Nehemiah: Jesus The Rebuilder of Everything Broken
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NEHEMIAH: JESUS THE REBUILDER OF EVERYTHING BROKEN
Nehemiah 1:1-4 (ESV)
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel,
2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
If you were buying a house, would you prefer one that is newly built of a fixer-upper? There are some people (I'm definitely not one of those) who actually would prefer to buy a fixer-upper because they know they can turn it into a house of their dream. Of course, most people do this because they know they have the skills to do home renovations.
I remember during the summer of 2018, my family decided to visit Waco, Texas, to enjoy firsthand the Magnolia Businesses started by the Christian couple, Chip and Joanna Gaines. I'm not sure if you are familiar with them, but they became really popular because of the HGTV show "Fixer Upper." Their show, which piloted in 2013, would always start helping a family buy a fixer-upper house in Waco, Texas. Then, they would help that family transform the old house into the house of their dreams. With this format, their show became huge on HGTV. It even impacted the once economically depressed city, Waco, Texas. When we went there in 2018, the city was practically a tourist destination attracting more than two million tourists every year. You know what this show tells me, there are so many people who are amused to see an old, dilapidated house turn into a beautifully remodeled home that a family could enjoy.
When you think about it, all of us are like fixer-upper houses, run-down and broken by sin. But, praise God because Jesus found us and started doing His perfect work of rebuilding our lives. I remember singing this chorus during my youth days.
I will serve thee because I love thee
You have given life to me
I was nothing before you found me
You have given life to me
(CHORUS)
Heartaches broken pieces
Ruined lives are why you died on Calvary
Your touch was what I longed for
You have given life to me
This is the truth about Jesus Christ that we will be emphasizing this morning as we study together the book of Nehemiah – Jesus, the rebuilder of everything broken lives. Last Sunday, we covered the Book of Ezra with Pastor RJ. Like the scribe Ezra, Nehemiah served after Israel returned from their seventy years of captivity in Babylon.
If you can still remember, Israel fell into the hands of its enemies because they have abandoned the Lord. The Assyrians took the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC; While the Babylonians destroyed the Southern Kingdom in 586 BC. However, even before their captivities, God gave a clear promise through the prophet Jeremiah that He will restore Israel after seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10). With this promise, God would raise leaders to rebuild Jerusalem. The first leader was Zerubbabel, who led the first group of exiles back in Jerusalem in 538 BC. Then eighty years later, in 458 BC, Ezra would lead the second group of remnants to return to the Promised Land. In both of these restorations, Zerubbabel and Ezra concentrated on rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem and the people's religious life. The third wave of return happened in 445 BC, led by a great leader named Nehemiah. Although God would use him to also bring a great spiritual revival among God's people, his main focus was the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls. Obviously, Nehemiah is the person who will portray Jesus as the rebuilder of broken lives. Here are three essential qualities of Nehemiah we will discover from his book.
I THE LOVE OF NEHEMIAH
When we go back to the verses we initially read, the book opens with very little information about Nehemiah's background. These verses show what he really cares about. Notice, we have no information about who Hacaliah was and what he was really doing in Susa, the citadel. But the emphasis is when Hanani, one of his brothers from Judah, visited him.
Of course, when you jump to chapter 2:1, you will find out that Nehemiah was a significant person in Persia because he was serving as the cupbearer for King Artaxerxes.
Nehemiah 2:1 (ESV)
1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.
Imagine, Nehemiah was the one who serves wine to King Artaxerxes, the most powerful king of the world during this time. It was a job that allowed him to talk to the king directly and probably influenced him. But, it was also dangerous at the same time. You see, cupbearers were the first to eat and drink anything given to the King. So, if someone wants to poison the King, the cupbearer will be the first to go and eventually save the King.
But, what is really amazing about Nehemiah can be seen in these earlier verses of the book. Let's go back to verses 1-4 of chapter 1. To help establish some background, first, the month of Chislev in verse 1 is about December in our calendar. Also, the city of Susa was one of the provinces in Persia, where you will find the winter residence of King Artaxerxes. Now, during this time, Hanani came and visited Nehemiah. Hanani's information to Nehemiah during his visit would literally turn his life upside down and changed him. The information in verse 3 can be summarized into two critical descriptions of God's people in Jerusalem:
A. "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame."
B. "The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire."
For all of us who are reading these words today, we may probably miss the implications of these descriptions, so allow me to explain. After Ezra led the second wave of remnants to rebuild in Jerusalem, even after 13 years, God's people were still miserable and were very much vulnerable to their enemies. Since their walls were still broken, their enemies can easily come and destroy them.
Because Nehemiah cared so much for God's people, notice how he reacted to the news – "As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven (v.4)."
When you consider these words, what Nehemiah did was literally grieve over the miserable condition of God's people. The weeping for many days, mourning, and fasting clearly showed that he became so burdened about them that he felt he needed to do something about it.
This quality of Nehemiah absolutely reminds us of Jesus Christ. When he was here on earth, and he saw the hardheartedness of the Jews, he grieved, saying:
Matthew 23:37 (ESV)
37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
What we need to see this morning is that because Jesus Christ loved His people, He cried over their miserable conditions. I remember during our recent evangelism workshop, I said: The church of the Lord Jesus Christ should sound the alarm concerning the growing apathy or indifference towards winning lost people to Jesus Christ. I believe we all need to pray that we would have the same heart that Jesus has for the lost and dying world.
II THE LOWLINESS OF NEHEMIAH
The second quality that Nehemiah displays is his lowliness or humility of heart. This character is demonstrated in his prayer found in Nehemiah 1: 5-11:
5 And I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned.
7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.
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.'
10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
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.
If you take the time to examine this prayer, you will definitely appreciate Nehemiah's level of understanding about effective prayers. Let's identify some elements of his prayer:
A. He knew the God He Was Praying To (v.5)
Notice, he declared that he was going to the God who is in heaven and is awesome and that He is the God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments. I'm sure you will agree with me that many people don't pray enough because they really don't know the God they are praying to. The moment you really know the God of the Bible, you will know that praying to Him is never a waste of your time but a worthwhile endeavor.
B. He Knew Who He Was Before God (vs. 6-11)
As you read these 6 verses, it is evident that Nehemiah mentions the words servant and servants eight times to show how he saw himself and Israel as a nation before God. The fact is that they were mere servants before Him who really cannot demand anything from Him and who are underserving of His favors.
Added to the usage of these words, he also humbly confessed their sins. Listen to the words in verses 6-7 saying, "I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses."
Without a doubt, this attitude of humility before God was why God used Nehemiah tremendously. Here are the verses that reinforce this truth:
James 4:6-7, 10 (ESV)
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Also, it is quite evident that this humility compelled Nehemiah to draw himself close to God in prayer. He knew that he couldn't accomplish anything significant without the help of God. So, he allowed his prayers to precede his work. In fact, this prayer in chapter 1 is just the beginning of his prayers. If you check the book, there would be a total of seven prayers that Nehemiah would make (1: 5-11; 2:4; 4:4-5; 5:19; 6:9; 6:14; 9:5-38). How is your prayer life today? Is it a dynamic part of your life?
If you examine the life of Jesus Christ, although He is the Son of God, you would still find Him praying every time He was about to do an important task. Here are some examples:
Before starting his public ministry – Matthew 4:1-11
Before choosing the 12 apostles – Luke 6:12-16
Before going to the cross – Mark 14: 32-42; John 17
Like Nehemiah and Jesus, I trust we are humble enough to consistently draw ourselves to God in prayer, knowing we need Him to live victoriously today.
III THE LEADERSHIP OF NEHEMIAH
Lastly, what really stands out about Nehemiah is how outstanding of a leader he was. After God has impressed to him the needs of Israel in chapter 1, he surrendered himself to God and allowed the Lord to accomplish the impossible task through him.
Earlier, I told you that Ezra led the second wave of remnants to Jerusalem, 13 years had passed, and they neglected to rebuild the walls. When Nehemiah took this responsibility, by God's help and through his effective leadership, the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt only in 52 days.
Well, you might be thinking that everything went so well that there were no problems and opposition during the rebuilding project. That is not what happened. The truth of the matter is that as soon as he expressed his intention to lead God's people in rebuilding the walls, two men came out as strong oppositions. You will see the reference in Nehemiah 2:10 (ESV):
10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
Sanballat and Tobiah were the kings of the neighboring countries. Their oppositions will escalate from simply mocking them for thinking to rebuild (Nehemiah 4:1-3) to dangerous threats.
Nehemiah 4:7-8 (ESV)
7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry.
8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
Despite all these oppositions, Nehemiah kept his resolve and led the people to finish the work successfully. One of the verses I love in this book is found in Nehemiah 6:3:
3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?"
This verse's background was Sanballat and Tobiah plotted to kill him, so they invited him to come and meet with them. But Nehemiah refused to be distracted because according to Him – "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down." I love it! You see, if you are doing God's work, it is a great work, and so, you cannot be distracted.
As we close this sermon, I want to thank our Savior for the work He has taken to rebuild our broken lives. I definitely thank Him for His patience and for His willingness to persevere in what He started to do. I know I'm not easy to work with, but I have this assurance which is found in Philippians 1:6 (ESV):
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
PRAISE GOD HE WILL FINISH THE WORK THAT HE HAS STARTED IN ME!
-Dr. Jeremiah Lepasana