The Gracious Hand of My God Was Upon Nehemiah 1-2

May 2, 2010

Nehemiah is one of my favorite Bible characters.  He is a guy whose life was all set, if only he had been satisfied with it.  He was a slave—that’s true.  He had been born in captivity, and lived his whole life as a servant one way or another.  He must have been a nice-looking guy with good people skills because he was in a position of close-proximity to the most powerful King in the world at that time.

There were some great things about Nehemiah’s life; he went everywhere the King went, he lived in the palace, he dressed in the clothes of the wealthy, he ate the best food and drank the best wine.  But with every meal he was reminded that he was expendable.  Nehemiah was cup-bearer to the King—the defense against someone trying to poison the King; if Nehemiah ate it and didn’t die, it was safe for the King.

Nehemiah’s body may have been with the King, but his heart was somewhere else.  The Israelites had been uprooted 70 years earlier and deported from their “Promised Land” to Babylon where they lived in captivity.  Even though he had never been there, Nehemiah knew Jerusalem was his home.

Read Nehemiah 1.  What do the first 4 verses tell you about Nehemiah’s heart?

Sunday we sang a song with a lyric that asked to God to “break my heart for what breaks Yours.”  How do you see that played out in these Bible verses?

Has God burned anything into your heart that rises to that level—breaking your heart for what breaks the heart of God?  Talk about that burning heart for a minute.

Nehemiah took his breaking heart straight to God.  Verse 5 through the end of the chapter comprises the prayer Nehemiah lifted to God for the next four months—day and night.

What do you discover about Nehemiah’s view of God through his prayer?

What do you discover about his view of his people?  It strikes me that Nehemiah identified himself with his people—not praying about “them” but about “US.”

Talk in your Small Group about the principles of “Scattering and Gathering.”  God said if we are unfaithful we will be scattered, but when we return to Him He will gather us. 

How does that play out in your personal life?

In your thought life? 

In your financial life (Look at Haggai 1:5-6.  This was written in Nehemiah’s time)?

God put it on Nehemiah’s heart to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.  He had no knowledge or skills to prepare him for the task—the only thing he had was God’s call.  What might God put on your heart if He knew you were willing?