The name Nehemiah means, “The Lord Comforts.” Yet, there was little to comfort Nehemiah when the people he loved lived in a city with no walls. Now that their Babylonian captivity was over many of God’s faithful people had moved back to Jerusalem. But they found it demolished. It was burned to the ground, and the outer walls of defense were completely destroyed. The people were frail and defenseless. They were at the complete mercy of any enemy that would come upon them. Knowing their dangerous situation, Nehemiah’s heart went out to them. He even wept for them (Neh. 1:3-4).

Nehemiah was in a position of great authority. He was the official cupbearer to King Artaxerxes (Neh. 1:11). That meant he could talk to the king. He had the ear of the most powerful man in the world. What a tremendous position. It was a position of high honor he was willing to use, and then give up for the benefit of the ones he loved. He asked the king if he might go to Jerusalem and help his people rebuild the city (Neh. 2:5).

With the king’s permission, Nehemiah went to Jerusalem and began a great reconstruction project (Neh. 2:17-18). But all did not go well. His enemies conspired against him (Neh. 4:7-11). Yet, their efforts were in vain. Nehemiah succeeded in rebuilding the wall, and his enemies lost their confidence and became afraid because they realized the work was done with the help of God (Neh. 6:15-16). Now Nehemiah’s people were protected.

This is a beautiful picture of what our Lord Jesus has done for us to give us His divine comfort and protection. Jesus was also in a position of great authority. Being one with the Father, all the majesty of heaven was His. Yet He gave up all the glory and set it aside to come to earth for our benefit (Phil. 2:6-7). He lived and worked like Nehemiah, so that we could have comfort and protection from our enemies. As St. Paul explains, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows” (2 Cor 1:3-5).

Even though, like Nehemiah, Jesus’ enemies conspired against him (Matt. 26:4, Mark 3:6), our Lord was successful. The love He showed us on the cross comforts us in time of sorrow, grief, or regret. When the enemies of chaos and confusion attack us, we have the comfort of His peace. When sin and guilt assault us, we have the comfort of His forgiveness. When evil surrounds us, we have the comfort of His goodness and mercy. Let such enemies cower in fear; in Christ we have the protection and comfort of the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, as the psalmist wrote long ago, “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life” (Ps. 119:50). Thank You Lord for keeping all Your promises in Jesus. Amen.

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Updated: Thursday February 21, 2008