THE JEWS UNDER NEHEMIAH.
Nehemiah’s Petition—Building the Wall—Reading of the
Scriptures—Nehemiah Reforms Abuses.
Many years had passed since the events recorded in the last chapter
had taken place. Ahasuerus was dead, and Artaxerxes his son reigned on
the throne of Persia. Ezra had for about ten years been pursuing his
labours at Jerusalem, when the Lord raised up another leader for his
people in the court of Shushan.
Nehemiah, one of the Jewish exiles, held the responsible office of
cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes. He was a devout servant of God, and an
earnest and devoted patriot. Amidst the splendours of a royal palace,
his thoughts recurred often to his suffering brethren at Jerusalem,
and ardently did he desire the prosperity of the city of David.
[Illustration: PERSIAN CUP-BEARER.]
These feelings were kindled into a warmer glow by the report which
Nehemiah received from some of his countrymen who had returned from
Judea. From them he heard that the remnant of the people that were
left in Zion were in great affliction and reproach; that the wall of
Jerusalem lay in ruins; that its gates had been burned with fire; and
that aid from their brethren beyond the Euphrates was urgently needed
by the Jews in the city.
This aid Nehemiah was anxious to give, but felt apprehensive of
difficulties in the way; not the difficulty of quitting the pleasures
and luxuries of the magnificent palace in which he held so honourable
a place, but that of obtaining the consent of his royal master to his
departure for the land of Judea. It is said that the nearest way to
reach any heart is through Heaven; such had been the experience of
Esther, such now was the experience of Nehemiah. Fervently and humbly
he entreated the Lord to give him favour in the sight of the king.
The anxiety which oppressed the noble Jew, expressed itself in his
countenance, when, in accordance with his office, he placed the
wine-cup in the hand of Artaxerxes. The king noticed his servant’s look
of depression, and inquired its cause.
“Let the king live for ever,” replied Nehemiah; “why should not my
countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my father’s sepulchres,
lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?”
Then said the king to him, “For what dost thou make request?”
Nehemiah silently lifted up his heart in prayer ere he made his reply
to the monarch:—“If it please the king, and if thy servant have found
favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the
city of my father’s sepulchres, that I may build it.”
Artaxerxes received the petition with favour. He not only permitted
the departure of Nehemiah, but provided for him an escort, and gave
him letters to the officers of government on the other side of the
Euphrates, 457 B.C. It is from the year in which the Persian monarch
issued his decree, permitting the rebuilding of Jerusalem, that is
dated the commencement of the weeks of prophetic years, at the close of
which the Lord Jesus was crucified (Dan. ix. 25).
Nehemiah soon found, on his arrival at Jerusalem, that his position
there would be one of great difficulty, requiring both judgment and
courage. The enemies of the Jews, especially Sanballat the Horonite,
and Tobiah the Ammonite, were possessed of power, cunning, and the most
determined resolution to prevent the rebuilding of the ruined wall.
It was in the stillness of night that a single horseman, accompanied
by a few attendants on foot, passed out through the gate of the
valley. Thoughtfully he rode on where in ancient and happier times the
bulwarks of Jerusalem had stood. He gazed sorrowfully on the blackened
ruins over which the Assyrian conquerors had passed. But it was not
to mourn in unavailing woe over the desolation of his country that
Nehemiah made that midnight survey. That which was ruined he resolved
to repair, and, with the blessing of God, to encircle the city once
more with a protecting wall.
By his words, and yet more by his example, Nehemiah animated his
countrymen to exertion. The circuit of Jerusalem was portioned out
to the most zealous of the people, and each in his own division set
heartily to work. In vain Sanballat and Tobiah tried to discourage
the builders by representing their patriotic efforts as rebellion
against Persia. In vain, time after time, they endeavoured to entice
Nehemiah into a village, that they might deprive the Jews of him who
was the life and soul of their undertaking. “I am doing a great work,
so that I cannot come down,” was Nehemiah’s answer to their insidious
proposals. A yet deeper snare was laid. Nehemiah was warned of a plot
to assassinate him, and was urged to fly to the temple. But again the
brave leader’s self-devotion defeated the schemes of his enemies.
“Should such a man as I flee?” he exclaimed; “and who is he that being
as I am, would go into the temple to save his life?”
The adversaries tried the effect of mockery and scorn. As they viewed
the unceasing labours of the builders, “Will they,” cried Sanballat,
“revive the stones out of the rubbish that is burned?” “If a fox come
up,” rejoined the insolent Tobiah, “he shall even break down their
stone wall.” But notwithstanding this hatred and scorn, the wall rose
higher and higher. Then the bitter adversaries of the Jews resolved to
use weapons more formidable than words, and conspired to attack the
builders. The peril was great, but Nehemiah and his followers were
equal to the occasion. A watch was kept both by night and by day; they
that builded the wall, and they that bare burdens, each with one hand
wrought in the work, and with the other grasped a weapon for defence.
Nehemiah, ever on the watch against the foe, changed not his garments,
but lay down night after night in his daily attire, prepared to start
up at the first sound of danger. He kept a trumpeter at his side, and
said to the nobles and the people, “The work is great and large, and
we are separated one far from another; in what place therefore that ye
hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall
fight for us!”
[Illustration: ANCIENT BUILDING TOOLS.]
By the indefatigable exertions of these devoted men, in the short space
of fifty-two days the wall was completed. The enemies were cast down
and discouraged, for they perceived that this work was of God.
And so, in the midst of a world that despises and hates them, God’s
people, through all generations, pursue the work that is given them to
do; with one hand, as it were, armed to fight against besetting sins
and inward corruptions, the other busily engaged in works of piety and
love. He that will not fight, is unworthy to labour; he that will not
labour is unprepared to fight. It is they who, through faith, conquer
sin and self, that are found most zealous in every good work.
The liberality of Nehemiah was equal to his activity and courage. With
free hospitality he daily entertained at his own table a hundred and
fifty of the Jews. This, and other expenses, Nehemiah defrayed from his
own purse, refusing to draw from the people even the allowances due
to his office. This generous conduct strengthened his influence, and
enabled him with more boldness to denounce and crush a hateful system
of usury which prevailed at this time amongst the richer Jews, who
took advantage of the wants of their brethren, to take from them their
lands, and even their freedom. Nehemiah induced his countrymen to enter
into a solemn covenant with the Lord—a covenant to obey all the law, to
refrain from marriages with the heathen, to bring due offerings to the
temple, and to keep the Sabbath holy.
A reverence was shown for the Scriptures, which was one of the most
encouraging signs of reviving religion. A pulpit of wood was erected
in one of the streets of Jerusalem, and from this, from morning till
noonday, Ezra the priest read aloud from the book of the law of Moses.
The multitude of listeners was immense; all the people gathered
themselves together as one man to hearken to the word of the Lord. When
Ezra opened the book in the sight of this vast crowd, all reverently
stood up to listen. When he blessed the Lord the great God, a loud,
fervent Amen burst from the dense mass of the people, thousands of
hands were lifted up towards heaven, and then the multitudes of Judah
bowed their heads and worshipped with their faces to the ground.
After some time spent in labours for his country, Nehemiah returned to
the court of Persia, having received only leave of temporary absence.
But the disorders which again crept in amongst the backsliding Jews
necessitated a second journey to Jerusalem, 434 B.C. Notwithstanding
the strict law which forbade the entrance of Ammonites and other
heathens into the temple, the high priest Eliashib, being allied to
Tobiah, had actually prepared for him a chamber in the courts of
the house of the Lord! The Sabbath was by many disregarded; the
wine-press was trodden, burdens carried, and merchandise sold on the
day that was holy to God. The Levites were neglected, their dues were
unpaid, and again some of the Jews had fallen into the grievous sin of
intermarrying with idolaters.
Nehemiah suppressed these disorders with a firm and judicious hand,
strengthening himself by prayer, and supported in all his difficulties
and labours by the consciousness of the presence of that Almighty Being
whom he was humbly endeavouring to serve.
CONTEMPORANEOUS EVENTS.
B.C.
Decemvirs banished from Rome 449
Battering-ram invented 441