Nehemiah explained the why before he spoke about the how and the what. He took three days to carefully analyze the problem in Jerusalem. Only after that did he speak to the Jews, the priests, the nobles, and the officials of the city. He knew that when he spoke to them, he would have to take the principle of trust into account. For they would only trust his plan once he had succeeded in earning their trust.
Nehemiah 2:5-18 describes very well how Nehemiah managed to explain the why before speaking about the how and the what. He gave people the following reasons to build trust in the why.
- He himself made a binding commitment to the project. (2:5)
- Asaph had approved the timber and beams for building the gates. (2:8)
- The current situation is a disgrace for Israel. (2:17)
- The broken-down walls cannot protect any of them. (2:17)
- The hand of God and his favor rest on him and on this project. (2:18)
- King Artaxerxes personally gave him permission to come here and rebuild the wall. (2:18)
Nehemiah 2:5 So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.
Nehemiah 2:8 And 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 palace which appertained 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.
Nehemiah 2:17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress 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. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also 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 this good work.
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