Introduction
Over the next few months we are going to be studying the Old
Testament book of Nehemiah. It is one of
my favourite books in the Bible, which has much to say to us today. Nehemiah may not be as well-known as other
Old Testament characters, but he was a man of deep faith and action, and I hope
that as we explore this book together we will be challenged and encouraged.
Historical Background
To understand the book of Nehemiah, you first need to put
the book in its proper context and understand something of the history of
Israel.
It was only when Saul was chosen by God to be king (1020-1000BC) that the twelve tribes came together under to form the United Monarchy, which continued during the reigns of David and Solomon.
Under King David’s rule Israel flourished and grew, and David established Jerusalem as the national capital. David was succeeded by his son King Solomon. But following Solomon’s death, tensions between the northern part of Israel containing the ten northern tribes, and the southern tribes reached boiling point, and the united Kingdom of Israel and Judah split to create two kingdoms, the northern Kingdom of Israel, which had its capital in Samaria, and the Kingdom of Judah which retained Jerusalem as its capital.
Nebuchadnezzar ordered
Jerusalem to be razed to the ground, the walls torn down, and the temple
destroyed, and its treasurers carried off – including the Arc of the Covenant
which contained the ten commandments, which has been lost ever since. The sons of Judah’s King Zedekiah were killed
before him, and then Zedekiah had his eyes gouged out, and was taken into
captivity to Babylon, 1000 miles away, along with many of the other inhabitants
of Jerusalem, a period of history known as the Babylonian Exile or Captivity. Only a tiny remanent of people were permitted
to remain in Judah. Even to this day
these events continue to shape Jewish identity and understanding.
48 years later, in 538BC
Cyrus II of Persia, who had conquered Babylon the previous year, decreed that
the Jews could return to Jerusalem, as recorded in our first reading from the
book of Ezra (1:1-4).
Despite the decree, only a handful chose to accept Cyrus’ offer and
return to Judah; most of the exiles preferred to remain in Messoptamia, where
they had settled, married, had families and established businesses. The few that did return to Jerusalem found a
wasteland.
Slowly work began to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, but it was beset
by problems, and wasn’t completed until 516BC.
It was not until 458BC, 80 years after the first exiles returned to
Jerusalem, that another group of exiles, priests and Levites arrived under the
leadership of Ezra the scribe. He was
joined twelve years later by Nehemiah. The
book of Nehemiah tells the story of Nehemiah’s role in helping to restore
Jerusalem, and renewing the people’s faith, in the face of considerable
opposition.
Nothing is
known about Nehemiah’s youth or background, we first encounter him as an adult
serving in the Persian royal court as the personal cupbearer to King
Artaxerxes. This was an important
position, Nehemiah ensured the safety and quality of the king’s food and drink,
and therefore had direct access to the King, and would have been a trusted
advisor, a man of importance and influence.
Although
Nehemiah had remained in Persia after the
exiles had been allowed to go home, he heart was for his homeland Judah. So when Hanani, a fellow Jew returned from
visiting Judah, Nehemiah questioned him about how things were in Judah and
Jerusalem.
What Hanani told Nehemiah,
broke his heart. “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great
trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have
been burned with fire.” (Neh 1:3)
The city was defenceless, the people leaderless. Before the exile,
Israel had its own language, king, army and identity. Now it had none of these things.
Challenges Facing St Martin’s
So what is the relevance of this for us today? Just as Judah and Jerusalem faced huge challenges,
so the church today is also facing big challenges.
Church attendance – has fallen. In 2013, there were 5.4 million church members in the
UK, 10% of the adult population, a fall of 300,000 people since 2008. If current trends continue by 2025 only between 5 to 4% of
the adult population will attend church.
But
when it comes to children and young people the statistics are even more
alarming. According to Christian
Research, the Church in the UK will lose an estimated 1.1 million children
between 1990 and 2020 if nothing is done to try and stop the exodus of children
from church. They predict that in the year 2020, 183,700 children aged under-15
will attend church compared to 375,300 in 2010.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is however that there are signs that the rate of this decline is reducing and some
churches seeing growth.
Here
at St Martin’s the next 5 to 10 years will be a critical time. Over one third of our church membership are
aged over 70. Ultimately if we do not
grow as a church, by attracting new members, in fifteen to 20 years time the
church will be unsustainable. And if we look at St Martin’s, the age range that
is most underrepresented are teenagers through to people in their 40s.
There
are other challenges facing the church.
Society has changed. Sunday for
many people is a working day, and a day on which they do sporting
activities. So even if people want to
come to church, it is much harder than it used to be. Family life has also changed,
which all has an impact.
There are other challenges, for
example there are going to be fewer clergy, the days of one vicar one church
are now almost at an end.
All these challenges mean
that we need to re-imagine what it means to be the church, and how as a church
we can grow God’s kingdom.
It is for this reason that
the home groups have been asked to look at the Leading Your Church Into Growth
course.
The challenge we face is how
do we grow God’s church?
To help us think about this, let’s
turn back to Nehemiah.
When Nehemiah heard about
Jerusalem’s plight his first response was to weep and mourn, and then he PRAYED.
And when he prayed, he really prayed. ‘For some
days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.’ (Neh 1:4)
Before Nehemiah did
anything else, he prays. For Nehemiah
prayer was natural, immediate and spontaneous.
He was also persistent in prayer, day and night he prays. Notice how he begins his prayer, “Lord, the God of heaven,
the great and awesome God, who keeps
his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear
be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying.” Nehemiah is
realistic about the challenges facing Jerusalem, but his starting point is PRAISE. It’s the same response as Job, when he loses
everything, he says “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and
naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21)
Whenever we face a challenge
whether personally or as a church, our first response before we do anything
else should be to pray. And when we
pray, no matter what the situation may be, we need to praise God.
Nehemiah was also
confident in prayer. Although
Jerusalem’s needs were great, the city’s problem is soon dwarfed by an awesome
sense of God’s majestic glory. When we
pray, we need to remember who it is we’re praying to, and that whatever
challenges we may be facing, God is so much greater and bigger.
Nehemiah is also honest
with God. “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my
father’s family, have committed against you.” Nehemiah realises that it was because of people’s
disobedience against God, that Jerusalem and Judah was in the state it
was. There is real intensity, honesty,
realism and urgency in Nehemiah’s confession. He makes no attempt to excuse the Israelite
people, or himself for past misdeeds. He
recognised that he was as much responsible as anyone else, for what had
befallen Israel. When we pray, we need
to be honest with God, and ourselves. To
recognise when we have failed God, and not just because of the things we have
done, but also the things we have not done.
As the prayer of confession puts it, We have left
undone those things that we ought to have done; and we have done those things that we ought not to
have done.
When
he prays he also looks back with gratitude for what God has said (1:8-9) and
what God has done (1:10) And because of
God’s words and deeds in the past, it gives him confidence looking ahead to the
future. “Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer
of your servants who delight in revering your name.” (1:11)
Conclusion
We need to be realistic about
the challenges facing us as a church, they are considerable. But, we worship an even greater, bigger God,
and if like Nehemiah, we put God first, and earnestly seek him in prayer and
praise, I believe we will see great things here at St Martin’s. I believe that we will see a church that is
growing in numbers, a church where people are growing in faith, and a church
that is growing in service to our local community. I am excited about the
future, and I hope you are as well.
And starting today, I want us
every Sunday to use this prayer.
God of Mission,
Who alone brings growth to
your Church,
Send your Holy Spirit to give
Vision to our planning,
Wisdom to our actions,
And power to our witness.
Help our church to grow in
numbers,
In spiritual commitment to
you,
And in service to our local
community.
Through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
