Today, we begin our journey through the Book of Nehemiah, a powerful narrative of faith, perseverance, and divine purpose. The story unfolds in a critical period after the Babylonian exile, as Nehemiah, a man of deep prayer and leadership, is moved by the plight of Jerusalem. The book highlights God’s protection and guidance as His people rebuild the walls of the city, both physically and spiritually. Nehemiah’s steadfast faith and reliance on God during opposition serve as an example of how God can work through each of us, step by step, to fulfill His will. Let’s explore this journey together with today’s daily devotional on Nehemiah 1. To see how to confess sin to God, read the daily devotional on Ezra 10.
Nehemiah 1 Commentary by Allen J. Huth
Today, we begin the Book of Nehemiah. When we start a book, I like to look at my English Standard Version Study Bible book introduction to help us understand the book we are about to study. Let’s get introduced to the Book of Nehemiah.
Nehemiah is the central figure of the book that bears his name, and though it contains some of his own records, he is probably not the author of the whole book. The unknown author of Ezra probably wrote the sequel, Nehemiah.
The scene is the re-population of Jerusalem after captivity in Babylon. Nehemiah came to Jerusalem thirteen years after Ezra, about 445 B.C. “The theme of Nehemiah is the Lord’s protection of his people” (p. 821) and their need to keep the Torah, the Law of Moses.
Let’s look for a God who hears prayer. A God who works through and around powerful leaders to accomplish His purpose. A God of mercy despite His people’s persistent sin. A God of protection, so we need not fear. God uses Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He led him step by step. He can use us step by step too. Nehemiah faced stiff opposition. We may too. Let’s be encouraged in the thirteen chapters of the Book of Nehemiah. Please read or listen to Nehemiah 1.
Should You Journal while Reading the Bible?
To help us through the Book of Nehemiah, I have selected three of my personal Bible reading journals from over the years. I picked a journal from 1991, a journal from 2002, and a journal from 2012. They are just about ten years apart each, and they span various decades. I was thirty-six years old in 1991, forty-seven in 2002, and fifty-seven in 2012. So not only various decades, but also various ages and stages in my life.
In 1991, I was reading the Book of Nehemiah in chunks. On the first day, I read chapters 1-5 and wrote in my personal Bible reading journal, “Nehemiah living in the comfort of the king’s court has a burden for his people, his city, his God. Because God gave him position power, he could get permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He left his comfort to serve his God.”
How to Make Your Own Bible Reading Plan?
I vary my Bible reading each year. In 2002, I was doing a plan I call “a book a month”. I read Nehemiah (NASB) in the month of March and read it a couple times. So, we will be able to look at a couple journal entries from 2002. The first time I read Nehemiah 1 in that month, I wrote, “Problems come our way. Response: Nehemiah 1:4. Take them before the Lord for many days, fast and pray, then act.”
The second time I read Nehemiah 1 in that same month, I wrote, “He wept, mourned, and fasted and prayed for many days. I need to change my focus from the Ezra Project to God’s people who need it; all those in church who don’t read God’s Word. Without God’s Word we act ‘corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statues, nor the ordinances which You commanded’” (v. 7). Those were my two journal entries in 2002.
By the way, the reference to the Ezra Project in that journal entry was because that was the year I started this ministry. It was April 1, 2002, and I was reading Nehemiah in March. We were leading up to the beginning, the launch, of the Ezra Project, April 1, 2002.
In 2012, I varied my Bible reading again. I read nine Old Testament books and seventeen New Testament books that year. In the Book of Nehemiah, I read chapter 1 and wrote, “Nehemiah is concerned for his people. He cares enough to weep and mourn for days, and fast and pray before God. The rest of the chapter is his prayer. He recognizes God, great and awesome and keeper of covenants and steadfast love. He asked God to hear his prayer. He confessed his sin for his nation and himself. What sin? Disobedience, according to 1:7.”
What Was the Bad News Nehemiah Received?
Those were my personal Bible reading journal entries from various years as I read through the Book of Nehemiah. Let’s go back and look at chapter 1. First, Nehemiah’s name means “Yahweh has comforted.” Next, we see Nehemiah is in Susa, the capital. It was one of the royal seats of the nation of Persia. That is where he is when he hears about his home country, Israel, and Jerusalem. The news he hears is not good. “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” (v. 3).
How Do You React to Bad News?
Nehemiah hears bad news. Have you heard bad news? We all have. But what is his response to the news he hears? This will encourage us to have a similar response when we hear bad 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). Is that your response when you hear bad news? Yes, we might weep. Yes, we might mourn. But do we fast and do we pray continually before the Lord?
What Is the Prayer of Nehemiah Chapter 1?
I love the great prayers in the Bible, and this is one of them. He first describes God as “the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments” (v. 5). First, in his prayer, he recognizes God for who He is. Next, he asks God to hear his prayer, “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” (v. 6). It is a prayer not for himself, but for others. It is a prayer for the servants of Israel. And it is a prayer of confession of sin. Continuing with verse 6, “for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you”. Nehemiah does not just blame others, he also includes himself in this sin, “Even I and my father’s house have sinned.”
Nehemiah’s prayer is a prayer of confession. He continues, “We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses” (v. 7). Nehemiah heard bad news, but he is internalizing it. It is not just their fault; it is also his fault or my fault. When you hear bad news, do you blame others, or do you internalize it? Is there some aspect of fault in you related to your bad news?
Why Is It Important to Remind God of His Promises?
Then he reminds God of His promises. “Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 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’” (vv. 8-9).
How Is God a Covenant Keeper?
Nehemiah reminds God He is a covenant keeper, and he reminds the Lord these people have gone back to Jerusalem. They are trying to obey. He says, “They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand” (v. 10). Nehemiah closes his prayer with the prayer of pleading for success. “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” (v. 11). Nehemiah laid out his case before the Lord, and now he asks the Lord to bless him as he approaches the king. We will see what happens tomorrow.
Is that kind of a prayer your response to bad news? Do you glorify the Lord for who He is? Do you offer up confession for the sinfulness in your own heart and soul? Do you know the Word of God enough to know the covenants of the Lord, His promises, so you can remind Him of those promises? Do you plead with Him to hear your prayer and grant you success?
Prayer
Lord, we thank You for the great opening of the Book of Nehemiah in these short eleven verses. We all get bad news like Nehemiah did. Might this chapter remind us to respond to bad news in a spiritual way. We thank You that You are a great and awesome God who keeps Your covenants, and You are a God of steadfast love to those of us who love You and keep Your commandments. Hear our prayer today, Lord, like You heard the prayers of Nehemiah. We ask it in Your name. Amen.
