Nehemiah and Ezra lived approximately at the same time, and they were both faithful men. Each had a heart for the Lord, and each was raised up of the Lord for a specific purpose. However, it is evident that their characters were very different. Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem some years after Ezra had been there, and some have suggested that there had been failure on Ezra’s part, in that he concentrated on teaching the people and dealing with their sins, while the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins. He had surely seen all the rubbish and the desolation of the wall, and some have questioned why he did not address the matter, as well as being occupied with the people and the temple.
To this we can only reply that God uses His servants according to His own purpose, and it was important that the state of the people be right before they were exercised as to rebuilding the wall. Thus God used a Zerubbabel to build the temple, an Ezra to teach the people and to recall them to the Lord, and a Nehemiah to build the wall. Each was chosen by the Lord and fitted for the work He had given them to do.
However, I would suggest that there is an important lesson that we can learn, if we observe the different ways in which these two faithful men approached failure and difficulty among God’s people. Both recognized the failure of God’s people and identified with it. Both had a desire for the honor and glory of the Lord and sought diligently to address the problems they found. But again, each approached those difficulties in a different way, and we can learn from their experience.
Ezra’s Mission
Ezra, who came to Jerusalem some thirteen years before Nehemiah, had to face a decline in the spiritual state of the people who had gone back to the land of Israel. Nearly fifty years had passed since the dedication of the temple, and no longer was there the same energy for the Lord and His interests as there had been when “the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel ... kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy” and strengthened their hands “in the work of the house of God” (Ezra 6:21-2221And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat, 22And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. (Ezra 6:21‑22)). Evil had come in, and it was reported to Ezra that “the people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands ... for they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands” (Ezra 9:1-21Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. (Ezra 9:1‑2)).
Ezra’s reaction is admirable, for we read, “I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied” (Ezra 9:33And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. (Ezra 9:3)). The result was that “then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel” (vs. 4). Ezra then fell upon his knees, confessing the sin of the nation as his own, and recognizing their present situation as being the result of serious failure in the past. In turn, God Himself worked in the hearts of the people to desire to correct the problem by the putting away of those heathen wives, while Ezra continued in fasting and mourning. The outcome of this humility of heart before the Lord was a thorough dealing with the matter, painful though it must have been. It was a work of God, and He received the glory.
Nehemiah’s Mission
As we have noted, Nehemiah came some years after Ezra, and they knew one another, for they are seen working together (see Nehemiah 8:99And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. (Nehemiah 8:9)). Nehemiah was an active man—one who was practical in his outlook and who wanted to get things done. As we have already mentioned, he too confessed the sin of Israel as his own, mourning and fasting, and especially when a report was brought to him concerning the sad state of the wall and gates of Jerusalem. It was his energy and enthusiasm that galvanized the people into rebuilding the wall, which evidently had been in a sad condition ever since it had been broken down by Nebuchadnezzar more than 130 years before.
Then later it came to his attention that some of the nobles had been oppressing the poor, exacting usury of them, and causing great hardship. Instead of sitting down before the Lord, it is recorded that Nehemiah was “very angry,” and he records that “I consulted with myself” (Neh. 5:6-76And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. 7Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them. (Nehemiah 5:6‑7)). More than this, concerning the nobles, he “set a great assembly against them” (vs. 7). The Lord worked in the hearts of those nobles, and restitution was made to those who had been wronged, for which we can thank the Lord. But then later, Nehemiah could say to the Lord, “Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people” (Neh. 5:1919Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people. (Nehemiah 5:19)). Instead of the Lord’s getting the glory, Nehemiah took it for himself, wanting the Lord to remember all that he had done.
Nehemiah’s Second Visit
It seems that after some years in Jerusalem, Nehemiah went back to Persia, but then he came again to visit his people in “the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon” (Neh. 13:66But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king: (Nehemiah 13:6)). Again he found that serious failure had developed in his absence, both in desecration of the temple and in profaning the Sabbath. As well, some of the people of Israel, including those who were rulers and priests, had once again married wives of other nations, so that their children spoke in dialects of mixed languages.
Once again Nehemiah’s response was characteristic of his strong personality, for it is recorded that he “contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair” (Neh. 13:2525And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. (Nehemiah 13:25)). Concerning one of the chiefest offenders, Nehemiah states that “I chased him from me” (vs. 28). All this was, no doubt, righteous indignation and was well deserved by the wrongdoers. But while the Lord’s glory was before Nehemiah, it seems that self and the energy of nature entered into his way of dealing with the evil. Again, the final word in the book is, “Remember me, O my God, for good” (vs. 31).
We call attention to all this, not to cast stones at Nehemiah or malign his character, but simply to point out that it is much better to humble ourselves and allow the Lord to work in guilty hearts, rather than resort to human energy. The Lord in His ways may allow human energy to accomplish His purpose, but how much better to allow Him to work. Then cold hearts are warmed and brought back to Him, and ultimately He gets the glory, not we who may be used of Him.
W. J. Prost