Thursday, June 26

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Nehemiah 2:1-8
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, 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, but I said to the king, May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?
The king said to me, What is it you want?
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 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 ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.
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.
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? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, 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 on me, the king granted my requests.


There is a legendary story about a famous golfer who was once asked by a Saudi king to come and play golf with him. The golfer wasnt sure if he should go, but his friends convinced him. As he was playing the king told him he wanted to give him a gift of gratitude for coming to play with him. The golfer politely declined, but the king was persistent. The golfer finally said, Well, I do collect golf clubs, so I suppose you could give me a club for my collection.The king was delighted and promised to send him the gift of a golf club. After returning home the golf pro got to wondering what kind of club the king would send him. Would it be made of solid gold? Would it be studded with diamonds? The package arrived, but it was not the size of a golf club. The confused golfer opened it and found the legal deed to a country club; a golf club resort.

The moral of the story? When in the presence of a king, dont ask for small gifts!

King Artaxerxes has asked Nehemiah what he wants. Nehemiah has expressed his desire to rebuild the city where his ancestors are buried. I love what comes next:


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.
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? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, 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?
This is like a teenage son asking his father if he can use the car and then, once he has the keys, continuing on to ask for the credit card, the keys to the vacation home and permission to take a month off from school.
Again, we notice a couple of things here. Notice that Nehemiah is prepared when the opportunity comes. He has been praying for four months, but he has also been planning.
How do you think the King would have reacted if Nehemiah had responded, Well, gee, um... I really didnt think you would say yesso Im gonna have to think about that...Im not sure that would have gone very well for Nehemiah. I think he knew that kings like guys with a plan.
Second, notice that while he made his request very respectfully, he made a big ask! He asked for time off from his job; he asked for personal protection; he asked for the all the materials necessary for the rebuilding project; and, by the way, he asked for a house for himself as well.
Nehemiah asked for the car, the credit card, the vacation home and time off school all in one swoop!
How did he go from very afraidto asking for the moon?
I think it has to do with who Nehemiah was serving. While in his day jobhe worked as cupbearer to the King, in his heart and with his life Nehemiah served the God of heaven.
When you know who you answer to, you know what you can ask for.

Pastor Brian Coffey

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