May 9, 2025, Nehemiah 2:1-8
May 9, 2025, Nehemiah 2:1-8
2 In the
month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine
was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not
been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to
me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing
but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I
said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be
sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and
its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 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.” 6 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. 7 And I said to the king, “If it
pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province
Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to
Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the
king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates
of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the
house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the
good hand of my God was upon me.
These verses share
Nehemiah’s desire to go to Judah. He expresses his wish to the king and
it is granted permission to go.
This reminds me of the
goodness of God, our King. God sees and understands the conditions of our
heart and because he understands sadness He recognizes it in us. How do
you approach the King in prayer, in sadness? He longs to hear from
us.
Robin Adams
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