Nehemiah 1:1-3

Nehemiah 1:1-3 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer. That position was good and bad. Back in Bible times, kings were powerful men with many enemies. There were a lot of attempts on the king’s life, and poisoning the king’s food was one way his enemies tried to get rid of him. The king had a trusted servant to taste his food just before he ate it himelf. Of course the cupbearer made sure the food was safe before he sampled it! And you can see why the king had no more trusted servant than his cupbearer. Nehemiah had a brother from Jerusalem to visit him at his job. He asked him how things were. He was shocked at the answer. Nehemiah’s home town was still in ruins from 70 years earlier when King Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed it. Zerubbabel and Ezra had rebuilt the beautiful Temple, but without a wall, Jerusalem was still defenseless. Wow! That was a shock to Nehemiah! He just asked his brother how things were, and what terrible news was delivered! But God had a plan. And God had Nehemiah in an important place to do an important job for Him and for His people. And God has an important job for you to do too! Are you ready for what God has for you to do?