Then the king said to
me, “What are you requesting?” 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, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’
graves, that I may rebuild it.”
THE STUDY:
Nehemiah understood
politics. He knew, not only when to approach the King and how to correctly
address royal figures, but He also knew how to make a proper request. Nehemiah
spoke with courtesy “If it pleases the
king” and humility “your
servant”. He asked the king to send
him to the city where his
ancestors were buried so that he might start the process to rebuild. Again Nehemiah avoided
mentioning Jerusalem specifically.[1]
Persians were paranoid
about respect for the dead and proper burial. The phrase evoked immediate
sympathy from this monarch who only a few years before had ordered the work of
rebuilding Jerusalem to cease (2:3).
In a masterpiece of
diplomacy, Nehemiah avoided mentioning the word Jerusalem. That name would have
reminded the king of his earlier investigation regarding the history of that
city (cf. Ezra 4:8–23). Eventually, of course, the king would have ascertained
the name of the city. At the outset of the negotiations, however, expediency
dictated that Nehemiah not mention the name of the place.[2]
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY
WITH ….
- We walk away with the understanding that not only should we pray, and have the understand of protocol when it comes to addressing problems, we should show respect! Respect to those who we are addressing and, most importantly, respect to God.
APPLICATION:
Nehemiah new
who he was talking to when he prayed and he knew who he was talking to when he
asked to be released to go rebuild the wall. He didn’t get an attitude of
cockiness after praying and trusting the Lord to answer his request. He
understood that respect was needed for the human king just as well for the
heavenly king.
I am reminded
of the story where David was being chased by King Saul and two times David had
the opportunity to kill King Saul. Because of David’s relationship with God he
refused, both times, to pass on the opportunity instead bring glory to God and
trust the Lord.
Today, we
might be facing a situation that the Lord has promised victory over. Let us be
careful and not become self-righteous but let us humble ourselves to others so
that God will get the glory.
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
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