Nehemiah 1 - "The Intercessory Prayer of God's Servant"

Nehemiah 1

"The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer."

Nehemiah chapter one opens before us not merely as history, but as a living picture of Christ and His church. Nehemiah stands in a place of honor as cupbearer to the king of Persia, elevated among the nations, yet his heart is bound to a suffering remnant (Philippians 2:6-8; Hebrews 4:14,15). This is no accident. Nehemiah is set before us as a type and picture of the LORD Jesus Christ, exalted in glory, yet ever mindful of those the Father has given Him (John 17:2,9). Though positioned in Shushan the palace, his concern is not for comfort or advancement, but for Jerusalem and for the remnant preserved from captivity (Psalm 102:13-17; Isaiah 57:15).

When Nehemiah asks concerning the Jews that had escaped, he is asking about the remnant. Scripture always speaks this way. God has never saved a mass without distinction, but a people chosen and preserved by Grace (Romans 11:5-7; Isaiah 10:20-22). The report is grievous: the remnant is in great affliction and reproach, the wall broken down, the gates burned with fire. This ruin speaks not only of physical devastation, but of the low estate of God’s church in the world (Psalm 79:1-4; Lamentations 2:8,9). Even after deliverance from Babylon, there is weakness, reproach, and opposition. Such is the condition of the church while it remains in this present evil world (Galatians 1:4; John 16:33).

Nehemiah’s response reveals the heart of an intercessor. He sat down, wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven. This is not political calculation or emotional display. It is priestly concern (Hebrews 5:7; Psalm 69:9). Here we see Christ foreshadowed, Who bore the grief of His people and carried their burden before the Father. “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Nehemiah’s tears point us to the greater sorrow of Christ, Who would take upon Himself the reproach and sin of His people (Romans 8:34).

The prayer itself teaches us how God’s servants approach Him. Nehemiah addresses the LORD as “the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy” (v.5). He appeals not to human worth, but to Divine Faithfulness. This is covenant ground. God keeps covenant and mercy for them that love Him, and Scripture teaches us that this Love itself is God-given. “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Nehemiah pleads on the basis of Who God is, not on the basis of what man has done.

He asks that God’s ear be attentive and His eyes open to hear the prayer of His servant. This language directs us again to Christ, described by Isaiah as God’s Servant, His Elect, in Whom His soul delighteth. Nehemiah identifies fully with the sin of the people. He confesses their corruption, including his own house (vv. 6,7). This is not personal guilt alone, but representative confession. Here again Christ is prefigured, Who “was made sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Though sinless, Christ owned the sin of His people as their Substitute.

Nehemiah acknowledges God’s justice in scattering Israel, yet clings to God’s promise to gather (Deuteronomy 30:1-5). The promise is clear: “Yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there” (v.9; Jeremiah 32:37-41; Ezekiel 36:24-27). This gathering is God’s work from beginning to end. It is not the will of man, but the purpose of God. Christ Himself declared, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me” (John 6:37).

Nehemiah speaks of redemption by God’s great Power and strong Hand (v. 10 Psalm 130:7, 8). All Old Testament redemption pointed forward to the cross. Deliverance was never in the blood of bulls and goats (Hebrews 10:4-10), but by the blood shed unto death of the Lamb of God. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13; Colossians 1:13,14). This is the foundation of Nehemiah’s confidence and the church’s Hope.

The chapter closes with Nehemiah seeking mercy in the sight of the king (v. 11), and here we are reminded that God turns the hearts of rulers as He will (Proverbs 21:1). The true King, however, is Christ Himself, Who ever lives to make intercession (Hebrews 7:24-25). Nehemiah was but a shadow. Christ is the Substance (Colossians 2:17). In Him we have the perfect Intercessor, the faithful Mediator, and the sure Deliverer (1 Timothy 2:5; Romans 5:1,2). This is the comfort of the remnant: God has preserved His people, Christ has borne their reproach, and their salvation stands sure in God's covenant Mercy in Christ (Isaiah 54:10; Hebrews 13:20,21).