God's Good Grip

A good grip can make all the difference. The grip on a golf club. On a tennis racket. On a baseball. The placement of your hands has everything to do with your performance. Nehemiah would agree. You wouldn’t think that grip would have much to do with being the royal cupbearer. Well, I guess you don’t want to drop the Cabernet in the king’s lap. On the other hand, we see the importance of a great grip on what goes down. A great grip puts Nehemiah in the presence of the most powerful man on the planet. A great grip opens the door for Nehemiah to make a ridiculous request. A great grip shoves a pagan king to sign off on rebuilding the Jewish capital. But let’s be sure of one thing. This has nothing to do with Nehemiah’s hand placement. This is because God has a firm grip on Nehemiah. The placement of His hands has everything to do with Nehemiah’s performance. God’s good grip makes all the difference.

It’s been four months since Nehemiah’s brother Hanani stopped by to break the bad news about the ongoing crisis in Jerusalem (Neh 1:1-3). That was back in Kislev during the winter, about the same time of the year as November and December on our calendar. It’s now Nisan (v1), roughly March or April. The breaking news about the city’s broken walls breaks Nehemiah’s heart. He spends day after day pleading with God to do something about it (Neh 1:5-11). He confesses not just his own sin but the repeated rebellion of the Israelites throughout the centuries. He calls upon God to act now on the covenant promises return His people to the Promised Land and restore His glory in Jerusalem. 

We read that it’s still during “the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes” (v1). He’s the ruler of the Persian superpower, the most dominant nation in the world at the time. In contrast, Nehemiah is a humble Hebrew slave in captivity. But the LORD has placed this lowly Israelite in a position that allows him access to the powerful person on the planet. He’s the “cupbearer to the king” (Neh 1:11). He’s not only the royal wine steward but he’s responsible for checking for poison. The good news is you get to drink the best wine. The bad news is the next sip could kill you. Yahweh’s hand is firmly on Nehemiah and His fingerprints are all over this situation. God’s good grip makes all the difference.

Despite receiving the heartbreaking news from his brother, Nehemiah makes a point of never wearing his emotions on his sleeve in front of the king. That could be dangerous. VERY dangerous. You see, kings like to know that you love living in their kingdom. A frown could get you killed. But one day, the burden of the Jerusalem crisis was just too much for the cupbearer and king noticed (v2). When Artaxerxes asks his royal sommelier what was going on, Nehemiah freaked out. He takes a deep breath and says, “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?” (v3). Well, it’s out there. The LORD presents Nehemiah with the opportunity and he leverages it for the glory of God’s kingdom.

You can feel the tension in the room. What will the king say? How will he respond? Will he “downsize” his cupbearer for having the gall and stupidity to say something like this? Is this his last day working in the palace? Is this is last day alive?!? But something crazy happens. “Then the king said to me, ‘What are you requesting?’” (v4). WHAT?!? Artaxerxes asks his cupbearer for how he can help! No pink slip. No head without a body. Instead, the most powerful person in the world wants to know what he can do to help a palace slave. This only happens when God has His hand on the situation. God’s good grip makes all the difference.

If we were standing in the room during this amazing conversation, we probably would notice a moment of silence. A pregnant pause. In my mind, I would be screaming, “Dude! Say something! The king wants to help! Jump on it!!” But there’s a reason for the quiet. That’s because Nehemiah is firing off a quick prayer to the LORD. “So I prayed to the God of heaven” (v4). Before he says anything else to Artaxerxes, he seeks God’s blessing on what’s about to happen. The future of Jerusalem hangs in the balance. We see hear that we don’t always have to drop to our knees and close our eyes for significant times of prayer. Sure, it’s important that both are part of the rhythm of our relationship with Jesus. Nehemiah gives us both here in the very first chapter. He prays for days (Neh 1:4). He prays in the blink of an eye (v4). It’s what the Apostle Paul describes as “pray without ceasing” (1Th 5:17). When you’re in a state of constant prayer and dependance on God, quick requests are easy. We can be in an ongoing attitude of prayer because Jesus is with His Dad right now pleading on our behalf (Rom 8:34). Nehemiah pauses. Nehemiah prays.

With the door flung open, our man walks boldly through. He asks that the king sign off on a massive rebuilding project for the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah asks his royal highness for the permission to return to the Hebrew capital “that I may rebuild it” (v5). The walls are a pile of bricks. The gates are charred. But chances are, he’s not just talking about reconstructing the walls and gates. The city wall is simply a symbol and symptom of a deeper sickness. The entire situation in Jerusalem needs rebuilding. The city needs an overhaul of political, administrative, and social structures. 

At this point, Artaxerxes wants to know details. “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” (v6). In other words, have you thought this through? Do you have a plan? Do you have something more than a pipe dream to make this happen? Nehemiah wasn’t just spitballing. He had a plan. Well, at least as specific a plan as he could considering that he’d never been to Jerusalem before. This was a little more than a vacation request. He was going to ask for a significant amount of time off. This was going to be a sabbatical. The trip itself is three months one way. While we don’t read it here, Nehemiah is asking for years, not days, weeks, or months. This is a big job. A very big job.

Nehemiah has sought God’s good guidance and come up with a very specific plan. He knows exactly what he needs to get the job done. “Let letters be given to me” (v7). He knows that he needs legal docs from the king that gave Nehemiah and his crew the royal stamp of approval for travel through the region. And he asks for the authority to get the lumber needed for the project (v8). Remember, this is the Middle East. Lots of sand. Very few trees. Timber is a hot commodity. Kings in the region would place armed guards around their royal forests. Nehemiah asks for a signed document from Artaxerxes to show to “Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest that he may give me timber” (v8). So just where did Nehemiah get this very detailed plan? If you look closely, you’ll see God’s fingerprints all over it.

If this conversation isn’t bizarre enough already, this pagan Persian dictator says “yes.” “And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me” (v8). Nehemiah may have made a compelling argument but in the end that didn’t matter. The only reason the king signs off on this crazy request is because God made it happen. His fingerprints are all over this project and this book. Many commentators like to point out that there aren’t any miracles recorded in the book of Nehemiah. Tell me this isn’t miraculous? A lowly Hebrew slave gets access to the pagan king. Miracle one. The slave makes an over-the-top request to rebuild a city almost 1,000 miles away. Miracle two. The slave actually has a very detailed and specific plan for the reconstruction. Miracle three. And the king says “go for it!” Miracle four. 

Many smart dudes believe that Ezra and Nehemiah are actually one book written by the same author (probably Ezra, he was a scribe after all). Seven other times in these two books, we read about how God has His good and gracious grip on His people and the situation (Ez 7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31; Neh 2:18). The placement of His hands has everything to do with Nehemiah’s performance. God’s good grip makes all the difference.