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Speaker 1: I'm John Stanghy, and today we're in Nehemiah chapter two,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the New English translation. Then,
Speaker 1: in the month of Naissan, in the twentieth year of
Speaker 1: King Arta Xerxes, when wine was brought to me, I
Speaker 1: took the wine and gave it to the king. Previously
Speaker 1: I had not been depressed in the king's presence. So
Speaker 1: the king said to me, why do you appear to
Speaker 1: be depressed when you aren't sick. What can this be
Speaker 1: other than sadness of heart? This made me very fearful.
Speaker 1: I replied to the king, O King live forever. Why
Speaker 1: would I not appear dejected when the city with the
Speaker 1: graves of my ancestors lies desolate and its gates destroyed
Speaker 1: by fire? The King responded, what is it you are seeking? Then?
Speaker 1: I quickly prayed to the God of heaven and said
Speaker 1: to the King, if the King is so inclined, and
Speaker 1: if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch
Speaker 1: me to Judah, to the city with the graves of
Speaker 1: my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it. Then the King,
Speaker 1: with his consort sitting beside him, replied, how long would
Speaker 1: your trip take and when would you return. Since the
Speaker 1: King was amenable to dispatching me, I gave him a time.
Speaker 1: I said to the King, if the King is so inclined,
Speaker 1: let him give me letters for the governors of trans
Speaker 1: Euphrates that will enable me to travel safely until I
Speaker 1: reach Judah, and a letter for Asaf, the keeper of
Speaker 1: the King's nature preserve, so that he will give me
Speaker 1: timber for beams, for the gates of the fortress adjacent
Speaker 1: to the temple, and for the city wall, and for
Speaker 1: the house to which I go. So the King granted
Speaker 1: me these requests, for the good hand of my God
Speaker 1: was on me. Then I went to the governors of
Speaker 1: trans Euphrates, and I presented to them the letters from
Speaker 1: the King. The King had sent with me officers of
Speaker 1: the army and horsemen. When Sanbalot the Horonite and Tobiah,
Speaker 1: the Ammonite official, heard all this, they were very displeased
Speaker 1: that someone had come to seek benefit for the Israelites.
Speaker 1: So I came to Jerusalem when I had been there
Speaker 1: for three days. I got up during the night along
Speaker 1: with a few men who were with me, but I
Speaker 1: did not tell anyone what my God was putting on
Speaker 1: my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no animals
Speaker 1: with me except for the one I was riding. I
Speaker 1: proceeded through the valley gate by night in the direction
Speaker 1: of the Well of the Dragons and the Dungate, inspecting
Speaker 1: the Wall of Jerusalem that had been breached and its
Speaker 1: gates that had been destroyed by fire. I passed on
Speaker 1: to the gate of the well and the Kingspool, where
Speaker 1: there was not enough room for my animal to pass
Speaker 1: with me. I continued up the valley during the night,
Speaker 1: inspecting the wall. Then I turned back and came to
Speaker 1: the valley gate, and so returned. The officials did not
Speaker 1: know where I had gone or what I had been doing.
Speaker 1: For up to this point I had not told any
Speaker 1: of the Jews, or the priests, or the nobles, or
Speaker 1: the officials or the rest of the workers. Then I
Speaker 1: said to them, you see the problem that we have.
Speaker 1: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on,
Speaker 1: let's rebuild the Wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach
Speaker 1: will not continue. Then I related to them how the
Speaker 1: good hand of my God was on me and what
Speaker 1: the king had said to me. Then they replied, let's
Speaker 1: begin rebuilding right away. So they readied themselves for this
Speaker 1: good project. But when sanbal At the Horonite, Tobiah the
Speaker 1: Ammonite official, and Gesham the Arab heard all this, they
Speaker 1: derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said, what
Speaker 1: is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king.
Speaker 1: I responded to them by saying, the God of Heaven
Speaker 1: will prosper us. We his servants will start the rebuilding.
Speaker 1: But you have no just or ancient right in Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word, and
Speaker 1: we thank you for the privilege of being able to
Speaker 1: look at it today. And we thank you, Lord for
Speaker 1: the things that we can see that you were inspiring
Speaker 1: Nehemiah to do as he approached the king and was
Speaker 1: willing to make this request before him, and you granted
Speaker 1: him favor so that he was given permission to head
Speaker 1: to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls around this place. Lor
Speaker 1: we're grateful to be able to witness this act of faith,
Speaker 1: and we're grateful to be able to see that your
Speaker 1: hand of favor was on Neemiah and on the people
Speaker 1: of Jerusalem. And Lord, when we look at the totality
Speaker 1: of your word, we can see that one greater than
Speaker 1: Neemiah has come, who is preparing a place for all
Speaker 1: those who trust in him and follow him, your son,
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, who will ultimately rule and reign on this
Speaker 1: earth from Jerusalem, and every knee will bow and every
Speaker 1: tongue will confess that he is Lord. We're grateful for
Speaker 1: this promise that we see in your word. And we're grateful,
Speaker 1: Lord that we have the privilege to be part of
Speaker 1: your kingdom, that we can be people who worship you,
Speaker 1: and that you welcome us into your family, and that
Speaker 1: you give us an inheritance in your kingdom. We don't
Speaker 1: deserve these things, but we're grateful that these things are
Speaker 1: ours through faith in your son Jesus Christ. And we're grateful,
Speaker 1: Lord for your presence with us today. We commit this
Speaker 1: day to your care, and we thank you for all
Speaker 1: of these things in Jesus' name. Amen.