Grace will find you if you stay in faith.

That’s the story of Nehemiah, whose book’s first two verses unveil this wonderful principle. Names in
the Scripture are a gateway to a thousand revelations. Thus, reading Nehemiah 1:1-2, let’s see a glimpse
of the revelations hidden in the names of the people and places there mentioned:

 The words of Nehemiah (Yahweh comforts) the son of Hachaliah (whom Yahweh enlightens).
And it came to pass in the month Chislev (his confidence), in the twentieth year (*), as I was in
Shushan the palace, that Hanani (‘gracious’), one of my brothers, came with certain men of
Judah (praise). And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the
exile/captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

Note the significance of the twentieth year, in which this is happening: TWENTY is the number of
exploitation and captivity – Jacob was exploited by Laban for 20 years (Genesis 31:38-42), Joseph was
sold to slave traders for 20 pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28), Jabin king of Canaan cruelly oppressed the
children of Israel for 20 years (Judges 4:1-3), Ezekiel was ordered to eat his food by weight of twenty
shekels a day to prophetically illustrate the impending judgment of exile and captivity upon the children
of Israel (Ezekiel 4:10-13)…

So in the month Chislev, in the month of ‘his confidence’, thus in the time of FAITH, Hanani (GRACE)
came with certain men of Judah – GRACE came with PRAISE (pointing to praise and prayer, Ps 22:3 –
God dwells in the praises of Israel) to give light (Hachaliah) and bring the comfort of God (Nehemiah) to
the people of God.

We can see it as Nehemiah was a son of light (1 Thess 5:5, James 1:17-18, Eph. 5:8) who, by his
persevering in faith (month/time of Chislev), while in captivity (twentieth year), GRACE (Hanani) came to
him.