Timely Truth

Nehemiah 2:10-18

So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.
And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.

Do we have the habit of talking about everything we know—letting others know just how much we know—especially when it come to what we believe God is placing in our hearts? Today we continue with the example of Nehemiah. Yesterday, we saw how he focused upon God when bad news came to him; today, he acts forcefully but with a reserved tongue.

In the first half of Chapter 2, we have the communication of what he understood from his focus on God’s desires and how he answers the King truthfully, clearly and succinctly and that this and God’s action upon the King brings a favorable result—off to Jerusalem.

So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. 1

Notice how Nehemiah unfolds truth in due time, not saying everything he believes until God’s time. This is not out of doubt of what God said but honoring God’s time of revealing. While the exact purpose of Nehemiah’s presence was unknown, there already was opposition to his presence:

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. 2

Nehemiah proceeds expeditiously to do what he came to do but without fanfare, avoiding drawing attention to himself, keeping on-task.

 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”  
And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me.
And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.  3

There came a time to reveal what God had put in his heart but much was accomplished by ‘timely truth.’ Sometimes we say more than we need to say, say it too soon or to the wrong people. See how in the fullness of time, the revealing brought unity and a concerted effort upon the work to be done.

Staying in God’s timing takes patience, humility and maybe a little practice. Wait for God’s time for your time.

FOOTNOTES:
1 Nehemiah 2:11-12 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/neh/2/11-12/s_415011
2 Nehemiah 2:10 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/neh/2/10/s_415010
3 Nehemiah 2:15-18 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/neh/2/15-18/s_415015
Nehemiah 2:10-18 (ESV) - https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/neh/2/10-18/s_415010
All Scripture references from the Blue Letter Bible, ESV
at https://www.blueletterbible.org
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2025 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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