Heritage Reformed Baptist Mission
NEHEMIAH
Chapter 1
v. 1 - “Nehemiah” = consolation; repentance of the Lord (Hitchcock)
- “Hachaliah” = who waits for the Lord (Hitchcock)
- “Chisleu” = ninth month of Jewish year; end of November and much of December
- “twentieth year” = reign of Artaxerxes = 446 B.C.
- “Shushan” = Susa, the usual residence of Persian kings in Spring or Winter, depending upon whom you read
v. 2 - “Hanani” = my grace; my mercy (Hitchcock)
- “one of my brothers” = Nehemiah's actual brother (cf. Nehemiah 7:2)
- “Jews that had escaped . . .” = specifically those who had returned to Judea and Jerusalem
v. 3 - “great affliction and reproach” = harassed by the Samaritans
- “wall of Jerusalem . . . gates thereof . . .” = Zerubbabel and Ezra were authorized only to rebuild the Temple; the wall and gates remained as Nebuchadnezzer had left them
v. 4 - “sat down and wept' = Nehemiah was emotionally overcome by what he heard, such was his love and concern for his native land and its people
- “mourned certain days” = at least 4 months - cf. Nehemiah 2:1
- "God of heaven" = Elohim; the Triune God, the one living and true God
v. 5 - “I beseech” = boldly but not brashly, with humility - cf. Hebrews 4:16
- “LORD God” = Yahweh (Jehovah) Elohim
- “great and terrible” = above all and to be feared - cf. Deuteronomy 7:21
- “keeps covenant and mercy . . .” = cf. Deuteronomy 7:9
- Nehemiah obviously knew the Scriptures and prayed in light of them; we should do the same
v. 6 - “ear attentive” = hear my prayer
- “eyes open” = to the plight of Jerusalem and the people there
- “day and night' = the prayer was constantly on his heart and in his mind; he prayed without ceasing
- his prayer was both an intercession and a confession of sin; he considered sin the reason for the present plight; not only that of the nation, but also that of himself and his family
- troubles in this life are not always, perhaps are infrequently, the result of personal sin; but it is always wise and good to examine ourselves to see if troubles we have may be the chastisement of God for some sin either unconfessed or which, though confessed, naturally results in some physical, material or emotional difficulty
v. 7 - he names the specific sin; so should we; general confession is of little or no use because it does not show recognition of a specific thing as sin - cf. “sins” in 1 John 1:9
vv. 8-9 - “Remember . . . the word” = cf. Deuteronomy 4:25-27
- Nehemiah pleads with God on the basis of God's promise; he couldn't have done that if he had not known it; a lesson for us to study well the Word of God, memorize it, and believe it
v. 10 - “these . . .” = the Jewish exiles who had returned to Judea and Jerusalem desirous of worshiping and serving Jehovah, and were now in great “affliction and reproach” (v. 3)
- “redeemed” = from the exile having been freed by Cyrus to return to their homeland; perhaps harkening back to their initial redemption from Egypt
v. 11 - “beseech” = plead earnestly, sincerely, intensely
- “thy servant” = Nehemiah
- “thy servants who desire . . .” = the Israelites who were then in Judea and any others with the same mind and heart
- “prosper . . . grant . . . mercy” = again, specific requests
- “this man” = the king of Persia who God could and did use to make possible what Nehemiah had in mind
- “cupbearer” = one who served the king wine and who was, therefore, often in the king's presence
- NOTE: This prayer seems to be mental, offered at a time when Nehemiah was serving wine to the king, and may connect directly to 2:1 which occurred 4 months after Nehemiah heard of the plight of the returned exiles, during which time he had been constantly fasting and praying the prayer which begins in v. 5.
It is thought by some that Persian kings had 4 cupbearers, one for each quarter of the year. If that is so, Nehemiah probably had not been serving the king at all during the time of his fasting and praying which would account for the statement in 2:1 that he had not been sad before in the king's presence.