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 wasn’t
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, don’t
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 didn’t think
you would say ‘yes’ so
I’m
gonna have to think about that...”
I’m 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 afraid” to asking for the moon?
I think it has to do with who
Nehemiah was serving. While in his “day
job” he 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.
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