PRUDENCE IN GOD’S WORK

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on September 11, 2019 under PM Bible Study |

PM Bible Study Group: September 11, 2019 from Nehemiah 2:11-20

Theme: Nehemiah is an example of how to get God’s work done ‘prudently’—that is, by thoughtful prayer, careful planning, informed persuasion, and determined protection.

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

Nehemiah was a great leader; and there is much we can learn from him.

In the first chapter, we learned what a man of passion he was for his people—and for God’s cause for them. It was in that first chapter that we learned of how his heart was broken over the need of his people—and for the honor of God. Even though he was far away—serving as the cup-bearer of the Persian king Artaxerxes—he could not bear the thought that the wall of Jerusalem remained broken down and burnt, and that the people of God still bore dishonor. Then, in the first half of the second chapter, we learned of what a man of prayer he was. It was because of his faithful prayers that God granted him favor in the sight of the king; and that God granted His good hand to him in that the king gave him support in his desire to rebuild the wall.

And now, in the second half of chapter two, we find that Nehemiah was also a man of prudence. ‘Prudence’ is not a word we hear much anymore, but it’s a thing that is very much needed today—especially among those who serve in our Lord’s cause. To be ‘prudent’ means to be skillful and wise in the management of a task or of resources. Proverbs 18:15 says, “The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” It involves a measure of caution—not hurrying or rushing into situations or tasks recklessly; and it involves a measure of shrewdness—thinking ahead and keeping circumspect in one’s work. Both Proverbs 22:3 and 27:12 are identical in telling us, “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.”

Now; Nehemiah must have been a very remarkable man to have been the cupbearer of the king of a world empire. He must have already had developed and matured as a ‘prudent’ man. That may be why God raised him up for the particular work of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 2:11-20 tell us the story of how Nehemiah began the great work of leading his people in rebuilding the city wall; and in it we find that he showed himself to be a leader who did his work with sanctified ‘prudence’.

So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.

Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?” So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 2:11-20).

Looking carefully at Nehemiah’s actions in this passage, we find that he went about God’s work in a prudent way—that is, by thoughtful prayer, careful planning, informed persuasion, and even determined protection of the work from those who would harm its progress.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Notice first how Nehemiah took the time to engage in …

1. THOUGHTFUL PRAYER (v. 11).

Admittedly, this is something that we can only recognize in this passage by inference. But it would be a very valid inference—given what we already know about the man Nehemiah.

Back in verses 9-10, we’re told that Nehemiah began his journey to Jerusalem from the king’s palace in Shushan. In Ezra 7:8-9, we’re told that this journey took 5 months. It may or may not have taken Nehemiah that long; but we can be sure that it took some time. And we can also be sure that Nehemiah—an already-established man of prayer (1:4-11; 2:4)—would have spent much of the journey praying for God’s good hand of success upon the work. And now, when we come to 2:11, we read, “So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.” We can safely assume that those three days were not spent in idle rest. Nehemiah gave himself a few days before beginning the work; and they were—no doubt—characterized by deep prayer for the city that he had come to serve.

The Bible tells us, in Psalm 37:5, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” The word “commit” here means ‘to roll off onto’ the Lord. And how better can we do that than with our prayers? Indeed; how foolish to do otherwise! As Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” May we learn to follow Nehemiah’s good ‘inferred’ example of thoughtful prayer. It is a key characteristic of godly prudence!

Another characteristic is …

2. CAREFUL PLANNING (vv. 12-16).

You see; even after Nehemiah spent three days in the city—spending that time, we rightly suspect, in prayer—he still did not simply jump up and call everyone together to begin the work. Even though he had the full support of the king of Persia, he didn’t simply rush in. It would have been reckless to have done so. Instead, he took the time to gather accurate information.

In verse 12, he wrote, “Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode.” It may be that some of the people of Jerusalem were curious about why he had come and what his plans were; but he still did not say anything. He was careful not to bring extra animals; so as to avoid attention to himself. He even went out in the cover of evening to investigate the situation:

And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned (vv. 13-15).

It would be very hard to trace Nehemiah’s exact route many centuries later; but he appears to have started on the south-western side of the wall, traveled down through the Valley of Gehennah in the south, and then northward up the eastern side along the Kidron Valley (map taken from Derek Kidner, Ezra & Nehemiah, TOTC [Downers Grove, IL, 1979] p. 85):

He would have seen first-hand the sad condition of the wall. And even then, he didn’t make any announcements. We’re told in verse 16, “And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.”

Nehemiah shows great wisdom in this. To have run off to the leaders uniformed—and especially since they may not have known him all that well—would have been reckless and ineffective. Proverbs 13:16 says, “Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool lays open his folly.” Time spent gathering accurate information in God’s work—when combined with prayer—is always time well spent.

Next, we see that Nehemiah’s ‘prudent’ work was characterized by …

3. INFORMED PERSUASION (vv. 17-18).

There came a time when the information-gathering was sufficient. Nehemiah and those who were with him now fully understood the situation. They had looked carefully upon the condition of the wall. And so, he gathered together the Jewish leaders, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the others would do the work;

Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach” (v. 17).

Do you notice that when Nehemiah gave a careful analysis of the situation—and called the leaders to acknowledge the state of things—he did not say, “Now; why don’t all of you guys get to work?” Instead, he used the powerful and persuasive tactic of saying, “Come and let us build the wall”! “Let us …” is a far more powerful and encouraging call than “You should …” They would not be doing this alone. Nehemiah—who felt the burden—would be doing the work with them. (Try that sometime! Instead of telling someone to do something that you want them to do, say, “Come, let’s do this together!” The difference is amazing!)

Nehemiah’s time spent investigating the situation paid off in credibility. But he did more than that. He also informed them of what God had done in bringing this all about. Verse 18 says, “And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.” How encouraging that must have been! Note the careful order of things. It was God who first put this upon his heart and who opened up the way; and then, it was the king who provided the support. What a powerfully persuasive order of events!

And it worked. The leaders echoed Nehemiah’s call; “So they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ Then they set their hands to this good work” (v. 18). They now owned the task—along with Nehemiah. Isn’t this how the Lord Jesus has led us? In the Great Commission, He says;

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you …” (Matthew 28:18-20a).

But He doesn’t leave it at that. He also adds,

“and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (v. 20b).

Now; all of this did not mean that Nehemiah invited or welcomed everyone’s involvement. A leader characterized by godly prudence would never do that. Some people would harm the work if they were permitted to. And so, we see finally that Nehemiah’s leadership is also characterized by …

4. DETERMINED PROTECTION (vv. 19-20).

In verse 19, we meet up with some individuals we encountered in verse 10—along with the addition of one more. Nehemiah writes, “But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, ‘What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?’” Sanballat is a leader from Syria—up in the north. Tobiah is from among the Ammonites along the east of the Jordan River. And historians tell us that Geshem was from the Arabian regions of the south. And so, this plan to rebuild was met with hostile enemies that completely surrounded Jerusalem. They even sought to threaten the people with false reports—that this rebuilding project was all about rebelling against the king of Persia (see Ezra 4). It may have been that this was all because, with the city wall kept in broken condition, these enemy regions hoped eventually to take possession of the city of Jerusalem itself.

Nehemiah responded with a sense of the exclusivity of God’s work: “So I answered them, and said to them, ‘The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem’” (v. 20). These three individuals were leaders from the enemies of the Jewish people. When it’s God’s work, God calls upon His holy people to do it—and a wise leader in God’s work will not allow ungodly and hostile people to enter into it. In speaking to His people at the time of their restoration to the land, God told them;

Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them (Hosea 14:9).

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As we read on in this ‘diary’ of God’s work through him, we’ll find that Nehemiah repeatedly shows these same characteristics of godly prudence: (1) thoughtful prayer, (2) careful planning, (3) informed persuasion, and (4) determined protection. What an example he sets for us.

May we—with God’s help—follow his good pattern in the tasks that God gives us!

EA