Today’s Reading: Nehemiah & Esther
In November, we began reviewing our 2024 journey through the Old Testament. As we finish up these last few book summaries, I look forward to working our way through the genealogy of Jesus as we prepare for our celebration of the birth and life of our Redeemer. Let’s review what we learned about God through the availability of both Nehemiah and Esther.
While Ezra had returned to Jerusalem to teach the people and unify them in repentance, Nehemiah was still back in Persia serving as the cupbearer to the king. When news arrived that the Jews in Jerusalem were experiencing opposition, he mourned on their behalf. The Temple had been rebuilt in the midst of the opposition, but the wall of Jerusalem had been torn down and the gates had been burned.
IT WAS THE DESIRE OF NEHEMIAH’S HEART TO GO TO JERUSALEM TO HELP THE PEOPLE REBUILD THE WALL, SO HE PRAYED FOR GOD TO GIVE HIM THE DESIRE OF HIS HEART.
An invitation was required in order to approach the king of Persia, so Nehemiah would be in the presence of the king as his cupbearer, but he could not ask for permission to travel to Jerusalem without the king first speaking to him. God saw the desire of Nehemiah’s heart to serve his people and faithfully answered his prayer. The king noticed that Nehemiah had a heavy heart and asked him if he was troubled, giving Nehemiah the opportunity to return to Jerusalem. Again, just like Ezra, the king granted Nehemiah’s request in a generous way because the gracious hand of God was on him (Nehemiah 2:8).
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he inspected the condition of what was left of the wall. He went back to the Jewish leaders to inspire them to end the disgrace and rebuild the wall. Nehemiah saw God’s movement, recognized that the gracious hand of God was on him and testified to the rest of his people of God’s faithfulness. His bold requests, his intercessory heart, and his testimony of God’s grace are what gave the people courage and inspiration to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, starting with its wall.
Things did not go easily as they rebuilt the wall. They faced criticism and opposition. Nehemiah had to do the same thing that we have to do daily — he had to DROWN OUT the voice of defeat! He had to push away the negativity and criticism in order to keep his eyes focused on the God who had called him to do hard things. His determination inspired those around him.
NEHEMIAH CHOSE TO DROWN OUT THE VOICE OF DEFEAT AND FOCUS ON THE TASK GOD HAD CALLED HIM TO.
After this, they changed their plan. While half of the men worked, the other half would stand armed with swords against the attacks. Some of the laborers used one hand to support the load while the other hand held a weapon. They carried their weapons with them at all times!
So on October 2 the wall was finished — just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God. – Nehemiah 6:15-16
Like Nehemiah, Esther found herself living in the palace during her time of exile in Babylon. After Queen Vashti refused to attend a banquet, she was banished from his presence forever. In order to find a new queen, a search was made across the empire to find beautiful young women to be brought into the king’s harem in order to find a replacement for the queen. These young women would go through a year of beauty treatments, spend one night with the king and then be taken to live among the harem of wives in the palace. If King Xerxes remembered his night with her, she was invited back into his presence.
Esther was one of the young women chosen to come to the palace. God was watching over Esther and she found favor with the eunuch in charge of her care. He treated her kindly, ordered a special menu for her, and assigned seven maids to her care, giving her the best place in the harem. She was not where she wanted to be but she was not alone as God watched over her. She was unaware of God’s plans to use her for the preservation of His people.
ESTHER TRUSTED IN GOD IN THE UNKNOWN WHEN SHE HAD NO WAY TO GET BACK TO THE KNOWN.
God intervened on Nehemiah’s behalf and the king noticed that he was distraught. God intervened on Esther’s behalf and the king noticed her standing in the inner court. He welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her so that she could approach his throne.
Nehemiah saw a need, prayed for the need, and then allowed himself to be part of the answer to that prayer. He allowed himself to be used by God. Esther saw a need, feared for her life and yet boldly stepped into the equation, allowing herself to become part of the solution.
Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made the queen for just such a time as this?” – Esther 4:13-14
When faced with opposition while rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah appointed half of the men to work on the wall while half stood armed with swords against the attack. In the same way, God’s people lifted prayers on behalf of Esther while she worked on protecting or rescuing them. She put herself in harm’s way but not until she knew that her family was covering her in prayer, calling on God to bless her efforts and use this royal position as an opportunity to reverse the decree.
There are days and opportunities when God strategically positions us to be used by Him. There are also times in which God gives us the responsibility to pray for someone else. There may be times in which we feel sorry for ourselves, wishing that we were not in a situation or place. Then what once seemed like an unfortunate coincidence becomes a God-placed miracle, and we find ourselves strategically positioned to be used by Him.
WILL WE ACCEPT OUR CALLING FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?
Will we see our situation today as Esther did? Will we boldly step into the equation and allow ourselves to be part of the solution? Perhaps our role today is to enter into the presence of our King, as Esther did. Perhaps it is our role today to stand “with sword in hand” and pray for God’s protection. Maybe God is calling us to take an unfortunate situation and make it an opportunity for His power to be displayed. Let’s be ready to respond today in obedience the moment God calls us into action — for such a time as this.