The work of God in the servant Nehemiah is of greater value than the historical rebuilding of the walls as we see a five-step process God worked in Nehemiah that led to the rebuilding of the walls in 52 days in chapters 1-2:
•1:2-5 Concern: In Neh. 1:2-7 we are told that Nehemiah asked “Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah…concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.” He was told that “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.
Folks we will never have the walls of our lives rebuilt if we don’t first take stock of the damage that living apart from God has done!
•1:4-10 Confession: Upon hearing those words Nehemiah, “sat down and wept, and mourned for many days” and then fasted and prayed saying “Lord God of heaven” both my father’s house and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.” Concern led to a prayer of confession.
Nehemiah didn’t view the desolation as an opportunity to “GIVE UP” he viewed it as an opportunity to “GET UP”.
•1:11 Commitment: Notice that even while Nehemiah was praying the Lord was putting a plan on his heart, “O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.” Concern led to confession which led to commitment to the plan God had revealed. Far too often we see that we have concern over our condition, confession over our condition but no committed action in prayer for our transformation in grace.
•2:9-10 Courage: Yet with that said it still took courage for Nehemiah to ask the king to go and to stand up to Sanballat and Tobiah once he arrived. Folks you can always expect resistance to God’s work in driving you back to His arms of love. Whenever you say in your heart arise and build (2:20) you can bet that the enemy will arise to destroy! Satan will always place roadblocks and obstructions on the road to our spiritual reconstruction!
•2:11-16 Caution: Nehemiah didn’t just run off trying to get everyone else on board he went out stealthily to check out the condition of things firsthand. A cautious hand is a well-thought-out plan my friends and it always pays to do the research. Jesus spoke of this in Luke 14:28 where he said, “Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it”
With this five-step approach, Nehemiah told them in Neh. 2:18-19 “the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.” And he found because of this they responded by saying, “Let us rise up and build.” And these folks weren’t mere talkers, no “they set their hands to this good work.”