As we mentioned last week, the incident before us took place in the 20^th year of King Artaxerxes which would be around 446-445 BC. Nehemiah was in the Persian capital at Shushan or Susa, a winter residence of the Persian kings near the Persian Gulf. One of Nehemiah’s brethren, a man by the name of Hanani, brought news back to Susa from the city of Jerusalem. This news, we see, caused Nehemiah great turmoil and distress. He had perhaps hoped to receive a favorable response to his inquiry. After all, the Israelites had been back in Jerusalem for close to a hundred years by this point. So what happened? How did Israel end up in exile in the first place, and why weren’t things improved by Nehemiah’s day?

Today we enter – finally! – upon a study of the book of Nehemiah. To begin our study, it is absolutely necessary for us to understand why Nehemiah was able to accomplish the things that he did. And the answer, not surprisingly, is that the Spirit of God was upon him. Though the phrase is never used, the truth of it permeates his ministry. God enabled him, God empowered him, to serve the people of God in just this way. Nehemiah was a great man not because of some intrinsic quality but because God made him so. Nehemiah’s great deeds are the result of his Great God inspiring and empowering him for service. It is this we shall see as we survey Nehemiah today.