Praise the Lord! The passage for the Scripture for the Week meditation is taken from Nehemiah 1:5-9 (mentioned above). This passage mainly focuses on God’s faithfulness towards His people Israel. When we read the very first few verses of Nehemiah (that is, 1:1-4), we can understand that Nehemiah son of Hakaliah had a burden for his people in Judah. Nehemiah was the cupbearer of king Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:1) and lived in the Citadel of Susa (Nehemiah 1:1), yet he thought about the welfare of his people back in Judah (Nehemiah 1:2). He was eager to inquire of Hanani, one of the brothers who came from Judah, the welfare of the people of Israel in Judah; that is, the remnant who were left behind in Judah after the Babylonian invasion, and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile and returned to Judah from Babylon (Nehemiah 1:2-3). When he heard the report from Hanani that his people in Judah are in great trouble and disgrace and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire; he was sad and his heart was broken. As he heard such distressing news about his people and the City, he knew that only the God of heaven can help them to recover from such disgrace. As a result, without consulting anyone, he straight away went in to the presence of the God of heaven and sat down with weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying (Nehemiah 1:3-4). He pleaded with the God of his fathers to help them to recover from the disgrace they were going through and rebuild Jerusalem, the city of God (Psalm 132:13-17; Revelation 21:10).

Nehemiah trusted the God of heaven wholeheartedly, and followed His laws and decrees with high regard. As a descendant of the Jewish exile to Babylon, he experienced compassion and loving kindness of the God of his fathers very personally in his life. He wholeheartedly trusted the God of his fathers, who is the God of heaven. He prayed to God: Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments … (Nehemiah 1:5-11). Although, he lives in Babylon and serves a heathen king Artaxerxes (king of Persia), he wholeheartedly follows the God of his fathers, the God of heaven. For him, there is no God but Yahweh, who is:

• • The Lord Almighty (v.5a)
  • The God of heaven (v.5b)
  • The Great God (v.5c)
  • The Awesome God (v.5d)
  • The God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him (v.5e)
  • The God who preservers the commandments unaltered (v.5f)

Nehemiah, being an ardent worshipper of the God of Israel, prays and intercedes for his people Israel (Nehemiah 1:5-11). His plea to the God of Israel is that let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel (Nehemiah 1:6a). If we put the words of Nehemiah from 1:6a in our own words, perhaps some of us would pray in this way: “Lord, can’t you hear me or see me as I am sitting in your presence and pleading to you day and night for Your people Israel.” Perhaps, Nehemiah had already been praying for the welfare of the remnant in Judah, but he might have been sorrowful and began to pray more intensely when he heard the heartbreaking report regarding the people and the Jerusalem City. In this regard, his plea to the God of Israel is nothing but to bring all the Jewish remnant back from wherever they were exiled (their God-given promised land) and help them to re-build the temple and the city and establish them as a nation – the nation of Israel. He pleaded to God that:

• • Oh Lord, let your ear be attentive to hear the prayer your servant (that is, Nehemiah) is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel (v.6a 1)
  • Oh Lord, let your eyes be opened to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel (v.6a 2)

While Nehemiah was pleading with God to listen to his prayers for the people of Israel, he acknowledged that the reason God had scattered them among the nations was because of their sins against their God, the God of heaven. At this time, Nehemiah admitted the sins the entire house of Israel committed against the God of Israel, including himself and his father’s house; and he confessed the sins the Israelites have committed against their God (Nehemiah 1:6b-7). Prophet Daniel also acknowledged the sins of the Israelites, including his sins and his fathers sins, and confessed before God and asked for forgiveness (Daniel 9:8-11). Neither Nehemiah nor Daniel tried to blame others for their sins or exclude themselves out of it as Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the snake when they committed sin against the Lord God Almighty in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15; 3:12-13). Nehemiah did not exclude himself from the Israelites who have committed sins against their God, rather he acknowledged himself as a part of the Israelite community and confessed for the sins they have committed against the God of Israel. He confessed before God, saying:

• • I confess the sins we Israelites have committed against you (v.6b 1)
  • I confess the sins I have committed against you (v.6b 2)
  • I confess the sins my father’s family has committed against you (v.6b 3)
  • We have acted very wickedly/corruptly toward you (v.7a)
  • We have not obeyed the commands you gave your servant Moses (v.7b)
  • We have not obeyed the decrees you gave your servant Moses (v.7c)
  • We have not obeyed the laws you gave your servant Moses (v.7d)

Every evil word or deed is a sin, and every sin committed is against God. For instance, most of us are very familiar with the parable of ‘the Lost Son’ (some termed it as the parable of the prodigal son) that Jesus shared with His followers (Luke 15:11-32). In that parable, the younger son demanded his portion of his father’s wealth, and when he received it, he moved out from his home to a far away place and lived by himself. Since he had much money in his custody, he did not have any worry at all – the city where he lived looked bright and beautiful, everything he did seemed right for him, he had lots of friends, and lived a lavish life. He did not bother about anything at all. As days passed, all of a sudden he realized that his money finished, his friends deserted him, and he was left alone without food, shelter, and other necessary things in life. To make the situation more worse, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. Until then everything was going on well and as he planned but now the situation changed and nothing was in his control – he even went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating but even that was not available (Luke 15:15-16). The situation he ended up in forced him to think and acknowledge the privileges he had in his father’s home. When the son came into his senses in such a crucial and helpless situation, he realized that what he did against his father’s will was a mistake. The fact is that it is not only against his father at home he committed sin, but also his Father in heaven, the God of heaven. He determined to make it right with his father and his Father in heaven. As a result, he decided to return home and ask for forgiveness from his father. When he returned home, his father welcomed him wholeheartedly and at once he confessed his sins against his father and his father in heaven and asked for forgiveness. He said: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son (Luke 15:21). Remember, when the son confessed his sins before his father and his heavenly Father, all the wrongs he committed were forgiven and received the blessing of being in his father’s household with all benefits and privileges.

After Nehemiah’s confession of the sins of the people of Israel, he tried to remind God about the promise He gave through Moses His servant that He will gather them from wherever they were scattered (Nehemiah 1:8-9). Like Nehemiah reminded God about His promise to His people Israel, king David also reminded God about His promise to him and his household that He will establish his house, his kingdom, and his throne forever and prayed for its fulfillment (2 Samuel 7:16; 25-29; 1 Chronicles 17:16-24). In addition, king Solomon also reminded God about the promise He made with his father David and prayed for its fulfillment (2 Chronicles 6:14-17). These leaders are not demanding what God promised to them, but politely reminding God about it. This does not mean that God forgot about the promise He made to them, not at all. God will definitely fulfill what He promised because God does not make changes to His promises (Numbers 23:19; Psalm 33:11; Hebrews 13:8). These examples shows that reminding God about His promises to you and me personally is not a bad idea. Only thing is that do not demand it according to our convenience but politely remind God about His promises to us and He will do it at the proper time. Nehemiah reminded the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, about the promise He gave through Moses His servant:

Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name (Nehemiah 1:8-9)

God, being the Creator and Savior of the mankind, especially being the redeemer of His chosen people Israel, is compassionate and gracious. We can observe two things from the passage mentioned above, that is, Nehemiah 1:8-9.

1. 1. 1. If the chosen people Israel continuously remain unfaithful to the God of heaven, He will scatter them among the nations (v.8)
      2. On the other hand, if they repent and return to Him, He will forgive their sins and gather them even if they are exiled to the farthest horizon (v.9)

God already warned His people Israel that if they rebel and sin against Him, He will punish their sins and scatter them among the nations (Nehemiah 1:8; Proverbs 28:13; Galatians 6:7). Yet, if they repent and return to Him, He will forgive their sins and bring them back to their own land to establish them again and He will be their God and they will be His people (Nehemiah 1:9 [also, refer to Leviticus 26:11-12; Jeremiah 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 30:32; 31:1, 33; 32:38; Ezekiel 14:11]).

If they are unfaithful to their God, the God of Israel …

• • He will punish them (v.8a), and
  • He will scatter them among the nations (v.8b)

If they repent and return to their God, the God of Israel, and obey His commands …

• • He will forgive them
  • He will gather them even if they were exiled at the farthest horizon (v.9a)
  • He will bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name (v.9b)

Nehemiah knew that God honors those who honor Him and blesses those who obey His commands and serve him faithfully (Deuteronomy 10:12-13; 11:13-15; 28:1-14). There are several examples noted in the Scripture regarding God’s favor upon all those who obey His commands wholeheartedly and served Him faithfully. Below mentioned are a few examples for our reference:

• • Enoch walked with God and obeyed His commands, then he was no more, because God took him away (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5)
  • Noah obeyed God’s commands and God protected him during the flood (Genesis 6:9-9:17),
  • Abraham obeyed God and God called him His friend (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23),
  • Moses obeyed God’s commands in its entirety and was faithful as a servant in all God’s house and the Lord would speak to Moses face to face and (Exodus 33:11; Numbers 12:8; Hebrews 3:5),
  • David obeyed God’s commands and he was called a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22),
  • Elijah obeyed God’s commands and served Him faithfully and he went up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11),
  • And there are many more examples …

When Nehemiah presented his concerns before the God of heaven, God listened to him, heard his prayers, and granted his requests (Nehemiah 1:3, 10). God changed king Artaxerxes’ heart favorably towards Nehemiah and the king granted him permission to go to Jerusalem to repair the broken down walls of Jerusalem and the gates that have been burned with fire, and to rebuild the City of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:5-6). King Artaxerxes not only granted Nehemiah permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the city, but also appointed him as the governor in the land of Judah (Nehemiah 5:14-19). Thus, with the help of God, Nehemiah successfully rebuilt the city of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 7:1-5). In the same way, we the disciples of Jesus Christ, can also do much more to expand the Kingdom of God on earth than what we are doing currently. Let us conclude here by stating the following:

• • Like Nehemiah acknowledged the God of heaven, we, the New Testament believers, also need to acknowledge who God is (Nehemiah 1:5)
  • Like Nehemiah took responsibility to confess the sins of himself and his people and interceded for them, we also need to repent and confess our sins and those around us and intercede for them (Nehemiah 1:6b-7)
  • Like Nehemiah, king David and king Solomon claimed God’s promises to them, we need to claim the promise God has given us – the church (Nehemiah 1:8)
  • Like Nehemiah presented his requests before God, we also need to present our case before the Lord our God (Nehemiah 1:9)
  • Like Nehemiah was rewarded for his efforts for the sake of his people, we would also be rewarded for all that we are doing for the people around us (Nehemiah 5:14-19; 7:1-5; Psalm 34:4-6)

Remember, Nehemiah’s heart was broken regarding the unfavorable situation of the Jewish remnant in Judah and regarding the broken down walls and burned down city gate of Jerusalem. Nehemiah presented his case before the God of heaven and God heard his prayers and responded to him favorably. God turned the heart of king Artaxerxes in favor of his cupbearer Nehemiah. The king granted his request to go to Jerusalem to help his people and rebuild God’s City – Jerusalem. The king also appointed him as the man in-charge – the governor of Judah. In turn, Nehemiah appointed reliable men to take care of the welfare of the people and city. This is the testimony of a cupbearer becoming the governor of an entire territory – the man in-charge. Just think, if Nehemiah went around everywhere else seeking help to do what he wanted to do for his people and the city instead of praying to the God of his fathers, the God of heaven, nothing would have happened the way we just saw it. From this what we learn is that in our difficult situations, instead of going around and asking for help, just sit before God and pray – He will grant the desire of your heart (Psalm 34:4-6; John 15:7; Philippians 4:6-7). May God bless us all! Amen!