Nehemiah 1:5 - Meaning and Application

Here we have Nehemiah’s prayer, and it connects with the prayers he had already been offering day and night. He had been grieving over the ruined state of Jerusalem, and he was also preparing to ask the king, his master, to show favor to Jerusalem. In this prayer, we can see several things clearly.

First, Nehemiah begins with a humble and reverent address to God, and he bows himself before the Lord, giving God the honor that belongs to his name (Nehemiah 1:5). This is very much like Daniel’s prayer (Daniel 9:4). It teaches us to come near to God with a holy awe of his majesty and glory. He is the God of heaven, far above us, the sovereign Lord over us, and the great and terrifying God, greater than all powers in heaven and on earth, including angels and kings. His enemies have every reason to fear his mighty anger, yet even God’s terrors can comfort those who trust in him.

Nehemiah also comes with holy confidence in God’s grace and truth. God keeps his covenant, that is, his binding promise, and he shows mercy to those who love him. He does more than he has promised. Nothing will be too much for him to do for those who love him and keep his commandments.

Second, Nehemiah asks God to listen to the prayer and accept it (Nehemiah 1:6). He says, in effect, “Let your ear be open to the prayer that I am praying before you, and let your eyes be open to the condition I lay before you.” God made the eye and planted the ear, so surely he can see clearly and hear attentively. It is not enough just to speak words of prayer, the heart must truly pray before God.

Third, Nehemiah confesses sin. He does not only say that Israel has sinned, which would have been easy enough to admit. He says, “I and my father’s house have sinned” (Nehemiah 1:6). He humbles himself and takes shame on himself. He says, “We have acted very wickedly against you” (Nehemiah 1:7). In confessing sin, two things must be owned: sin is a corruption in us, and it is an offense against God. It is rebellion in the heart, setting our own corrupt desires against God’s commands.

Fourth, Nehemiah gives reasons why God should show mercy to his people Israel. He first pleads what God had long ago said about them, the way God had promised to deal with them, and the rule by which they might hope in him (Nehemiah 1:8-9). God had said that if they broke his covenant, he would scatter them among the nations, and that warning had come true in their captivity. Never had a people been so widely scattered. Yet God had also said that if they turned back to him, he would gather them again. Nehemiah quotes this from Deuteronomy 30:1-5, and he asks God to remember that word, not because God forgets, but because Nehemiah is building his faith and hope on what God has already said. He had just confessed, “We have not kept the commands you gave through your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:7), yet he now pleads, “Remember the word you commanded your servant Moses.” If God were not more mindful of his promises than we are of his duties, we would be lost. The best prayers are those that hold God to his own promise, the word on which he has led us to hope (Psalm 119:49).

Nehemiah also pleads the relationship Israel had with God: “These are your servants and your people” (Nehemiah 1:10). God had set them apart for himself and taken them into covenant with him. Would he let his sworn enemies trample and oppress his sworn servants? If God will not act for his people, for whom will he act? This is the appeal Isaiah also makes (Isaiah 63:19). As proof that they are God’s servants, Nehemiah says they desire to fear God’s name (Nehemiah 1:11). They are not only called by God’s name, they truly respect him and have reverence for all he reveals about himself. They worship him, and him alone, according to his will. They want to do this, which shows both good will and delight in it. They aim to walk in their duty, even though they often fall short. They also take pleasure in fearing God’s name, so they do their duty with joy. God will kindly receive those who truly desire to fear his name, because even that desire is his own work in them.

Finally, Nehemiah pleads the great things God had already done for Israel (Nehemiah 1:10). God had redeemed them by his great power in the past. His power is still the same, so Nehemiah asks whether God will not redeem them again and complete that rescue. Those who have God’s infinite power on their side should not be left under the enemy’s rule.

He ends with a specific request, asking God to prosper his plan and give him favor with the king. He calls the king “this man,” because even the greatest human rulers are only men before God, and they must know it (Psalm 9:20). Others must remember it too. Why should anyone fear a mere man? The mercy he seeks in the king’s sight is really mercy from God, working through the king. Favor from people is most comforting when we can see that it comes from God’s mercy.