LORD GOD OF HEAVEN, … GREAT AND TERRIBLE

God had moved Cyrus, king of Persia, to allow His people to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. Time passed and now Nehemiah had the privileged position of cupbearer to a later king, Artaxerxes. But his heart was still in his native country, and especially Jerusalem. He heard about the sufferings of his people there and the ruined state of the city walls.

He wept and prayed to ‘the God of heaven’, addressing Him as ‘Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God’. He prayed for his people. He confessed the national rebellion against God, but he interceded on the basis of the character of God - His faithfulness and His willingness to forgive His people. Then, he asked God to ‘grant him mercy in the sight of this man’, Arta- xerxes. To Persians, Artaxerxes was ‘the Great King’. Persia was the mightiest empire in the world, but Nehemiah was praying to ‘the Lord God of heaven’, and in this context Artaxerxes was only ‘this man’. Nehemiah knew that the captivity was the Lord’s doing. He also knew that ‘the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord’, Prov. 21.1. He asked permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. His request was granted, for the time had come. Knowing the character of God enables us to assess man’s power correctly.

However, the building of the wall was opposed by enemies. Nehemiah and the other builders prayed again to their God and mounted a twenty-four hour watch. Nehemiah exhorted them not to be afraid, 4.14. They were to ‘remember the Lord, which is great and terrible’. They were also to fight.

The building of the walls was completed by a willing workforce. Distractions, diversions and attempted compromises were overcome. The administration of the city was set in order. Then Ezra read to the people from the law of Moses and ‘gave the sense’. The feast of booths was celebrated. They participated in a general confession of failure, and of God’s unfailing readiness to pardon His people in the past. They entered into a solemn renewal of their covenant with God, the great, mighty and terrible, the covenant-keeping God. Restoration is accompanied by a sense of the greatness of the God whom we have offended.