Nehemiah 1:2b-3 “…and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. [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.”
When we are introduced to Nehemiah for the first time in chapter one of the book, we are shown three things in the opening verse.
First, we see a genealogy. Nehemiah is identified as being “the son of Hachaliah,” which differentiates him from the other two men in the Bible who were also named Nehemiah (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 3:16).
Secondly, we are provided with a location. Nehemiah was dwelling in “Shushan the palace,” which was the winter capital of the Persian Empire (Persepolis, the summer capital was inaccessible during the winter months due to its location, high in the Zagros Mountains).
Finally, we are given a date. The events recorded in the opening chapter of the book of Nehemiah take place in “the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year” of the Persian king, Artaxerxes Longimanus, who came to power in 465 B.C.[1]
The information provided in the opening verse of the book allows us to accurately set the date of when Nehemiah had his fateful meeting with his brother, Hanani, to the year 445 B.C. (which was “the twentieth year” of the current king’s reign).
A Careless Remnant
It had been over 160 years since the Babylonians first began to carry away the Jewish people (this is found by calculating the number of years that transpired from the date of the first Jewish deportation in 608 B.C. to the year 445 B.C.).
During that time, all of the Jews who had originally been taken captive (notably Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah – Daniel 1:6) had passed off the scene; and newer generations of Jews, who were born in captivity, rose to take their places.
Many of these second and third-generation Jews (who were born in Babylon) became accustomed to dwelling in the land of their exile. They had never lived in the land of their fathers, nor had they ever walked the streets of Jerusalem or worshipped in the temple of Solomon. Though they maintained their Jewish identity through their worship of the LORD and through their distinct culture; over time, many of these Jews had become quite comfortable and had even grown complacent in Babylon.
This is vividly illustrated by the fact that thousands of Jews chose not to return to Jerusalem when Cyrus the Great of Persia made his proclamation which freed them to do so in 538 B.C. (this decree came 70 years after the first deportation of the Jews, in direct fulfillment of the prophesies recorded in Jeremiah 25:11 and Jeremiah 29:10).
In Ezra chapters 4-6 we are told that, in response to the decree of Cyrus, Zerubbabel and Jeshua the priest initially led a group of 50,000 Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. They were later joined by a second party of Jews who made their journey home under the leadership of Ezra the scribe in 458 B.C.
However, despite these initial groups who willingly returned to Judea, the fact remains that there were still many thousands of Jews who chose not to return to the land of their forefathers.
Throughout their time in exile, a number of the Jews (such as Daniel and his three companions along with Esther and Mordecai) rose to places of prominence and influence within the Babylonian and Persian courts. Nehemiah was also one of these Jews who, for whatever reason, initially chose not to return to his native land.
When we are introduced to him in chapter one of the book of Nehemiah, we find him employed in the royal palace as the “cupbearer” to the king (Nehemiah 1:11).
A Comfortable Situation
Today when we think of a cupbearer, perhaps the image of a late Victorian-era butler comes to our minds (complete with coattails and a towel draped across the arm). However, we must understand that in the ancient Near Eastern world of the Persian Empire, a cupbearer played a much more significant role. The one who fulfilled this capacity served as a trusted confidant, a royal adviser, and an intimate friend to the king.
The cupbearer was also continually in his master’s presence; and therefore, he was able to exercise a degree of influence within the king’s court. Even in later Roman times, cupbearers and eunuchs continued to hold positions of great influence and power.[2]
For example, in the 15th century, the famous Englishman, Thomas Chaucer (the son of Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote The Canterberry Tales), held the title of Chief Butler of England. During his lifetime, he was four times appointed as the Speaker of the House of Commons in Parliament. He also fought at Agincourt under Henry V, and later served in the court of Henry VI.
In our modern times, the role Nehemiah held would be similar to a low-level advisory position in a president’s cabinet. To use the vernacular of our day, we could say that - financially, socially, and politically at least - Nehemiah “had arrived,” and he had done rather well for himself.
Using the skills and abilities that he possessed, Nehemiah had climbed the ladder of success in life and had reached a place very near the top. This was no small feat for a man born into captivity in a foreign land.
No doubt, Nehemiah could congratulate himself on having worked hard and earned a position of comfort and security, for he was serving in the palace and in the presence of the king of the most powerful empire in the world at that time.
It is almost impossible for us to fully comprehend the immense wealth of the Persian Empire today; for even after ten long years of war and devastation during the Macedonian invasion, when Alexander the Great finally conquered Persia, the vaults of the king’s palaces still contained vast stores of treasure and gold supplies worth billions of U.S. dollars.[3]
A Concerned Question
Although he lived in an almost imaginary world filled with splendor, comfort, and luxury in the palace of the opulent Persian king; the incidents of a single day and the answer to a single question would, with a jolt, pull Nehemiah from the decadent fantasies of the Persian royalty to the devastating realities of the outside world in which his people were suffering.
In the month “Chisleu” (which falls in between the middle of November and December on our Gregorian calendar) Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, came to visit him in the city of “Shushan” along with several other men from Judah.
When Nehemiah asked his brother and his companions about the well-being of the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem and were living in the land of their forefathers, he did so with genuine concern and interest. However, the distressing news Nehemiah received in answer to his question had a profound influence on him.
Verse 3 records Hanani’s response, “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.”
Nehemiah, being a man who served in the Persian court and was in touch with the events of the world, no doubt knew something of the troubles his people were facing in their native land; but hearing a first-hand account from someone he knew well and trusted made the reality of the situation in Jerusalem sink in like never before.
Many questions no doubt began to flood Nehemiah’s mind. “Was the situation in Jerusalem really that bad? Why had the remnant of returning Jews so far been unable to clear the rubble and rebuild the city after years of freedom to do so? What could be done about this reproach upon the name of the Lord and His people? Did anyone even care?”
Although Nehemiah’s immediate situation and surroundings had not changed at all in that moment, within his heart a profound change was beginning to take place; and though we may initially find fault with Nehemiah for not having joined the previous groups of returning Jews, we must give him credit that he did care enough to ask of their welfare. Ultimately, his concern in asking would soon play a role in his future involvement.
History teaches us that concern is always one of the first steps toward involvement. For example, it was after becoming concerned for the thousands of soldiers who died during the American Civil War in battlefield hospitals due to poor treatment and unsanitary conditions, that a young Canadian nurse named Clara Barton decided to get involved in improving the situation. Out of her concern for the wounded and hurting began the humanitarian organization that is known today as the International Red Cross.[4]
The same is true of Robert Raikes, a British journalist and editor of a Gloucester newspaper, who became burdened for the street children of London who were left to themselves without any form of spiritual or moral guidance.[5] His concern for their wellbeing led to his involvement in organizing one of the very first Sunday School departments in the year 1780.
Who are we burdened for today? Are we concerned about the condition of our nation and our communities? Are we concerned about the lost in our world around us? Our degree of concern will ultimately determine our level of involvement in the lives of others.
A Compassionate Response
The response of Nehemiah to the news he learned from Hanani, his brother, is telling. Nehemiah 1:4 “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…”
Nehemiah’s compassion for the plight of his people was revealed in his responses to the news of their condition.
First, the Bible tells us that he “sat down.” Have you ever experienced news that literally took your breath away? News for which you were not prepared that moved you so deeply emotionally that you were also affected physically?
This is what happened to Nehemiah when he first received word that the city of his forefathers was still in the same deplorable condition it had been in when the Babylonians first destroyed Jerusalem many decades previously. This report from Judea caused him to have to sit down in order to take it all in, but that was not all.
We are also told that Nehemiah “wept, and mourned certain days” (vs 4). His heart was touched to the point that tears began to fall down his face. This was no fleeting moment of sorrow in which tears came but were soon forgotten. Rather, this was a heartbroken response to the terrible news of Jerusalem’s condition which caused him to weep and mourn “certain days.”
The prophet Jeremiah had also wept and mourned for the destruction of Jerusalem in his day, declaring in Jeremiah 9:1, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!”
From both his words and his body language, we can clearly see that Nehemiah truly cared about what was going on among the remnant of his people who were living in Jerusalem. This is remarkable considering that Nehemiah had never lived in Jerusalem or visited his native homeland before. We must remember that the events of this book begin 140 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and that Nehemiah’s generation had not chosen to rebel against the Lord as their father’s generations had.
They were living out the judgment that their forefathers had brought upon their own people due to their stubbornness and disobedience to the Lord. And now, despite being born in captivity and living in a foreign land; Nehemiah and many other Jews had made the best of a bad situation.
Nehemiah could have argued, as no doubt many other Jews still living in Babylon did, that the destruction of the city and the deplorable condition in which it was presently found was not his fault; but to his credit, Nehemiah did not.
Instead, he recognized that while it may not have been his fault; as a God-fearing Jew living in that day, it was now his problem! Nehemiah cared too much about the honor of His God and the welfare of his people to enjoy his comfortable situation while the city of His God and nation lay in physical and spiritual ruins.
Thankfully, the news which so shook Nehemiah that it initially caused him to have to sit down in order to process what he had just heard, also prompted Nehemiah to kneel down before the Lord in prayer.
We are told in the later part of verse 4 that Nehemiah began that day to fast and pray “before the God of heaven” on behalf of his nation and people. We will look at the prayer life of Nehemiah in more detail in the next chapter.
[1] Merril F. Unger, The New Unger’s Bible Handbook.
[2] See Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
[3] It is commonly reported by historians that Macedonian forces under Alexander the Great discovered 180,00 talents of gold in the treasuries of Persepolis (a talent weighs 57 lbs.). **See Paul Cartledge’s Alexander the Great for additional information about the Macedonian conquest of Persia.
[4] As a result of Clara Barton’s work in caring for the sick and wounded during the American Civil War, the Red Cross was later established in 1881.
[5] Robert Raikes was the editor and publisher of the Gloucester Journal.
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