Nehemiah was the cupbearer for king Artexerxes from the Persian empire where the Israelites had been scattered after the destruction of Jerusalem. They had been taken to Babylon and then had subsequently became part of the Persian empire as the Persians came to conquer Babylon.
Now, as Nehemiah was carrying out his duties for king Artexerxes in Susa, one of the royal capitals of the Persian empire, he received some visitors who had come from Judah, the area where Jerusalem is found. Nehemiah wanted to know about the state of Judah and Jerusalem since it had been conquered more than a century before. Unfortunately, the men, the vistors, gave him a difficult answer. They reported that the wall of Jerusalem was still broken down, the gates had remained burnt, and the result was that the people that remained there in Jerusalem were in trouble and disgrace.
Nehemiah broke down crying, mourning, and in sadness. He has received terrible news that his homeland laid in ruin. It had now been over 140 years since the time that Jerusalem had been destroyed, and while Nehemiah had personally grown up living in another empire, his desire to rebuild the city of his ancestors remained strong.
When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 1:4
Nehemiah wept for his ancestors. He was broken-hearted for the city of Jerusalem. Yes, he served the king of Persia, but he was also concerned about his countrymen and the state of the city of his heritage.
This made me think today… Nehemiah was concerned about the state of Jerusalem enough to make him mourn, fast, and pray. In fact, his sorrow motivated him to make a plan to do something about the situation. He was scared to ask the king for permission to go and rebuild the walls, but yet his motivation to fix the situation was so great that he would overcome his fear, overcome that which could have held him back so that he could accomplish the mission that God had given him to do.
Few other people, including the people who even lived there in Jerusalem, including the people that lived there in Judah, felt the same motivation that Nehemiah felt. No one else in the entire set territories that surrounded Jerusalem felt the same sorrow. Yet Nehemiah had a sense that there was something deeply wrong: Jerusalem’s walls had been broken down and its gates were in ruin, having been destroyed by fire. Few others, if any, felt motivated to change the situation, but Nehemiah had been shaken to his core and he would heed the call from God to go to change the situation in Jerusalem.
So I ask myself, and I think that many, many more of us should ask ourselves… Do we have this same sense of the spiritual ruins that we have all around us today? In many countries, including those that we would call “Christian” countries, we might have .5%, 1%, or possibly a maximum of 5% who call themselves Christians, and even fewer who are following Christ.
Do we feel that? Do we have a sense of mourning? Do we fast and pray to the extent that we would make a plan to go and do something about the situation? Do we realize that this means that 95%, 99%, or 99.5% of people do not know Christ? Do we realize that this means that this percentage of people do not know the way to the Father, and if we truly believe what Jesus says, cannot come to the Father?
Do we care? Do we care that this is an eternal reality for these people? Do we care that the kingdom of God is missing so many people? So many nations? So many tribes and languages?
Or do we, instead, shrug our shoulders and just accept the situation to be as it is?
Nehemiah was moved to make a plan. He had become a man who was changed by the news of the destruction around him. He wasn’t a contractor. As far as we know, he wasn’t a builder. He didn’t have much experience, but that didn’t matter. He was moved to change the situation to make it as it should be, to correct the problems as they were presented. Nehemiah mourned, fasted, and prayed, and then he made his plan and went to do what God had called him to do.
So what can we learn? Are we moved by the spiritual devastation around us? Will we mourn, fast, and pray, then move to make Christ known among all of the nations?
One reply on “I mourned and fasted and prayed”
Thanks Ryan – “siamo d’accordo” Been preaching this text in the states on furlough: Romans 10:1-4 (NKJV) 1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.