This is the Truth Network. Forever die. My word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119, verse 89. I'm Stu Everson.
Welcome to this special Wednesday in the Word Leader podcast, where we prepare and equip our leaders of this special Bible study outreach breakfast. Every week to teach through the scriptures. Thirteen Dario locations. There's a men's group meeting and several of the Locations host the women on Thursday morning. Stay tuned.
Be encouraged as we jump into this week's Wednesday in the Word. There's vision. It's rare. rebuilding something that's been totally destroyed. leadership, courage, even under fire, under criticism.
Friends, we are entering into a new book in our Wednesday in the Word study. It is the book of Nehemiah. It is 13 chapters, 406 verses. Takes about 30. Just north of 30 minutes to read in one sitting.
And it is going to bless you. We're going to see. We're going to meet Nehemiah. We're going to see what's going on in this. Exilic history.
of Israel. And then we're also going to see how this is a picture. Of Jesus Christ and the gospel. There's so much in here. Dr.
Horn, you've preached Nehemiah. You've taught Nehemiah, you've studied Nehemiah, but this is our first Wednesday in the word. Nehemiah. Podcast, man. Is this exciting, sir?
This is awesome. Just to be clear, I never have preached through Nehemiah. I've taught different parts of it, and it's always been a fascinating book. It's one of my go to places in the old testament so many rich themes here But yeah, I'm excited. I think this is going to be just an incredible.
means of grace for a lot of people. You know, it's interesting.
Somebody asked me, what's your favorite book of the Bible? And I always answer with this lame answer, whichever one I'm studying. And so Nehemiah is that for me right now.
Well, amen. We've been through, you know, Thessalonians, we've been through Peter. Of course, we were in Daniel before jumping into Thessalonians and Ruth as well. And there, you know, so you have, so often folks say, well, I'm more of a red-letter Christian, you know, the words of Jesus, or I'm a New Testament believer.
Well, the fact is, from Genesis to Revelation, this is God's word. All scripture is God-breathed. This is so important. And when we look at this. Particular book, there are a couple fun facts that people need to know.
For example, did you know that Nehemiah? Is bundled with another book. Originally, it was bundled with. Azra And Dr. Horn, I want you to speak to that.
In addition to that, another fun fact is Nehemiah. is the last account of the events before That 400 years of silence between the Old and the New Testaments, even though the book falls in a different sequence.
So, Dr. Horn, speak to a couple. Give us some important background of this book as we jump into. That'll kind of be, I guess, our review. And then we'll preview these key 11 verses.
You know, there's a whole lot in this book about prayer. There's 12 different prayers in the 13 chapters, there's a whole lot in here. Just about life is messy. If you think life is messy for you, Try being Nehemiah when you hear from your countrymen that your whole City that you're a whole, the holy city where everything originated, the land of promise has been burned down, is in ashes.
So, Dr. Horne, give us, kind of take us back to why this book is where it is in the canon of scripture, why it's so important. And then we'll jump into these 11 verses. Yeah, I'm so glad you asked that because I kind of feel bad for Nehemiah because, you know, it tends to be the book in the Bible. That anytime we go into a building program, that's the book we pull out because you know, this is all about building, and we're about to build.
And so let's go to Nehemiah. It's the book that God put in our Bible to help us do building programs. And on and on it goes, or leadership. Let's, you know, we've got to get leadership. And there's nobody like Yamaya for leadership.
I would certainly be very cautious to say that DMI doesn't teach principles about leadership because it does. And it certainly does reflect what a building program. in an ancient city actually look like. But I really don't think that's why God put these two books in our Bible. I'm saying Ezra and Nehemiah together.
So it's interesting you brought up Daniel. Daniel, the events in the book of Daniel. happened in 586 BC. Um, Jerusalem gets destroyed. Of course, Daniel goes many years before that in about 605.
And the Babylonian Empire falls. in in about 535 i'm not going to remember that date Exactly.
So the events that we read about in Daniel, when we studied the book of Daniel, you need to fast forward almost 100 years, not quite 100 years. to what we're reading about here in the book of Nehemiah.
Now between Daniel and Nehemiah, There is this incredible uh series of events that happens. And they're happening in two places. They're happening in the Persian Empire, because that's really the world power that's in play. Babylon is no longer the world power. Just like Daniel predicted, just like that vision God gave to Nebuchadnezzar.
So Babylon, the head of gold, is done. And now we've got this incredible empire, the Persian Empire that starts with Cyrus the Great. And we have a series of case. And under Cyrus the Great, toward the end of Daniel's life. Cyrus decides to let a group of Israelites go back to Jerusalem.
And And that's what happens. They go back. under a man named Zerubable. And 50,000 of them go and their whole purpose is to get back to Jerusalem. and to re-establish a presence.
In that land. And that story is actually told in the first six chapters. of Ezra. Ezra is going to go back in history. and look back almost 100 years to this decrease, their main purpose is to get back.
and to reestablish the worship.
So they clear off the temple area. They move all the rubble off to a side. And they establish an altar. And they begin the daily sacrifices again. They reestablish the Levitical priesthood.
And they begin the sacrifices again. But you remember, there was a great deal of opposition. And so The people that were opposing them were the people that the Assyrians And later the Babylonians said, put in that land. And they were not wanting this Jerusalem to be rebuilt.
So they send a letter back to Cyrus. and everything stops and it stops for about 20 years. And new thing comes and this time. This king is Darius I. And a letter gets to him.
And he reads the letter and in the letter. He is encouraged. to go back to the history. and look in the libraries of Babylon and see if he can't dig up. the the letter that Cyrus agreed.
Had or the permission that had been given. And sure enough, he finds it and writes a letter. back to the people opposing. All of this saying, not only do I get permission for this to continue, but you actually have to help so. That is really what is going on.
uh in in that you know in in israel meanwhile As the Persian Empire continues to develop and unfold. and derabble There is a cane. named Ahasuarius. And God raises up. You remember the story of Esther.
So between Daniel and Ezra and Nehemiah. There is the story of Esther. That's a generation earlier.
So, all of this history has unfolded. By the time you get to the book of Ezra, Ezra is telling the story. Of two big things. If you look at the book of Ezra, there are two big things. that are happening.
Edfor wants you to know the history. of how God's people got back to Jerusalem. And that's the first part of the book. And in the second part of the book. How God's laws.
Were reestablished in God's people.
So there is the restoration of the people. to the land, and then there is the restoration of the worship. by the people. That's the whole book of Ezra. During that time, during the second half of Ezra's.
Uh work. God brings up a leader named Nehemiah. And Nehemiah is going to come and he's going to do three things.
So remember. Ezra is telling the story of how God's people got back. to Jerusalem and to Israel. Seduce Cyrus. And how the worship.
And the Torah, the law, the wisdom from God was reestablished. as the operating system for the nation. That's the book of Ezra. Nehemiah comes in the second half of that book. and he is going to restore the city.
He's going to rebuild the city. That's the story of the wall being rebuilt. And you're going to see that in the first seven chapters. of the book, right? And then the rest of chapter seven, all the way through chapter 10.
Is once there is a wall and a city that has been restored. There is a spiritual restoration. that happens in conjunction with Ezra. This is where those two come together. And there is a new renewal of the covenant.
These people are going to renew their covenant obligation to God. just like Israel did in the day of Moses. And then in verses chapters 11 through 13. that restoration is now going to have impact in the way they live.
So the renewal they make in chapter 7 through 10. is now going to actually Change things about how they do life and what they do, and how they intermarry, and all kinds of things are now affected. by this new renewal, this rededication that they make to God. into his law. And so that's what's going on here in the book.
That's the historical background. When we get to chapter one, What you have. is is really the story. of how all of this began. In the city of Susha, right?
with Artaxerxes I. Who has a very trusted servant, someone who he puts his life in his hands? That's how how trusted this servant was. and we meet the servant and we note that he's downcast. And that's really the first thing.
that the text wants us to see that there is a servant of God. in a very high position. in a Gentile court, just like Daniel was in a very high position. And Esther was in a very night position. Here, Nehemiah is in a very high position.
And his brother comes to visit him in the court. And of course. Everybody wants to know how things are back home because you know the genes have been back now for almost 100 years not quite a hundred years And um So what's going on back home? Um And and gets a report that isn't positive. and he becomes downcast.
So that's what's sort of the opening here. Just to come, you jump right in. I mean, you're getting into a moving ship here in this report. And this report brings about a real brokenness, a weeping, a fasting, a prayer, and really one of the most profound prayers in the whole Bible. You know, we spent a lot of time on Daniel 9 and Daniel's prayer.
We did a whole week on that in Daniel. We actually went longer in Daniel because of that prayer. Dr. Horn, it's all in these 11 verses. A couple of things I picked up, and by the way, it's an excellent introduction.
Folks, you got to read the history. Most good study Bibles will have a good introduction, a good background. The Moody Bible commentary, I pasted that whole introduction in the leader notes that I sent out to all the leaders. For those of you just joining us, Stu Epperson here with Sam Horn. This is our Wednesday in the Word podcast.
We are. Jumping into the book of Nehemiah. Also, Dr. Horn, you may not know this, he's the shortest man in the Bible. I don't know if you knew that.
Knee high Maya. I knew that was coming.
So Nihi Maya. Just a little, you know, a little humorous interlude there. But there's also some interesting things. You know, it's interesting, some have observed on him that. That you have in Nehemiah, you have, you have an Ezra.
You have like this picture. Ezra is kind of this. Post or second Moses because Ezra reestablishes the worship in the temple. And then often Nehemiah is pictured or cast as a second Joshua, right? Because he's rebuilding the walls and re-fortifying the city.
So you do have a really, you know, you have those pictures. Then you also have. You know, in this book. Dr. Warren, a lot of really nitty-gritty, messy stuff.
And it opens right out of the gate. And I was going to ask you, how would you? How would you set up these 11 verses? You know, if as whether a pastor is preaching this or or are many leaders at Wednesday in the word or women in the word that you know are on Thursday, how would you? Get the set this up for them.
11 verses. You're kind of breaking these up. Obviously, there's this kind of. You know, initiation, you know, when he finds the information out at the beginning, we're introduced to who he is. And who his father is, and then we're we're we're given this news, and then it From verse 4, 5 on to the end of this chapter.
You have this This rich, I mean, one of the most powerful prayers. And the whole Bible, really, a model prayer for all of us. And, Dr. Horn, I don't want to detract from the fact that, you know, I hope everyone pays close attention to this. For all the people.
God would use to rebuild. to to to go to to the holy city And to rebuild the walls of his promised land, of his city, he uses a government worker. I hope that's not lost on anyone out there. Whatever you're doing, whatever your job is. God called a guy the cupbearer, which is a significant role.
You touched on a little bit, Dr. Horn, in your introduction. This is a.
Someone who's in very close presence and countenance with the king, someone who has favor with the king, someone who is listening and, you know, obviously hearing and talking to the king, and someone who has access. And so this is, you know, this wasn't a, but he wasn't a priest. He wasn't necessarily a prophet or. Or a pastor, or any of those things, here he is a cupbearer, and also a risky job, too, right, Dr. Horn, because you're one sip away from being carried.
A cupbearer is one sip away from being carried out by pallbearers, as one pastor observed. Skip Isaac shared that little anecdote.
So, what, what, to talk about that role and then break these verses down for us, if you would. There's so much these 11 verses in this book. What's interesting, you know, that Nehemiah was a cupbearer. I don't think that's an incidental. or just sort of hey that's a detail just to fill in the story As you mentioned, a cup bearer was an incredibly Powerful person.
He had the ear of the king, number one. You can tell that just by the way the king pays attention and talks to him. But even beyond that, he put his life at risk for the king every time the king sat down to eat or drink. Yeah. Any time the king ever put food into his mouth, it was first Tasted by Nehemiah.
So the king knew this man was deeply loyal to him. And so it's incredible to me when you stop and think about what Nehemiah is doing. as a cupbearer to the king. He is caring for the king's life. He is caring for the king's.
Business. And Nehemiah served a greater king. The prayer that he offers is to a greater king. You know, there was a great king. The king that he was serving was one of the great kings in the ancient world.
If you were kind of to look at. the world of his day and say who's the most powerful man on the planet right now it would be Art Xerxes. And so he served a powerful king, but when he really needed. Help. In the big mission of life, he didn't go to the powerful king on earth.
He went to the powerful king in heaven.
So that's the first thing I would really want to make sure people saw. The second thing is throughout the book, we're not going to see it in the prayers much. Although they're little hints. But throughout the book, DMI is going to weave Deuteronomy all through this book. And if you remember, Deuteronomy was given to the second generation of people.
who were just as guilty as the first generation. But Moses looks at these people and says, you're going into that land by grace. And this covenant will keep you in that land. if he will obey it. And so as Nehemiah prays to the God of heaven, He is going to take God's people to the word that.
God gave them through Moses.
So there is this emphasis on on prayer and on the word. In the book of Nehemiah, and you're going to see it in Ezra as well, but certainly in the book of Nehemiah.
So that's the second thing. And then what I would do is, I would just give them a little outline on these 11 verses. And I would say it this way: there are four things I would look at. Number one, there is a crisis. And that's in verses one through three.
And then in verse 4, there is this unusual response. And it's really important that we see the unusual nature of that response. And that's in verse 4. And then in verses 5 through 11. There there is a prayer.
And there are four parts to that prayer. And then, when you get done with the prayer, I always like to end with some applications.
So, there might be three or four pieces of application. I'm going to give you five. that you can make.
So let me just really quickly. And Stu, you jump in along the way here so I don't do all the talking. But let's talk about the crisis. And we've already kind of talked about it a little bit, so I don't want to belabor it. But in verses one through three, you can sum up the crisis this way: the people of God.
We're in great trouble. and under great shame. And because they were God's people. The shame. and the trouble reflected on God.
So here are God's people. and they are in great trouble and in great shame. and their city is still broken down. after all these years. And so the theological point here is that this isn't just Uh Hey, we're having a bad day.
There are things that reflect on God's name. that are happening. And and Hanani comes. And he gives this report, you can see it. Uh inverse Three, he says the remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress.
and reproach there's a word for shame And the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.
So Think about How many times in our lives We make a commitment to God. God does a great thing for us. And five years later, ten years later. We look at our life and nothing is different. Our marriage.
He's just as broken. Our family is in just as much trouble. our life is in in as much disarray. And it reflects. on the honor of God.
It's not just that we're broken. We are reflecting on the honor of God. And so the response to that. is is this Weeping. this morning this fasting when I heard these words in verse four I sat down and wept and mourned for days.
The last time we saw a great prayer for corporate repentance was Daniel. And he Sat down and wept and mourned for days. He couldn't eat. He couldn't drink. His face lost its.
It's countless, right? And I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
So there is this. continual fasting and praying. And And generally speaking, if you look at the dating in the book, this went on for four months. In other words, this was not a quick process where Nehemiah prayed a quick little prayer. you know, cried a few tears.
and made a few comments about how terrible this was. and how sorry he was. This was a sustained period of mourning. And of personal affliction and deep repentance before the Lord. on behalf of himself and on behalf of the people.
So, I really think we got to pick this up: that this wasn't just a little prayer meeting that. That met, you know, on a Sunday night and God came down. This was a sustained. months after month after month warning that went on. And certainly, I think there's some great application that ought to have.
ongoing impact on our lives. uh so that's the second thing i don't know if you want to jump in there and say anything about that but that that's important Well, there's so much in here, you know, the this You know, I love this acronym that You've shared with me, and others have that's bannered around Axe, you know, this prayer pattern, you know, acts, adoration. confession Thanksgiving. Supplication, just a simple little kind of template. If someone's like, man, I just need to go to the Lord in prayer.
I'm maybe new to the faith. I'm trying to, you know, well, it's great to start by recognizing how great God is. And then it's great to, then as we're in awe of Him, suddenly we realize, hey, wait a second, we're unworthy. You know, we recognize our sins. That's where the confession comes in and the need for repentance.
And then there's this thanksgiving, you know, this tea that, you know, hey, thank you for. God, for your grace and for being merciful. And then there's this supplication: now, help, you know, do what you say you're going to do. And And intervene and this sort of thing. And it seems like, Dr.
Horne, this prayer, there's a. We don't want to overstructure this and we don't want to Go too hard into it or read too much into it, but there seems to be a real nice pattern here that. Could be a great model, like the Lord's Prayer is a great model prayer.
So often we use the words. And we we get too stiff with it, but it's actually a really good model for us. To follow after, to recognize that, hey, we're dealing with Almighty God, the maker of heaven and earth. And we, not the man upstairs. You know, and not, you know, Jesus is my co-pilot and all this, you know, so often we dumb down and we.
We lighten and we take, we really become, you know, we become too cozy and cuddly when we need to really have some reverence, respect, and veneration, and in awe. I mean, we talk about what's awesome.
Well, God is awesome.
So it just seems like that's the heart of this man, Dr. Horn, as you get into this prayer. And I want to make sure that that's kind of. There's a real, I mean, I read this prayer. I listened, by the way, to the whole book of Nehemiah.
I've listened to it twice now in the last two weeks. Get ready for this. I'm going to try to listen to it. every week in our study just so I can get the whole The whole picture, the whole panorama of this thing. But, Dr.
Horn, I mean, this is a man. Who Was real. I mean, here he's fasting. I mean, when you're fasting, you're saying that my hunger for God. And for him to work.
far outweighs the priority of my My stomach's hunger, my need to eat. And we all like to eat. Everyone's listening right now, thinking about: okay, what am I doing for dinner? You're getting a text right now. What are our lunch plans?
You know, and we kind of pivot, we center our day and our activity around food. And here, Nehemiah can't even think about food because he's so. He's so hungry for God and so... Desperate for God to work.
So, yes, sir.
So, that sets this up. And I just want to throw that in. But I want to get out of your way and let you keep tracking because I love these applications. It's so funny. You know, you didn't really talk before this.
But what you just said about prayer. You know, the axe little acronym is exactly what I have. Around the way this prayer is organized.
So there is a crisis, verses one through three. There is this unbelievable response, a four-month. morning and spiritual repentance. And it's all captured. In this prayer, it's not like he just prayed the same prayer for four months, but the prayer we have in verses one through 11.
is the pattern for what Nehemiah did for four months when he talked to God. And just before we get into that pattern, I would say this. It's important for us to know. Because sometimes we look at a prayer like this, and we're like, and if we'll just pray this for America. God will rescue America.
This was not a prayer. That was intended to rescue. and country This is not a prayer that God intends for us to pray for America. We certainly should pray for America. And there's nothing wrong as American citizens and as believers who love our country.
To ask God to give us what we don't deserve as opposed to what we do deserve. as a country.
So I don't in any way want to discourage praying for our country. But this prayer was not intended to become the model prayer for America or any other country. It was the prayer that was intended to be prayed for God's people when they were broken down and in shame. And we're going to find out when we get into Ezra and Nehemiah that the reason they were broken down and in shame was they had been committing the very same sins. That their ancestors had committed before them that ended up tearing down Jerusalem to start with.
So they're just back doing the same thing. And here is now this intervention.
So what is this prayer? doing. Here we go in verses 5 through 11. In verse five, you have adoration. There is the celebration of God's nature, particularly of his faithfulness.
In keeping his covenant, he says, Oh Lord. God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps the covenant. and who manifests steadfast love with those who love him and keep him keep his commandments. And so Um This is right out of Deuteronomy 7. In Deuteronomy 7, Moses talks about the great and awesome God.
And then he talks about the covenant and covenant keeping and steadfast love of that great and awesome God. And so Here is where Nehemiah starts. He does not start. in utter despair. or in an anger or depression, look how bad it is, look how terrible it is.
He starts with how great God is. And that's the mark of mature praying. When we start, no matter what we're praying for. We gotta start here with adoration. And that's what we see in verse 5.
In verses 6 through 7. We see confession. And here's what we see in the confession: let your ear be attentive. and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant. which I am praying before you now day.
and night on behalf of the sons of Israel. If you remember back in 1 Chronicles when Solomon dedicated the temple, he had a whole section where he talked. to God and he prayed a national prayer saying, Lord, If we pray. From this place, hear us from heaven.
So there is this. connection here. There is this. Breard. And the prayer in verse six.
Is this confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against you? I am my father's house. have sinned. And then he's going to get even more specific. We have acted corruptly against you.
We have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances. which you have commanded your servant moses it's It's this corporate confession. Of why they're in the situation they're in. And Nehemiah says, I'm not exempt. I'm not just saying this prayer on behalf of my people.
I'm actually. in there with them. There is this honest alignment. With God's holiness. and a confession.
Corporately and personally, of where we have failed. And that's where true prayer goes. Right. That's where true repentance comes.
So there is this ask, there is this adoration. Then there is this confession. And then in verses 8 and 9. There is this. Thanksgiving.
There is this remembrance. And this claiming Of God's faithfulness in the past. In verse 8, remember the word which you commanded your servant Moses. saying, if you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the people. Right.
But if you return to me. and you keep my commandments and do them Though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heaven, I will gather them from there. And I will bring them to the place where I've chosen. That caused your name and that had happened. It it was Nehemiah is reporting history here.
He's thanking God for keeping his word.
So there, remember how you said you got adoration, confession, and thanksgiving? Here are all three of those. Um you know those those uh ideas there it and the word remember in this text Is theologically latent. It's not like God forgot them, right? Like they went out of his mind.
The word remember means to act on our behalf. and that's what god has done and now nehemiah is asking for that again So I'll let you respond to some of that while I get my breath here.
Well I tell you, I love this. This pattern of prayer, and just there's a real heart, and there's a real felt. It makes me think this question that's convicted me lately, Dr. Horn. What makes me weep?
What makes me What breaks my heart? What brings tears to my eyes? Do the things. Do the things of God, you know, you've heard it said many times, you've probably said it, and I'm not sure who we attribute this quote to, but do the things that. Break God's heart.
Break my heart. And so you have this man who he's got a great position. He's set for life. He's right in the ear. and at the side in the presence of the most powerful king on earth.
He's got 401k. He's all set. But suddenly His whole world has changed. And it all started. When he sat down and wept.
And then he fasted. And then he prayed. I just think if. If we can get to a place where Our heart breaks for what breaks God's heart. When was the last time I cried tears for lost people?
When's the last time my heart broke? Where I didn't get mad and start yelling at the TV screen at that politician who's lying and deceptive and doing evil things, but I actually cried tears. Asking God to work in their heart, to transform them, recognizing that I was that man. I was that woman. I was that sinner myself.
And he had mercy on me.
So, Dr. Warren, I just. I really hope that we can. get our arms around, our hearts around. The gravity of where Nehemiah's heart is, because God's calling all of us into.
to have in his heart for the nations, having his heart For What moves the Lord? And when we, I really believe when we get there, you know, Jesus said in. I believe it was. Was it Matthew 10? He said, I pray, I'm praying.
that the Lord Of the harvest would send harvesters out. And he said that to the disciples, pray this. And then in the next chapter, he sends the disciples out, they become. sent out but it wasn't until The heart of God gripped their hearts. It wasn't until they their thinking and their prayer.
Was aligned with what the Lord wanted, his will. that everything changed in their lives. And that's what we see in Nehemiah. We see that played out.
So, this first chapter is such a foundation point. And I want you to give the final applications and then, you know, maybe pray us out of here. You know, through verse 11. But really, there's going to be a lot of ground laid here for the whole study of all 13 chapters. But, Dr.
Horn, we're going to do about a chapter a week as best we can. But, Dr. Horne. We're probably going to come back to a lot of this as we go through each chapter because, again, these are the moorings. These are the building blocks on which this whole work, everything he does, every hammer that's swung, every stone that's put in place, every sword that's carried while they're working.
You know, goes back to What is the heart of God for this situation that I'm in? And that's true of everyone, too, that's listening. Every one of us has messy stuff. Every one of us is going to get a word today of something that's broken down, that's torn apart, that's wrecked, that's messy in our lives. And when we are weak, He is strong.
So Let's finish the prayer because that flows right into what you just said, Stu.
So, you know, coming off your little anachrony, that's so helpful. In the prayer, we saw adoration in verse five. And then we saw Confession in verses six Uh seven in eight. And then we saw In inversely, 9 and 10, or 8 and 9, we saw Thanksgiving, right? And now we have supplication.
He's got a very specific thing he's going to ask God for. But before we get to the supplication, I want you to look at verse 10. He says, about the people, these are your servants. And your people, whom you redeem by your great power and by your strong hand. Look at the word your shows up.
One, two, three, four, five times. This is all about God. Nehemiah is burdened. Not because of himself. He's burdened because of God.
your people, your servants, this great nation. That Uh you Um literally Redeemed by your great power and your strong hand are in a position of reproach and shame.
So during those four months, something happened in Ehemia's heart. He began. to realize God I'm the one. You want to go do something about this. And I think we got to pick this up.
He was in a really comfortable spot. No danger other than the danger of his job. And all of a sudden, he realizes somebody needs to go. Jerusalem.
Somebody needs to make that long, hard trip.
Somebody's going to have to get in and confront these people and do the hard work of rebuilding. and take on this impossible task. And during that four months of praying, God moved on his heart to do it. When we get to chapter two. He has very specific things he's going to ask the king for.
He's going to ask the king for letters. He's got a list of things about it. It's not like. He's got a plan. but he doesn't bring the plan up.
I mean, he doesn't bring the plan up in chapter one. What he says in verse 11, here's what he asked for: he says, Oh Lord, I beseech you. May your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant. and the prayer of your servants who delight to revere your name. and make your servant successful today.
So number one, grant him success. in the mission that will glorify you. And number two, grant him compassion before this man. And he's talking about the king. And so that's how this prayer ends.
And it really sets up nicely the book because. Apart from A surrendered servant and a sovereign God. Nothing is going to get done. Because everything else in the book is humanly impossible. When you just go back and start looking at what happens in the book.
In the next 12 chapters, everything that goes on. It's not possible. unless there is a successful servant and a sovereign God. And God has to make both of those things happen. And so, kind of the application that I would lean on as we close out is as we look at our own lives and we see the impossible things that God calls us to do, we really need to ask God to give us a holy burden for God's glory.
Because that's what drove Nehemiah here. Lord, cultivated me a holy burden for your glory. And then, secondly, Help me to pray. scripturally saturated prayers. You know, these are not.
These are not little arrows that we just sort of fling up to heaven. These are sustained. Praying prayers that are shaped by scripture. And you use, I love the anachronism, you know, adoration. What is the scripture teach me about God that applies here?
confession. Thanksgiving, and then supplication. And then live as a faithful servant of God in your current role. He was a cupbearer. And he was faithful in that role.
Until God burdened him. to do something else. And before he just went up and did it. Keep prayed. that God would make him successful.
And the way he would know that God had made him successful was that his authority would bless him. that he would find compassion. In the heart of the king. You know, the one guy the king would not want to lose is his cupbearer. And so it was a big deal for Nehemiah to ask to be able to go back to Jerusalem.
That was a huge ask. And the king could have easily said no. You know, I think about this as a pastor a lot of times. You know, how many times? Do you, do I, every move I've ever made in my life, I've asked for those two things.
Lord, would you make this successful? in your in your agenda. And two, would you give me favor? in the eyes of my spiritual authorities.
So, whenever I've gone somewhere, the first question I've always done, the first thing I've always done besides prayer. and talking to my wife is go to my pastor. More pastures. Not friends who are pastors, my pastor of the church where I'm a member. Because I want to know from him.
Do you feel as my shepherd, the one who's going to give an answer to my soul, do you feel I should do this? And I'll just tell you, 40-something years of ministry. If my pastor or pastors have ever said no, I've not done it. I've not done it. It's amazing to me how many times people will come to me as a pastor and say, I think I'm going to do this.
And myself or the other elders, after praying, will come back and say, We just don't think that's a good thing. We don't think you're ready for that. We don't think that's good. And they will come back and say, well, we've sought wise counsel. And we're doing it anyway.
And many, many times. It has been disastrous.
So I think this is a really good time for those in our Bible studies at a time when it's not like there's nothing going on in their life about this for them to just be reminded: hey, here is a man. who as he discerned God's will for his life. Pray that God would make him successful. And secondly, prayed that God would lead him. Through his authority, and God did.
And so those are the applications I would make in a text like this. Great applications, so much rich stuff in here, and I just think of. The people God uses in the scripture. We've got. Shepherds, we've got prisoners, we've got fishermen.
I was just reading in Mark 1. It says he went to these fishermen and he said, Follow me. I say, Why fishermen? Can't you go to can't you, Lord? Can't you go to the temple where all these trained theologians are who've got those word of God memorized.
And call some of these high-pedigreed Sadducees and Pharisees and scribes and leaders. And here he calls fishermen. But, Dr. Horne, that's who God uses. Will you say a prayer just for everyone as they prepare to teach this, as we start this great new book?
I'm so excited. I'm so grateful for you and all your insights to get us ready.
Well, let's pray, Lord. Thank you that we can look at a book like this and see your hand. at work as faithfully in our lives today as it was in Nehemiah's uh 2500 years ago. Lord, it's stunning that Uh Nehemiah is long dead buried. but you are alive and on the throne, and you haven't missed a beat.
And the world is still as much. in need of modern day nehias.
So as we come to a text like this, Help us to humble ourselves like Nehemiah did. Help us to adore you? Help us to confess where we fail you. Help us to be thankful for the faithfulness. you have given to our lives over many decades.
And that is we make our requests. We come asking that you would make us successful as we do your will and you would give us favor and guidance. Through the shepherds you've placed over us. And we'll thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.
Thank you, Dr. Horne, and thank you for joining us for this Wednesday in the Word podcast. Learn more at wedintheword.com. Follow us on YouTube. Facebook and all social media, including in Stu Graham, and be encouraged, stay in the word.
Read it. Share it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on God's Word. Every word of God is pure. He is a shield to those who put their trust in him. Proverbs thirty verse five.
