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?
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