Nehemiah's Blueprints by Brother Curtis Hansen

         This morning we will be going to the book of Nehemiah chapter 1. We will start reading with verse 1. Before we begin reading, I wanted to give you some background about the time and place which Nehemiah had come from. Nehemiah was the cup bearer to the King of Persia. He had heard that the temple was going to be reconstructed in Jerusalem and Nehemiah was alarmed that there was no wall to protect the city. Nehemiah prayed to God to save the city and for God to use him. Through God, the king of Persia's heart was softened to allow Nehemiah to journey back to Jerusalem, as well as provide the supplies needed to build the wall. Nehemiah would be made governor of Jerusalem by the king. In the chapter we will be reading this morning, we will be reading Nehemiah's prayer to God regarding this task.

        1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

            2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

            3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

            4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

            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.

            This week was filled with moments of false ideas promoted, misappropriation of scripture, Scripture meaning twisted into a more comfortable and convenient narrative to the flesh. If you take the time to study and read about history of empires which rose and fell, there are parallels among them. You can track parallels from the time of Persia in this scripture and with our country today. The reason there's a circular nature to the rise and fall of things lies within our flesh. Man is all about preserving and pleasing his flesh in all pursuits. As you look through the history books of the Old Testament, you see that pattern by the Israelites play out again and again.

            The book of Ezra was written at the same time of Nehemiah. Other books are minor prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Both were in this very specific point of time. You could re-read the whole chapter of Nehemiah chapter 1 and see a mirrored reflection of not only the times we are living in but also of society as a whole. History does repeat itself, the trajectory for the future is bad, but a man of God will be present with a remnant which will follow God's principles and rules.

            When Babylon had overtaken Israel, they had help from Persia. God had actually built up Babylon and strengthened it as a punishment for Israel's disobedience and continual sin. However over time, Persia would conquer Babylon and would allow the Israelites who had been taken captive return to their home land. The Israelites were held captive by Babylon for the span of 70 years. As I noted at the start, the wall for protection was not built in Jerusalem and we find Nehemiah answering the call and returning there.

            The story of Esther speaks not only of her becoming Queen of Persia, but also overcomes Haman, her husband's second in command. It was through her nobility and wisdom that the plot to extinguish the Israelites had been foiled and it established the Feast of Purim which is still observed today.

            Another figure in this time period is Ezra. Ezra was a preacher and teacher to those Israelites who had returned home to Jerusalem. While Nehemiah was working on rebuilding the wall around the city, Ezra was there to rebuild the temple. This book has a continuation of the remnant where there may be a disaster or judgement fall, God always preserves a remnant of people who will serve him. 

            You may wonder exactly what it was Israel did to fail God. People were living in God's grace and did not share God's grace. What was the mission? The Israelites would enjoy a period of God's peace but did not want to share that peace. Before Babylon came in, destroy Jerusalem, and take people captive, prophets such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah had all prophesied to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, only to have their words fall on deaf ears. The people then idolized objects, the creation rather than their creator.

            There was a systemic religion set in Israel and Judah which the people ignored and rejected God. Man's mistake is thinking objects, buildings, displays of riches are what God seeks in his believers. God doesn't need a building to be pleased with his people. The church isn't a building. The church is you and I. The people then weren't worshipping nor praising or sharing as told in the law, so the covering of protection would be removed off of Israel and Judah. The reason that Jerusalem was destroyed and people taken captive by Babylon was due to apostasy. Apostates are good at looking the part of a believer, giving voice to scripture, but they don't follow the instructions in the scripture. Apostates are everywhere. They promote things of the earth, false teaching, ignorance, fear, love of wealth. 

            So, you may be wondering what apostasy is this morning. Let me put it into practical terms. It's similar to a person in uniform like the army, and instead of fighting the enemy, he turns the weapon on his own members. You need to learn who you are, your strengths and weaknesses, but you need to fervently seek God.

            It was not new information given to Nehemiah in chapter 1, but his eyes were opened and his perspective changed. His heart became one to serve God and not his king. Nehemiah did much in the way of prayer and fasting. What is your first move when you are in a new and foreign situation outside of your comfort zone? Nehemiah's process to get into God's will applies still today. What the remnant needs is leadership and guidance. 

            Now, the job Nehemiah had in Persia was the king's cupbearer. His job was to taste the drink which the king had before the king did. So if the drink was spiked with poison, the cupbearer would pass first before the king would drink. In this way, Nehemiah was trusted. Character today opens opportunity for tomorrow. The opportunity arose through the softening of the Persian king's heart to allow Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding the wall. If you look at the world, there are policies and procedures for jobs of all kinds. God has the same in the scripture.

            Don't bring your problem to the world but to God. You should work in prayer and plan. Both need to be equal and balanced. If you look to summarize Nehemiah's prayer, it begins in verse 5. As Nehemiah begins in prayer, begin your prayer with praise. Learn God's personality and what works for him. Your next step is repentance. Look closer at verses 6 and 7. We are not victims but as villains. You come to God in prayer as the person who did wrong and not pointing the finger at other people. God has blessings to people who have a covenant with him.

            Moving on to verses 8 and 9. Agree with God's promise. You can praise God and repent of sin, but agreeing with God is harder for man's flesh to accept. Understand why you are in the predicament you're in. Don't be blindsided by circumstance. If there's a remnant that seeks God out, he will draw others out in faith to a place.

            Yearn for God's blessing. Look closer at the verses 10 and 11. Nehemiah fasted and prayed for a while. His prayers were not answered instantly. We too must yearn and press towards God's blessing.