Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Nehemiah Chapter 2
Metaphysically Interpreting Nehemiah 2:1-10
2:1And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. 2:2And the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid. 2:3And I said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? 2:4Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 2:5And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. 2:6And the king said unto me (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.2:7Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through till I come unto Judah; 2:8and a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
2:9Then I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen. 2:10And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, for that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
May 27, 1945: Nehemiah 2:1-9
Artaxerxes asked Nehemiah, “For what dost thou make request?” Why? The king represents the will, and this faculty must be called into action when constructive work in the building up of peace (Jerusalem) is to be undertaken.
What scientific technique is in evidence in this lesson? Nehemiah “prayed to the God of heaven” before he replied to the king's question. He thus established contact with the higher will, making it easy for the human will (the king) to view his request with favor.
What is the first condition under which prayer is answered? Complete absorption in the heart's desire. Nehemiah's feelings were aroused to a high pitch of intensity by the news of the sad state of Jerusalem, and his intensity gave power to his prayer.
How is fear of failure overcome? By the prayer of faith. When we ask, believing, we fear nothing. Faith calls out our constructive attitude.
Since our dependence is on Divine Mind, is it necessary or desirable to use tact in our relations with people? Tact is both necessary and desirable, if the way is to be made smooth before us. We acknowledge Divine Mind to be the source of all our good, but man is the vehicle through which Divine Mind chiefly expresses itself, and he is entitled to be considered when Divine Mind is being invoked.
In undertakings in which we ask the help of Divine Mind is planning and forethought advisable or is it superfluous? It increases our understanding and prepares us to recognize and accept divine help when it comes. We can never have too much understanding or intelligence for any situation.
May 27, 1945: Nehemiah 2:1-8
Those who question whether we should pray for specific things instead of acknowledging the all-wisdom of Divine Mind and resting in the faith that what is for our highest good will come to us, find in this lesson a resolving of their uncertainty. Nehemiah prayed for the express desire of his heart. The answer he received could not have been more complete, for Artaxerxes, the channel through which the answer was conveyed, granted his every request.
If prayer is to be answered the first condition that must be present is complete absorption in the heart's desire. Unless we desire a thing strongly enough to have it on our mind continually, we need not expect a complete answer. The supreme One must be approached |n oneness of purpose. Nehemiah was so moved by the report he received of the plight of Jerusalem that he mourned and wept for days as he prayed. Such a negative state of mind is inadvisable in prayer. Nevertheless it aroused in Nehemiah enough intensity of feeling to put him in touch with the soul of the universe, the Father-Mother principle of Being in which all bounty resides.
Fear of failure is banished by prayer, which maintains a constructive attitude that is most important. Asked to make known his request, Nehemiah “prayed to the God of heaven” before complying.
Tactfulness in our relations with others is an important aid in obtaining requests. Nehemiah trusted God, but he was careful to the full customary homage to the king. Otherwise he would not have heard. “The king granted me according to the good hand of my God upon me.” Divine Mind works through man, and while we acknowledge Mind as the source of all good, we do well at the same time to acknowledge the vehicle through which Mind expresses itself.
In Divine Mind is all wisdom and knowledge, and it is our prerogative as well as our duty to use this wisdom in planning the path of our desire. Those who leave all to God, making no effort to understand the nature of their desire or the method of its fulfillment, may receive a complete answer provided that their faith is firm enough to compensate for their lack of active co-operation in the work of Mind. Those who pray for the success of a vast enterprise such as the restoration of a city and the rebuilding of a temple need to understand all that is involved in the undertaking, and to that end they should plan and use foresight. Otherwise, the answer that comes through man will not be perfect or complete. Nehemiah asked not only permission to return to Jerusalem for a definite length of time but for safe conduct through the provinces that lay between Babylon and Jerusalem as well as for a grant of timber from the king's forest for the necessary building. He overlooked none of the essentials, but was specific in his requests and intelligent in his grasp of the situation that he chose to confront.
– UNITY magazine.
Metaphysically Interpreting Nehemiah 2:11-16
2:11So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. 2:12And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem; neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. 2:13And I went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the jackal's well, and to the dung gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. 2:14Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. 2:15Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned. 2:16And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
Metaphysically Interpreting Nehemiah 2:17-20
2:17Then said I unto them, Ye see the evil case that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 2:18And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, as also of the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 2:19But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? 2:20Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
May 27, 1945: Nehemiah 2:17
How was Nehemiah’s faith rendered effectual? Nehemiah's faith in the power of God was so strong and complete that it inspired others to do works that they ordinarily might not be able to do. Supreme faith in God quickens our faculties, and speeds the consummation of our prayer requests.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 02-05-2014
