Peter Misselbrook's Blog
Dec 17 2019 - Nehemiah 1:1-2:10 – Nehemiah travels to Jerusalem

We are now beginning the last book of historical narrative in the Old Testament, the book of Nehemiah. We have seen that the temple in Jerusalem had been rebuilt and that Ezra the Scribe had come to Jerusalem to teach the people God's law and to call them back to live in faithful and wholehearted obedience to that Law. Nehemiah's ministry overlaps with that of Ezra.

Nehemiah's story starts in the city of Susa, the central focus also of the story of Esther. Nehemiah is a Jewish man who occupies a position of great responsibility in the court of King Artaxerxes – he was cupbearer to the king and responsible to ensure that the king received the best of wine and that no one tried to poison him. Artaxerxes is believed to be the son of Esther's husband, Xerxes (though we cannot be sure as there were several Persian kings called Artaxerxes). It would seem that Mordecai's faithful service of Xerxes had encouraged Artaxerxes to look for similar men of integrity among the Jewish community whom he could rely on to serve him well.

Do Christians today have a similar reputation for integrity and trustworthy service?

One of Nehemiah's brothers who had been living in Judah came and told him that the walls of Jerusalem remained in ruins and their gates destroyed by fire. The Jewish inhabitants were under threat and the name of the Lord was mocked by non-Jewish residents in the area.

Nehemiah was deeply troubled by what he heard and spent, it would seem, four months in prayer and fasting (compare 1:1 and 2:1). Nehemiah's prayer (1:5-11) is a model for our prayers. He begins with worship, acknowledging God's greatness, goodness and faithfulness towards his people. He confesses the sins of his people, the Israelites, that had resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Exile. He pleads God's promises to restore his people, reminding God (so to speak) that they are, "your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand" (1:10). He asks the Lord to give him success in what he is about to do and to grant him mercy in his encounter with the king – remember Esther's hesitancy to make requests of the king.

So Nehemiah appears before the king with a face that betrays his worries and concerns. In response to the king's enquiries, Nehemiah tells him of the plight of Jerusalem and, after further prompting by the king, asks leave to travel to Judah to rebuild Jerusalem's walls. The king grants his request, gives him safe conduct through the provinces of the empire and grants him supplies of wood from the royal forests for his building work. Nehemiah acknowledges that the Lord has answered his prayer; "the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me" (2:8).

Nehemiah arrived safely but was immediately faced with opposition; "Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite [were] displeased … greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel" (2:10).

William Carey (1761-1834), a shoemaker from Northamptonshire, was burdened with the thought of the millions of people in other parts of the world who were yet to hear of the Lord Jesus Christ. After much prayer, and despite opposition, he left his home for India where he worked for the rest of his life. He was one of the founders of the missionary movement that began in the eighteenth century. He urged his contemporaries to "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God." Look up his entry in Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carey_(missionary).

Lord God, give us a spirit of prayer like that of Nehemiah. Lay upon our hearts the work that you would have us do for the extension of your kingdom and the glory of the Saviour's name. Give us the boldness to attempt great things for you knowing that you have done and will do great things for us. Encourage those of your people in positions of authority today to be bold in prayer and to be wise and courageous in their words and their actions.

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Dec 17 2020 - Revelation 8:1-13 – Silence in heaven

Heaven, at least as it is depicted in the book of Revelation, is a very noisy place; it is filled with the praises of hosts of angels and of the redeemed. So it comes as a surprise to read that at the opening of the seventh seal, "there was silence in heaven for about half an hour" (Revelation 8:1).

The opening of the seals is a picture of the unfolding of history in fulfilment of God's plan. The unfastening of the seventh and last seal is expanded into a new picture, the picture of the seven trumpets. But before any of the trumpets can be sounded there is a period of silence. And in this period of silence, John sees an angel with a golden censer, symbolising the prayers of God's people, bringing these petitions before God. It is as if God has called for hush in heaven so that he can hear the prayers of those he has made his own. The praise of angels is precious to God, but even more precious to him are the prayers of his people.

What a wonderful picture. God stills the clamour of heaven to hear your prayer. He is even more anxious to listen to the cry of your heart than you are to pray. What an encouragement to our prayer.

But there is more. John then observes "the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake" (8:5). It is this action which gives rise to the sounding of the trumpets. The prayers of God's people, mingled with fire from the altar – the symbol of Christ's sacrifice – have a powerful effect upon what happens on earth. The engine that drives the purposes of God in history is the sacrificial work of Christ mixed with the prayers of God's people. Our prayers play a vital role in the unfolding of God's plans.

Prayer the Churches' banquet, Angels' age,
God’s breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav’n and earth;

Engine against the Almighty, sinner's tower,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six days world – transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;

Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
Exalted Manna, gladness of the best,
Heaven in ordinary, man well dressed,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the souls blood,
The land of spices, something understood.
    (George Herbert)

Do we grieve over the state of the world in which we live? Let us cry out to God in prayer. Do we want to see the kingdom of God advancing? Let us make prayer a priority. The purposes of God are driven forward by the power of prayer. Never underestimate its effectiveness. God calls for hush in heaven that he may hear your prayers.

Father in heaven, we come into your holy presence through the name of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We come in adoration. We come in prayer. We come because we must. Your Spirit within us has taught us to pray. Have mercy, we pray, upon this suffering world. In your mercy, heal and save. You created this world in six days by the power of your word. Breathe upon your creation to bring it to life once again. Lord we long for the day when the earth shall be filled with your glory even as the waters fill the sea. We would silence heaven with our prayers that your grace might bring an end to the warring clamour of this world.

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Peter Misselbrook