YEAR 3, WEEK 2, Day 4, Thursday, 8 January 2026

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Nehemiah+1

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Thursday, 8 January 2026:

Note: Here is a video overview of Nehemiah — https://bibleproject.com/videos/ezra-nehemiah/

Nehemiah 1:1 — The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel.

Nehemiah’s story begins quietly, not on a battlefield or at a wall, but in a foreign palace. He is far from Jerusalem, embedded in the center of Persian power, living what many would call a successful and secure life. Yet Scripture immediately anchors his identity not in his position but in his name and lineage. God’s work often begins in obscurity, and His servants are frequently placed strategically in places of influence long before they understand why. Faithfulness is being forged before assignment is revealed.

Nehemiah 1:2 — That Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.

Nehemiah asks. He does not insulate himself from hard news. Many people prefer distance from pain they cannot immediately fix, but godly leadership leans in. Nehemiah’s concern reveals that comfort has not numbed compassion. Though he has never lived in Jerusalem, its condition matters deeply to him. Love for God’s purposes is not limited by geography or personal experience. He seeks truth before action, information before reaction.

Nehemiah 1:3 — And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

The report is devastating. The people are not merely struggling; they are disgraced. Broken walls mean vulnerability, insecurity, and reproach. Jerusalem’s physical ruin reflects spiritual and communal brokenness. God’s people are alive, but exposed. This verse introduces a key theme of Nehemiah: restoration is not cosmetic. Shame, danger, and dysfunction persist even after return from exile. Being back in the land does not mean the work of renewal is complete.

Nehemiah 1:4 — As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

This is the turning point. Nehemiah’s response is not immediate strategy but prolonged sorrow. He weeps, mourns, fasts, and prays — for days. The burden becomes personal. This is not performative emotion but sustained intercession. God often births callings through grief. What breaks your heart persistently may be what God intends to rebuild through you. Nehemiah refuses to rush to action without first being shaped by God in prayer.

Nehemiah 1:5 — And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.”

Nehemiah begins with worship. Before confessing sin or requesting help, he anchors himself in who God is. God is sovereign (“God of heaven”), powerful (“great and awesome”), and faithful (“keeps covenant and steadfast love”). Prayer that moves mountains begins with theology that steadies the soul. Nehemiah’s confidence rests not in his role or ability but in God’s unchanging character.

Nehemiah 1:6-7– Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant…. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments….

Nehemiah confesses corporately. He includes himself — “we” — even though the sins occurred generations before his birth. True intercession identifies with the people rather than standing above them. Nehemiah does not minimize sin or blame circumstances. He calls rebellion what it is. Renewal always begins with honest confession. God does not heal what we excuse.

Nehemiah 1:8-9 — Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses… if you return to me… I will gather them….

Nehemiah prays Scripture back to God. He appeals to God’s promises, not human merit. Judgment and mercy are both acknowledged. Exile was deserved, but restoration was promised. This is covenantal prayer — bold, grounded, and faithful. Nehemiah understands that repentance is not a way to earn favor but a response to promised grace. God’s word fuels hope even in ruin.

Nehemiah was in great despair and mourning because he understood the implications of the fact that after God had miraculously moved the heart of king Cyrus to support Zerubbabel in rebuilding the temple, and after God had miraculously moved the heart of king Artaxerxes to support Ezra in leading a large body of exiles back to the holy city and in teaching the people of Israel the Law, the Israelites had returned to the same sins that led them to their exile in the first place. As a result, the restoration they had long hoped for was in jeopardy. Nehemiah understood that restoration depended on true repentance, a complete change of heart, mind, and behavior, against sin and for God.

• Jeremiah 8:5 — Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return.
• Hosea 11:7 — My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.
• Luke 6:46 — Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
• 2 Peter 2:20-22 — For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” (Compare with Matthew 12:43-45)
• Ezekiel 18:32 — For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.
• Isaiah 55:6-7 — Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
• Mark 1:4 — John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
• Matthew 4:17 — From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
• Luke 5:32 — I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
• Acts 2:38 — And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
• Acts 17:30 — The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
• Romans 2:4 — Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
• 2 Peter 3:9 — The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
• 1 John 1:9 — If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
• 2 Corinthians 7:10 — For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
• 2 Chronicles 7:14 — If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
• Acts 11:18 — When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
• Romans 12:9 — Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
• Revelation 2:5 — Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
• Revelation 3:19 — Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
• Revelation 18:4 — Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;
• James 4:4-10 — You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
• Luke 24:47 — And that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Nehemiah was so distraught over the sins of his people that, despite being personally unaffected directly by what was going on in Jerusalem, he “wept and mourned for days and continued in fasting and praying before God…. confessing the sins of the people of Israel,” even taking personal responsibility for contributing to the culture of sin. Nehemiah was driven to intercessory prayer, but he was also convicted to risk his career and his life in order to personally help his people return to the Lord.

• 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 — All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

How convicted are you concerning the sins commonly accepted among God’s people, and how convicted are you concerning your own complacency and complicities? How bad do the sins of God’s people have to be before you are driven to weep and mourn for days, fasting and praying before God and confessing the sins of the people as well as yourself? And having been entrusted by God with the message and ministry of reconciliation, how passionate are you to spread the Gospel and to make disciples, and what are you willing to risk in order to accomplish this mission? What are you willing to risk in order to proclaim “repentance and forgiveness of sins… in His Name to all nations”? (Luke 24:47)

Nehemiah 1:10 — They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.

Nehemiah reminds God, and himself, who the people belong to. They are not abandoned, disposable, or forgotten. Redemption defines identity. God’s past salvation becomes the basis for present petition. The God who delivered once is trusted to act again.

Nehemiah 1:11 — O Lord, let your ear be attentive… and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Only now does Nehemiah mention his role. The prayer reveals that God has already positioned him strategically. His access to the king is not accidental; it is providential. Yet Nehemiah does not presume upon it. He asks for mercy, not leverage. Courage will be required, but courage is born in prayer. Before Nehemiah rebuilds walls, God builds resolve.

This chapter ends without action—but not without movement. Everything necessary for obedience has been set in motion through prayer. Nehemiah teaches us that lasting restoration begins when brokenness is carried into God’s presence long enough for His purposes to take root.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 8 January 2026: Pay attention to what consistently grieves you about God’s people or God’s purposes. Sit with it. Pray over it. Fast if needed. Ask God whether this burden is preparation for obedience.

Pray: “God of heaven, great and faithful Lord, teach me not to rush past brokenness or numb myself to pain You intend to use. Give me a heart that weeps where You weep and prays before it plans. Expose sin without crushing hope, and anchor my confidence in Your promises, not my position. Prepare me quietly for whatever obedience You are forming in me. I trust You to redeem what is broken and to use even my grief for Your glory. Amen.”