‘THE GOOD HAND OF MY GOD’

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on August 14, 2019 under PM Bible Study |

PM Bible Study Group: August 14, 2019 from Nehemiah 2:1-10

Theme: The servants of God’s cause find success only by praying for God’s good hand.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

In Chapter 1 of this Old Testament ‘diary’—the Book of Nehemiah—we were told of how God brought the need of his people to the attention of Nehemiah. He was informed of the broken condition of his people and of the broken city walls; and the news broke his own heart. And now, the first half of Chapter 2 shows us how God—through Nehemiah—brought the need to the attention of the king. Nehemiah 2:1-10 tells us;

And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?” Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Furthermore, I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel (Nehemiah 2:1-10).

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One of the things that stands out greatly about Nehemiah is that he was a man of prayer. His prayers are found throughout this book. Often, they are very brief and to the point. In the first chapter, when the news about his people’s sad condition came to him, it set him immediately to prayer for them. Nehemiah 1:4-11 is, in fact, a record of his prayer. And now, as we see in Chapter 2, he continues to show himself to be a man of faithful prayer—even as he stands before the king.

And in the light of the fact that he is a man of prayer, notice also what it says in 2:8; that the king granted his request for help for his people “according to the good hand of my God upon me.” Is there a connection between the two?—that is, a connection between the success that came from God’s good hand, and the fact that Nehemiah was a man of great prayer? Absolutely! By his prayers, Nehemiah showed that—whatever natural qualities and leadership abilities he had—he was dependent upon God’s ‘good hand’ and must demonstrate that dependency by prayer.

Note how God’s good hand was …

1. SHOWN IN THE KING’S QUESTION (vv. 1-2a).

We’re told in verse 1, “And it came to pass in the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes …” These initial words are important for us to know in order to understand the events of this chapter. In the previous chapter, in verse 1, we’re told that news of Jerusalem’s sad condition came to Nehemiah “in the month of Chislev”. This would mean that there was a four-month period between the time when Nehemiah first heard the news and the time when he appeared with his request before the king. Where might the king have been during that time? It might be that he and his court had been away on travels or for rest; because we’re told that the story picks up again “when wine was before him …”

What might Nehemiah have been doing during all that time? No doubt—being a man of prayer who was so concerned for his people—he kept right on praying; and kept encouraging those who were with him to pray; and kept on waiting and watching for God’s provision of an opportunity. Nehemiah was a Jewish official in the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes. He was the king’s official cup-bearer; and as such, he had the king’s ear in important matters. But request would have been a personal matter—not a matter of the king’s court; and so he had to wait for God’s timing.

The opportune time finally came. Nehemiah wrote that “when wine was brought” before the king—perhaps after several months of the king’s absence—“that I took the wine and gave it to the king.” Now; Nehemiah was, no doubt, very conscious of the manner he was to bear in the king’s court. His occasion of bringing wine to the king appears to have been a private occasion rather than an official royal audience; since the queen was also present (and she, ordinarily, would not be present at a official gathering of the king’s court).

Nehemiah was professional about his work. It was considered a very serious offense to be sad or despondent in the king’s presence at any time—whether officially or privately. It would bring a cloud of gloom over the king and his palace. And worse, it would cause the king concern and suspicion to see his cup-bearer—the man responsible for ensuring the king’s safety in the food he ate—looking sad. It could result in Nehemiah losing his position—or worse, his life. (See a similar law of the Persian king in Esther 4:11.) The care that Nehemiah showed in this is exhibited in his words at the end of verse 1; “I had never been sad in his presence before.”

Nehemiah was, no doubt, wearing the heavy burden of his people upon him; and it showed on his face. And the king would notice it—it being something unusual in his dealings with Nehemiah. Verse 2 tells us, “Therefore the king said to me, ‘Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.’” Note here that, in the providence of God, the king does not cast Nehemiah out or punish him for his manner. Instead, he inquires. God showed His good hand toward Nehemiah in the fact that the king asked and inquired about the matter that concerned him.

It may not have been that Nehemiah was aware that he was looking sad. It certainly doesn’t seem that he bore his sorrow in such a way as to manipulate a response from the king. It seems instead that the king’s question caught Nehemiah by surprise. But it was God’s opportunity. Next, we see how God’s good hand was …

2. SHOWN IN THE KING’S FAVOR (vv. 2b-6).

Given the gravity of Nehemiah’s situation before the king, it’s understandable that we would read, at the end of verse 2, “So I became dreadfully afraid …” But in spite of the fear, Nehemiah trusted that God had heard the prayers he had offered over the previous four months—along with those of others who he had brought into the prayer effort with him (see 1:11). And so, he bravely answered:

and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?” (v. 3).

Some have noted in this that even though the king would most certainly have known where his trusted servant was from, Nehemiah was careful not to mention the name of Jerusalem. Perhaps this was to avoid violating any political sensitivities before the king. But nevertheless, Nehemiah was honest about the burden on his heart. Moreover, it may have been strategic on Nehemiah’s part to mention the city as the place where his fathers’ tombs were; since the tombs of one’s fathers would have registered meaningfully with the Persian monarch.

This was a brave thing for Nehemiah to do. The king could have easily rejected Nehemiah’s concern and cast him out of his presence. But again, we see the ‘good hand of God’ at work. In verse 4a, we read, “Then the king said to me, ‘What do you request?’” Proverbs 21:1 tells us, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” And the God that Nehemiah trusted steered the king’s heart toward the favor of the Jewish people.

Now; we should notice carefully how Nehemiah remained ever a man of prayer. He offered up a kind of prayer that has almost become identified with him. In verse 4, he said, “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” It was a short prayer—offered up suddenly and in the need of the moment. Many of us have called this an ‘arrow prayer’; because it is shot up to God in such a way as to get ‘right to the point’. Some of us call it a ‘Nehemiah prayer’; because it is short, direct, and offered in the midst of the situation. Nehemiah didn’t trust the circumstances that he was in—even though the circumstances suggested that the king was favorable to his cause. Instead, he put his trust in God into action, and asked for God’s help in the way that he responded to the king’s question. We go on to read;

And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time” (vv. 5-6).

God showed His mighty hand in the way that the king asked Nehemiah about his burden. But He further showed His goodness in the way that the king offered his favor to Nehemiah’s request. None of this would have been possible without God’s ‘good hand’; and we can be sure that God’s good hand would have been involved as it was apart from Nehemiah’s faithful prayers. May we learn to pray like Nehemiah—both in the long term, and in the need of the moment!

Now; we’re told that the queen was present in all of this. It might be that the queen was a woman who was favorable to the cause of the Jewish people. After all, a previous king’s wife was a very famous Jewish woman named Esther; and the story of God’s rescue of her people would still have been remembered in the king’s court. It may be that the queen herself was of Jewish descent.

Perhaps the queen’s presence brought influence over yet another way that the good hand of God was demonstrated. It was …

3. SHOWN IN THE KING’S PROVISION AND PROTECTION (vv. 7-10).

Because the king had asked how much time Nehemiah would need, and when he planned to come back, Nehemiah felt free to solidify his request in practical ways. He wrote;

Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me (vv. 7-8).

Nehemiah knew that there were hostile attitudes toward the Jewish people in the lands beyond the Euphrates River. These were the lands that were occupied by a mixed people—people that, after the northern kingdom of Israel had been displaced and scattered, had come and occupied the land. In order to bear authority from the king, he asked for letters that allowed for safe transport. And also, he asked for letters that would allow for the acquisition of the necessary building supplies. And once again, the king granted Nehemiah’s request and gave him all that he asked, “according to the good hand of my God upon me”.

Not only was God’s hand demonstrated in the provision, but also in Nehemiah’s protection. As we read in verses 9-10, we find that this protection was needed:

Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel (vv. 9-10).

Sanballat and Tobiah are names that we will find further on in Nehemiah’s diary. Sanballat was called “the Horonite”; which suggests that he was a man from the region of Horon; north of Judea. Tobiah was an Ammonite; one of the two people groups that came from Abraham’s nephew Lot. The Moabites and the Ammonites were long-time enemies of the people of Israel. In Deuteronomy 23:3-6, God told His people;

“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever, because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever (Deuteronomy 23:3-6).

Nehemiah had good reason, then, to be concerned for the hostility of these two foreign leaders. But God provided protection through the king; so that the work of rebuilding could go on.

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Now; before we bring this study to a close, we should note that, in allowing the king to be favorable to Nehemiah’s request, God set an important prophetic time-clock into motion. Back in the days of the prophet Daniel—when God was about to release His people from their captivity and send them back to their homeland, Daniel was told;

“Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times” (Daniel 9:25).

Unbeknownst to him, King Artaxerxes’ command to allow Nehemiah to go and build the city wall began the first portions of God’s prophetic ‘seventy-weeks’. God’s favor to Nehemiah meant much more than just the immediate concern for the rebuilding of the wall. It meant setting into motion the events that would lead to the coming of King Jesus—and to His eventual rule over this world!

But let’s learn a practical and personal lesson from Nehemiah. There is a connection between God’s good hand of blessing on His people and their faithfulness to pray to Him. May we, like Nehemiah, be a people of prayer—and thus see God’s good hand at work in His time!

EA