Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian during the time of the Nazi regime, once said, “It is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians.”[1] The idea of spiritual isolation is one that does not affect many who, in modern societies, are at liberty to worship together freely. It is only those who have experienced separation from the substance of Christian fellowship who can truly understand this type of challenge. In light of our current times, with its sequestering and social distancing, it seems perhaps a more relevant topic than usual. As a Hebrew living in Babylonian exile, Nehemiah is certainly an example of someone who recognized the importance of being a devoted body of believers. His concern for the family of faith is evident from his prayer recorded in the first chapter of Nehemiah. While the principles that comprise a genuine faith may be easier to appreciate from the confinement of exile, they are foundational for all believers, in all situations, and should not be taken for granted. Furthermore, Nehemiah’s prayer reveals a clear exhortation for righteous community and sincere confession to serve as the bedrock of Christian fellowship.

To prove this emphasis on community and confession, the historical context should be examined first. The book of Nehemiah is “an anonymous composition that reached its present form sometime between 400 and 300 BC.”[2] Even though the author is anonymous, the majority of Nehemiah is conveyed as a personal account, and given the timeframe, these events transpire fairly late in the postexilic period of Israel’s history.[3] Despite living in Babylonian exile, Nehemiah had obtained a powerful position in the Persian court.[4] The text clearly states: “I was cupbearer to the king” (Nehemiah 1:11).[5] This position is one that would have afforded Nehemiah honor, position, power and access to the king.[6] Despite his relative comfort, however, Nehemiah still identifies himself as an Israelite and is overwhelmingly grieved when he learns of Jerusalem’s continued state of destruction.[7] This concern for the Jewish community, despite his own physical separation from it, highlights the importance of community in Nehemiah’s mind. Furthermore, this understanding of community reaches beyond a physical location. There is something greater that binds Nehemiah to the situation in Jerusalem. He is a Hebrew, and this identification to the larger Israelite community is secured through the realities of promise and faith. It is clear to see that the historical context focuses on the importance of community.      
           
Turning attention now to the literary context, we see that Nehemiah is a “theological history which intends to communicate what actually happened in space and time but is selective, with the purpose of showing how God was working among his people.”[8] While this may again touch on the idea of community, Nehemiah’s prayer brings to light an even weightier theme. That theme of course is confession. Almost every verse of this prayer either mentions the recollection of covenant obedience or offers a confession that covers Nehemiah individually and Israel as a people. A perfect example of this is when Nehemiah says, “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:6-7). It seems that Nehemiah, again including himself within the community of Israel, is offering confession on his own behalf, and in recognition of the community’s failure to obey God. In other words, “Nehemiah’s confession of personal and national sin responds to the echo of Deuteronomistic theology, which views Hebrew misfortune as punishment for covenantal disobedience.”[9] Towards the end of the prayer Nehemiah asks God for favor with the king, but this request comes only after the recognition of and repentance for the choices that lead to the current state of Israel. Nehemiah’s prayer, which is set as the beginning of the book, should be viewed as the foundation for all of the events which follow it. Therefore, it is undeniable that confession is a vital component for all that Nehemiah will accomplish. Having now thoroughly examined both the historical and literary contexts of Nehemiah’s prayer, it is time to turn the spotlight on the passage’s meaning.

The idea of true community, as discussed above, is built on the two pillars of promise and faith. These terms are essentially the components that create covenant, and clarify the relationship between God and humanity. “Covenant is one of the most significant concepts in the biblical material that affects our understanding of God, his relationship with his people, and the structure of his word.”[10] It is true that God brought the Israelites into the Promised Land, and that as his specific people there was a certain, deep connection with that gift of geography. However, it is not the land that created the community of Israel, it was Israel’s relationship with God. This is significant and can be demonstrated by the fact that God had already established covenant with Israel before bringing them to the Promised Land.[11] Furthermore, Nehemiah is so upset when he hears the news of Jerusalem’s broken-down state that he, “mourned and fasted and prayed before the God” (Nehemiah 1:4), but this deep conviction and concern for his homeland is in response to how that destruction represents the reality of Israel’s broken spiritual relationship with God. This is why Nehemiah’s prayer “is entirely in terms of the covenant between God and Israel.”[12] It is ultimately Israel’s identity as the people of God that produces true community. This transcends any specific region or place. The community of God’s people is defined and recognized not by its physical location, but by its relationship with him.

This is where the second theme of the passage, the need for confession, unlocks an additional layer of meaning. Relationship between Israel and God has been broken, and needs to be restored. In other words, “the expectation that Israel would respond to God’s love by keeping his commandments was absolute and attended by sanctions. The Book of Deuteronomy had insisted that, ultimately, disobedience would result in loss of the land…Deuteronomy had also foreseen a restoration following the people’s repentance.”[13] Nehemiah clearly recognizes the wrongdoing on the part of Israel, but what is more important than the mere acknowledgement is the fact that he also confesses the sin before God. “The prayer, then, is essentially an appeal to God’s mercy, based on the knowledge of his character expressed in his covenant with Israel.”[14] Israel had repeatedly broken covenant and ignored her identity as God’s chosen people, but because of God’s great love and kindness he was always “willing to restore her to a rich, living relationship with himself when she repents and recognizes that it depends – on her part – upon a loving, and therefore obedient response to her Redeemer.”[15]

The meaning of Nehemiah’s prayer has become quite clear. The community of Christ is not found in one location, but is rather a collection of those who have come into relationship with God and bear the identity as his people. Moreover, since humanity, in its own nature, will never be able to perfectly live out the expectations of this covenantal agreement, confession becomes a necessary aspect of community life. Now that the matters of the context and meaning have been settled, the final component to examine is the significance of the passage.

The first question to be reviewed is on the grounds of what the modern reader should understand from the emphasis of community in Nehemiah’s prayer. Accordingly, the answer is that all believers, regardless of their earthly address, belong to the community of God. The identity that comes as part of the faith family should bring with it an unshakable unity. Regardless of non-essential doctrinal differences between denominations or even preferences in worship style, the greater mark of Christianity should be the agreement through faith in Christ. There is no perfect denomination and there is not perfect local church. This is why there needs to be participation, respect and integrated mission among Christian churches today. “Every Jerusalem this side of the heavenly one will have some defect, which will require the help and services of its friends.”[16] As an exile, and someone cut-off from his local community, Nehemiah reflects this understanding of true identity in his prayer. Today, to a great extent, community has become fragmented by the type of name on the church sign, when the identity of believers is rightly and ultimately found in the name of God alone. Nehemiah understood this, and hopefully the examination of his prayer will bring comprehension of this truth to the modern reader.

The final question is now at hand and it asks the modern reader to consider the role of confession in his or her daily life of faith. In answering this question, a three-fold pattern of prayer emerges that should be learned and implemented by Christians today. First, Nehemiah’s prayer demonstrates a firm resolve to seeking God in prayer.[17] This is evident of Nehemiah’s response to the news of Jerusalem and how he “sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4). It is not one simple prayer that he offered, but rather for days Nehemiah prayed and fasted and grieved in prayer over the situation. This displays a steadfast commitment. Second, Nehemiah recognizes his responsibility in the confession of broken covenant between God and his people. “There is no blame-shifting here. When Nehemiah muses on the imperfection of the people of God, he is driven to reflect upon his own. His own sinfulness is part of that broad canvas of wrong which accounts for all the displeasure of God which his people has known.”[18] While Nehemiah did not live in Jerusalem prior to captivity,[19] and while it would be easy to place the entire blame for disaster on his forefathers, Nehemiah instead recognizes his own sinfulness. This humble declaration of sin leads directly to the third aspect of Nehemiah’s prayer to be discussed.
 
The final point to be learned from Nehemiah on the theme of prayer is the importance of repetition. To see the impact of this, the final chapter, or outcome, of Nehemiah’s story must be considered. While Nehemiah’s successes, all stemming from his first prayer, can be seen throughout the book, the final chapter does not leave the audience on a blissful note. Nehemiah is again asking God’s forgiveness on behalf of the people’s persisting sin.[20] However, even in this somewhat disappointing end, there is something significant to be learned. “The last chapter finds Nehemiah in prayer for the continuing sin of the people, reminding contemporary readers that repentance is not a onetime act, but a lifestyle.”[21] Thus, for those belonging to the community of faith, this three-fold pattern of prayer comes full circle, and present-day readers learn that their prayers should be humbly resolved, show responsibility and be submitted repeatedly.

In examining Nehemiah’s prayer through the lenses of context, meaning and significance, it has become evident that believers today could benefit from this example. Understanding the context allows the current reader to see the emphasis on community and confession. Further unpacking the meaning brings a heightened awareness of the fact that identity comes through faith in God, not a physical location or time. Additionally, sincere and constant confession is the mark of a healthy member in the community of Christ. All of this points to the why this passage is significant, and that is the reality that spiritual community should not be easily divided or diminished. The unity of shared faith should be the undeniable landmark of Christian community which is developed by an understanding of what the role of prayer within the body looks like. In studying the prayer of Nehemiah it is undeniable that the biblical concepts of community and confession are as relevant for the Evangelical church today as they were for the exiled Jew in Babylon. Again the words of that German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer ring true when he says:

“Our community with one another consists solely in what Christ has done to both of us. This is true not merely at the beginning, as though in the course of time something else were to be added to our community; it remains so for all the future and to all eternity… We have one another only through Christ, but through Christ we do have one another, wholly, for eternity.”[22]       

 [1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row, 1954), 17.
[2] Tremper Longman, The Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2013), 1205.
[3] Gordon D. Fee and Robert L. Hubbard, The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 2011), 291.
[4] Longman, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1204.
[5] Unless otherwise notes, all biblical passages referenced are in the New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011).
[6] Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 4 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988), 683.
[7] Longman, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1204.
[8] Ibid., 1205.
[9] Fee and Hubbard, Eerdman’s Companion to the Bible, 292
[10] Longman, Illustrated bible Dictionary, 366.
[11] Ibid., 366-367.
[12] J.G. McConville, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther, vol. 12 of The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1985), 76.
[13] Ibid., 76.
[14] Ibid., 77.
[15] Ibid., 77.
[16] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentarty on the Whole Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson’s Publishers, 1997), 397.
[17] McConville, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther, 75.
[18] Ibid., 76.
[19] Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 591.
[20] McConville, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther, 149-150.
[21] Longman, Illustrated bible Dictionary, 1206.
[22] Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 84.