1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
2 Wherefore the king said unto me, “Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart.” Then I was very sore afraid,
It was generally a good idea to not be sad in the king’s presence. They had a way of disposing of people when they got upset at and moods can be contagious. The king realizes that something is wrong, though, since Nehemiah hasn’t been sad before.
3 And said unto the king, “Let the king live forever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lies waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?”
He explains the reason for his sadness: the report of the condition of the city of Jerusalem.
4 Then the king said unto me, “For what dost thou make request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
“What do you want to do about it?”
Nehemiah takes the wise course first; the one we often save for last.
5 And I said unto the king, “If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou would send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may build it.”
“I want to go fix it.”
6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) “For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
The king and queen thought this was a good enough idea to give Nehemiah permission to go.
Today, the phrase “king and queen” usually refer to husband and wife. In the ancient world, where a king often had many wives, it generally referred to the ruler and his mother, the last kings favorite wife. There is a possibility this queen is Esther (the Bible often uses the term “son” to mean son-in-law or grandson.)
7 Moreover I said unto the king, “If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;”
“Could I have letters saying I have your permission to travel through the land?”
8 “And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into.” And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
He also asked for the raw materials he would need to do the work. God had softened the kings heart so that he didn’t mind granting all of Nehemiah’s requests. I imagine, too, that Nehemiah’s integrity (a result of serving our God) had helped the king to like him and be predisposed to favoring him.
9 Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
The other local governors were not pleased to see Nehemiah. They didn’t want Jerusalem to be rebuilt. Those who don’t serve God often are downright mean to those who do, wanting nothing more than to see them hurt and suffer.
11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
Nehemiah took three days to rest and look around.
12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
He hadn’t let anyone in on his plans and now only took a few select men with him.
13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
A few translations of the Bible interpret “Dragon” as Jackal or snake, but most still use dragon here. The general belief is that the rocks surrounding this well looked like a dragon or that there were statues of dragons by it.
Either way, how did they know what a dragon looked like? There is actually evidence that what we call “dinosaurs” (a term invented in the mid 1800’s) were still around until about the 1700’s. At least some species were.
“Dragons” are the only “monster” that is common to all people throughout the world and their descriptions of the animals are remarkably the same (artwork of dragons from Asia show identical creatures to artwork of dragons from South America, for example.)
And I have seen pictures of recent discoveries of lost cities in Cambodia that are carved with stegosauruses.
The monster in the ancient poem “Beowulf” bears a striking resemblance to a T-rex.
I could go on for a long time discussing the evidence that humans and dinosaurs/dragons have co-existed.
14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
The morning after his inspection he calls together the leaders.
17 Then said I unto them, “Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.”
18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
The leaders of Judah had no problem rebuilding. They were excited at the idea.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that ye do? Will ye rebel against the king?”
The neighbors are going to cause trouble. They are determined to misinterpret the motives of the Jews.
Most people project their own motives onto others. This means that the neighbors were the ones who really wanted to rebel but were likely too afraid.
20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, “The God of heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.”
Nehemiah is confident in God’s supply and protection. He tells the neighbors that he isn’t worried about them and that he isn’t going to violate the word of God by letting unbelievers work with them.