《The Biblical Illustrator – Nehemiah (Ch.0~13)》(A Compilation)
General Introduction
Over 34,000 pages in its original 56 volume printing, the Biblical Illustrator is a massive compilation of treatments on 10,000 passages of Scripture. It is arranged in commentary form for ease of use in personal study and devotion, as well as sermon preparation.
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While this commentary is not known for its Greek or Hebrew exposition, the New Testament includes hundreds of references to, and explanations of, Greek words.
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00 Overview
NEHEMIAH
INTRODUCTION
THE modem critics are probably right in their conclusion that Ezra and Nehemiah were compiled from memoranda of those two persons, who were Tirshathas, i.e., governors under the Persian kings, and other contemporary historical documents. But their conclusion does no more than confirm the previous opinion on the subject. It is evident that certain sections of the Book of Nehemiah are the personal work of Nehemiah, and if we could think of him as keeping a diary, we should say there were selected pages from his diary. But it is also certain that the literary genius of the compiler of Chronicles and Ezra is strongly marked in the other sections of Nehemiah and in the general setting and arrangement of the whole work. The very retention of the first person in the extracts which he selects is an evidence of the work of this compiler. We may therefore reasonably assume that, while some of the material was the work of Nehemiah, the book, as we have it, shows the editing of Ezra, and was designed by him to form a historical supplement to his larger work.
Thirteen years after the arrival in Jerusalem of the party from Babylon that was led by Ezra, Nehemiah appeared at Jerusalem. On the whole, it seems most probable that Ezra was not in Jerusalem at the time, but returned soon afterwards. Nehemiah came with the authority of Tirshatha, and with a definite purpose, which he judged it prudent to keep secret for a time. The first six chapters contain an account of the circumstances which led to his visiting Jerusalem; the scheme by which he came to know the condition of the city wall, his successful plan for restoring the wall ; the resistance he met with, and the skilful way in which he outwitted, and overcame, the national enemies. The seventh chapter is a genealogy after the manner of Ezra, and the materials for it, we can hardly doubt, were furnished by him. From the eighth chapter Ezra is associated with Nehemiah, and the influence of Ezra is especially marked in the chapters from the eighth to the end. There are signs of his characteristic priestly interest, and his fondness for genealogical tables. The point of view in Nehemiah is clearly the same as that we have recognised in Chronicles and Ezra.
The Date of the Work, so far as collecting and putting together the sections is concerned, must be the later years of Ezra’s life ; but the re-editing which put the book into its present form may be dated at least a century later.
We meet with the same difficulty here that we had to consider when dealing with the genealogy from David in the Books of Chronicles. Some names in these genealogical lists come down to a period long posterior to Nehemiah. Jaddua, for instance, was high-priest at least a century later than Nehemiah. But the explanation previously given will apply with equal force to this difficulty.
Personal History of Nehemiah
Very little is known of the personal history of Nehemiah, but a very fair estimate of his character may be formed from the pages of his diary which have been preserved. His office, as cup-bearer at the Persian Court, was an honourable one, and he was evidently held in confidence and esteem by the king. He must have been in position of wealth and influence. “He was a man of profound piety, connecting everything, great or small, with the will of God.” But the interjectional prayers which habitually occur in his diary indicate a somewhat weak self-consciousness. The truly noble man does right in simple loyalty and love, and does not think about its being accepted and rewarded. This indicates the week side of an otherwise strong and vigorous individuality. “His prudence was equally marked ; and there is no better example of dependence on God, united with practical forethought. He was disinterested and unselfish, and there is not the slightest reference to self apart from the common good . . . He always appeals to the judgment of a merciful God, and that appeal avails against much hard modern criticism which dwells on his alleged asperity, self-confidence, and self-assertion.” (W. B. Pope, D. D.)
Dean Stanley says: “There is a pathetic cry, again and stain repeated throughout this rare autobiographical sketch, hardly found elsewhere in the Hebrew records, which shows the current of his thoughts, as though at every turn he feared that those self-denying, self-forgetting labours might pass away, that his countrymen of the future might be as ungrateful as his countrymen of the present. ‘Think upon me, my God, for good.’”
G. Rawlinson writes: “It has been said that in the character of Nehemiah it is almost impossible to detect a single fault, But this praise is a little exaggerated. Nehemiah’s nature was strongly emotional, and he did not always control his emotions sufficiently. His ‘fiery soul’ was sometimes ‘roused to burning frenzy.’ In these fits of passion, he forgot the calmness and dignified behaviour which befits a governor. He may ‘do well to be angry,’ but he does it to be vindictive. And he is a little too self-satisfied and self-complacent. He contrasts with somewhat too evident self-approval his own conduct in his government with that of former governors. And there is a tinge of Pharisaism in some of his prayers.”
Contents of the Book
The Book of Nehemiah may be roughly divided into three sections.
I. Chaps. 1-7., comprising the narrative of Nehemiah’s appointment to office, his rebuilding, in spite of opposition, the walls of Jerusalem, and his purpose of bringing the people to an orderly settlement.
II. Chaps. 8-10, contain an account of certain religious solemnities.
III. Chaps. 11-13. are made up of various lists, appointments, and settlements, with a recital of some acts of Nehemiah’s administration on resuming his post. (Ayre.)
Nehemiah’s first administration at Jerusalem lasted twelve years. Then he returned to the Persian Court. After some years, variously estimated from five to nine years, he was permitted to resume his office at Jerusalem, and endeavour to redress the abuses which had grown up during his absence. It is probable that he spent the remainder of his life at Jerusalem, but of his death and burial no record has been preserved. Beyond the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, to which Nehemiah’s own narrative leads us, we have no account of Nehemiah whatever.
01 Chapter 1
Verses 1-3
Verses 1-11
Nehemiah 1:1-11
The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.
The royal cup-bearer
I. Let us notice the words alluded to by Nehemiah. They were as follows: “And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year,” etc.
1. You observe that the time and the place of this conversation are given. It was at Shushan or Susa, the winter residence of the King of Persia.
2. There are places and periods that stand out more prominently than others in the history of most of us. “It came to pass in the month Chisleu,” etc.
3. The particular matter referred to was a conversation he had with a kinsman of his, and with other co-religionists lately come from Palestine, respecting the state of the Jews there, “and concerning Jerusalem.” Nehemiah was not indifferent to his country’s condition. It was a twofold question that he put.
II. Let us notice the emotion of Nehemiah on hearing the tidings alluded to. “I sat down and wept,” he says, “and mourned certain days, and fasted.” He also adds, “and prayed before the God of heaven.” He wept. Nor was it weak or unmanly for him to do so. “His was the tear most sacred shed for others’ pain.” To weep at trifles, or at fictitious sorrows, may be effeminate; but ‘twas no trifle, no imaginary sorrow, that now drew tears from Nehemiah.
1. His grief was further manifested by lamentation and fasting.
2. It was a profound grief which seized him.
3. It was a somewhat prolonged as well as profound grief. It lasted, at any rate, certain days.
4. It was a patriot’s grief.
5. Again, it was a penitent grief.
6. Nehemiah’s grief reminds us of another and yet more touching spectacle, the tears which Jesus shed over Jerusalem.
“And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it,” etc.
III. In the third place, let us look at the prayer which Nehemiah was thus prompted to offer, Let us learn that the province of prayer is not restricted to things spiritual. It embraces the affairs of everyday life, and all lawful undertakings great and small. (T. Rowson.)
The typical patriot
Nehemiah the civilian, as contrasted with Ezra the ecclesiastic, is brought before us in this book as the patriot deliverer of his people.
I. The typical patriot Is purely disinterested in principle. Personal ambition is sunk in desire for public good. Selfish motives are abandoned for generous impulses.
1. This does not prevent his rising to a position of honour even in an alien country. A good man is valued anywhere. Fidelity to convictions ever commands respect apart from the merit of the convictions themselves. Honour from an alien chief can only be allowed to the true patriot conditionally--
2. He is always ready to surrender personal honour for his people’s good--
1. By obedience we make the most stubborn laws of nature our servants.
2. By patience foes may be transformed into friends.
3. By the discipline of adversity the foundations of prosperity are laid.
II. The typal patriot is large-hearted in his sympathies.
1. He manifests a real interest in the condition of his country (verse 2). The words imply--
2. He takes upon himself the burden of his country’s woes (verse 4).
III. The typal patriot recognises divine sovereignty in human affairs.
1. By accepting the existence and authority of the King of kings. Not only as--
2. By regarding Divine aid as superior to all other.
Nehemiah seeks Divine assistance in urging his suit in his approaching interview with the king--
(a) That he may reach the monarch’s will by the most accessible channel.
(b) That he may approach him at the most accessible moment.
(c) That he may urge his request in the most prevalent form.
3. By regarding Divine aid as available through prayer. Nehemiah’s prayer is one of the model prayers of the Bible, as--
Learn--
1. Nehemiah is a type of Him who “though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor,” etc.
2. Intercessory prayer is the inspiration and the evidence of true patriotism.
3. Divine interposition is the safest to invoke in national crises. (W. H. Booth.)
The pious patriot
He was willing, moreover, to make no little sacrifice in the cause of patriotism. Even in asking the king for leave of absence on such a mission, he was probably risking the royal displeasure. No one could well predict how an Oriental despot would be likely to regard such a request. All might depend on the whim or caprice of the moment. That Nehemiah should wish to exchange Susa for Jerusalem--that he should desire to quit, even for a time, the sunlight of the royal presence which was condescending to shine upon him--might possibly be viewed as an insult. The very fact that he was a favourite might only increase the royal irritation. A tyrant likes his pets to appreciate their privileges; and Nehemiah, by asking for leave of absence, might only lose the royal favour and be deposed from his office. Then, again, even if his request should be granted, he would have to sacrifice for a time all the luxury and ease of his present position; he would have to subject himself to toil and danger; he would have to face the arduous journey between Susa and Jerusalem; and then, after arriving in the city of his fathers, he would have to confront the hostility of the surrounding tribes, and might even have to exchange the courtier’s robes for the soldier’s armour. But all these sacrifices Nehemiah was prepared to make in the cause of patriotism. His court life had not enervated his spirit. An intelligent and manly piety does not destroy or despise any of the natural affections. There is, indeed, a “pietism” which makes light of the ties of home and kindred, which disparages patriotism, as if it were inconsistent with the universal love inspired by the gospel, or which even ventures to taboo politics as a worldly region which a spiritual man ought rather to avoid. Let us beware of this false spirituality. The world of natural human relationships is God’s world, and not the devil’s; and if the devil has intruded into it, there is all the more need that it should be occupied by the earnest soldiers of God. Pietism may say, “Never mind the condition of the walls of Jerusalem: souls are the grand concern.” But, in point of fact, the condition of walls may sometimes affect the condition of souls. Things external often stand in subtle relation to things spiritual. The body influences the mind; and the outward conditions of national existence may stand in the closest connection with the religious life of a people. Besides, it Ii natural that we should love our own country with a special affection; and a true religion does not destroy but consecrates all natural attachments. On the other hand, there are many politicians who are no patriots, and there is also a patriotism in which there is no godliness, There are men who take the keenest interest in politics merely because it furnishes an arena for the exercise of their faculties, the display of their talents, and the furtherance of their ambitions. And there are also true patriots--real lovers of their country--who yet never recognise the hand of God in national history, who never think of praying to God in connection with their plans, or of submitting their political projects and methods to the test of His will. Now, if a man’s patriotism is his only religion, this is doubtless better than that his “god” should be his “belly,” and that he should “glory in his shame.” But still, this patriotism in which there is no regard for God is fraught with danger. For the grand and prime demand on every one of us is that we be the servants of the Most High, the soldiers of Christ, the loyal subjects of the Divine kingdom. And then it is our bounden duty to serve God in and through all our natural pursuits, affections, and relationships, and, amongst other things, to bring all our political theories, aims, and methods into the light of Christ and of His Spirit. We want, both in the Church and in the commonwealth, men and women in whom, as in Nehemiah of old, piety and patriotism are blended and intertwined. (T. C. Finlayson.)