NEHEMIAH 2 - GOD’S GOOD HAND UPON OUR GOOD WORK
Nehemiah 2
Nehemiah worked for King Artaxerxes. History tells us that he murdered two of his own brothers to secure the throne. Sounds like a pretty nice guy, right? Nehemiah would bring wine to the king everyday, and while he was in royal presence he had to show the utmost honor and respect. A slip of the hand or a misspoken word could cost Nehemiah his life.
On one particular day on the job, Nehemiah couldn’t hold it together. His face matched the heartache for his people and their land. When the king took notice of it, there was a terrible suspense. With his heart beating through his chest, Nehemiah had to answer very tactfully about why he was sad.
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, the city of my fathers tombs, that I may rebuild it.” 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.
Why did the king show so much favor? Was he trying to impress the queen that day with how nice of a guy he was? Had Nehemiah built up a long rapport with the king? All of these are possible, but only one thing is certain, God was in it. God had his good hand upon Nehemiah. The hand of God resting upon a person is a picture of favor and blessing being bestowed. There is no reason for why a pagan king would furlough his wine guy and cut down a whole forest to rebuild enemy territory. God wanted this to happen and so he made it happen.
Nehemiah had to answer a few questions before leaving. You better believe Nehemiah came with a plan. He already thought through the whole process. That is a quality of strong leadership. A strong leader has a vision and a plan, and they will be able to give an answer for it. These visions and plans are birthed in prayer, and thought through in fellowship with the Lord. Nehemiah was able to articulate to the king everything that God had put in his heart to do, and it pleased the king to send him. God’s good hand of favor is often bestowed on those who have a good plan to work hard with their own hands.
8 And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.
The resources given to Nehemiah show just how much favor he really had. He was sent with passports and visas, a invoice for a whole forest to be cut down and used as building material, with a little extra to build his own home. That’s pretty generous coming from a pagan king.
God orchestrated things in such a way as to prepare the work beforehand that Nehemiah should walk in it - insert Ephesians 2:10. That’s how our God works. He uses people, even if that means pagan kings who have no faith in God, to execute his plans and purposes. God knew all along what he wanted to do, and who he would use to do it. He used a Persian king who worshiped false deities to pay for the project, and he used a humble cupbearer with a broken and contrite heart to lead the charge.
18 And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.
When God has his good hand on someone or something there is no stopping it. This doesn’t mean that we sit back and God does all the work. When there is a good work to be done, the people of God need to rise up and put their hands too it. Often there are setbacks and pushbacks, but when God’s good hand comes upon you to do good work for him, epic things happen. Nehemiah had obtained favor from God, which gave him favor with man. He had a king’s backing and builders ready for the work, but more than anything he had God’s good hand resting upon him to complete this good work.