Nehemiah - Part 4

The compassion of Nehemiah.

Neh 1: 4 - When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

I just want to dwell on verse 4 a little longer. The Hebrew word for "sat down" gives the impression that the person is so filled with sorrow that he sat there for a very long time, long enough to make it a place of abode. Usually when someone dies in a home, the affected parties become so grieved that they remain seated in a place for a very long time. Such was the grief of Nehemiah. It was for many days. It was as though his house has been broken down, his own life was shattered. We must not forget that Nehemiah was a 3rd generation Jew born in captivity. He probably has never been to Jerusalem before. But what happened there affected him so badly as though his own house was broken down.

He wept. It was as though he was mourning for someone's dead. The word implies that it was so severe that you can hear the sound of falling drops of tears. Anguish of the soul. Add together fasting and mourning. Perfect ingredients for intercession with compassion.

The Greek word for compassion comes from two words. "Com "which means with and "passio", which means suffering. The word actually means "to suffer with". When Nehemiah heard the news it was as if he was suffering together with the affected people. When Jesus was moved with compassion, it was as if he was suffering together with the people. That is true compassion. When you grief over the death of your loved one or when you suffer hurt or pain in your body, my Jesus suffers with you. He griefs with you and He is there with you in that misery. That's the extent of the amazing compassion of Jesus. In fact He gave His life for you and me.

What a compassion. What a heart that this civil servant had. I sometimes wonder how we can see so many things happening around us and it does not move us at all. The natural disasters, the dying souls, the difficult situations are often dismissed as part of the life cycle. It does not move us to pray or intercede. Such compassion only comes from being in close communion with the God of compassion. Jesus said in John 15:4-5 : Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine"; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

In Exodus 32: 31 - So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." What an example of compassion.

May God help us that our hearts will be tender, like that of Nehemiah's, moved with compassion, especially for the dying world.

“Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God,” Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision.