Journey
Nehemiah rebuilds the wall
A cupbearer in Shushan hears that the wall of Jerusalem is broken down. Follow Nehemiah from his first prayer to the day the wall is dedicated.
People in this journey
Opening stop: News from Jerusalem, Nehemiah 1:1
Shushan the palace is the royal city where Esther's story is set too (Esther 1:2). The army of the Chaldees had broken down Jerusalem's walls long before (2 Kings 25:10). The fresh grief may point to a later setback, when officials acting on a letter from Artaxerxes forced a rebuilding to stop (Ezra 4:21-23). Nehemiah's prayer leans on Moses' own words, and he counts himself among those who sinned. As the king's cupbearer he handed the king his wine (Nehemiah 2:1), the task Pharaoh's chief butler had in Joseph's day (Genesis 40:21).
The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
King James Version
The book opens as the words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. In the month Chisleu of the twentieth year, in Shushan the palace, Hanani, one of his brethren, arrives with men of Judah, and Nehemiah asks about the Jews who escaped the captivity and about Jerusalem. They tell him the remnant in the province is in great affliction and reproach, the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire. Nehemiah sits down, weeps, mourns for days, fasts and prays before the God of heaven. His prayer addresses the great and terrible God who keeps covenant and mercy for those who love him, and asks that God's ear and eyes be open to a prayer made day and night for the children of Israel. He confesses that Israel, including himself and his father's house, has sinned and failed to keep the commandments, statutes and judgments given through Moses. He asks God to remember the word commanded to Moses: that transgression would bring scattering among the nations, but that turning and keeping the commandments would bring gathering even from the uttermost part of heaven to the place God chose for his name. He calls the people God's servants redeemed by his great power and strong hand, asks again for an attentive ear, and asks that God prosper his servant that day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. The chapter ends with the explanation that Nehemiah was the king's cupbearer.
Continue the journey
This journey has 9 stops. The opening stop is free. Premium opens the rest of the guided path, and every Scripture chapter stays free to read.