Saturday Morning Promises – Great Stories

This is a great story

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 1:1-4)

The Cup Bearer

As a captive Nehemiah would not have had the enjoyments of seeking favors from the king. Being a cup bearer was a very delicate job and required grace to properly serve the king in a ‘royal manner’ without losing his life. The king had taken special note of Nehemiah as later he would remark to his cup bearer of his sad countenance. A bond had developed over the slave and the master that would providentially change the course of God’s people.

Nehemiah (it would seem) had never visited Jerusalem and yet inquiring as to the state of affairs was overwhelmed with grief in the news. Four months later he was still grieving over Jerusalem leading to the intercession of the king allowing him to go to the city of God. Once there, the son of Hachaliah would embark on a remarkable work of rebuilding the walls in fifty-two days. What makes this a great story is that a cup bearer made a difference in the history of Israel.

Jerusalem had been laid to waste by Nebuchadnezzar and remained in ruins for seventy years. The Temple would be rebuilt but another seventy years would pass before the walls were rebuilt. There were a lot of people more qualified to build the walls but it took a cup bearer to have the passion to make it possible. It seemed an impossible job to rebuild such massive walls but a cup bearer accomplished it in less than two months. The people living in Jerusalem lamented the ruin of the city but it took a cup bearer from out of town to get the job done. There were many around Jerusalem that wished someone would fix the city and it fell on the shoulders of the one who sat down and cried for many days with fasting and prayer to the God of heaven to have a heart willing to work. A cup bearer. Not an engineer, priest, king, nobleman, scribe, Levite or hero of the day – a man with a passion for the work of God.

Are you a cup bearer? There is something we all can do. Often we fail to realize that if we had the heart of Nehemiah we could turn our world upside down. With a heart of love we can bring someone to Christ this year. No one believed the walls could be rebuilt but Nehemiah did. You may think people are not interested in Jesus Christ but when you take the tears of a cup bearer and put your shoulder to the work it will amaze you how many opportunities arise. Sit down, weep, mourn, fast and pray – and then work. Get others to help. Build strong walls of faith where you are. Soon our walls will be connected and the next thing you know the church of our Lord will be stronger than ever. And you thought you were just a cup bearer. Now that is a great story.