Nehemiah Sent to Jerusalem

Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 2:1-10, Deuteronomy 30:1-6, Amos 9:11-15

In 2013 a tornado ripped through Washington, Illinois, a small suburban farm town just outside of Peoria. It made the news in some places, but since the storm didn’t hit a major city or have mass casualties, it wasn’t a big headline for most people unless they lived there. 

Except for my father, that is.

My father grew up in Washington, Illinois. He and his three siblings grew up riding their bikes through its sleepy streets. They were all Panthers at Washington High School. After they grew up, married, and moved away, they returned with their families—including my mom, my little sisters, and me—each Thanksgiving until my grandparents retired and moved north.

“We have to go back,” my dad told my mom. “We have to help them rebuild.” My parents spent a long weekend walking through farm fields and picking up debris, surprised by the ache this natural disaster caused their hearts even though my dad hadn’t lived there in over forty years.

In today’s Scripture reading, Nehemiah was devastated by the crumbling city of Jerusalem. Though it was no longer his home city, his ancestors were buried there. It was part of his history and the history of his people. Its degradation haunted him.

When Nehemiah was granted an audience with King Artaxerxes, the proper protocol would be for him to portray gladness and gratitude. But Nehemiah was no good actor—his face showed what his heart was feeling.

“Why do you look so sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart,” the king said to him in verse 2. Trembling with fear, Nehemiah responded with the truth: his home city lay in ruins, and he could have no peace until it was restored.

“If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it” (Nehemiah 2:5). The king granted Nehemiah’s request, and his journey into the rebuilding of this pivotal city—the story of the book of Nehemiah—began in earnest.

Pause today and approach your own heart with curiosity. What aches lie within it? What longing do you feel? Perhaps you long for a relationship to be set right, a neighborhood to flourish, or to walk more fully in the way of the Lord. I often find myself aching for one or another of my children to understand the depths of God’s love for them, especially when they’re going through a difficult season.

What petition would you lay not before King Artaxerxes, but King Jesus today? Nehemiah reminds us that God is present to us in our deepest desires and that He welcomes our requests, whatever they might be.

Written by Courtney Ellis