Nehemiah 2:1 Commentary and Bible Study

In chapter 2 we see that Nehemiah is a principal adviser, a counsellor, to the king, Artaxerxes. Also he holds the ceremonial position of the king’s cupbearer, and it is debated which one led to the other. Presumably his being an officer of state led to his being the king’s cupbearer, which was very much a ceremonial position, though some feel it was the other way round, but he holds both offices. On this occasion he is moved by the Lord to ask the king for special authority to go on a long mission to Judah and to Jerusalem, because he has been so grieved to hear about the continuing tragedy in Jerusalem. The temple has been reconstructed, but is not currently in very good use. Most of the buildings in the city are still in a poor state, and the wall has been demolished for years and years. So the people are in a tragic condition, and the Samaritans and the nations round about have by various means brought the population very low, and the work of God has been discontinued for years. So Nehemiah is moved to seek office to go and to rebuild Jerusalem. Evidently, Nehemiah is rather anxious about the response and the reaction of the king, and he goes into his presence, sad. Now it is often said that this in itself would be offensive before the emperor of Persia. It is possible that he was sad because of his anxiety about the king’s response, but it is more likely that he is grieved about the state of affairs in Jerusalem and Judah. He has been preparing for this moment, and has spent much time in prayer and fasting, since he heard the dismal news, four months before (it is still the twentieth year either because the Persians started their year in a different month, or because years were being counted according to the reigns of the king). Nehemiah knows what he wants to ask, and he probably knows that his sad expression will prompt an enquiry from the king for which he needs to be ready. It is so unlike him to be seen downhearted, and it would normally be unacceptable to allow any personal griefs to affect his work or to be observed by the king.The way that language appears, many people think that this is a festival. Nehemiah takes up the wine, which no doubt he has tasted previously, and gives it to the king. ‘Now I had not been before time sad in his presence.’ We need to understand something about the nature of the kings of Persia. From this narrative, you might conclude that Artaxerxes was a kind man, and a sympathetic man, and a man open to suggestion. You would be absolutely wrong. He was a vicious man, unpredictable, capricious, and very haughty. There was everything wrong with these Persian sovereigns. It was his father, Ahasuerus, who called for Vashti, his queen, and she wouldn't come and into his presence. He flew into a rage and he took counsel, and his councillors knew exactly what he wanted to do so they advised him to depose her, and so in due course, the way was opened for Esther to become queen. (Esther, now presumably long deceased, was the stepmother of Artaxerxes, so her influence at court may well of affected Artaxerxes in his openness to having a Jewish cupbearer.) So they were very difficult men to deal with. They had absolute power, and nobody withstood them or offended them. So this is very serious, that we now see Nehemiah who is very down, carrying this huge burden. He is very exercised, and he's come to believe that he is the person who God would send to Jerusalem, and so he has got to obtain favour from the king who may very well take it as an act of betrayal, or as an insult. He is fearful not only for himself, perhaps even more for the Jews. ‘God has put me in this position as a principal adviser to the emperor. If I am wrong and I am struck down, then there will be serious repercussions for all other Jews at court, all other Jews in the Persian capital, perhaps reprisals extending as far as Jerusalem.’ That was how the world worked in those days. Emperors never buried the hatchet. But he seems to be convinced that God would have him do this: to go to Jerusalem under the king's authority himself, and he is going to try to ask this favour.