Nehemiah 2:17
Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
Nehemiah points to the broken walls and burned gates of Jerusalem as a shared distress and public disgrace, with the returned exiles living in affliction and reproach that hindered restoration, disturbed worship, kept the people in alarm, and dishonored their religion and their God before the surrounding heathen. Having first viewed the ruin himself on a secret midnight circuit, he describes it with firsthand accuracy to awaken the people to their condition and calls them to join together in rebuilding the wall so they will suffer reproach no longer. He lays before them how affliction heard in a distant land led to prayer, to a purpose formed in prayer to ask the king for leave to help, and to an answer showing the plan to be of the Lord, so the work rests on the combined authority of the God of Israel and the Persian king and the question is whether they will seize the favorable opportunity and arise and build. Though bearing a royal commission, he does not depend on authority but seeks to gain their confidence and sympathy and to awaken dormant energy, because unity of purpose and union of hearts as well as of hands are essential to the work. The call teaches that in advancing God's cause His people may ask those in authority for help, and that rebuilding requires persevering, loyal, united effort in God's strength against repeated hindrance, trusting that adversaries cannot stop the work and that the enemy gains entry only if those within open the way.
Ruin, Reproach, and Setting
Nehemiah's call to rebuild came after a safe journey to Jerusalem under the power of the Persian king. Royal letters to the provincial governors secured for him honorable reception and prompt assistance, and a military escort marked his coming as an important mission. His arrival stirred jealousy and close, critical watching by the heathen tribes near the city. Foremost among them were Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, who endeavored to thwart his plans and hinder the work.
The distress of which he spoke was the condition of the returned exiles, living in affliction and reproach while much of the city wall lay in ruins. The broken walls hindered restoration, disturbed the temple services, and kept the people in alarm. The wasted city, ruined walls, and burned gates were a shared distress and a public disgrace before the surrounding heathen. To be a reproach among those nations meant that the people's religion was dishonored and their God was blasphemed.
The appeal itself was made in the morning, after a secret midnight circuit of the walls that had not been told to the people. Because the city had been seen firsthand, its condition could be described with an accuracy and minuteness that astonished the hearers. The impression left by Jerusalem's weakness and degradation gave earnestness and power to the words.
Call to Arise and Build
The verse holds up Jerusalem's ruin and shame as the reason to act, calling the people to see their condition and join together in rebuilding the wall so they will suffer reproach no longer. Its ruined walls and burned gates are presented as a shared distress and public disgrace, and the call is to recognize that distress and to work together to remove it.
Before that wider appeal, the call was first shared privately with a few men known to be worthy of confidence. To them were told the circumstances that had led to coming to Jerusalem, the object to be accomplished, and the plans proposed to follow, and by that disclosure their interest was enlisted and their assistance secured for building up the wall.
The appeal then set before the people that affliction heard of in a distant land had led to entreating Heaven's favor on their behalf. While praying the purpose had been formed to ask permission from the king to come to their assistance, with the further request that authority be granted and needed help be given for the work, and the answer came in a manner showing the plan was of the Lord. Thus sustained by the combined authority of the God of Israel and the Persian king, the people were asked directly whether they would take the favorable opportunity and arise and build. The thought of how Heaven's favor had been manifested put fear to shame, so that with new courage they answered with one voice to rise up and build.
That course teaches that in advancing God's cause His people may ask those in authority for help, as shown by asking the king for assistance to carry the work forward. Although holding a royal commission requiring the inhabitants to cooperate, the appeal did not depend on authority. It sought instead to gain the confidence and sympathy of the people and to awaken dormant energy and unite scattered numbers, because unity of purpose and union of hearts as well as of hands and shared effort were essential to the work.
The call to rebuild looks to persevering, loyal, united effort in God's strength against repeated hindrance, with the resolve that adversaries will not stop the work. The enemy can gain entry only if those within open the way, so opposition should lead God's people to rely on Him more firmly and to work more determinedly. The rebuilding in fact met repeated hindrances and was at times nearly stopped, but prayers were heard and the way was opened for the work to continue. The same pattern applies to later difficulties such as those faced in moving the publishing work from Battle Creek.
The ruined defenses also picture the church's spiritual condition. As with Jerusalem's walls, those who see its evils with clear spiritual vision should recognize the need to remedy them rather than grow accustomed to them.