building inspection

Nehemiah 2 – Building Inspection
 How good are you at waiting?   When you are waiting do you get frustrated or do you make plans for the situation ahead? When we next encounter Nehemiah in chapter two some four months have passed since Hanani brought news of Jerusalem’s perilous state and Nehemiah’s prayer.  Four months before he gets an opportunity to bring his request before the king.   We are not told if he was biding his time for an opportune moment or if he had to wait his turn on the rota of servants to be cup bearer before the king.   Nehemiah did not just blurt out his plan but waited for a favourable moment before the king so that his plan would succeed. He had prayed to God for success but he also had to play his part in its success.

Verses  2‐3  –  at  the  end  of  the  verse  we  learn  that  Nehemiah entered the presence of the king with a sad countenance and that he had never been depressed in the king’s presence before.   You know it was a dangerous thing for a servant to come before the king with such a sad face.  In fact it could cost him his life for doing so.   Some of the kings even demanded that their servants cover their mouths with the palms of their hands so that they would not breathe on them when doing their duty before them.  Nehemiah’s heart is burdened for Jerusalem and it shows on his face.  What is more the king also notices his sad countenance and asks him three questions – Why are you depressed?  Are you unwell?  Why is your heart so sad?   Here is Nehemiah’s opportunity but I want you to
notice how he speaks and what he says in response to these questions.  Nehemiah does not go for the jugular.  He answers with deference and respect that was common in that day.   He never mentions Jerusalem by name – he is wise because in Ezra 4.17‐23 Artexerxes had turned down an earlier request to rebuild the walls of that great city.

When Nehemiah is asked these questions by Artexerxes he is filled with fear.  Here is the moment he has been waiting for but also if the king does not like what he is about to hear Nehemiah may lose his  life.     However,  despite   his  fear  he  seizes  the  moment. Nehemiah, in verse 3, states the reason for his sad countenance. The city of the grave of his ancestors lies in ruins.  For Artexerxes this may have appeared a strange reason to be sad because the Persians did not bury their dead.  Instead they left them out in the open to be devoured by the animals.   They had elaborate ceremonies concerning the souls of the dead but the bodies were counted as nothing and so graves were virtually unheard of.  Still, Artexerxes listens to Nehemiah as he explains his sadness.

Verses 4‐5 Nehemiah immediately prays as he is about to answer the king.  Here is the moment and he quickly prays before speaking. Here is the God‐given moment and he wants and needs God’s strength to answer correctly in order for success to follow. Nehemiah requests to be allowed to go and restore the city of the graves of his ancestors, again he avoids naming Jerusalem, though it is unlikely that Artexerxes did not know where he was talking about.

Verses 6‐8 the queen is mentioned, which may mean that this is a private  audience  because  female  royalty  was  rarely  present  at public festivals – do you remember king Ahaseurus sending for Queen Vashti in the book of Esther?  Nehemiah asks to be allowed to go to Jerusalem and he is very wise – he asks for letters of safe passage and also a letter to the keeper of the forest so that he can get wood to do the rebuilding work.  You know we read a little later in the book of Nehemiah that he will be away for an initial 12 years.

Verses 9‐10 well he makes his journey to Jerusalem, safely but in verse 10 we encounter the opposition.   Sanballat is governor of Samaria and  he  is opposed to anyone rebuilding Jerusalem and making it strong once more.   He is aided by Tobiah and Geshen. These men are politically opposed to Nehemiah and his rebuilding work.   Their positions have come under threat by the arrival of Nehemiah.


Verses 11‐20 nocturnal inspections and the selling of the vision. Verses   11‐12   Nehemiah  spends  the   first  three   days  resting.
Nehemiah never seems to be in a hurry.   He spends time recuperating before starting on the next step of the task.  He takes only a few men into his confidence and tells them about the task
ahead.  He goes out at night to inspect for himself the damage and the state of disrepair.   He wants to see firsthand the state that Jerusalem is in.  Those with him on these nocturnal expeditions see only familiar ruins but to Nehemiah here is vital information for the task ahead.  Remember that – it often takes someone from outside the ruins to see what has happened and what can be done to repair and  rebuild  the  ruins.    Often  those  who  have  looked  on  the situation many times, maybe each day can only see familiar ruins – their  eyes  have  become  accustomed  to  looking  on  ruins.    How many relationships, lives, and situations remain in ruins because people have become accustomed to ruins, familiar with disrepair and they are in dire need of fresh eyes to come and look around and see the potential to rebuild and restore?

Verse 13 – Nehemiah does not make a complete circuit of the walls. He looks only at the southern walls – why?  Historically the weakest part of Jerusalem was the north and Nehemiah knows that is where the Assyrians and then the Babylonians came through – so nothing is left there, nothing is preserved but a visit to the south will reveal what is left of the walls and give hope to start rebuilding.

Verse 14 shows the destruction of Jerusalem as there was not even room for the donkey to pass through – so complete was the destruction of the walls and the rubble lying around.   Nehemiah can only retrace his steps (verse 15) back into the city and ponder the task ahead.  So he calls the nobles (verse 16)~ together because he  needs  their  help  and  support  to  begin  and  complete  the rebuilding work.  Nehemiah is not a loner, he is not seeking glory for himself but seeking to bring God glory by rebuilding the walls and restoring the gates of Jerusalem.   At this stage he had said nothing to them.  They did not know why he had come or what he had been doing since he arrived in the city.  They did not know of his nocturnal inspection of the walls.

Verses 17‐18 here are the key verses of this passage.   130 years before Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the walls of Jerusalem.  For 130 years they had lain in ruin and the people had become used to seeing the walls in such a state.  In fact there was probably no one alive who could remember the walls being intact. ‘This is how it has always been...’ was probably the refrain of the people.   Sound familiar?   It took an outsider, with new and fresh eyes to change things. Nehemiah does four things:

He begins by identifying with them.   He doesn’t say “you have a problem” but “we have a problem, we are in trouble...come let us rebuild  the  walls  together.”    He  is  not  coming  to  them  as  an outsider to tell them all their problems but to identify with them in their trouble.   Here is an image of Christ Jesus – He came and identified with us in our sinful state so that through Him we might be restored and rebuilt.   Secondly, he stated the problem – Jerusalem lies in ruins and the gates are burned.   It might sound obvious   but   sometimes   people   need   to   hear   the   obvious. Sometimes people need the problem to be clearly stated because all too often the familiar has become normal and people need to
know that it is not normal to live with ruined walls and burned gates. Make the application where appropriate in life!

Thirdly, he calls for specific action – let us rebuild the walls and let us no longer be in disgrace.  Nehemiah calls for action and gives a justification for that action.  They are not going to rebuild the walls alone because he will be with them to rebuild the walls.  He could have pointed out the problem and given them a plan of action but what they really needed was vision and leadership.   Nehemiah provided both.

Fourthly, he bears personal testimony to the power and work of God in bringing about success.   He could bear testimony to the work of God in bringing about his presence in Jersualem, the letters of safe passage and the letters allowing them to have wood from the royal forest for the rebuilding work. We too can bear testimony to what God has wrought in our hearts and lives.

At the end of verse 18 we read that these people are encouraged and decide to take action.  I want you to note the two things here. They are encouraged and encourage one another to take action. Sometimes people stop there – they talk about what they want to do, the plans and the designs might even be drawn up but they never take the next step of actually beginning to rebuild.  Friends don’t stop at the planning and designing stage – take action.


Verses 19‐20 opposition appears again when they hear of what is happening in Jerusalem.   They ask two scornful questions of Nehemiah – they might even have been in writing.

The first question is to belittle them – are you busy doing that?  It is an attempt at a put down.  There is real spite and scorn, even bitter sarcasm in this question.

The second question – concerning rebellion against the king has the purpose  of  frightening  those  involved.    Treason  meant  certain death and if the king heard that their actions were such an act the consequences would be dire for all Jerusalem.   Friends there will always be people who try and frighten you from rebuilding and restoring the walls and the gates.  There will always be opposition when you go to restore and rebuild the ruins of your life – the first voice will satan’s in your ear telling you that it will never succeed and you are not worthy – don’t listen to him – answer as Nehemiah did – you have no part of this and you have no right to it either.

Nehemiah  rejected  their  interference  and  told  them  that  their claim over Jerusalem had no historical validity, connection or claim to the city.  He proclaimed that God will give them success in this venture and that they needed no earthly appeal or might to complete it. No earthly threat would dissuade them either.

Application – I think verses 17‐20 are important for us today.   All too often I encounter people who cannot see the wood for the trees.  They cannot see the ruins, the broken walls and the burned gates of their life.   They think their behaviour, their relationships and their way of life is normal.  They have grown used to living with all the ruins and they are familiar, even dare I say safe,  with  them.     God  in  His  love  and  mercy  often  brings  a Nehemiah into our  lives to point  out the obvious, to call us to action and to walk each step as we rebuild those walls.




Opposition will come, it always does.  Don’t be surprised by it, but remind  them  that  they  have  no  claim  over  your  life  –  it  now belongs to Jesus and He has promised success.

If you are called to be a Nehemiah – take your time, take courage and speak when the opportunity arises, make your plans, inspect the landscape, call them to join you in the work of rebuilding and restoring.   Remember God is with you.   It is He who called you, equipped you and has promised to be with you every step of the way.

Amen.