Nehemiah I
O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who delight to fear Your name, and give success to Your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king. (Nehemiah 1:11 ESV)
Cupbearer!
Dramatic moments in movies, literature, and poetry could certainly hope to match the description presented here of Nehemiah. The book that bears his name begins with a thoughtful set of desperate prayers, theological comments, and church-talk. It is a good start for a Biblical book.
But then, out of the blue (unless we know the story) we see that Nehemiah was not a desert-dwelling prophet. Nehemiah was not a thoughtful scholar teaching at Jerusalem Seminary. Nehemiah was not a vague, unknown, hidden barely-historical figure.
He was the cupbearer to the King! This was a close, intimate, important member of the royal household and staff! In today’s world, he would be a talking head on the news, a billboard-present face, a well-known and publicly trusted bureaucrat.
But the irony here is that Nehemiah, as important as he was, was MORE important to His God.
Cupbearer to the King, but servant of the one true living God.
Cupbearer to the King, but God’s hands and mouth.
Cupbearer to the King, but a driving force in the plans of God for the restoration and salvation of His people.
Jesus was like that. A member of Israel’s hidden royal line. An important craftsman in Nazareth. A rabbi, a teacher, a prophet…
But the Servant of the One True Living God.
And God’s Hands and Mouth.
And THE driving force in God’s Plan for the Restoration and Salvation of His People!
And we, when we walk in God’s path, and follow His way, and strive to work in Him, through Him, by Him, and for Him… are just as important to God.
Cupbearers? No… but God’s Servants!