LifeWay Family Bible Series for July 18: Nehemiah was God’s servant in Jerusalem_71204

Posted: 7/09/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for July 18

Nehemiah was God's servant in Jerusalem

Nehemiah 1:2-7, 10-11; 2:4-8, 17-18

By Rodney McGlothlin

First Baptist Church, College Station

The book of Nehemiah tells the story of a man who helped to rebuild Jerusalem. Like many of the heroes of Scripture, he was not a professional spiritual man. He was a government worker attached to a foreign king's domestic service. It was not a particularly Baptist sort of job. He served wine in the royal household. He did so with a cheerful presence and winsome attitude.

The king took notice of his enthusiastic servant and questioned his hangdog appearance on one occasion. Nehemiah let him know he was depressed over the ruin of his homeland. The king asked what he would like to do about it. Nehemiah asked for a promotion of responsibilities. He wanted to be elevated from cupbearer to building contractor.

Nehemiah became a building contractor working under orders of the king to rebuild his ancestral city. It may have been a secular work to spend a life with bricks and mortar, labor negotiations, building permits and political intrigue. Yet nothing is secular when it is done to the glory of God. God used this man and his gifts to accomplish things religious leaders could not envision. You can be similarly useful in God's kingdom. How?

Be faithful where you are

I doubt you will find an ad in any paper in America seeking a building contractor with prior experience in cup bearing. To my knowledge, they do not teach cup bearing as a course in the school of construction management at Texas A&M. But King Artaxerxes was not looking for a contractor at the time. He was not looking for someone to rebuild the walls of a potential enemy state. His servant caught his eye for other reasons. He was faithful.

Jesus would teach a parable about servants who were faithful in little things being entrusted with greater things. Nehemiah began the journey of faithfulness with an entry-level position. He rose to greater responsibility, not only to King Artaxerxes, but to the King of Kings. He was like Joseph in Egypt, faithfully serving the needs of his prison guards until the opportunity for a higher call came along. When it did, he was ready. Be faithful where you are.

Be sensitive to suffering

When Nehemiah heard the plight of the surviving exiles in Jerusalem, he wept, mourned, fasted and prayed (Nehemiah 1:4). His attitude toward the remnant in Jerusalem was vastly different than Jonah's toward the Ninevites.

Jonah ran from God's call because he was afraid God would forgive the hated gentile city and heal them. Nehemiah ran toward God's call because he feared Jerusalem would never again reflect God's glory. He was seeking the blessing of Jerusalem, not resume enhancement. He wanted to see the suffering of God's people relieved, their usefulness restored and the glory of God returned to his ancestral home.

Be confident in God's word

Why should anyone hope for a future for Jerusalem under the circumstances? They were a laughingstock among the nations. Their only hope? God had made them a promise. Nehemiah dared to believe the promise was still valid. God would yet stand by his marker. The city would be delivered, not by the cleverness of Artaxerxes' faithful servant, but by the will of a sovereign and promising God.

Paul says we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). We often feel like less than conquerors. We feel more like “sheep to be slaughtered” (Romans 8:36).

Jerusalem was full of folks in Nehemiah's day who were sheepish in their faith. They were ready for the slaughter, resigned to their fate. A nation away, they had a countryman who still had more confidence in the promises of God than in the fickleness of history and circumstance. What could earthly kings do to thwart the promises of the God of kings?

Be open to the call of God

Nehemiah was open to the call of God. He did more than pray for deliverance. Like Moses before him, he was willing to be a deliverer in the hands of God. It would take all God's working through him to accomplish the task.

Read the story of Nehemiah. You may find the path there to your own service. He has a place for you.

I love Vacation Bible School. It does more than serve the needs of the children. It also builds the church. Every year, some parent drops a child off at our Bible school and then hangs around to keep an eye on their precious little one. We put them to work, preferably not in the room with their child. By the end of the week, they have met some adult friends, participated in something worthwhile for their children and found a place where their service is needed in a church. When these folks formally join the church, they are ready to work. They came in working.

I long for the day when our churches are filled with people like Nehemiah, people who will grieve over the downfall of the church. People who will pray, repent and seek the fulfillment of God's promises.

Questions for discussion

What has God burdened your heart about? What are you doing about it?