From Splendor to Shadow

Chapter 53—Nehemiah Accomplishes the “Impossible”

This chapter is based on Nehemiah 2, 3, and 4.

The royal letters to the governors of the provinces along Nehemiah's route secured him prompt assistance. No enemy dared molest the official guarded by the power of the Persian king! SS 329.1

However, his arrival in Jerusalem with a military escort, showing that he had come on some important mission, excited the jealousy of heathen tribes who had often heaped on the Jews injury and insult. Foremost in this evil work were certain chiefs of these tribes, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. These leaders watched Nehemiah with critical eyes and endeavored to thwart and hinder his work. SS 329.2

Knowing that bitter enemies stood ready to oppose him, Nehemiah concealed his mission from them until a study of the situation should enable him to form his plans. He hoped to set the people at work before his enemies could be aroused. SS 329.3

Choosing a few men whom he knew, Nehemiah told them of the object that he wished to accomplish and the plans he proposed. Their interest and assistance were at once enlisted. SS 329.4

On the third night after his arrival Nehemiah rose at midnight and with a few trusted companions went out to view the desolation of Jerusalem. On his mule, he passed from one part of the city to another, surveying the broken-down walls and gates of the city. Painful reflections filled his sorrow-stricken heart as he gazed on the ruined defenses of Jerusalem. Memories of Israel's past greatness stood in sharp contrast with the evidences of her humiliation. SS 329.5

In secrecy and silence Nehemiah completed his circuit. “And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest that were to do the work.” RSV. The remainder of the night he spent in prayer, for the morning would call for earnest effort to arouse his dispirited countrymen. SS 330.1

Nehemiah bore a royal commission requiring the inhabitants to cooperate in rebuilding the walls of the city, but he sought rather to gain the sympathy of the people, knowing that a union of hearts was essential in the work. When he called the people together he presented arguments calculated to unite their scattered numbers. SS 330.2

Nehemiah's hearers did not know of his midnight circuit the night before. But the fact that he was able to speak of the condition of the city with accuracy and minuteness astonished them. SS 330.3