The Good Hand of God’s Grace

Nehemiah 2:1-10

    1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. 2 Therefore the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart."  So I became dreadfully afraid, 3 and said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?"

    4 Then the king said to me, "What do you request?"  So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it."

    6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), "How long will your journey be? And when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

    7 Furthermore I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy." And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

    9 Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.

Nehemiah experienced the good hand of God in His grace from the pagan King Artaxerxes.  He was the king’s cupbearer as the last verse of chapter one mentions in what seems an out of place aside, but is the transition into chapter two here.  As cupbearer, Nehemiah was trusted in the presence of Artaxerxes, for he put his life on the line as more than butler and confidant; one duty of a cupbearer was to choose and taste the king’s wine to make certain that it was not poisoned.  The need for trustworthy attendants is underscored by the intrigues that characterized the Persian court, for Xerxes, the father of Artaxerxes I, was killed in his own bedchamber by a courtier.  This position was solidified by tasting the wine for avoiding harm to the king at the risk of his own life.  Therefore, the king noticed when Nehemiah looked depressed and sad, and listened to the malady when he asked his trusted servant what was worrying him.  It is noteworthy that this was the first time he appeared right in front of the king, in his presence.  God moved the heart of the king, turning it like water to do as He planned through his servant (Proverbs 21:1).  Nehemiah told of the sorrow for his home town in ruins, the place where his ancestors were buried.  The king asked what he could do, and his trusted servant laid out the plan and timetable to return for the reconstruction.  The king sent him, along with letters of safe transit and timber to rebuild the gates, city walls, and a house to live in while the work was accomplished.  This was as it was written, granted by the king by the good hand of God upon Nehemiah.  As Hudson Taylor would say many centuries later, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack His supply.”  This work was planned by God and enabled by His working in the hearts of his servant and the unbelieving king.  Ah, but there was still opposition around Jerusalem when the news reached there, for a Horonite and an Ammonite official were outraged upon hearing the news that someone was coming to seek the well-being of Israel’s people in the land where they now had the upper hand after the Jews were led away into captivity.  We find reassurance then in knowing that if we are about our Father’s business, He will enable circumstances and keep us through the opposition.  This is trust in His sovereign grace, in spite of opposition and to make glad our hearts (Proverbs 17:22) by encouraging words from His word to us in the work of the gospel in building His kingdom through its proclamation and following teaching in making disciples of Jesus Christ.  This is the good hand of God’s grace as much for us as it was for Nehemiah.