2/9/09

Nehemiah 2:1-7 NIV

Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem 1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; 2 so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart." I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
4 The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
7 I also said to him, "If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?" And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.

The king, Artaxerxes, wanted to know why Nehemiah was sad. He was sad because the walls in the city of Jerusalem were broken down and in ruin. The king asked what Nehemiah wanted. In this Scripture, Nehemiah is asking the king for authority to do what God wanted him to do. It was something that he needed to do. After the king asked Nehemiah what his request was, Nehemiah prayed to God. That is very important here...that he prayed to see what God actually wanted him to do. When he received his answer from God, he told the king what his request was - to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city. In verse 6, Nehemiah set a timeframe of how long it might take him.

Nehemiah was commissioned by the authority of the king at that time. He did not just go to rebuild the city but to recover what was lost. We receive our salvation but we also need to rebuild and recover our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Today's situations seem overwhelming to most people. There are many who do not know how to handle all that is going on in the world today. So many are out there searching and looking for answers. As children of God, we need to love, teach and allow the Holy Spirit to draw them into the Kingdom. In renewal there is restoration from oppression, destruction from sin, giving people hope and a reason to live a righteous life. They (and we do too) need a relationship with the Father.

We can learn much from this Scripture. The king actually encouraged Nehemiah to tell him what was wrong...what was he thinking about. This gave Nehemiah the boldness to actually tell him what was bothering him. Then he sought the direction of His Father by praying and asking what was His Will. Many times we want to go and do what we think God would want us to do and that's not God's plan at all. Then when we fail, we want to blame God for it. Nehemiah was wise in consulting with the Father what to say, where he should go and I believe even the timeframe in which he was accomplish this task.

Let us always pray, seek God and see what amazing adventures and tasks that he will have us accomplish in His Name and for His Glory!