circumstances correctly. And I'm afraid many of us, we hear about other churches and we recognize the sin. We even recognize the bad doctrine. We even recognize bad ecclesiology, so many things, but that's not enough. We've got to go beyond that and we've got to recognize it in light of the Word of God and be willing to say the Word of God says it shouldn't be so. I think that's the first reason why he was broken. Let's move on.

The second truth I want us to explore was that he was in tune spiritually with God concerning the circumstances. He was in tune spiritually. This goes beyond just information, but he was in tune spiritually with God concerning these circumstances. Here we see that Nehemiah's personal situation went beyond just knowledge. Knowledge wasn't enough. Proper information wasn't enough. It went beyond that. Here we see that Nehemiah was a different kind of man than the average man. He was, if I can use this language, a cut above because there were some differences in him.

Now there are four things I want to bring to you concerning Nehemiah being in tune spiritually with God. First of all, he did have proper knowledge. Now this is a repeat, but it needs repeating. He had proper knowledge. He had proper knowledge of the Word of God and concerning the situation. He could not get a report that said things are not so bad. He had to get a proper, accurate report. So he had proper knowledge, and I'm going to revisit that in our application. Second, he was a man of prayer. He was a man of deep communion with God. Now we get a big hint to his prayer life and how he responds to this news.

Not just verse four, but in verse five and on the rest of the chapter. Because he was a man of prayer, he prayed. Because he was a man of prayer, when crisis came, he prayed. And because he was a man of prayer, when a moment of decision came, he prayed. Listen, because praying men always pray. When a man is a praying man, as Nehemiah was, he reacts in all of these situations in prayer. That's exactly how Ezra reacted. So, second, he was a man of prayer. Deep communion with God. Third, he was a man of maturity. He was a man of spiritual maturity. Now, we know this because we know how he responded all throughout this situation.

We have the luxury of hindsight. We can look at all of the situation, the total book. And we see that he responded all throughout this book in maturity. From decision to decision, from crisis to crisis, Nehemiah demonstrated a spiritual maturity. And then fourth, he took time to develop spiritual maturity. See, there is a common misunderstanding here with spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is not acquired knowledge. A man can go to seminary. A man can learn the Bible. A man can teach the scriptures for years and still not be spiritually mature. Spiritual growth takes time and experientially walking with God.

Spiritual development takes time. Again, we see this spiritual development as we follow Nehemiah throughout the book. He was a spiritually developed man. Otherwise, he could have never been able to do these things. These types of verses always remind me of John the Baptist. John the Baptist in Luke chapter 1 verse 80 says that he grew. He grew spiritually. That meant he walked with God. He listened to the voice of God. He stayed in the Word of God. And it says that he grew. And he grew and developed spiritually. And then and only then do we see in chapter 3 verse 2 where he comes on the scene publicly.

He could not come on the scene publicly until he was at a level of spiritual development. So John the Baptist was a man who grew and developed spiritually. And Nehemiah was as well. So we see that Nehemiah was a man who was in tune with God spiritually concerning the situation. He could see it the way God saw it. And if I can use this language, he can feel about it the way God felt about it. He can grasp the totality of the situation the way God did. Why? Because he had proper knowledge. He was a man of prayer, communion with God. He was a man of spiritual maturity. And he had developed spiritually over time.

I'm afraid in our day we lack men of spiritual depth like this. What we have done is we've made the mistake. We've fallen into the trap that if a man has Bible knowledge, that he must be spiritually mature. That is not the case. A man must walk with God through the years acquiring Bible knowledge. But listen, putting that Bible knowledge to the test as he walks with God through the years. And it's not just hearing messages, studying the Bible and living life. No, it's living life in communion with God in prayer, developing spiritually. Listen, it is putting the plow deep into the ground and never pulling it back out to the surface.

And many churches have men who have acquired knowledge, but yet they are not spiritually mature. Because what happens is when you acquire knowledge and you face decision, face crisis, face difficulty, you must adjust yourself in light of what God's word says. Trials come, difficulties come, choices come, and we must make those decisions according to God's will as he has marked out for us. And it just takes time. It just takes time. Many churches make the mistake of ordaining men just because they have knowledge. Many churches make the mistake of sending men out into the ministry just because they have physical gifts.

Many churches put people in different positions in the life of the church just because they have all the right answers. But spiritually, they could be dwarfs. Spiritually, they could be at best little boys. So what I want you to see is he was in 10 with God concerning. See spiritually, he was on the same wavelength with God concerning all of these circumstances. Now, the next two truths that I want us to look at are more simplistic, but they are very necessary. They're more simplistic. They won't take as much time. But these are equally necessary to being used of God in this situation. So number three, I want us to see that he was willing.

He was willing. Now, to see how he was willing, we've got to cheat a little, and we've got to go to the end of the chapter. This is at the end of his prayer. This is in verse 11. And notice the end of his prayer. He says, Oh, Lord, I beseech thee. May that ear be attentive at the prayer of the servant in the prayer of the servants who delight to revere the name and make the servants successful today. See that language make your servant successful today. So here in verse 11, we see that he was planning on going before the king. What does he say? Make your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.

He was planning on going before the king. Somehow, some way he was willing to be a part of God's solution in this great spiritual problem. We can see that he did not necessarily have a plan. He did not necessarily have preconceived notions, but he was willing. He didn't say, I have the solution, but he was willing. Now, that's very simplistic, but it's necessary. What do we see? What's the synopsis? He's not a priest. He's not a Levite. He's a layman. He's kind of behind the times. There have been 50,000 plus that have already gone back and done so much work. And then all of a sudden, he says, Lord, grant me an ability. I am willing.

Two things come to my mind in relation to this. I'm reminded of another man of God. His name was Isaiah. There was a spiritual crisis in Isaiah's day and time. If you look at Isaiah chapter six, you can jot this down for your study later on. Isaiah chapter six, verses one through eight. There's a crisis. The king has died. Bible commentators, theologians believe that Isaiah was close to the king. Therefore, he was heartbroken. But what do we see? There was a great need. There was a great need in the people of God, Israel, and they needed a prophet. And what do we see? We see that somehow, someway, there was this great conversation in glory.

And what do we see? God said, who will go for us? And Isaiah stands as he has this great vision in heaven and he says, I will go. He was willing. Now, some of the things that I'm going to say to you, I say humbly. Because much like Isaiah, I'm a sinful man. But I can remember being in a particular church quite a few years ago, during difficult times. I can remember seeing the church sick, bad doctrine, bad leadership. And I can remember watching men parade through the life of the church, so-called men of God, leading the church astray, doing the church an injustice. And God enabled me to see circumstances correctly.

Not perfectly, but correctly. I saw the physical circumstances, spiritual circumstances around me, and I began to understand them in light of God's word. And through lots of prayer, through lots of fasting, and through lots of brokenness, a burden that the Lord put on my heart, I was able to be in tune spiritually with God, concerning those circumstances. And there, in those circumstances, God birthed something that was bigger than I was. A willingness. I simply said, Lord, I see the church sick. I see the people of God harassed. I see the walls being torn down.

And I remember praying day in and day out, month in and month out, Lord, I am willing. Lord, I am willing. You use me however you choose. I never opened the door. I never pursued an opportunity. I simply said, Lord, I am willing. And when individuals would come to me in the life of the church and say, why can't you do this? Why can't you fulfill this position? Why can't you exercise these gifts? I would say, please do not voice those things. Just pray. But down deep in my heart, and Brother Keith knows this to be true, there was a willingness that was put in my heart to be used for the situation at hand. Let's move on.

I want us to see truth number four. Truth number four. He experienced a call from God. We see an illusion of this in verse 11. What does it say? He says, please grant your servant success today. Grant him compassion before this man. Now, I was the cupbearer to the king. This is an illusion to his call. Now, because we know the rest of the story, we know that God did call him to go back and to go back and be a part of the solution. He was called to go back and to do a work, and that was to rebuild the walls and to lead the people in this work. So we know that that Isaiah, I mean, excuse me, Nehemiah experienced a divine call in his life.

Again, I think of Isaiah. Isaiah had a divine call. He was willing. Lord, here am I. I will go. And yet he had a divine call. And these two must be seen hand in hand. This is man's responsibility and God's sovereignty. And Nehemiah experienced a call. There was an enabling that enabled him to go and do what he could not do. Again, I say these things humbly. I'm reminded of my call. To be honest with you, I was not seeking out gospel ministry. I did not seek out to go in the full time vocational ministry or any kind of vocational ministry. I was serving in my local church where some doors have been opened and there were some needs.

I was serving as a layman. And through some circumstances, I was put in a position where I was used. I was teaching and just serving. I had people come and say, Chris, you should go into ministry. You should do this. You should do that. And I said, no, no, no, no. But lo and behold, in the gym of Highland Baptist Church in a worship service, I could take you there, show you the seat I was sitting in. Although I haven't been in that gym in years, the spirit of God came and called me. Called me to the word. And in that there was a willingness. I was willing all along to serve in the life of the local church. But there was a call.

Now, what are we seeing in this situation with Nehemiah? Nehemiah gets a report. He's serving there in Susa, serving in luxury. The delegation comes. He asks. They say the situation is bad. They see it accurately. But God does something in him. In verse four, we see there is a great grief. There is a great brokenness. And I believe that he was able to be broken and he was able to embrace this grief because he understood the circumstances correctly. He understood what was taking place then in light of the word. He was in tune with God spiritually. He was in tune with God spiritually, according to the circumstances.

And that came out of a mature heart and he was willing. And then ultimately he did receive a call. He could not go. He could not leave the starting blocks until God said, Nehemiah, you go. Now, in conclusion, I want to say that true brokenness and true grief only comes to a few. Now, I'm not acting like that everybody should have a call like Nehemiah. I'm not acting like that everybody should be in vocational ministry. No. But true brokenness and true grief only comes to a few. Because there are only a few who are that spiritually mature. Big picture helps us here.

When we look at Ezra and Nehemiah, when we pan across that set of circumstances and all those people involved, they were only a few. They were only a few who really rose to the occasion in true brokenness. Ezra and Nehemiah. Now, how do we respond to all this? I think that we need to work hard to grow and develop spiritually. I think we need to desire with all of our hearts to mature as best as we can. I think we need to desire to be the strongest Christian possible.

I think we need to desire to take every word that's preached, every message that's preached, every sermon that's taught, and study over them and let it assimilate into our hearts and our lives. I think we need to face every set of circumstances as best as we can, praying and walking with the Lord, embracing whatever might come our way. I think we do need to embrace true prayer and true fasting. Some of you are facing difficulties. If you don't pray and fast, you're never going to have the strength to not get through it, but grow through it. I think that it's not enough for us to desire to be converted and live the good life.

No, we need to desire to grow and mature as best as we can. And then through that, ask God to develop in us a willingness to be used in the church. And in that, I believe he will enable you, now listen, to see circumstances correctly. Through that maturity, you'll see this church accurately. You'll see other churches accurately. You'll see the churches of your mothers and fathers, your brothers and sisters, your neighbors and friends accurately. And listen, and when you know what the word of God says, in that maturity, viewing those circumstances and our circumstances, you'll have the capacity to be broken. Now, I don't fully understand it.

I don't fully understand it, but I know what happens. And I know God uses broken people. It's my desire that God would grow us as a church, enable us to reach our potential. You know that I pray this many times, not just to reach our potential, but he would grow and enlarge our potential. And if that's the case, he's going to have to grow and enlarge us. And if that's the case, it just could come with brokenness. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, I thank you for this verse.