COMMENTARY. The book opens with a typical opening line. Nehemiah was not a prophet and therefore we would not expect it to say too much. But he was an extremely important person within the Persian Empire. He was ‘cupbearer to the king'. That does not mean that he was a waiter. It indicates that he... [ Continue Reading ]
NEHEMIAH'S CRY GOES UP TO GOD (NEHEMIAH 1:4). So Nehemiah now did what God's true people always do when they face adversity. He prayed to YHWH. The prayer is very much an individualistic one, although parts of it can, as we would expect, be paralleled elsewhere, for he prayed with a full knowledge... [ Continue Reading ]
AN APPEAL THAT GOD WILL HELP HIM AS HE TAKES THE DANGEROUS PATH OF APPROACHING THE KING ON THEIR BEHALF (NEHEMIAH 1:11 B). We do not know at what stage Nehemiah's concern for his people turned to a recognition that he was in a position to do something about it. But this is what often happens when we... [ Continue Reading ]