Nehemiah 2:11-20

2. On his arrival, he secretly inspects the city's walls.

TEXT, Nehemiah 2:11-20

11

So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.

12

And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell any one what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding.

13

So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon's Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.

14

Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass.

15

So I went up at night by the ravine and inspected the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned.

16

And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the rest who did the work.

17

Then I said to them, You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer be a reproach.

18

And I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me, and also about the king's words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, Let us arise and build. So they put their hands to the good work.

19

But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?

20

So I answered them and said to them, The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right, or memorial in Jerusalem.

COMMENT

In Nehemiah 2:11, the three days may be compared with Ezra's after a similar journey: Ezra 8:32. It may mean only that Nehemiah arrived one day, rested the next, and after sundown (beginning of the third day) he began his inspection rounds.

Nehemiah 2:12 describes the complete secrecy of this part of the operation. He went under cover at night; he took only a few with him; he told no one why he was going; he took only one animal to ride, to make as little sound as possible. The secrecy was justified, as we gather from Nehemiah 2:19, from the opposition that arose when his tour became known.

All of the locations in Nehemiah 2:13-15 apparently were at the south end of Jerusalem, where two valleys converge to draw the city down to a narrow point. The refuse gate was to the south, possibly directed toward the Valley at Hinnom, the city's garbage dump (Gehenna). The piles of debris effectively blocked his passage eventually, and he was forced to double back before continuing.

Nehemiah 2:16 re-emphasizes his secrecy; he did not even dare to trust any of his countrymen, whether priests, rulers, or labor contractors (the rest who did the work) with his purpose or plans.

In Nehemiah 2:17 he finally shares his burden, probably with those mentioned in Nehemiah 2:16. Note the first person: the bad situation we are in. Come, let us rebuild.. Two reasons seem to be on his mind: (1) to improve their physical situation, and (2) to improve their morale, i.e., take away their reproach, their reason for lacking self-respect and being ashamed.

We watch, in Nehemiah 2:18, as an idea begins with God (- -the hand of God), moves to Nehemiah (had been favorable to me), reaches the king (and also about the king's words.), and arrives at the people (Then they said, -Let us arise and build.-'). Then things began to move.

In Nehemiah 2:19 opposition arises. Sanballat and Tobiah we met at Nehemiah 2:10; Geshem was their counterpart, known from contemporary literature as the governor of Arabia, though again he would not necessarily have been an Arabian. The territory then included Edom, which had been a thorn in the side of Israel for centuries (cf. the book of Obadiah).

The method which the Jews-' enemies used at this point was ridicule; they especially charged them with trying to rebuild the walls in order to mount a rebellion which, it was implied, would be futile.

Nehemiah's reply, in Nehemiah 2:20, was one of hope and assurance of God's blessing: they would succeed because they were His servants, while their enemies had no portion (property rights), no right (jurisdiction), or memorial (reason why any of the residents should remember their past connection with the city, their contribution was so small during the century and a half they had been able to occupy it).

WORD STUDIES

FOREST (Nehemiah 2:8, Pardes): PARADISE: a park or pleasure-ground, a place planted with trees, pleasure-garden, enclosed hunting-ground, a park with wild animals, around the residence of the Persian monarchs; region of surpassing beauty; park around the house. The word is used only here and in Song of Solomon 4:13 and Ecclesiastes 2:5.

REPROACH (Nehemiah 2:17: noun, Cherpah; verb, Charaph): has the basic idea of pulling, plucking, picking or gathering (fruit). We pick at people, and pull them apart. Our descriptive words, carp and harp (criticize, reproach, upbraid), may be derived from it. Since the picking of fruit also implies the approach of winter, it speaks of a frigid treatment, a scornful attitude.

SUMMARY

After about four months, Nehemiah stood before Artaxerxes to serve the wine. The king observed his dejected expression and asked the reason for it. Nehemiah replied that the city, gates, and cemetery of his ancestors lay in ruins. He asked that the king allow him a leave of absence and an appointment to go and help rebuild: he would also need supplies from government preserves. The wishes were granted and Nehemiah made his way from Persia through Ammon and Samaria to Jerusalem, meanwhile becoming aware of the enmity of Tobiah and Sanballat, governors of the two lands. In complete secrecy he journeyed by night around a part of the city's ruined walls; then he returned to the city and announced to some of its leaders a plan to restore the walls, with God's direction. The plan was adopted, the enemies responded with ridicule and accusation of plotting rebellion, and Nehemiah predicted that God would crown their project with success.