The second chapter of Nehemiah opens in the first month of the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes (Darius Hystaspes). Thus, we are able to understand that Nehemiah had been fasting on an off and praying to the Lord, God of the Jews (cp. Nehemiah 1:4) for four months, from the month of Chisleu (Nehemiah 1:1), the ninth month in the Jewish calendar, to Nisan, the first month in the Jewish calendar (Nehemiah 2:1). The word of God tells us: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes (is fulfilled), it is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12; parenthesis mine). Thus, for four months Nehemiah had been at prayer with no apparent results. While he was, indeed, the king’s cupbearer, he couldn’t normally set his requests before the emperor. Nehemiah felt powerless, as far as doing anything about his desire to aid his countrymen, who lived in the province of Judah, was concerned. Therefore, his heart was heavy (Nehemiah 2:1).
Often, the Lord will answer our prayers, when we least expect it, when hope is fading and seems lost. The text says that Nehemiah had never been sad in the presence of the king (Nehemiah 2:1). The statement about Nehemiah’s feelings assumes that, for four long months, he had hoped the Lord would intervene and help the Jews in the province of Judah and renew the building project there at Jerusalem. His sadness, therefore, points to his fading hope, which now appears to be all but lost. To be sad in the king’s presence, when one served him his meal, could be interpreted as an alarm that Nehemiah had an evil intent toward the king. Therefore, the king interrogated him, whereupon Nehemiah, himself, became alarmed (Nehemiah 2:2).
It seems Artaxerxes had already inquired if Nehemiah felt ill, but when it was discovered that he wasn’t sick, the king wanted to know exactly what was bothering his cupbearer. So, the situation was not without tension. At this point, I am reminded of the first weeks of my training in the military. Whenever I had to address a higher-ranking military official, the first word out of my mouth had to be: “Sir…” and then I was to finish what I was about to say, but “Sir…” had to be the first word. It was a matter of respect. Nehemiah was no different. The proper response was: “Let the king live forever…”[1] Then, Nehemiah told Artaxerxes what was troubling him, that the capital city of his fathers, Jerusalem, lay in ruins and its rebuilding had been stopped (Nehemiah 2:3).
Then, Artaxerxes told Nehemiah to make his request known, so Nehemiah made a quick mental prayer to the Lord (Nehemiah 2:4). So, with the usual respectful remarks, Nehemiah asked the king to send him to the province of Judah, to rebuild Jerusalem, the city of his fathers (Nehemiah 2:5).
The matter pleased that king, so he sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem to rebuild the city, after they had set a time for the project and a time for his return to his duties, there, at the palace (Nehemiah 2:6). Moreover, Nehemiah requested letters from Artaxerxes to be given Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest for things that pertained to the building of the Temple at Jerusalem, and what was necessary to build up the walls and gates of the city. He also requested letters addressed to the king’s satraps and governors west of the Euphrates telling them of the king’s command to rebuild Jerusalem, and for a military unit for Nehemiah’s protection to safely convey him to his destination.[2] This request assumes it was common knowledge that the king’s satraps and governors, who ruled west of the Euphrates, had expressed their ill will for the Jewish people in the province of Judah (Nehemiah 2:7-8), and the king was pleased to grant all of Nehemiah’s requests.
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[1] See 1Kings 1:31, Daniel 2:4; 3:9; 5:10; 6:6 and 6:21. It is similar to “God save the king (cp. 1Kings l:25, 34; 1Samuel 10:24; 2Samuel 16:16 etc.), which is used even today when addressing a monarch.
[2] In Ezra 8:22 we are told that Ezra was too embarrassed to request a military unit for his protection from robbers etc., because he had bragged to the king about the power of the Lord God of the Jews. The positions of Ezra and Nehemiah were different. Ezra was a private citizen, who would have needed to ask for the king’s protection. Nehemiah, on the other hand, was the king’s official who would have received military support as a routine or logical course of events. He would have had to refuse the king’s help, not request it, and such a thing would have been an insult to the king. Therefore, the two situations, governing the actions of Nehemiah and later, Ezra, were entirely different. Moreover, the one isn’t wiser nor does the one express greater faith in God than the other.
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