“Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work” (Nehemiah 2:17-18).
Introduction
Nehemiah was a man of prayer, an encourager and a visionary. He was the type of person who sees a problem and finds the answer to solve it instead of looking at the impossibility of the task. But he did not just have these qualities, for he was not a visionary content in making plans, he was also a labourer with his sleeves rolled up ready for hard work.
The visionary
“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. 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. 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” (Nehemiah 1:2-4).
Nehemiah was distressed when he learned of the disrepair of the walls of Jerusalem, and this burden drove him to prayer. The story tells us that King Artaxerxes permitted him to return to Jerusalem with whatever materials he needed to repair the walls. Once there he rode around the city to view the damage for himself, and it is here that his vision was developed.
It was obvious to all, since even Hanani saw the problem, that the walls were in a terrible condition, but nobody as yet had the vision to restore them. Nehemiah saw the need and knew the remedy. He looked beyond the broken stones to the restoration of the wall, so in his mind it was already done. His biggest problem was not with the wall itself, for he had all the materials, but in communicating his vision to the people. Would they catch his vision and go forward in faith? If they did not understand Nehemiah’s vision then they would quickly become disenchanted and the work would stop.
The Bible does not tell us what Nehemiah was thinking as he rode around the wall that night, but we assume that he felt called by God to complete this great task. We also note that he was not like the preachers today who proclaim they are anointed by the Lord to build big buildings and press the people for money. Nehemiah went in secret at night while everyone else slept. A true visionary does not need to broadcast his intentions beforehand because the matter is between God and himself. The state of the wall could easily have increased his distress. He could have considered that it was too big a job to be bothered with. But Nehemiah knew that God would enable him to do it.
The prayer
We already know that Nehemiah was a man of prayer. He prayed when he received word of the condition of the wall; “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: 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. 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. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 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” (Nehemiah 1:5-9) and when the king asked him what he wanted, “Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 2:4). We can be sure that he prayed as he journeyed to Jerusalem and as he rode around her walls. Maybe as he talked with the Lord about the problem his vision started to form in his soul. He knew that not only was it possible to rebuild the wall, but that it would definitely be rebuilt.
None of this means that Nehemiah ignored the difficulties and obstacles in getting the job done. He understood that he had to encourage the people to work hard for the Lord, the very people who were content to live by this pile of rubble. It is possible that he knew there would be opposition from within and without too. So instead of being given to flights of fancy, he was a man of faith who believed in miracles.
The encourager
True visionaries acknowledge the need for people of the same mind and value all they do to complete the work. Nehemiah could not do it all alone. Maybe the Jews living in Jerusalem might not have fully understood what was expected of them, but they were encouraged by Nehemiah’s enthusiasm and caught sight of the marvellous possibility. We find throughout history that great achievements began in the mind of one individual who saw the end result long before it materialised.
The day came when Nehemiah had to stand before the people to share his vision with them. As a man of prayer he must have prayed over what he would say. “Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me” (Nehemiah 2:17-18). Not the greatest speech in history, but it was backed by prayer, so the Jews wanted to be part of this glorious work, “And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work” (Nehemiah 2:18). Whenever they became discouraged or fearful of their enemies he would strengthen their hearts with God’s word, “Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses” (Nehemiah 4:14).
Conclusion
The completion of the task was due to Nehemiah’s vision, prayer and encouragement. This is exactly what we need today as we seek to build upon the foundation laid by our Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles. We need the vision or at least adhere ourselves to someone that does, otherwise we will never accomplish much for the Lord. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). We need to rally together a band of believers who look passed the problem to the answer. Can we not catch the vision of a church that stands valiant for the truth in our generation? Who says that it is impossible to rebuild the walls of righteousness in our nation? The vision can begin in the heart of one faithful follower of Christ and spread like a flood around the globe. “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). Let us not forget that “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26) and “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23).
© 17/5/2010