"If It Pleases The King"

Nehemiah is a man I greatly admire in scripture.  He exuded great faith in God, was a man of prayer, and found favour in his role as cupbearer before king Artaxerxes.  When he inquired and heard of the hardships faced by people who had returned to Jerusalem after seventy years of captivity, he grieved deeply.  He sought the LORD in prayer about the correct course of action for him to take.

When the king noticed Nehemiah being out of sorts, he asked Nehemiah if he was ill.  Some people would not admit the true source of their sadness, but Nehemiah was honest about he source of his despondency.  He told his king he mourned over the sad state of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah 2:4-5 reads, "Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it."  Chapter 1 of Nehemiah is mostly a prayer to the God of heaven, and when King Artaxerxes asked for his request he continued to pray.  He was a cupbearer by trade but Nehemiah was willing to ask the king to send him to Israel to rebuild Jerusalem.  That is faith and boldness in action.

Twice in chapter 2 Nehemiah prefaced his request to Artaxerxes with, "If it pleases the king..."  Here was a man whose true KING was God, yet he carried himself with an attitude of humility before Artaxerxes.  He did not demand; he would not force.  He had orders and guidance from the Most High God, yet he made his petition before the king with grace, patience, and respect.  He did find favour in the sight of the king, and the king was happy to send him for a set time so the walls and gates of the city could be rebuilt.

It struck me:  how important it is for us to have such an attitude of humility before God!  Because Nehemiah said "If it pleases the king..." it follows he desired his king would be pleased!  Since Nehemiah showed such respect and humility before his king, isn't it critical that Christians would desire that God be pleased?  Shouldn't we ask ourselves concerning our behaviour or choices, "Does this please my King?"  The LORD has used this line of thinking to convict me of sin.  If Jesus is my King, then pleasing Him ought to be important to me.  I am reminded of Paul's prayer in Colossians 1:9-12:  "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰ that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light."  We walk worthy of our Saviour when we fully please Him for He is the One who ordains cupbearers to build walls and qualifies Christians to be fruitful in all seasons of life.

Are your requests, attitudes, and choices fully pleasing to King Jesus?  If we will be fruitful and have our prayers answered, we must not only pray according to God's will but live in the way that pleases Him.  Nehemiah ended up returning to Jerusalem and in less than two months the monumental task of building the walls and gates - which had been destroyed about 140 years before - was completely finished.  When people from all walks of life gather as one in obedience, seeking to please the LORD in His service, God does marvelous things.  Let us seek to please our King, for this pleases Him.

Building With God's Blessing

Ezra was a scribe and learned teacher of God's Law in Babylon who prepared his heart to seek the LORD (Ezra 7:6-10)  Cyrus the king of Persia was directed by God to rebuilt His temple in Jerusalem.  He exhorted all men of Judah to rise up and help with the building project.  Those who chose not to go back to Jerusalem or were unable the king commanded for them to supply the necessary materials and animals for sacrifice.  This was a fulfillment of the word spoken by the prophet Jeremiah that at the end of 70 years of captivity God would cause the children of Israel to return to the land of Judah (Jer. 29:10; 2 Chron. 36:22-23).  These were joyous times for the faithful among God's people who longed to return to their inheritance.

Though God and the king of Persia commanded the rebuilding of the temple, not everyone was pleased with this development.  People returned to the land, built the altar, offered sacrifices, and kept the feasts as prescribed in the Law seemingly without opposition.  There is no mention of any enemies or adversaries until the foundation of the temple of God was laid.  This is very significant.  The enemy of our souls is not opposed to gatherings, sacrifice, or ceremonial feasts.  But he despises God and fears His holy presence.  The laying of the foundation of the temple caused the enemies of God's people to mobilise.  Since Christians are now the temple of the Holy Spirit not made with hands, it is no surprise when spiritual attacks gain strength and frequency.  Praise the LORD He gives us wisdom, strength, and discernment to endure and walk in victory.

The first tactic of the enemy was to covertly hinder the work through infiltration.  They feigned friendship and allegiance to God to cover their insincerity.  Ezra 4:1-2 says, "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel, ² they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' houses, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here."  These adversaries were judged by their own mouths and proven frauds.  They came with the promise of help, but their intention was only to hinder.  They claimed to have sacrificed to God since the days of the king of Assyria, but this was impossible after the destruction of the temple.  Zerubbabel and other devout men saw through their deception.  Ezra 4:3 reads, "But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel said to them, "You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us."

I admire the courage of these men as they looked to God to accomplish through them the work He called them to do:  "You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God."  When it comes to God's work, it is not "the more the merrier."  Though "many hands make light work," we must not defer to others when God has given us a clear command.  These men of Judah took their task personally and seriously.  Their adversaries came to them with smiles and offers of aid, but Zerubbabel rejected their offer without apology.  This passage teaches us the importance of uniting with people to labour for the LORD who are truly on God's side in word and deed.  Gladys Aylward wisely learned early in her ministry unto the LORD she should never ask anyone to do anything she believed God asked her to do.  Zerubbabel knew this as well and would not be denied the opportunity to work for God and complete the task set before him.

When the attempt to infiltrate failed, their adversaries tried other means to stop progress, and their methods were successful for a time.  They weakened the hands of the people and troubled them in building, hired cousellors to frustrate them, and ultimately wrote a slanderous letter to cease the work through political means.  This temporarily halted the work, yet the story has a encouraging ending.  Zerubbabel and other faithful men and prophets continued to build.  They knew they worked according to the command of king Cyrus and most importantly in the authority of the Almighty God.  When their labours were challenged, they wrote a letter to king Darius to confirm what king Cyrus had decreed years before.  A search of the archives confirmed the right of the Jews to build and exponentially strengthened them in building.  The king commanded those who questioned and opposed the building to supply all the materials needed for building and sacrifice daily upon pain of death (Ezra 6:7-12)!

Let us read the triumph of our God who turns the devices of His enemies against them in Ezra 6:14-15:  "So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵ Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius."  Unless the LORD builds the house they labour in vain who build it, but if God builds the house none can withstand Him.  Our role as followers of Jesus Christ is to trust and seek Him, walking in obedience to what He has called us to do, and to do it with all our might.  No matter the tactics of our adversaries, we have an Advocate in Christ and a Comforter in the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth.  What God begins He is faithful to complete.  Praise the LORD!

Well-Driven Nails

"The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright--words of truth. ¹¹ The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd."

Ecclesiastes 12:10-11

God created human beings with the capacity of critical thought and the ability to communicate through spoken and written language.  Speaking and writing are both learned behaviours and are useful to convey ideas, feelings, and instructions.  There are perhaps an infinite amount of motivations, purposes, or desired ends for speaking, but the overarching purpose is communication.  Solomon was a wise man and sought out to convey upright words of truth to others.  God had given him great wisdom and understanding and he compared true words as "well-driven nails."

The first eight-hour day I remember working was when I was about 11 years old.  My dad was renovating our home by extending the garage and adding a large room upstairs.  He snapped chalk lines across sheets of plywood and my job was to nail the sheets down.  With my 16-ounce hammer I tapped 8-penny nails into the ply.  I say tapped because I didn't have the skill or strength to do what my dad could with a hammer.  In three quick hits he could set and drive a 16-penny nail flush perfectly every time.  Trying to copy him sent nails shooting off everywhere!  I kept a nail-puller (cat's paw) on hand because I had the ordinary knack of bending nails.  Hey, cheap labour.  What can I say?

Solomon compared words to nails, and upright words of truth are well-driven ones.  Good words spoken from a pure heart are like straight, shiny nails ready to be driven home.  Words spoken out of envy, spite, and hatred are like rusty nails which have been pulled a couple of times already.  Here are some observations of how God's Word and our delivery of them can make them well-driven and effective:

• Using the right nail for the job is important.  There are many different kinds of nails for different jobs and applications.  Using the right words is also important for maximum effectiveness and a clean finish.
• Every nail has a point.  In the same way, the words we speak should have a good point.
• Nails have different lengths.  When we communicate God's truth with little ones we need to use short words they can understand.  Terms should be defined and explained patiently.
• The placement of a nail is critical.  It is fine to bang nails into a piece of wood, but they are only effective to hold sheeting when they catch a joist or stud.  Our words should be carefully placed and aim at the heart of the matter.
• Nails are used in construction to fasten material in building.  Our words ought to have a constructive purpose and edify and not be used to deceive, wound, or humiliate others.
• Sometimes a skilled carpenter will blunt a good nail so the wood will not split.  We should never deviate from the truth, but we should use tact in speaking so as not to break sensitive hearts when we want to encourage them.
• Well-driven nails hold two separate pieces of wood together.  Words can be used to unite, encourage, connect us with others, and set our feet on the sound foundation provided by Jesus.
• Nails can be used as a hook for hanging objects.  If every nail was driven flush they would not be effective for this purpose.  In the same way, we do not need to fancy ourselves as the Holy Spirit.  We do not need to say all that is in our minds but limit our words to what God has impressed upon us to say.

How else might upright words of truth be compared to well-driven nails?  Praise the LORD God has provided great wisdom well-driven by the Holy Spirit into our hearts and lives.  God is faithful to build His church, and let us follow His example in love and edifying others.

Lighting the Way

We had our regular fire inspection at the church building today.  During the test of the emergency lights I propped the door open for the technicians and dropped off my car across the street for a pink slip inspection.  When I returned, the technicians were finalising their report.  "By the way," one of them remarked, "it seems a miner (an Australian Noisy Miner) is stuck in the back room."  Now this wouldn't be the first time a bird has ventured into the building.  The facility sits against a beautiful backdrop of bush, and sometimes the wildlife comes in for a visit.

After the technicians left, I went into the back room to find the poor bird fluttering around like a bat.  He seemed unable to find the doorway to leave.  So I walked back through the hall, shutting every door so he wouldn't take a wrong turn.  I opened the front door to make sure the exit was as clear as possible.  I went back to the room with a cracker and dropped a few pieces to make a trail.  Yet the bird continued to move back and forth through the room, unwilling to drop to the ground.  Hmmm.  I was running out of ideas and time.  So I googled tips on how to help a bird find their way out of a room.  The article I turned to suggested the best thing to do is turn the lights out in the room and the external light source will help the bird find the door.  Sounded like a good plan.

I turned out the lights and waited.  It wasn't too long before the miner hopped through the door, feasting on the bits of cracker I left behind.  After about a minute of snacking - looking no worse for wear - he flew down the hall and out the front door to freedom.  It was that simple:  the open door perfectly lit the way.  In this interaction I saw the wisdom of God, the One who spoke light into darkness, the One who created birds and men.  With all the lights on the bird could not locate the door to freedom.  In a similar way, the world dazzles men with the bright lights of fame, wealth, entertainment, sport, sex, and achievements.  There is much to see and experience, and like that bird we can flutter from activity to activity, relationship to relationship, weekend to weekend - and perhaps not notice we are trapped in a cycle which ultimately leads to death.  It was only when I turned out the lights the bird was able to find the exit, and God is wise to allow darkness so Jesus can shine as the Way.  He is the only Door through whom we find abundant life.

I was very glad and relieved to see the bird finally emerge from his open prison.  Many people are imprisoned today in addictions, habits, and distorted ways of thinking, yet as the Light of the World Jesus has opened the door and bids them come forth.  It is in the place of desperation and darkness the light shines brightest, and praise God He has caused His light to shine in this dark world.  From the bright lights of big cities to the illuminated screens of devices, there are many distractions and lights which cause us to lose sight of the eternal peril we face because of our sins.  It is in the darkness a glimmer of truth begins to emerge for the soul tired of fluttering to and fro looking for rest and finding none.  It is only in Jesus, the Light of the Word, where we find freedom and rest for our souls.