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#189. Building While Battling: What Nehemiah 1–4 Teaches Christian Moms in a Culture War · Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms

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  This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.
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  I'm Stephanie Hickox, and today we'll begin the Book of Nehemiah and cover chapters one through four.
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  I know we're not supposed to look at scripture and just see our circumstances, but there is something about the work God called Nehemiah to that feels so relatable as a mom.
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  I hope you're really encouraged by the way that God strengthened Nehemiah And gave him success in a truly difficult endeavor As I mentioned when we began Ezra, Ezra and Nehemiah were initially one book of the Bible, the Greek
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  Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate both named Nehemiah Second Ezra.
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  This book has a lot of first-person accounts from Nehemiah, so some believe that the book was written by him.
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  Others would say that these accounts were provided to Ezra for him to pen the book So there's a repeated phrase that occurs within both that the hand of the Lord was upon them.
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  Be watching and listening for that throughout the book.
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  Nehemiah's name means Jehovah comforts, and he isn't mentioned anywhere else in scripture Before we dig in, let's recap about the timing and the background of what was going on historically.
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  We've already learned that the people had returned from their 70-year timeout in the Babylonian captivity.
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  Though it's called the Babylonian captivity, the Persians conquered the Babylonians while the Jewish people were exiled there, and God gave them favor in the eyes of several Persian kings so they could return home.
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  First, it was Cyrus the Great that allowed the initial return.
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  During that time, Zerubbabel led the people as governor and Jeshua as high priest, and they rebuilt the temple Decades later, Ezra led another wave of captives back to Jerusalem.
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  And when we begin the book of Nehemiah, it's 445 BC, and that means it's almost 100 years after the Jews were initially allowed to return.
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  This might throw you off a little bit because it seems that God warned and warned and warned through the prophets that the people were going to go into captivity.
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  Then we had several books of the Bible chronicling the captivity, and now they've been back in Jerusalem for almost 100 years, and we haven't been given much information about that time.
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  What is clear is that the people have been compromising.
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  Though there was certainly a major victory in the fact that they have not given themselves over to idolatry again.
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  This was a centuries-long issue with the Israelite people, almost 1,000 years, it is a major win that to this day, Idolatry has largely been absent from this people group.
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  Still, they were half-hearted in their devotion.
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  They had married foreign wives, and now Ezra finds out a shocking report about their lack of diligence to rebuild the city Nehemiah is another one of the Jewish people that God sovereignly placed in a position of political influence
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  in a foreign land.
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  Nehemiah is cupbearer to the king.
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  Now, this isn't the same king that Esther married Because he was assassinated.
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  It's his son.
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  The king that Nehemiah was serving is Artaxerxes I Longimanus according to Plutarch, he was given this name because his right hand was longer than his left.
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  We have lots of archaeological proof of him, But he had a rather unfortunate rise to power.
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  His father, Ahasuerus, was murdered.
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  and one of the advisors blamed Darius his son for the treachery Artaxerxes believes him and helps kill his brother for his treachery Which makes Artaxerxes the new king.
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  But then it's revealed that the real murderer is a different man named Artaban, and then he tries to kill Artaxerxes as well.
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  Thankfully, the plan is revealed and Artaxerxes beats him to the punch, killing him and his family.
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  Okay, it's not the most peaceful rise to the throne, But this king was largely known for being pretty magnanimous to others You can understand that with all of these plots to be assassinated, a cupbearer was an extremely important
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  position.
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  Cupbearers often had to take the first sip of the wine before the king did to ensure that it wasn't poisoned.
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  This role was filled by someone that was trusted implicitly.
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  And because of their trustworthiness, they often became advisors to the king.
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  We'll come back to Nehemiah's position in a second, but what happens in chapter one is that Nehemiah, a man who has lived in Persia his entire life and is serving in Susa, one of his brothers reports to him
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  that Jerusalem is broken down, its gates have been destroyed by fire, and that there is shame and trouble in the homeland.
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  Nehemiah is a faithful prayer warrior, and you'll see it throughout the book As I read portions of this prayer listen for phrases or themes that feel familiar from other biblical prayers.
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  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.
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  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- let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the
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  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
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  have sinned.
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  We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant, Moses.
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  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
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  of this man."
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  Who is this man that Nehemiah needed the mercy of?
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  It was the king.
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  This might surprise you, but chapter two takes place four months after chapter one.
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  This is not a fleeting burden.
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  Nehemiah laments and grieves intensely over the disrepair of the formerly glorious city of Jerusalem It's truly amazing how much he cares for God's glory and the good of his people.
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  Even when it's not personally affecting him So on this day, he's bringing wine to King Artaxerxes, and he's crestfallen.
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  It's one of those days where he just can't hold back how heartbroken he is I just love that when the king notices, he asks his servant why he's sad This makes Nehemiah afraid because you were supposed to be
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  happy in the presence of a king.
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  But Nehemiah confesses, How can I not be sad?"
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  When the city and the place of my father's grave lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire The king can tell Nehemiah has a request Nehemiah asks that he could be sent to Judah to rebuild
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  Jerusalem.
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  And verse six gives us a truly interesting side note.
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  And the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, how long will you be gone and when will you return?
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  The Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology says that the word queen here is not the typical word used for queen in scripture.
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  It may even refer to the queen mother.
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  Some speculate that Artaxerxes' mother is Esther.
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  It doesn't seem very convincing though, but it is possible that she was his stepmother.
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  And perhaps everything that occurred with God giving favor to the Jews through the days of Esther, and may, and possibly having the influence of a Jewish stepmother may have given Artaxerxes compassion for God's people.
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  If that's not the case, we don't really know why that side note is provided The king gives the appropriate paperwork and military backing for Nehemiah and he even provides him with his blessing to cut down lumber.
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  This might not seem like that big of a deal, but we have a record of someone going to trial for cutting down a tree.
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  Because lumber was a hot commodity at this point in history.
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  And here's that phrase I told you to listen for in verse eight, And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me."
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  Nehemiah has the legit paperwork to go back to the land and serve as governor.
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  But of course, the people that have opposed the Jews since they've returned are not happy about this.
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  Their key opposition are leaders of enemies of God that you may recall Sanballat was the governor of the Samaritans.
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  we have record of him and his sons.
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  Tobiah was an Ammonite, and Geshem was an Arab.
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  and even some of the Philistines are gonna join in later.
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  Nehemiah reports that it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
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  Nehemiah begins his mission pretty covertly.
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  He's there for a few days, and then at night he surveys the terrain and finds the wall to be in such rubbish that even his animal is unable to pass over After the status update, he goes to the
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  people and tells them that, "The hand of my God has been upon me for good."
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  And he shares the blessing that he's gotten from the king They're so encouraged by his pep talk that they say, "Let us rise up and build."
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  And they strengthened their hands for the good work.
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  But their enemies jeer and despise them Nehemiah's response is, The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we, His servants, will arise and build."
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  Chapter three appears to be another long list of names, but I love that all of these builders are getting credit.
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  Even the priests are stopping their work to build.
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  Over and over, we see the repetition of the words build and repair, build and repair, build and repair.
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  It reminds me of Entrusted's theme verse in Psalm one twenty-seven one, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.
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  Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain."
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  These people know that God has called them to this work.
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  Their city is entirely vulnerable unless they rebuild the wall.
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  And now I'll read chapter four over you, and maybe you'll understand why this resonates so much with me about the environment and the roles that God has given us as mothers now when Sanballat heard that we were building
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  the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.
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  And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, What are these feeble Jews doing?
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  Will they restore it for themselves?
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  Will they sacrifice?
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  Will they finish up in a day?
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  Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burnt ones at that?
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  Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and said, Yes, what they are building, if a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall."
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  Yet Nehemiah's response to the opposition in verse six is, So we built the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height.
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  For the people had a mind to work.
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  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.
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  And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion in it.
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  And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night."
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  In Judah it was said, The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing.
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  There is too much rubble.
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  By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall."
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  And our enemy said, They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work."
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  after Nehemiah strategically places the people In verse 14, he charges them, Do not be afraid of them.
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  Remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."
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  When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.
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  From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah who were building on the wall.
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  Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.
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  And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built.
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  The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me, and I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall
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  far from one another.
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  In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there.
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  Our God will fight for us.
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  Nehemiah closes the chapter saying they labored from the break of dawn till the stars came out.
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  And then at night, they didn't even get into their pajamas.
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  They kept on their clothes with their weapons at their right hands Nehemiah has long been used as an example for leadership.
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  But these different tasks that he's given remind me so much of motherhood.
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  because often as I go about every day making sure that my kids are fed and washing the laundry and cleaning up the house and checking in with their academic needs and driving them to their appointments And then of
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  course trying to keep on the forefront to disciple them through it all.
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  It's a lot every day And so when I read that Nehemiah and his people are building the wall with one hand and they're holding a weapon in the other and that they have a sword strapped to their side,
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  And all the while they're being taunted by the surrounding people.
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  It kind of reminds me about biblical motherhood right now, how we're supposed to be faithful to meet our kids' physical needs, but then we're also supposed to be nourishing them spiritually and praying for them for their salvation and
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  against the spiritual opposition that we face And it's undeniable that we have cultural opposition that we're facing as well Nehemiah and the Nehemiah's opponents were jeering at them mocking them, saying how feeble and ridiculous they were Doesn't that
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  strike a chord with how the culture feels about Christians how they ridicule our faith and mock our hope?
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  Even when we have reasoned explanations, they think we're ridiculous That we believe in a creator or purity or in two genders.
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  But I love Nehemiah's word to the people in verse 14, Do not be afraid of them.
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  Remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."
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  though it would be entirely understandable why they would be intimidated by the opposition, They knew someone had to build the wall The enemies knew how weak and vulnerable they were, and if they kept the city in its current
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  state, it would never have been protected.
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  they chose to be the generation That repaired the fortress to protect them and future generations.
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  And you and I have a very similar job.
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  Whether you were passed down an incredible heritage from your parents, or whether you feel like you're building the initial wall you probably feel the mockery and the criticism of the culture around you that recommends parenting in a way
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  so contrary to the Word of God.
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  And if that weren't enough, you face the daily exhaustion of meeting your family's physical and spiritual needs But praise the Lord that he is great and awesome, and that he has never called us to do this alone, but
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  instead to lean on each other, on our husbands, and on Him as He dwells with us.
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  Heavenly Father, we praise You that You are great and awesome, and that there are times we get to stand in awe of Your mighty works.
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  But then there are other times where You call us to put one foot in front of the other And obey you little by little, trusting You called Nehemiah and the people to a task that was impossible without you.
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  often, God, we have to confess there are days that the opposition of what we're trying to do feels so much greater than your favor upon us But we believe and we thank you that you will be glorified in
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  this battle We rejoice that your Holy Spirit strengthens us for the task and that we do not fight alone I pray you would help us to focus on the right battles and the right tasks.
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  When we're overwhelmed, give us discernment about where our energy and our effort needs to be focused, we thank you, God, that in all of our weakness and our limitations, we can point to the sufficiency of our Savior.
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  Thank you, Jesus, that you are just that, our strength, our sufficiency, and our salvation.
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  It's in your name we pray, amen