the king's cupbearer
My friend Stephanie Cherry has been leading a women's bible study on Nehemiah, and I am loving learning more about the Lord through it. Nehemiah was the trusted cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, and the one entrusted by God to head up the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem. His name means "Yahweh Comforts."
Stephanie felt led to do this study as a homiletic; to study the book of Nehemiah as though we would preach on it. I've never done this approach and it's been good to learn the discipline and art of this type of study. "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction." 2 Timothy 4:2
Today as we began in chapter two of Nehemiah, I was again comforted and encouraged by the foretelling of Jesus through the life of this humble cupbearer. This man who grieved over the ruins of his fathers' city, weeping and fasting. This man who dared to show emotion, to show his sadness in the King's presence.
Until today, I didn't realize this wasn't allowed. To be sad in the presence of a king meant certain death. To show any emotion. Yet Nehemiah couldn't contain it, wouldn't contain it. And his sadness wasn't about himself, his well-being.
It was about the state of Jerusalem.
Think about that for a moment. How many of us would be so burdened for our city that we would not be able to contain our grief, even to the point of death? This helps us to understand why Nehemiah was so favored by the Lord. His heart for the Lord and His people moved our Lord's heart.
Nehemiah is known for his planning, administrative skills. But in these opening chapters, we see a humble man, a man who prays and fasts with amazing results. A man whose contemporaries were Socrates, Plato - wise men by the world's standards that are still studied and revered today. But God's eyes were on Nehemiah, a humble cupbearer, to take up this task of rebuilding Jerusalem.
I love what these verses imply for us. Do we risk public humiliation, even in safe places like our churches, when we are burdened for our city? Are we burdened to the point that we cannot hide it, will not hide it? We hate the thought of risking having someone think we are emotionally off-kilter, much less risking death over it!
I want to be a Nehemiah. A humble servant of the Lord, who prays and fasts, then gets up and does the work. As Stephanie pointed out, we can stay on our faces all day long. But there is work to be done.
And they said to me, "The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire." So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:3,4
Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." Nehemiah 2:4,5
Stephanie felt led to do this study as a homiletic; to study the book of Nehemiah as though we would preach on it. I've never done this approach and it's been good to learn the discipline and art of this type of study. "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction." 2 Timothy 4:2
Today as we began in chapter two of Nehemiah, I was again comforted and encouraged by the foretelling of Jesus through the life of this humble cupbearer. This man who grieved over the ruins of his fathers' city, weeping and fasting. This man who dared to show emotion, to show his sadness in the King's presence.
Until today, I didn't realize this wasn't allowed. To be sad in the presence of a king meant certain death. To show any emotion. Yet Nehemiah couldn't contain it, wouldn't contain it. And his sadness wasn't about himself, his well-being.
It was about the state of Jerusalem.
Think about that for a moment. How many of us would be so burdened for our city that we would not be able to contain our grief, even to the point of death? This helps us to understand why Nehemiah was so favored by the Lord. His heart for the Lord and His people moved our Lord's heart.
Nehemiah is known for his planning, administrative skills. But in these opening chapters, we see a humble man, a man who prays and fasts with amazing results. A man whose contemporaries were Socrates, Plato - wise men by the world's standards that are still studied and revered today. But God's eyes were on Nehemiah, a humble cupbearer, to take up this task of rebuilding Jerusalem.
I love what these verses imply for us. Do we risk public humiliation, even in safe places like our churches, when we are burdened for our city? Are we burdened to the point that we cannot hide it, will not hide it? We hate the thought of risking having someone think we are emotionally off-kilter, much less risking death over it!
I want to be a Nehemiah. A humble servant of the Lord, who prays and fasts, then gets up and does the work. As Stephanie pointed out, we can stay on our faces all day long. But there is work to be done.
And they said to me, "The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire." So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:3,4
Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." Nehemiah 2:4,5