What Hanani, and certain men of Judah, told Nehemiah:
Nehemiah 1:3
King James Version
3 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.
He was the king's cupbearer.
And yet, upon hearing the plight of the Jewish remnant, and the state of Jerusalem's walls, Nehemiah called upon the LORD for help.
Hearing his people's distress, this cupbearer wept, fasted, and prayed.
Nehemiah 1:5-7
King James Version
5 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:
6 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.
7 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.
And took courage, bringing wine to the king.
Nehemiah 2:1
King James Version
2 And it came to pass in the month Nisan,
in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king,
that wine was before him:
and I took up the wine,
and gave it unto the king.
Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
The king asks why he was sad.
Nehemiah 2:3
King James Version
3 And said unto the king,
Let the king live for ever:
why should not my countenance be sad,
when the city,
the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste,
and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
So, what did Nehemiah want done?
Nehemiah 2:4-5
King James Version
4 Then the king said unto me,
For what dost thou make request?
So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 And I said unto the king,
If it please the king,
and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight,
that thou wouldest send me unto Judah,
unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres,
that I may build it.
A cupbearer would build the walls of Jerusalem?
Only GOD -- through this grieving man -- could think up such a bold plan.
Complete, with God's specific instructions, that the project may be dealt with.
Nehemiah 2:7-8
King James Version
7 Moreover I said unto the king,
If it please the king,
let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river,
that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;
8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest,
that he may give me timber to make beams
for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house,
and for the wall of the city,
and for the house that I shall enter into.
And the king granted me,
according to the good hand of my God upon me.
Which the king supported.
Nehemiah 2:9
King James Version
9 Then I came to the governors beyond the river,
and gave them the king's letters.
Now the king had sent captains of the army
and horsemen with me.
To the great distress of God's enemies.
Nehemiah 2:10
King James Version
10 When Sanballat the Horonite,
and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite,
heard of it,
it grieved them exceedingly that there was come
a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
Following what God had imprinted upon his heart, Nehemiah went to Jerusalem -- quietly.
Nehemiah 2:11-12
King James Version
11 So I came to Jerusalem,
and was there three days.
12 And I arose in the night,
I and some few men with me;
neither told I any man what my God had put
in my heart to do at Jerusalem:
neither was there any beast with me,
save the beast that I rode upon.
And surveyed the damage.
Nehemiah 2:13-15
King James Version
13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley,
even before the dragon well,
and to the dung port,
and viewed the walls of Jerusalem,
which were broken down,
and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain,
and to the king's pool:
but there was no place for the beast
that was under me to pass.
15 Then went I up in the night by the brook,
and viewed the wall,
and turned back,
and entered by the gate of the valley,
and so returned.
In utmost secrecy.
Nehemiah 2:16
King James Version
16 And the rulers knew not whither I went,
or what I did;
neither had I as yet told it to the Jews,
nor to the priests,
nor to the nobles,
nor to the rulers,
nor to the rest that did the work.
Finally speaking to the people.
Nehemiah 2:17-18
King James Version
17 Then said I unto them,
Ye see the distress that we are in,
how Jerusalem lieth waste,
and the gates thereof are burned with fire:
come,
and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem,
that we be no more a reproach.
18 Then I told them of the hand of my God
which was good upon me;
as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me.
And they said,
Let us rise up and build.
So they strengthened their hands
for this good work.
Receiving the scorn of God's enemies.
Nehemiah 2:19
King James Version
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite,
and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite,
and Geshem the Arabian,
heard it,
they laughed us to scorn,
and despised us,
and said,
What is this thing that ye do?
will ye rebel against the king?
To which Nehemiah had a God-inspired rebuttal.
Nehemiah 2:20
King James Version
20 Then answered I them,
and said unto them,
The God of heaven, he will prosper us;
therefore we his servants will arise and build:
but ye have no portion,
nor right,
nor memorial,
in Jerusalem.
And the people of Jerusalem worked to build the wall.
Nehemiah 4:6
King James Version
6 So built we the wall;
and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof:
for the people had a mind to work.
Even as danger lurked.
Nehemiah 4:17
King James Version
17 They which builded on the wall,
and they that bare burdens,
with those that laded,
every one with one of his hands wrought in the work,
and with the other hand held a weapon.
But Nehemiah was ready.
Nehemiah 4:18
King James Version
18 For the builders,
every one had his sword girded by his side,
and so builded.
And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.
And the people were, too.
Nehemiah 4:19-23
King James Version
19 And I said unto the nobles,
and to the rulers,
and to the rest of the people,
The work is great and large,
and we are separated upon the wall,
one far from another.
20 In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet,
resort ye thither unto us:
our God shall fight for us.
21 So we laboured in the work:
and half of them held the spears
from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.
22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people,
Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem,
that in the night they may be a guard to us,
and labour on the day.
23 So neither I,
nor my brethren,
nor my servants,
nor the men of the guard which followed me,
none of us put off our clothes,
saving that every one put them off for washing.
GOD could not be denied.
Through Nehemiah, and in the LORD's own PERFECT time, the walls were built -- in record time.
Nehemiah 6:15
King James Version
15 So the wall was finished
in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul,
in fifty and two days.
This time, it was not the king's cupbearer who was sad.
Nehemiah 6:16
King James Version
16 And it came to pass,
that when all our enemies heard thereof,
and all the heathen that were about us saw these things,
they were much cast down in their own eyes:
for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
It's not surprising the king's cupbearer became governor.
Nehemiah 5:14
King James Version
14 Moreover from the time that I was appointed
to be their governor in the land of Judah,
from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year
of Artaxerxes the king,
that is, twelve years,
I and my brethren have not eaten
the bread of the governor.
And this governor could not be corrupted.
Nehemiah 5:15
King James Version
15 But the former governors that had been before me
were chargeable unto the people,
and had taken of them bread and wine,
beside forty shekels of silver;
yea,
even their servants bare rule over the people:
but so did not I,
because of the fear of God.
Preferring to secure the walls of God's JERUSALEM.
Nehemiah 5:16
King James Version
16 Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall,
neither bought we any land:
and all my servants were gathered thither
unto the work.
And you can read more about this faithful man's mission, from the Book of Nehemiah.
And read about those who tried to hinder God's plan:
Sanballat the Horonite
Tobiah the Ammonite
Geshem the Arabian
Ammonites
On the heathen
Related material:
JERUSALEM
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