Nehemiah 1:3
And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
Messengers from Judah came to Nehemiah in Persia in a distant land with news that Jerusalem, the chosen city, had entered days of severe and special trial and affliction. The remnant left of the captivity are the exiles who had returned, the few inhabitants still left in the province, living in deep suffering and shameful humiliation, in great distress and reproach. Although the second temple had been rebuilt and portions of the city restored, the city wall still lay largely broken down in ruins and the gates remained destroyed by fire, leaving the capital fast becoming a desolate place.
Without defenses the people lived in constant alarm, prosperity and the work of restoration were hindered and impeded, and even the temple services were disturbed. The few remaining inhabitants were daily embittered by idolatrous attackers who taunted and mocked them by questioning where their God was. This ruin came because the sins and transgressions of Israel had separated them from God. Unwilling to aid them in sin, He let them become powerless and confused under heathen control and captivity, and He would not work through those who refused wholehearted service with singleness of purpose and corrupted their ways.
God worked through Nehemiah because he honored God and held unwaveringly to principle, true as steel, making him fit to oppose false principles and restore God-given, heaven-born principles that had been displaced and supplanted. The grievous and evil tidings overwhelmed Nehemiah with sorrow and moved him to pray for favor. As he prayed he formed a plan to seek the king's permission, authority and practical help, and the answered prayer showed the rebuilding work to be divinely directed, leading him to urge the people to seize the opportunity and rebuild the wall the broken defenses required.
The broken walls and burned gates also portray a church grown accustomed to uncorrected evils, whose damaged condition is recognized only with divinely enlightened and illuminated discernment.