Introduction:
Nehemiah 1: 5-11 is a prayer that demonstrates the importance of faith in pursuing the moral path lain out by Christian ideologies. The characteristics that are presented within this passage demonstrate the importance of belonging to a community, which transcends the boundaries of the physical world. Within the passage, Nehemiah prays for the success of his request to help his people, who have been lost to despair. In thinking after his people, praying and fasting in order to promote their well-being, and the ultimate presentation of pleas to his new King for the capability to help them his pious values become evident. Despite the fact that he is in a position of comfort and strength, he is still fundamentally concerned with those that are of his own heritage. In looking at the context and significance of these events it is evident that his exaltation of God goes well beyond his own experiences. His cultural views and values are ingrained into him as he continues his work. However, he does not move forward without consideration of those that have less than him. Upon hearing of the realities and difficulties that his people are facing, he decides to put his own well-being on the line in order to provide those of his own faith with the necessities to rebuild their nation. He viewed his king as a man before God, rather than a man above God, which he believed was an inherent value that all men should hold. For this reason, he believed that in developing ways to help those of Israel, he would be elevating his king to greater heights, as he used his power and authority to promote God's will within the world.
Context:
The context of the verses is presented through a historical valuation of both the position that Nehemiah was in at the time as well as the state of Israel and Jerusalem in particular, which had been overtaken by their enemies. The passage is a prayer offered by Nehemiah, son of Hachalia, when asking God for favor with King Artaxerxes to allow him go back to his native Jerusalem and help in reconstructing the lives of the people and rebuilding the walls of the city. Previously, through one of his brethren Hanani, word had reached him that his people were living in despair. Upon hearing this, he decided that he should use his position in order to help them in any way that he could. They had been overtaken by their enemies and Jerusalem was in disrepair. They had therefore lost their sense of pride and security as a people. At the time, Nehemiah was a cup bearer for King Artaxerxes in Persia. This put him in the position to help his countrymen. He pursued this in a variety of ways. Given that he was employed and under the authority of his master, he sought to request permission to return to his homeland and help in restoring the dignity of his people. Furthermore, he sought to permission to ferry building materials, including timber from the foreign country to Israel. He also requested to be able to carry the timbers across the roads of the nations without being stopped. He is therefore offering a prayer before formally presenting his case before his employer and requesting for permission to go back and help in the aforementioned work. The decision of Artaxerxes to allow his return to Israel in order to rebuild its walls demonstrates the level of importance placed on this prayer. This allowed him to return and rule his homeland with just intent.
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