Nehemiah
– Becoming A Disciplined Leader
Lesson 2: "Walking the Tight Rope" Nehemiah 2:1-8
"Then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king…" Neh. 2:4,5
Broken Walls and Intense Despair
- Have you ever hoped for good news and received the crushing blow of bad news?
- Jerusalem was in shambles, and the news greatly distressed Nehemiah (Neh. 1:4)
- Did Nehemiah already know that things were not going well for the Jews?
A Damaging Letter
- Rehum had written to Artaxerxes about Jerusalem being rebuilt (Ezra 4:12)
- If rebuilt, he said, Jerusalem would stop paying tribute (Ezra 4:13)
- Artaxerxes issued a command to stop the work (Ezra 4:19-21)
- The work was stopped by force (Ezra 4:23)
- Goal was to demoralize the residents, like the Nazis in Warsaw
- This might explain why Nehemiah prayed so specifically (Neh. 1:11)
A Miraculous Opportunity
- Nehemiah did not give up, though 4 months passed (Neh. 2:1,2)
- Nehemiah was sad in the king’s presence, a dangerous thing to do
- His request indicates wisdom (Neh. 2:3-5)
- When the moment of truth came, Nehemiah paused to pray (Neh. 2:4)
Nehemiah had done his homework
- An intricate balance-he prayed specifically but prepared his request
- Nehemiah was a trusted advisor, it can take years to build that kind of trust
- Be above reproach! (I Tim. 3:2, Titus 1:6)
- Letters of permission (Neh. 2:7)
- This would enable Nehemiah to travel safely, through territories involved in the opposition, and who knew the king’s order against rebuilding the city
- Access to the king’s forest (Neh. 2:8)
- Nehemiah even knew the name of the name of the man in charge
2 Principles
#1) At times, we may not be as effective as we should be because we do not do all we can to prepare ourselves for our tasks
#2)
At times, we may not be as effective as we should be because we are trying to do everything in our own strength
For next week, read Nehemiah Ch. 2:9-20
