Learning to act with courage and wisdom (Neh 2:1-10)

Thinking about courage, I came across this quote on the internet, parts of which are also cited by others.

‘Courage is not the absence of fear, but the capacity to act in the presence of fear. Faith is not the absence of doubt, but the courage to believe in spite of doubt. Trust is not the absence of qualms, but the capacity to go forward despite misgivings.’[1]

All these definitions have in common the recognition that courage, faith and trust need not always mean the absence of their opposite. Rather, all involve acting on our convictions and moving forward when our feelings tell us to run, stop or give up. When we trust the Lord and He is the reason for our courage, we will not be disappointed. In fact, the strange nature of the characteristics above is that as we act on them, they grow and give chase to fear, doubt, and misgivings. As the title of a well-known self-help book aptly says, ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’.[2]

Nehemiah has much to lose

For Nehemiah, 4-6 months have passed since he heard of the destruction of the Jerusalem walls (from Nov-Dec to April-May). Since then, he has been waiting and praying and as it will become evident, God is working in his heart and thinking. Yet, he has much to lose if he speaks out. Given that the walls were destroyed on the edict of Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:23; see my last post on The Secret of Effective Prayer (Neh 1:1-11)), convincing the king to revert that action was not going to be easy and it might lead to Nehemiah losing his influential position and even his life if he is suspected of sedition.

Nehemiah terrified, yet taking the opportunity

Did Nehemiah feel overwhelmed that fateful day of the banquet (the mention of wine suggests that this may have been a drinking party),[3] so that he looked sad (Neh 2:1-2), or did he deliberately show his grief to create an opening for his request? We don’t know, but sadness in the king’s presence was dangerous, as courtiers were expected to look cheerful, and a glum appearance was often taken as a sign of plotting against the ruler. No wonder that Nehemiah is terrified (v.2). Yet, no doubt his prayers and sensitivity to God’s leading help him to recognise an opening and so, despite his fears, he explains the reason for his sadness.

The fruit of godliness and prayer: wisdom

Nevertheless, it is the mark of Nehemiah’s godliness that he treads cautiously testing the waters to see if this is an opening from the Lord. He also shows himself wise in not mentioning the city walls until the end of the conversation (Neh 2:8). Instead, he finds cultural common ground by mentioning his forebears’ tombs (Neh 2:3), arousing sympathy, since caring for these was a way of honouring ancestors. The king’s favourable response opens the way for Nehemiah’s request (Neh 2:4-5), and the details (Neh 2:6-8), letters to local governors and to the keeper of the forest in Judah,[4] the time needed and areas of repair, all demonstrate the fruit of Nehemiah’s prayers and thoughts. The fortress (v.6) was probably where the Antonia fortress stood later in Roman times, protecting the vulnerable side of the temple mount.[5] Walls were generally built of stone, but gates were made of wood, hence the request for timber for the repair of the fortress, the city walls and the house Nehemiah was going to (v.8; possibly his ancestral home that has fallen into disrepair).

Our need for courage and wisdom

Like Nehemiah, when we live for God, sooner or later we face encounters that require courage and wisdom. It may be that we seek to share the gospel with people and are looking for the right word and timing, are stirred by God to take on roles that stretch our abilities, are challenged to confront corrupt practices at work, or are facing other hardship or illness. Whatever our situation, Nehemiah’s story encourages us to seek God in prayer as the basis for actions, to recognise God’s hand as events unfold (Neh 2:8) and persevere even when there is opposition (Neh 2:10).

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[1] https://boldomatic.com/p/zT0ndw/courage-is-not-the-absence-of-fear-but-the-capacity-to-act-in-the-presence-of-f. Accessed 17 Feb 2022. Please note that I do not endorse the website – I do not know anything for or against it – I am simply using it for the quote.

[2] Susan Jeffers, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, rev. ed. (London: Vermilion, 2007).

[3] Women would not have normally appeared at drinking parties (cf. Esther 1, but see Daniel 5:1, 3), so the later mention of the queen in Neh 2:6 may suggest that the initial conversation was continued in a private audience discussing further details. Alternatively, the whole dialogue may have happened privately though it is unclear why the presence of the queen is suddenly slipped into the account. For this and other options, see H.G.M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, WBC 16 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1985), 180.

[4] We do not know where the timber came from – Solomon built the first temple using timber shipped from Lebanon (1 Kings 5:5-6), but Asaph is a Jewish name, so it is likely that the king’s forests referred to here were somewhere in Judah. Ibid., 181.

[5] 1 Maccabees (about a Jewish revolt against the Greeks that happened almost two hundred years after the events here in Nehemiah), mentions a fortified structure by the temple: ‘He strengthened the fortifications of the temple hill alongside the citadel, and he and his men lived there.’ (1 Maccabees 13:52). Ibid.

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