Would you like to read James McNaught’s novel Sinking Sand”? click here: Sinking Sand
(The views expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Nehemiah 2:1–8, “And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? 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. And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; 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 was a very important man in the Persian kingdom. He was, officially, called the king’s cupbearer. This involved tasting all the food and drink that the king consumed just before the king took it so that the king could not be poisoned. Consequently he was with the king all the time, even if the king wanted to have a drink of water during the night. After a while, he would develop a close and trusted relationship with the king because they were together all the time. The king would often discuss important issues with him as well. There was also a rule that everyone had to be happy when they were with the king so that the king could be happy himself. Nehemiah, of course, was making a great effort not to burden the king with his own problems. One day the king asked Nehemiah why he was sad, Nehemiah was surprised and, perhaps, afraid. However, he prayed to the Lord and told the king that he was sad because the city that where his ancestors had lived, died and been buried for hundreds of years was lying in ruins. When the king heard him, he asked Nehemiah what he wanted to do about this. It is interesting to note that the historical record also notes that the queen was sitting beside him. This queen was, probably, Esther whose history is recorded in the next book. Nehemiah asked the king to give him permission and the required permits and authority to return to his ancient homeland and rebuild the city of his ancestors.
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