And the king said to
me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will
you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.
THE STUDY:
Continuing on with the
outline of the book of Nehemiah, we find in this section (the request) the
permission from the King. The word šēgal
is not the usual word for “queen.” In Ps 45:10 it appears to refer to the chief
member of the royal harem. We do not know whether it was his official queen,
Damaspia, or some favorite from his harem. But why was she mentioned here? Some
suggest she may have favored Nehemiah and thus helped his cause.19
Others suggest her significance was as a witness of the king’s words to
Nehemiah. The detailed questions and answers and the fact that the queen was
not usually present at the great feasts suggest that this may have been a more
private scene.[1]
The king’s response is
evidence of the sovereignty of God in the affairs of nations. We expect God to
be able to work through a dedicated believer like Nehemiah, but we forget that
God can also work through unbelievers to accomplish His will.[2]
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY
WITH ….
- We walk away this morning with the understanding that in the case of Nehemiah God answered his earlier prayers by using people that Nehemiah may not have ever expected. This is how God can work! No one is off limits to God.
- I am reminded in the book of Jeremiah how God called King Nebuchadnezzar His servant, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant” (Jer. 43:10) Just because someone is not a believer doesn’t mean they cannot be used by God to fulfill his purpose.
APPLICATION:
In a small
town lived on elderly woman who loved the Lord very much. Every morning she
would run out on the front porch of her home and shout, "Praise the Lord!". This
really made her next door neighbor mad because he was an atheist. So each
morning he would shout back at her, "There ain't no Lord!"
Hard
times hit the little town and the elderly woman still ran out on her front
porch every morning to shout, "Praise the Lord!", but now she
added; "...and Lord please send me some groceries." Her neighbor
thought, "This is my chance to teach her a lesson!"
The next
morning when the elderly woman ran out on her front porch to shout,
"Praise the Lord", she noticed a nice big bag of groceries
waiting for her. She shouted, "Thank You and Praise You,
Lord!" Out from behind a bush jumped her neighbor, laughing
and saying; "I told you there ain't no Lord! I bought
those groceries!"
The elderly woman replied; "Praise
the Lord! Not only did You give me groceries, You made the devil pay
for them!"
This morning I believe God wants
you to know that he hears your prayers and he will answer them, The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears
the prayer of the righteous (Proverbs 15:29). There is power in your
prayers, The prayer of a righteous person
has great power as it is working (James 5:16). Keep praying and watch God
work in ways you never thought possible.
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
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