Chapter 2 (provision)

The entire Bible is a history of God's providence.

Chapter 2 starts off several months after the close of chapter 1 (I think that was in an earlier post). In that time Nehemiah has been praying and planning what he will do about the destruction of Jerusalem. He realizes that prayer is essential (as we discussed in the last posting) but he also realizes that he has some responsibility of his own.

After five months of prayer Nehemiah puts his plan into action when Artaxerxes asks him why he is so sad in his presence (v. 2). As soon as the king asks that Nehemiah is given an opportunity to make a move. He could have thrown up his hands and say "I quit!" and stormed out. He could have been angry and vented to the king and gotten himself into a mess of things. He could have told the king what was wrong and waited for him to do something about it.

But Nehemiah is faithful and prepared. He puts it plainly and personally for the king without going overboard. Nehemiah draws Artaxerxes along a trail of question and answer and eventually gets permission to rebuild his city. Not only permission but also the blessing and the materials and the security of the king. We'll talk about that in a bit.

Throughout this whole exchange Nehemiah never loses focus on God. He is praying during the conversation (v. 4) and when things are finished he realizes it is only because of God's good grace (v. 8). How often, after we have done something good, do we praise ourselves more than God? We serve a sovereign God. How will we respond when things go right? How will we respond when things go wrong?

Nehemiah planned in the five months of prayer. In verses 7 and 8 he asks the king for wood to build the doors of the city and for safe passage through the Trans-Euphrates area (those people didn't like the Jews and had tried to stop Jerusalem from being rebuild already [Ezra 4:11-16]). How often do we think that God will do everything for us? God loves us like that but he also wants us to grow up. So often we follow the direction of our hearts and think that if it's God's will then it will work out. While parts of that are true we can't ignore our responsibility in life. If we have been praying for the salvation of a friend and see no progress the first place we should look is to see how well we are witnessing to them rather than ask why God hasn't spoken to them "out of the whirlwind". If we are praying for a good future spouse we can't be messing around with other options in our dating world and being irresponsible with our bodies. If we are asking God to bless our feet and our paths we have to be faithful to walk in His light and in His goodness.

How are you doing with God's provision? Are you faithful? Are you responsible? Does your life reflect your God? Do your choices reflect what God has for you? When you pray do you mean it and do you remember it? Be faithful.

Psalms 20